As I transition my wardrobe from one season to the next, I thought it might be helpful to share the process of how I choose items for my capsule wardrobe.
The less I own over all, the easier it is, but I remember feeling a little overwhelmed trying to pick 33 items for my first capsule wardrobe. I didn’t buy anything new, but instead went shopping in my closet. I cleaned out my closet for good, and spent the next few years letting go of the things I didn’t wear, and incorporating new items as needed.
Now in between seasons, it’s just a matter of rotating a few items.
Before I put my new list together for fall, I took a look at what I was wearing last fall. I decided to include most of the same items, donated a few pieces that were wearing out, or didn’t fit well, and add new pieces too.
It’s really helpful for me to break things up by category; clothing, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. The items in bold are items I used last fall. If it’s not bolded, I’ve included a brief description.
Clothing (18)
- jeans – boot-cut
- jeans – skinny
- black leggings
- black skirt
- formal dress
- olive casual dress
- denim button down sleeveless dress
- black tank: this isn’t worn out, but I am going to retire it to lounge wear (something that will never leave the house)
- white sleeveless shirt – this is still in good condition, but I don’t love the fit, so I’m donating it and replacing it with a white/tan striped sleeveless shirt*
- white short-sleeved shirt – from my summer collection
- black sleeveless dress shirt
- striped sleeveless button down shirt – this is still in good condition and I’m saving it for spring
- olive long-sleeved button down shirt
- black/white patterned long-sleeved shirt – after 3 years, this shirt was falling apart and I replaced it with a white button down*
- dark gray sweater – I accidentally shrunk this in the dryer, donated and replaced with a black long-sleeved dress shirt*
- light gray sweater
- black zip-up sweatshirt
- black long-sleeved tee
- black blazer – after 5+ years, I decided to replace this with a navy blazer which I purchased last spring*
- olive coat
The breakdown of clothing items is 4 bottoms, 3 dresses, 8 shirts, 3 outerwear (coats/blazer) including 4 new items.
Shoes (5)
- flats
- heels
- tall boots
- short boots – I might add these, might not.
- walking shoes
Accessories (6)
- laptop Bag
- purse
- sunglasses
- hat
- gloves
- scarf
Jewelry (2)
- necklace
- bracelet
You may notice that I have a bunch of black and white items, but that is not the only way. There are great examples of colorful capsule wardrobes out there, but I’ve discovered that life is colorful enough, and I’m happy dressing in more neutral colors.
I don’t have 33 different items for each season. 19 of the items above were in my summer capsule too! I’ll be sharing pics of my closet and outfits on Instagram, and sharing #Project333 round ups (pictured above) from people who share their inspiring images.
