For the past couple years, I've really been craving a capsule wardrobe.
I heard about capsule wardrobes through one YouTuber or another (or another) and through the blog Un-Fancy, which had always been my guide when trying to put on together. You can find her thorough and extremely helpful guide here, with step-by-step instructions to get you to the capsule of your dreams. She now has veered off from a strict capsule (as most people have who made them so trendy), but she is a huge advocate of the 10x10 Challenge, where you wear 10 items of clothing for 10 days. Expect woes about that in the near future.
I mention all this because I have finally created a capsule wardrobe of my own, and I've actually been sticking to it! For the most part. But nonetheless, I have created a 37 item wardrobe that I have been wearing, along with some clothes out of my "Fancy Attire" and the t-shirts that I usually save for bedtime but do sneak out into the public more often than not. You can say that this is a very loose capsule wardrobe, but I think that works best for me.
I think that's where I've failed in the past with capsules. I thought I had to be completely strict with a number and only wear what I had in it instead of branching out and letting myself wear things that weren't in the capsule. I know, I know.
Isn't it just a closet then?
Not really. I do try to wear only what's in my capsule but why it's been so easy this time is because it's summer and I really don't have many warm weather clothes. Partly because I've gained some weight so a lot of my old clothes don't fit and partly because I'm not a huge fan of dressing for the summer months. So, I have fewer clothes to pick through than for my fall and winter capsules I've tried in the past. I've been dressing with this capsule for a couple weeks now and I wanted to talk about my woes with the beloved and feared capsule wardrobe.
1) It's hard.
This is not a surprise for anyone who has tried one before, but trying to dress with only a certain amount of clothes when your closet has other items squealing out to be worn can be daunting. I have been cheating to get around this, but I think that's a part of learning how to do one! You can't jump in headfirst into a capsule, confident that you won't wear anything besides your 37 items. In a culture where the bigger the closet, the better, it can be a shock wearing the same things over and over and not be self-conscious if people will notice. But to tell the truth, they won't. People really only notice if you're smelly and wearing the same clothes day after day. And with 37 pieces of clothing, you have lots of wiggle room to make several outfits a week.2) You get bored.
I have always been that girl who had enough clothes to go a while without wearing the same outfit twice. I know, privilege alert. But even with dressing with a full wardrobe, I got bored! And I had a plethora of clothes to choose from! So to have a lot less clothes to pick from, I get a little tired of wearing the same mom jeans, Beach Boys shirt, and Birkenstocks. I feel like I need to go shopping to fill in "the gaps" in my wardrobe, but truth be told, I don't really have any gaps. I have all the clothes I need, plus some. Most of us do. We're just programmed to want more, to need more. And that's a problem in itself.
3) You feel silly talking about the woes of a capsule wardrobe.
Writing all this out, I'm realizing that these "woes" of a capsule wardrobe are all so...first-world. I thought about including the woe of feeling guilty about all the clothes you have, but it didn't seem to fit. It's more like a plus side of a capsule in my opinion (soon to come) and I hate that I even have complaints about an idea where one just dwindles down their wardrobe, shops less and with more intention, and just wears what they absolutely love. What's so wrong about that?
So in conclusion, this was a hot mess of a post. But I hope you understood what I was trying to get at.
Capsule wardrobes are meant to teach you how to spend your money, love your clothes, and be happy with what you have.
Not think that clothes have to be thrown out with the changing fads or that you need that sixth white sweater. Clothes seem so frivolous, but we can change that mindset. I did with creating a capsule wardrobe, and I really suggest doing the same, even if it's just the 10x10 Challenge with Un-Fancy.
Here's my challenge for you. Go through your closet and see how much of it that you really love. Pull out all your clothes (hanging up or folded in drawers) and lay them on your bed or floor. Then pick out those pieces that make you giddy to see, the ones that you'd wear right then and there. If you find that there's half your closet left after doing this, you may need to try a capsule. It's free, it's fun, and you'll learn a lot about yourself.
Until next time,
Kaylin
