Two Years of a Capsule Wardrobe: Why I Do It, What I’ve Learned
On February 1, 2016, I turned in the first draft of English Lessons to my publisher. A couple of days later, I found myself frantically cleaning out my closet. I mean, cleaning it out. Everything.
I had been reading about the concept of a capsule wardrobe—the idea of applying the principles of minimalism to your clothes, wearing only a few pieces each season and shopping sparingly and intentionally.
This was an incredibly novel idea for me since I had always shopped spontaneously, picking up a t-shirt while shopping for candles at Target, hitting up whatever store I had a gift card to not because I was in need of a certain item but just because I could, shopping with my mom and sisters when we were together just for fun.
I was wary of the idea of a capsule, and I was even more wary of my ability to follow through with it, but something about turning in my first book and the way it made me feel terrified, out of control and at the mercy of my editor, but relieved and celebratory all at once—like if I could turn in a book, I could do anything—made this whole capsule wardrobe thing suddenly feel feasible, and needed.
Hence, my big closet clean out. That is, after all, the first step of building a capsule, according to Caroline Joy Rector’s method, which is the method I followed and still loosely do.
I divided all of my clothes into three piles, as she instructed:
Love it and would wear it right now
Maybe (haven’t worn it in a while, but still like it)
Nope (need to give away/sell asap)
I had a lot of clothes.
This is just my “nope” pile.I had a lot of shoes.
I mean, a lot of shoes.
And I’ve never even considered myself a “shoe person.”
What you see in these photos are years and years of clothing purchases and my neglect to be honest about what I actually wore. I gave clothes away pretty regularly, but I clearly still held on to way more than I needed.
The second step was picking out my items for that season, which was spring (March, April, May). Caroline recommended choosing around 37 items per season. This does not include lounge wear, athletic wear, underwear or accessories like scarves and bags.
My first season went ok. Picking out my items was fun and entering my closet, so suddenly strikingly clean, was no longer anxiety inducing. It was an enjoyable place to be. A place where I could actually think about what I wanted to wear instead of a place that I was trying to escape as quickly as possible. (P.S. My closet in my house in Austin is a fraction of this size, and my seasonal wardrobe still easily fits.)
Not far into the season, I realized I had chosen some pieces I didn’t love and so I did a lot of going back and forth to the mall, returning things I’d bought and ordered online, like that polka dot t-shirt. I was paring down my style, figuring out what I liked and didn’t and really thinking about this for the first time. This was also a season in which I was investing in getting my eyebrowns waxed and tinted. I should start doing that again.
This has been the best part about doing a capsule wardrobe over these last couple of years, discovering my personal style. Caroline said this would happen, and it did. I owned so many clothes I didn’t actually like, but I didn’t know I didn’t like them. Now that I was only shopping for specific seasons and wearing my clothes so often, I was discovering very quickly what I actually wanted to wear on a daily basis.
I’m now in my ninth season of a capsule wardrobe. This is kind of amazing because I tend to start things strong and then completely abandon them. (Which is why it’s also kind of amazing that I finished a book.) And I should clarify, I don’t buy all new items for each season. I roll over 80% of what I wear and shop for four or five (ok sometimes six or seven) new things per season. I do get sick of my clothes more quickly because I wear them so often and I’m tempted to give something away and replace it with something new, but I’m learning if I can retire a piece for a season or two, I’m usually ready to wear it again later in the year.
I realize this type of blog post is a bit of a departure from my normal repertoire of spirituality, faith and writing topics, but I like to write about lessons I’ve learned and where I’ve learned them. The capsule wardrobe is yet another life teacher for me.
Here are some of the reasons I’ve stuck with doing the capsule for as long as I have and what it’s taught me:
I have a style, and I am very picky about it.
I already touched on this above, but I am so picky about clothes now. If I don’t love it and want to wear it all the time, it goes back to the store. Sometimes it takes me a few wears to figure this out and by then, returning isn’t an option, but this is happening less and less, which makes me think my style is becoming more and more clear.
Some things I’ve learned about my style that I didn’t know:
I don’t love color. I like grey, black, blue, and white best and that is what makes up 90% of my wardrobe now.
I like interesting structures. Boxy tops, wide legged pants. Classics with a modern twist, if you will.
I don’t like J.Crew. For years I thought I loved J.Crew. I shopped there all the time. Now, it doesn’t fit my style. (Except their denim. I like their denim.)
I also don’t really like Gap or Anthropologie.
I love Madewell, Top Shop and Aritzia, some things from Amour Vert, and Dolce Vita and Nisolo for shoes. (Though I think for the price, Nisolo’s shoes should be way more comfortable than they are.)
You’ll notice a lot of repetition and overlap in my latest capsules. You may even spy a couple of items from that very first capsule that I’m still wearing! You also might notice that I’m blonder now and I tried bangs (RIP).
Summer 2017
Fall 2017
Winter 2017/18
I use shopping as a coping mechanism.
This is something Caroline wrote about that I thought didn’t apply to me. Then, when I suddenly couldn’t shop whenever I wanted, I realized I do it too. When I’m sad, lonely, bored, anxious, I want to spend money, and I usually want to spend it on clothes I don’t need. Now I occasionally catch myself online shopping at West Elm or buying too many candles at Target. I’m still trying to cope through shopping, but the capsule has at least made me aware of it.
I am drawn toward minimalism in other areas of my life.
I think the capsule wardrobe philosophy has started to bleed into other areas of my life. Before I moved to Austin in early 2017, I had a big living room sale. I sold as much as I could wanting to take as little with me as possible. I would not have considered doing this before. I would have just packed everything up. But now that I knew I could live with a fraction of my wardrobe, I thought I could probably do that with my other stuff too.
I sold, or gave away, furniture, artwork, home décor, dishes, clothes, shoes, rugs. And I haven’t missed any of it.
Fashion is art.
I already believed this, but intentionally shopping and thinking more carefully about my outfits each day has confirmed my thoughts on art and clothes and the amazing creative expression they can be. See Instagram rant below:
