Thursday, May 23, 2013

Capsule Wardrobe


Warning:  Men, you'll probably want to skip this post - it deals with fashion in gruesome detail!


I have been inspired by a few bloggers I follow and their "capsule wardrobe" experiments (click here for a great example).

The idea is to choose only a few (my goal was 10) items of clothing that can be mixed and matched in a way that allows for the most possible outfits.  This allows for much easier dressing in the morning (because everything goes together!) and it simplifies everything.

The following is my idea of a capsule wardrobe.  I am going to use a variant of this for my annual trip to Minnesota!  And in fact, I'm liking this experiment so much that it is changing what I purchase (and do NOT purchase)!


Christie's Theoretical 10 Item Capsule Wardrobe (Hot Weather):
This capsule wardrobe is created from items I currently own.  It does not include knickers, bras, sleepwear, exercise clothing, jewelry, unusual weather wear, etc.  Those things can be used as needed at any time.

Some capsule wardrobes only contain the major pieces of an outfit, such as tops and bottoms.  The woman in the link above doesn't count t-shirts in her item count - they count as "extras".  Some capsules include shoes.  I wanted to play with the idea of having just a few simple pieces of clothing that I could put together in different ways, so I included t-shirts, and shoes in my count.


1* One pair metallic gold wedges by Born
The buckle will fall off soon.  When that happens, I will substitute a pair of nude wedges.
similar available from eBay or www.zappos.com



2* One pair red ballet flats by Born

available at www.zappos.com



3* One denim skirt (a-line)
This is my preferred style, though on me it would be a couple of inches longer:
www.dillards.com


The one I have came from T.J. Maxx.    



4* One patterned pencil skirt
www.target.com



5* One black and white striped light cotton skirt
www.target.com



6* One chambray/denim patterned button-down shirt

mine is from Forever21 about a year ago

similar are available lots of places


7, 8, 9, & 10* Four t-shirts (long in torso) in cornflower blue, gray, red, and navy
 


 All - www.target.com


That's it!  Almost all of these things can be combined together to make interesting new outfits. 
I will give you a couple of examples!



This might be one option:  
gray t-shirt + denim skirt + red ballet flats

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Here is another option (this is similar to what I wore today!):

red t-shirt + chambray shirt + black & white striped skirt + gold wedges


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When I go to Minnesota this summer, I will be adding some cool-weather wear (since evenings are often chilly), some lakeside wear (including swimming and sitting by the fire options), and more than just these 10 choices.  I will post a list of what I decide to add to this list and will update you on how it works!

I did something similar when I traveled to Minnesota last November, but it was cool-weather wear.  I have never felt so successful at packing for a trip as I did while on that one.  Everything I threw together in the mornings looked put together because it all was engineered to look good together no matter how I put it together.  I don't know why this idea hasn't struck me before - maybe because it takes a little more forethought?  Or maybe because it requires more careful purchasing?  

Happy almost Friday!

1 comment:

  1. Great idea. I guess I kinda do this on cruises because everything has to work together and I can't take much because of weight limits. Just not as creative as you!

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