Fall/Winter Capsule Wardrobe Musts

Why go with a capsule wardrobe in the first place? Isn't it just another way of making more work for yourself?

Quite the opposite actually.

If you’re spending most of your morning trying to figure out what to wear or your weekend shopping for clothes, it’s hard to think about spending extra time making healthy food. A capsule wardrobe is my new solution to help simplify what I wear, the time I think about clothing, and the amount of time I spend shopping.

The capsule concept was created by Susie Faux, a London Boutique owner in the ’70s. According to Faux, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items that work together and don’t go out of style.

Most capsule wardrobe bloggers recommend choosing a set number of clothes you’d like to include in a wardrobe. The items should be chosen according to season, and only worn for that particular season, before transitioning to a new capsule. The clothing items chosen should include tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, and shoes. This number doesn’t include a fancy dress for weddings or that extra special holiday party, or the lounge clothes you love to wear while enjoying your favorite Netflix show.

Kristin, a blogger from Live Simply, has already done the hard work for us.  She's put together her own Fall and Winter capsule wardrobe. Since she's already figured out what's needed, she's helping us out by making a list we can use to get started.

Here are the ground rules for creating a capsule wardrobe this season:

1. Quality Over Quantity

2. Purposeful Choices

3. Combine Seasons

4. No Shopping

5. Color Scheme

So now that you know the rules, here's how you can get started:

1.  Go through your closet.

2. Choose a number.

3. Now that you’ve determined what you love, choose the items to keep in your closet for the appropriate season at hand.

4. Determine what you’re missing from your capsule.

I've been through my closet and donated many items that I just can't wear right now or, for whatever reason, don't. The truth is, by the time I could wear these things again, I'd probably want to go and get something newer and more in style anyway. Once I was honest with myself about that, the clothes weren't that hard to part with. By donating the items, I helped other people in need and avoided the effort I would have spent trying to sell used clothing.

Currently, I'm trying to decide how many blouses I need. I can't come up with a number that seems reasonable.

It's difficult for me not to skip ahead though, I'm looking forward to Step #4 (determine what's missing). That sounds like the fun shopping step!

Learn more about the ground rules and how to get started creating your own capsule wardrobe as well as peeking at Kristin's in her Simplify The Closet article.