Fall 2014 Day 7

Another Work Day

• Black Dress Pants
• Black Blouse with White Polka Dots
• Black Camisole
• Black Heels

I have been waiting to wear this shirt for quite some time! It is one I picked up during my capsule shopping.  The pictures don't do it justice at all.  It is a simple thin black blouse with a small white polka dot.  I am a total sucker for polka dot.

Fall 2014 Day 6

Short Work Day

Capsule items:

• Gray Cardigan
• Cream Lace Top with Gold/Tan Camisole underneath
• Red Pencil Skirt
• Black Kitten Heels

Many thanks to YY who took pictures of me today.

I am still very unsure about this red pencil skirt.  The red-orange color makes it hard to pair with things other than neutrals.  Even when I was picking out my capsule items, I just wasn't sure if this skirt fit my color scheme.  I also convinced myself that I needed a little more color in my work wardrobe, so I kept it in this capsule, but I don't know if it will carry over to the next one.  I have at least 1 or 2 more outfits in my head that use it, so it isn't a "wasted" item.

I do think that if I had tried this skirt on, I might have held it over to a future capsule.  That's a good lesson learned for me when I start planning the winter capsule.  Try it all on.  :)

Fall 2014 Day 5

No pictures today. I don't plan to leave the house, other than to go running. Sam needs a quick trip to the library, but YY might take the kids so I can get other stuff done.

Sundays have turned into a "chore/homework/cooking/preparing for the next week" day. Once soccer stops taking over our Saturdays, this will shift and once again we will do some fun stuff on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fall 2014 Day 4

Sounders Saturday!  I have been looking forward to this game all summer!  We even get to have some sunny weather (if it holds out all day).

Capsule Items:

• Straight Leg Jeans
• Converse Sneakers

 Non Capsule Items:

• Sounders Shirt
• Sounders Hat

 

These converse sneakers are the only sneakers I have in my capsule.  I just don't wear them that often, mostly because my Danskos provide much better support.  I do have a need for a good casual sneaker now and then, so these made it into the capsule.

I considered wearing the skinny jeans with this, but in the end the possibility of it climbing above 70 degrees today pushed me to the straight leg jeans because I have the option to roll them up into capri length if needed.

The Sounders t-shirt will go into my bins as soon as it is washed tomorrow. 

Fall 2014 Day 3

Work Day & Casual Friday

• Blue Striped Sweatshirt
• Tan Camisole
• Skinny Jeans
• Copper Flats

 

I could dress like this every day for work, and no one would care, as long as I didn't have a meeting with a client.  I feel much better dressing up and sticking to Casual Friday, and some weeks Casual Thursday AND Friday.  :)  We also have a Family Dance Night at Sam's new school tonight, so I wanted to wear something comfy, but also made me feel good.

 

I picked up both this sweatshirt and skinny jeans at Target.  Target is so hit and miss for me, but I fell in love with both of these.  I never thought I could wear skinny jeans, but I am slowly finding things that work with them.  I think it helps that they aren't super tight at the bottom.  I picked up these copper flats this summer and didn't really wear them because they dug into my heels and they weren't summery enough.  I am excited to wear them in the fall, but I was sure to add some moleskin to the back to protect my heels!

 

Why A Capsule Wardrobe

When I started working on my Capsule Wardrobe, I decided to post about it on Facebook.  I figured, if I put it out there, I would HAVE to follow through with it.  Overwhelmingly, I got one or more of the following reactions:

1. What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
2. Why Would You Do That?
3. I Could Never Do That!

All very valid questions and concerns!  I am going to use this post to explain why I chose to try a Capsule Wardrobe.

Number 1 - What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
This is the one I got the most.  I will point you to Unfancy, where all of my information comes from. In short, it is defining your wardrobe for each season (something I remember doing as a kid, but thought was silly and decided not to do as an adult, much like making my bed every day) and finding those pieces that you truly love and match your personal style.

Number 2 - Why Would You Do That?
I have a lot of reasons for trying a capsule wardrobe.

I was a HUGE fan of What Not to Wear.  I day dreamed about being on that show, having personal stylist show me what to wear, and starting all over.  I was never going to be on the show (my style wasn't that bad), but I also won't ever have $5,000 to start over with my clothes.  A lot of what appealed me as I watched people on the show was just how cohesive their style was and how few pieces they ended up with. I think that's a lot of what appeals to me about the Capsule Wardrobe.  I get to have a few pieces that really work.

There is a limit to when I can shop.  I am a shop-a-holic. I LOVE to shop for shoes, clothes, and accessories, but I also have a side of me that knows that I don't really need to shop.  I like the idea of having a defined period when I can shop and that I need to plan what to shop for so it fits in the next Capsule.

I really suffered from "I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear" syndrome.  I really did have too much stuff to find the stuff that I loved.  Let me show you my closet.  I have the entire left side, the drawers and bins in the middle and dress space on the right. (I do share this closet with my husband, so some of this is his.)  I also had two bins hiding in another closet and more stuff stashed in places you can't see.

 BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

 

The real transformation is hard to see in these photos.  I still have the bins, but I only have one drawer that is about 3/4 full of Capsule clothes.  I used to have 2 stuffed full. I took out one of the shelves on the left to make room for boots and because I didn't need it since I am down to a few pairs of shoes.  Honestly, it feels empty, but it is good empty.  I can see it all. 

Seeing all my clothes was doing me no good. This is my own issue, but I had a lot of stuff hanging in my closet that I was keeping to wear "someday".  You know, that someday when I am a size 10, 12, or 14 again.  It was really depressing me that because I am older and my body has changed that it is taking so. darn. long. to lose the weight.  Hiding those clothes helps me focus on my real goal - to be a happy, healthy person.

I get to invest in quality clothes.  One of the goals of the Capsule Wardrobe is to really define your personal style and find those pieces you love.  This is huge for me because when I do find something I love, I am willing to spend more on it.  I do it with shoes all the time, but I have had a harder time with clothes. I will still be cheap about "trendy" pieces that I add to each Capsule, but if the same piece shows up in Capsule after Capsule, I will be sure to invest in a quality version of it.

I like having less stuff.  As life gets more complicated with kids and work and just life, I find myself craving simplicity in all the aspects of my life.  Clothing is just one part, but it was a simplification I was avoiding for a long time.

Number 3 - I Could Never Do That!
I think I heard this one the most.  If I wasn't already in a "simplify" frame of mind, I would have had the same reaction.  It did take me some time to fully buy into the Capsule Wardrobe. (And I may have tried it on the kids first...)  I didn't just read about it and dive right in.  It took me two months to fully commit.

Phase 1 - "I think I can do this, but..." This is the phase where I started to work through the details, with a lot of hemming and hawing.  I read up on the Capsule Wardrobe idea more.  I saw that some people have larger numbers of items, some have smaller.  Most don't count athletic gear or lounge wear that doesn't leave the house. It started to become clear that I could make my own rules and adjust as I needed.  At the end of this phase I thought that if I didn't include shoes, lounge wear, athletic clothes, and field work clothes in my Capsule Wardrobe, I could do 36 items or less! 

Phase 2 - "Let's do this!"  This is the phase where I sat down and filled out my Capsule Wardrobe Planner.  I highly recommend this step.  Again, I have to thank Unfancy for the template I used.  It really helped me define what I was looking for and what my actual clothing needs are.  This is also the point where I made a draft list of what number of each item I thought I would need.  As I made this list, I began to realize that I really did need to include shoes.  (Who needs to have blue with pink polka dot heels when they don't match any of the clothes in your current capsule?)  I upped my item count to 40, but told myself I could go higher if I just couldn't do without shoes.  It also became clear that I had a few "special" items that I didn't want to include.  These are things like:

•  my Halloween T-shirts that I may wear, but will be put away immediately after October 31st 
• my Seattle Sounders T-shirt, which will be put away after the game this Saturday (and pulled out again if I manage to go to another game before the season is over)
• the dress and shoes for my friend's wedding celebration

I also used this phase to think about anything that might be missing from my capsule and would require shopping.  I knew that I needed a work blouse for dressier days, but didn't like the menswear style one I had hanging in my closet.  I also knew that I needed a top or two to go with my skinny jeans to make them a larger part of my Capsule.  I shopped for these items, but kept the tags on until my final Capsule Wardrobe was set.

Phase 3 - "Lay it all out there"  I mean this literally.  After my initial purging, I took EVERYTHING out of my closet and my bins and laid it on my bed.  I sorted it into three piles - "love it, but not for this capsule", give away, and under consideration. All the love it items went into bins and the give away went into bags.  After that, I really looked at what I had and made some decisions.  Did I really think I would wear a jean skirt with no leggings in the fall/winter?  Would I wear it to work or for play? I had some really tough choices, but I was comforted knowing that in 3 months I could take these items out of their bins and wear them again.  This is also where the planner really came in handy.  For example, I had 4 sweatshirts under consideration; I "budgeted" for 2. I was able to put 2 away because the colors were not in the color scheme I identified in my Capsule Wardrobe Planner.

Phase 4 - "The Wardrobe and Rules" I ended up with 40 pieces of clothing and shoes for my Fall 2014 Capsule. This includes work and weekend clothes plus date night/girls night out clothes.  What it doesn't include are:

• Accessories
• Specialty, one-off items (Halloween and Sounders shirts, special occasion dress)
• Clothes required for field work for the job
• Athletic wear and shoes
• Pajamas and lounging clothes, but these can not be worn outside of the house (I mean that, yoga pants!)
• Undergarments, including tights, but not leggings or layering camisoles/tank tops
• Rain boots

So, yes, you can do it.  It is a very flexible concept.  Don't think you can go 3 months?  Do it in 2 month increments.  Don't think you can stick to 37 items?  Adjust your number or what is included in your item count. (Notice I didn't include any scarves or hats?  I consider those accessories.)  Don't want to part with your clothes? Then box them up and store them until the next capsule.

Fall 2014 Day 2

Today's outfit for a Work at the Office day:

• Black pencil skirt
• Purple boat neck shirt
• Black boots

This is one if my standard office looks. I mix it up with heels and different tops and pencil skirts, but it is a silhouette you will see a lot.

 

The purple shirt was one of the three items I purchased for this capsule. I was on the fence with it because I already have a similar purple shirt, but I love the boat neck on it and I feel like it helps balance out my hips. Plus purple was supposed to be one of the main colors in this capsule.  I have had the boots and skirt for a few years now, and I wear them a ton (boots mostly in the winter), so I knew they would be part of this capsule. 

For the record, my phone is on its last legs and these pictures are really showing it.  I am hoping that my new phone, which is on its way, with the nicer camera will help. :)

 

Fall 2014 Capsule Wardrobe Day 1

I am going to use this blog to document my outfits from my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe. Hopefully it will help me track what I really wear v. what I think I wear and give me insight into the next capsule. I am also considering a spreadsheet because, well, I love that kind of data! I will try to write more about capsule wardrobes (visit Un-fancy for the basics).

I decided to start my Fall capsule wardrobe on the second day of fall, rather than September 28, like I had planned, for many reasons.  I like the idea of changing my capsules on the first official day of the season, so I will stick with it.

 

Outfit for Day 1 (work at home day):
Straight leg jeans (NYDJ)
Plain white, v-neck t-shirt
Galaxy 3/4 zip top
Dansko clogs

Very casual outfit, but good enough for dropping off kids, picking up Sam from school and hanging out at home. I could wear my converse sneakers instead of the clogs, but it is pretty wet out there. Layering is essential right now because we still get decent swings in temperatures throughout the day.

Also check out The Small Things Blog, where I first heard of capsule wardrobe (and for some awesome hair tutorials) and my friend A, who is also doing a capsule wardrobe (and she does a ton of awesome stuff with paper and photos!)