When you’re shopping for new clothes, do you tend to snap up the first suitable garment that catches your eye? Whether it’s the colour, cut, fabric or style that grabs your attention, it’s likely that every woman experiences this impulsive feeling from time to time.
This type of buying behaviour can occasionally pay off and provide you with the perfect outfit staple. More often than not, though, it can cause you to forget to consider how your new purchase will transition into your current wardrobe. In a few short weeks, you’ll be right back where you started – standing in front of a wardrobe full of clothes, with nothing to wear.
The solution? By condensing your clothing collection into a functional capsule wardrobe made up of versatile pieces that go together, you’ll always have a ready-made outfit to wear for any casual or formal occasion. Here at Kit and Kaboodal, we believe that one of the most valuable benefits of our clothing is that each piece can be layered effortlessly to create a variety of different looks, so you can be more creative with the garments that you love.
With our step by step guide, you can put together your very own casual capsule wardrobe that will see you through every season, complete with outer, mid and base layers that can be mixed and matched to change up your look with ease. Add in your favourite occasion wear pieces to ensure that you are prepared for any formal occasion, and your clothing collection will be good to go.
What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
The idea of a capsule wardrobe comes from the idea of collecting essential items that are timeless in terms of style and are unlikely to ever go out of fashion. This means selecting only the pieces that you truly love to wear and tend to gravitate towards the most, for an easy, functional and versatile collection of outfits that you’ll wear on repeat.
A current survey by My Capsule Wardrobe concluded that people around the world own an average of 148 clothing items at any given time. A typical minimalist would recommend having around 30 to 50 items in your year-round wardrobe in total, which means buying less each year and opting for high-quality quality garments that you can see yourself wearing for years to come.
Ultimately, this will provide you with a long-lasting capsule wardrobe that offers a wide variety of outfit combinations that you can wear with confidence.
How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe
Giving your style a complete overhaul can seem like a daunting task at first, but the rewards are worth it. Follow our step-by-step guide for a straightforward explanation on how to easily declutter the pieces that you no longer wear and utilise the rest of your clothing in your new capsule wardrobe.
Step 1: Analyse your Current Style
The most important aspect of building a wardrobe that you adore is knowing your own style and how your clothing works for you in your daily life. It’s important to have pieces that fit in well with your lifestyle, including your job and free time.
In order to decide which of your clothing items you are going to keep, you will need to ask yourself whether you are actively wearing each piece or if it is simply taking up space in your wardrobe remaining unworn.
Another great way to establish which of your clothing items match your current style is by keeping a log of what you wear for 30 days. This will allow you to gain a better understanding of the capsule wardrobe that already exists within your clothing collection, providing you with an excellent starting point that you can continue to build on.
Step 2: Clear out your Wardrobe
Once you have made a list of your most-worn items, these can be used as a foundation for creating the remainder of your capsule wardrobe. To begin clearing out your wardrobe, simply:
- Make a pile of all of the garments that make you feel comfortable and stylish.
- Then, make another pile of all of the garments that you are unsure about, including everything that you didn’t wear in the last 30 days.
- Take a look at each garment in the pile and make sure that it evokes a feeling of happiness when you think of wearing it, rather than a feeling of guilt or indifference before deciding whether or not to keep it.
Capsule Wardrobe List
Organise your clothes into the following categories:
- All year essentials
- Spring/Summer
- Autumn/Winter
- Donate/Sell
By doing this, you now have the option of creating a year-round capsule wardrobe or splitting this in two and having seasonal capsules suitable for warm and cold weather.
Step 3 – Curate your Capsule Wardrobe and Create a Wishlist for the Items you Need
Now that you have selected your go-to pieces and removed the ones you no longer need, you can start thinking about the styles, colours, and fabrics you would like to add to your new and improved wardrobe.
For example, if you have plenty of tops suitable for warmer weather, you might want to think about investing in knitwear to see you through the colder months. In addition, it’s important to focus on garments that can easily be layered for extra warmth, such as long sleeve tops, vests and t-shirts in neutral colours that can be worn effortlessly with a colourful dress and tights along with any outerwear pieces.
Other pieces that you will need in your capsule wardrobe include jeans and leggings, which are must-have staples for any casual clothing collection. Easily paired with any kind of top, knit, jacket or even some dresses, blue and black jeans are extremely flattering on any body shape, so you’re sure to feel comfortable and confident in whatever you choose to pair them with.
Step 4: Invest in Quality over Quantity
Once you have your basics covered, it’s time to start thinking about adding a few key pieces that make a statement. This is where the fun begins, as you can choose from pieces that you love to go with your existing capsule wardrobe.
Try to invest in colours that you typically enjoy wearing, whether it’s neutrals, brights or more earthy colours. This way, you can curate a variety of items that complement each other, with a few bold pieces to brighten them up.
High-quality fabrics are a must, especially if you are hoping to make more considered, sustainable purchases going forward. You’ll be able to enjoy well-made pieces that are sure to last for years to come, meaning that there will be less of a need to buy more.
We pride ourselves on offering our customers stylish, high-quality clothing made with the finest fabrics. To help you to build your very own capsule wardrobe, we have put together a series of layered looks to provide you with a little inspiration.