Capsule Wardrobe: What I'm Learning

 

            I’m almost two months into my capsule wardrobe project, and if you’re new here and am not sure what I’m talking about, you can catch up with the back story here and here.

            I spent the end of December putting together this capsule and my goal for the start of 2024 was to make it as many days as possible without repeating a full outfit. Some may look similar, but it is true that so far, I’ve had no exact duplicates.

            I’ve learned some things along the way, so I thought I would share them today!

·         This capsule had too many black pants in it for my liking. I had black denim pants, black flowy dressy pants, black leggings, black leather leggings, and black joggers. When I started, the only pants in the capsule that weren’t black were two pairs of jeans. So, part of the way through January, I eliminated the black leather leggings (which never did fit right anyway) and introduced a pair of tan pants that I found for about $5.00 at the consignment store. These replaced the tan pants that I had to retire when the zipper broke. I had owned them for several years and loved them, but you can’t sport pants with a broken zipper!

·         You might remember when I shared the post about the pieces in my wardrobe, that I included a tan skirt I already owned, but it wasn’t a good winter skirt. I ended up finding (for less than $5.00) a better option at the consignment store, so I made that swap as well. This skirt works on me better all the way around, so I’m going to consign/donate the other one and keep this one.

·         Based on my inspiration capsule, I only included one dress, but I think going forward, I would have at least two in a winter capsule. Depending on how many long I keep using the winter version of a capsule, I will have had up to seven speaking engagements and it would be nice to have more than one dress option for those. (Even if the same people don’t attend each one, I usually have pictures from every speaking event, and it would be nice to not always be in the same dress.) I don’t always wear a dress when I speak, but I still think it would be nice to have other options if needed.

·         I did add two shirts beyond what I originally included. I debated on this, because I felt like I should have enough with what I had, but I found a couple I really liked at the consignment shop, and both were pretty inexpensive, so I got them. One is a plaid thinner shirt that can easily dress up or down and the other is a pink sweater that I got specifically with Valentine’s Day in mind. I decided I liked the idea of incorporating some pink, especially as we ease toward spring, and I want to move away from darker colors.

·         Choosing to incorporate color overall was a good decision. I get really bored with the black/white/tan outfits and am always glad to add some color pops. I love blue – especially for winter – and will probably stick with that going forward.

·         Layering shirts is more of an art form than I realized, and I like it. This project has pushed me to see how many options I really do have that I have often overlooked. It’s been fun to layer up the shirts or the shirts/sweaters/jackets and see how they change everything!

·         I feel more put together when I think more carefully about what I’m wearing. Even though I have different shirts I have to wear at work, I would default to workout clothes/jammies after work, and now I feel cuter for myself and for Ryan. (He loves the outfits too and comments on them quite often.)

·         I really like the new shoes I bought for this project. I hadn’t realized how worn out my previous shoes were from the last four full years of wear. Those purchases were so worth it.

·         This entire process has helped me refine the colors and patterns I enjoy wearing – and some of the clothing shapes I prefer as well. Though I may not throw a piece out right now based on any of these things, understanding my preferences will certainly drive my purchases going forward.

With March looming, I’ll be thinking toward a spring capsule! Some of the pieces I have will work well for it, because spring certainly has its cold days around here! But I am excited to also bring in some warmer-weather pieces for the nice days I’m counting on having!