What's In My Closet?

I’ve never considered myself a fashionista. I never know what names go to specific colors. If it has any mix of blue and green, in any tone or depth, it’s teal. Forget the Tiffany Blue, mint, or aqua. I see teal. I’ve also never known what colors look good on me. Summer or fall based skin tone? I have no clue! I am drawn towards colors that others may discourage me from wearing. I don’t have a knack for knowing if something is flattering, nor have I taken the time to explore and see what sizes and styles may fit my body type the best. I’m 33 years old, creeping up on mid-30s, and recently felt the need to (finally) hone in my style. My MIL tried to mention capsule wardrobes to me in the past, but I never fully understood what they were, and surely wasn’t interested in paying attention to the details of it. Fashion and style just weren’t for me. Earlier this year however, as I’ve attempted to simplify my life in different areas, it occurred to me that maybe my closet could benefit from some sort of overhaul. I’d gone through my clothes in the past, but I had never assessed my closet as a whole. And finally, the thought of a capsule wardrobe started to make sense. Now I still have a long ways to go, but here’s what I know so far.

The scary before. I don't have a full after photo yet, as I'm waiting until I have all the clothes clean so you get the whole picture. 

A capsule wardrobe can be in several formats. You can have a year round capsule, which encompasses clothing for all seasons. You can have a capsule for the warm months and cold months, or broken down even smaller, to a capsule for each season. After checking out a few capsules from ClassyYetTrendy.com and Project333 from BeMoreWithLess.com, I decided to try a spring capsule. It is based off the French Minimalist Capsule from Classy Yet Trendy, with a few extras thrown in. And I did not worry about shoes, because, well, one step at a time. So like I do every year at the end of winter, I packed up all my cold season clothes. However this year I went a step further. I purchased a storage bin that fits under my bed, went through my closet and, based off the French Minimalist capsule, I started choosing what items I was going to keep our for spring, and everything else was going under the bed. I kept a lot of neutrals, along with some blues, a couple blushes, and stripes. So many stripes!

One of the main reasons I was finally drawn to a capsule wardrobe was the possibility of simplifying my morning routine. What I understand so far, is that each item you keep in your capsule should be able to be worn in at least three different ways. That way, no matter what you have clean, you’re guaranteed to have an outfit that will look polished and put together. It is so easy to buy an item that can only be worn with one other specific item. We really limit ourselves if we have a lot of these specialty items. Maybe you only wear it if in a certain mood. Maybe you can only wear one pair of pants with a unique shirt. When you’ve strategically placed items in your capsule wardrobe, they can be worn many different ways. Layered. Shirts with both skirts and pants. Colors that compliment each other and can be interchanged easily. There are some suggested methods to starting a capsule wardrobe (check here and here), but after you’re done, you end up with the pieces you love most, space in your closet for your clothes to breathe, and clothes that work well with each other, in many different ways. It takes a lot of frustration out of getting ready each day and feeling like you have a closet full of clothes, but nothing to actually wear.

Still has a little work, but my clothes can breathe now! Not to mention, these are my FAVES. 

My clothes used to be jammed in my closet pretty tight. And there were many pieces I was attached to for whatever reason, but didn’t actually like wearing. Some I didn’t wear because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel in it. And some I didn’t wear, simply because I had too many OTHER clothes in my closet that I’d choose to wear first. Now I have about 40 hangers in my closet. I don’t get overwhelmed when I go to choose my outfit for the day, because I get to pick from my favorites. And they all look pretty decent together, no matter how I wear them! I was a little nervous at first, but now that I’m over two weeks in, I am so glad I decided to try this! There’s a very high likelihood I’ll do it again for the summer months. I’ll keep many of the pieces I currently have out for spring, but tuck away some of the items meant for those cooler spring days, and pull out more tanks and short sleeve shirts, along with another dress or two. I love how my clothes aren’t jam-packed anymore. I like that I could pull out my nice wooden hangers again and scrap the plastic hangers (which I started using because they were smaller, and I was able to pack more clothes in my closet). And I love how easy it is to pull an outfit together now. If you’ve ever been on the fence about a closet makeover and/or a capsule wardrobe, I highly encourage you to try! Even a modified version to start. A foot in that direction is all it may take for you to get inspired and take action! Trust me, your closet will thank you.