Have you ever considered a capsule wardrobe? It’s something that intrigues me but, despite my ongoing efforts to declutter my closet, I’ve never taken the leap. Today’s post is a guest post from one of my favourite bloggers. Bee from Mind Beauty Simplicity shares things to consider when building a capsule wardrobe.
5 Things to Consider When Building a Capsule Wardrobe
I’d first like to thank Michelle of Boomer Eco Crusader for giving me the opportunity to guest post on her blog. It’s quite the honor as I’ve been a reader of her blog for a few years now & we share similar beliefs with simple living. If you find this post interesting & inspiring, I’d love it if you’d check out my blog, Mind Beauty Simplicity. I will leave more details at the end of this post on where to follow me.
What is a capsule wardrobe? Ideally, it is a curated collection of pieces that can create a plethora of outfits without owning racks & racks of clothing. Courtney Carver, the author & blogger of the book, “Project 333” created a challenge to help others downsize their wardrobes & practice the art of a capsule wardrobe. According to her challenge, you are to whittle down your closet to 33 pieces to be then worn in the span of 3 months. I actually tried this out myself a few years ago & discovered how easy it is to own less clothing but still allow yourself with tons of outfit options to feel stylish & confident. If you’d like to read my experience with Project 333, click here.
By incorporating these practices, I’ve managed to downsize my own closet rather extremely through countless decluttering sessions. With that, I’ve come up with 5 key points to consider when wanting to downsize & create your own capsule wardrobe:
Choose Clothing That Fits Your Present Body
I’ve been guilty of storing clothing that is two sizes too small or even two sizes too big for reasons of thinking “what if.”
What if I lose that weight & I’m able to fit back into those jeans?
What if in the future I could use that oversized sweatshirt that’s still in really good shape?
Overtime, I’ve realized this mindset only causes more clutter, less space & clothing to just collect dust. And in most cases, I never reach for these categories of clothing again. It’s best to just declutter those items & focus on the body you have right now. If your body changes, it’s more exciting to go out & purchase a few newer items anyway. Clothing can lose its quality, or the style can become rather out of date. Treat yourself to some shopping in these cases & focus on your current size. You will ultimately feel far more confident without the useless clothing in your wardrobe.
Keep Styles & Shades That You Love
If you ever glanced at my wardrobe, you wouldn’t necessarily see my clothing lined up in color order. Over the years, I’ve come to realize not every shade is flattering to my skin tone. I usually stick to neutrals with the occasional pop of color. It’s important to glance at your clothing & ask yourself which styles & colors make you feel the most confident & the most like yourself.
Clothing Has An Expiration Date
With the world being heavily pro sustainable living – it can cause us to think we can’t get rid of clothing. News flash, you can & you should! You just have to find the right places to send them. Don’t allow yourself to keep that t-shirt with the pit stains or the pair of leggings with the holes in them. It’s ok to let them go. Donate to shelters, send some to friends [if still in good condition], sell them for extra cash or send them off to be repurposed at recycling centers. Just because you’ve owned a coat for twenty years doesn’t always mean you should hold onto it.
Use Project 333 As a Reference
If you are interested in owning a downsized wardrobe, why not try the project 333 method for fun. Go through your clothing & choose 33 items [ pants, tops, coats etc…] for the season & place everything else in a new location for the time being. I sometimes love using seasonal clothing racks & store the outfits I want to wear each season. In the Project 333 challenge items such as athletic wear, undergarments or accessories aren’t included in the talley. Once the challenge is up, you can go through the clothing you didn’t wear & do a decluttering session. It’s quite eye opening to see what you end up not missing.
Don’t Be a Follower
It’s rather easy to fall into the patterns of trends especially when consumerism is constantly pushed down our throats. You don’t necessarily need to buy new ultra mini Uggs or flared pants or leggings [unless you like them despite the trend]. Always dress for yourself. When I started focusing on capsule wardrobes, I leaned towards classic styles that would last decades or looks that flattered my body type. When you let go of the notion of following others, you not only save space in your wardrobe, but you also save money in your wallet.
Would you consider creating a capsule wardrobe this year?
I’m Bee & I’m a minimalist lifestyle blogger. If you enjoyed this post, please check out my blog: Mind Beauty Simplicity where I share my thoughts on intentional living, decluttering & other lifestyle topics. Also, follow me on my socials for updates & behind the scene content.
Thanks again to Bee for sharing these helpful tips with us. Please do drop by Mind Beauty Simplicity and check out some of her other posts.
For tips on closet decluttering and more, visit my Decluttering page.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts on creating a capsule wardrobe. Please drop us a comment below to tell us what you think.
I have been working toward having a more streamlined wardrobe and definitely pairing complimentary colors and sizes throughout has helped me declutter a ton of clothing. Great tips! 🙂
Thanks Layla. I’ve decluttered a lot of clothing but could definitely do more. Maybe I will try a capsule wardrobe for summer this year to see how it goes!
Great guest post !We try to go through our closet often to donates clothes,Shoes and accessories.
So happy to hear that Max. I think that’s the key of staying on top of things. Thanks for dropping by!
I’ve never heard of the 333 rule but I LOVE it! I’ve recently started shopping in charity shops a lot more and I’m determined to go through this year without buying any ‘new’ clothing. I wouldn’t say I have a capsule wardrobe exactly, but I have a number of go-to pieces that I keep all year round. I especially love the tip around shopping for your body shape now – I’ve been so guilty of buying stuff thinking “I’ll fit into that eventually” and it never happens!
At the beginning of 2020, I vowed to buy no new clothing for the year. The pandemic helped, but I ended up buying only 5 items the whole year. It helped to reset my relationship with buying clothes and made decluttering my closet so much easier.
Love this guest post. I’ve always loved the idea of a capsule wardrobe, and most of my recent years have been just me wearing a black tee (because my previous jobs used to allow for it). Now that my responsibilities are growing, I’ve found I need to add a couple more things like a jacket or collared shirt to the wardrobe though, lol. Thanks for this, Bee and Michelle!
Thanks for dropping by Stuart. I have to admit the more I hear about capsule wardrobes, the more I want to give it a try. I’d definitely have a hard time choosing one or two of my concert t-shirts though. They are my little indulgence that I just can’t part with.
Great guest post! We try to go through our closets often to donate clothes, shoes and accessories.
That’s a great habit to get into. I think it might be time for me to do another round.
I’m a huge fan of the capsule wardrobe…my wardrobe is pretty much like this…I have basic dresses and pant/top combos that are almost entirely black, and I have extras that give it fkair, whether cardigan, blazer , scarf or jewelry. I think I determined I need about 130 pieces excluding gym clothes. Most of my clothes are three season
That’s great. It definitely does make a difference. Does your 130 pieces include outerwear?
Yes. I realize I have a uniform of sorts…but it works for me. And I’m always curating. I realized yesterday that I have three sweaters past their prime
Being in a motor home, I’d say I have a capsule wardrobe 🤣 but I’d like to have more pieces that are interchangeable, so that will be my focus. I also have more warm than cold weather items, thinking we weren’t going to need them. Boy was I wrong! Arizona is experiencing a much colder season than normal this year. Just my luck. 😒
Ha ha. Yes, lack of space will do that. I have a small bedroom closet which helps to keep things under control as well.
I spent five days in Arizona several years ago. While I was there, I experienced a sandstorm, thunderstorm, hail, and the largest single day rainfall in Phoenix history so I can totally relate to your comment.
Wow! We’ve had more rain than usual, dust storms-short ones, and a few warm afternoons but not enough for me. I think I’ve only gone sleeveless four days out of the 3 months we’ve been in Yuma and Picacho Peak.
Oh wow. That is definitely cooler than normal!
Michelle, I wouldn’t say I have a capsule wardrobe necessarily, but I have pared things down over the years and do subscribe to the seasonal mode that Bee talked about, storing spring/summer away and only having fall/winter in the closet right now. I definitely donate used clothing as well so when I switch seasons that’s my give away time also. I have a sustainable blogger friend who, at least if the fabric is appropriate (like those very used t-shirts) will cut them up for rags that she uses over and over rather than using paper towels or paper napkins. She lives on an organic farm so the rags are used in managing all sorts of things around the farm as well. I think she’s even made rag rugs out of used clothing!
Wow. A rag rug sounds really cool!
When I got serious about decluttering my closet a couple of years ago, I set a goal to fit all my clothes in my small bedroom closet and dresser. That way I didn’t have to do the seasonal switchover. It also makes it easier to see just how many clothes I do own. That worked for me, although I’m still intrigued by the idea of a capsule wardrobe.
I know a lot of people use this formula and for some reason I think of it associated with women as they moved farther into business/corporate positions- which may very well be a stereotype on my part! I just picture reading articles focused on the idea of “dress for success” concept as women advanced in business roles and they all seemed to embrace that capsule wardrobe idea which makes me wonder if that whole concept is based in some way on men/business and the basic principles that men have their own capsule wardrobe ie: suits, ties, shirts- all interchangeable and at the ready?
That’s actually a really interesting thought, Deb. The fact that my office has moved to a much more casual dress code definitely enabled me to purge a LOT of my business clothes. The pieces I kept are items that can be mixed and matched easily so I suppose you could say I’ve already taken steps toward a capsule wardrobe.