HOW TO BUILD A CAPSULE WARDROBE – A BEGINNER’S GUIDE BY SOPHIE
It was new to me too
The whole idea and process of building and creating a successful capsule wardrobe was new to me too! I was intrigued by the idea for some time but I was also a bit intimidated. It’s just seemed so overwhelming – overhauling my whole wardrobe and maybe having to buy expensive clothing that I would end up not even wearing. I was also worried that I’d have to throw out all of my clothes and end up with like 10 measly pieces to work with.
I’m happy to tell you that it’s not that way at all. It’s not overwhelming and not super expensive either! AND you can keep some of your clothes from your existing wardrobe too. Bonus!
You can make it your own!
I researched my butt off and discovered that you certainly can use the principles of a capsule wardrobe and make it your own without having to break the bank or forgoing your style altogether. If you’re artsy – create a cool artsy capsule wardrobe. Are you a trend queen? Fine, there’s lots of room to add trendy items too. You’re a “stay at home” mom? Make your very own “stay at home mom” capsule. It’s easy to start and it can fit any lifestyle, budget and/or style.
In the end, it’s just being smart with the clothes you have and the clothes you’ll buy. I’ll show you how!
I’ve done the leg work for you!
This guide will help you make sense of capsule wardrobes and will help you create the best capsule wardrobe for your style, lifestyle and budget. I did all the leg work for you. All you have to do is go through this guide and you’ll have a good understanding of what a capsule wardrobe is and the next section (which will be coming soon) will take you through how to design and start your own. I’ve given you some examples using some of our wonderful affiliates. If you click on the link and decide to buy we’ll get a small commission which is used to pay to keep this site up and running. In that case, I thank you and appreciate it very much.
What the hell’s a capsule wardrobe anyways?
If you’re new to capsule wardrobes you probably have no idea what I’m referring to. So, here’s a quick description to get your started:
A capsule wardrobe is a minimalist wardrobe consisting of a pre-determined amount of KEY pieces and VARIABLE pieces. Both types of pieces are interchanged to create several different outfits. The goal of a capsule wardrobe is only to have pieces in your wardrobe that you actually wear and as minimal of pieces as possible. This keeps your wardrobe organized and saves you so much money!
So in short:
“A limited amount of KEY quality pieces + a limited amount of trendy VARIABLE pieces = several outfit choices, less stress and more $ in the bank.”
What’s the difference between key and variable pieces?
KEY PIECES:
A key piece, also sometimes called a staple pieces or a neutral piece is an item of clothing in your capsule wardrobe that generally never goes out of style. Neutral in colour, this piece is worn perfectly with almost any other item in your capsule wardrobe. Black, grey, white, brown and beige are the common colours of key pieces – this could also include very plain and monochromatic patterns such as small polka dots and stripes.
Examples of classic key pieces are: a good quality black pant, nice fitting skinny blue jeans, a classic black blazer, a good quality white blouse, a pair of high-end black shoes that go with anything, etc.
Quality is so important!
When you think of key pieces, QUALITY is the first thing that should come to mind. These pieces will last you several seasons, maybe even years, so they need to stand the test of time. After all, the very essence of a capsule wardrobe is to minimize and to save some of your hard-earned dough – which you will eventually do if you quit buying cheap clothing items over and over. Would you rather buy a pair of black dress pants every year or buy a quality pair that looks killer on and will last you 5 years?
Money saving tip
Thrift or vintage stores are great for getting key pieces for much, much cheaper. However, make sure they fit great and don’t be afraid to spend a bit of money on hemming/tailoring if need be. You’re most likely not gonna pay much for the piece at a thrift store so what’s an extra couple of dollars to get it to fit perfectly? (It’s a good idea to invest in tailoring on all of your key pieces whether or not you got them at a thrift store or not. Get ’em to fit like a glove – you’ll thank yourself after wearing them for two or three seasons and and still feeling damn sexy in ’em!) Also, check to make sure that the item still has some life left in it (no holes, not fading, etc.) I’ve found great items at second-hand stores that I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford.
From left to right, starting at the top: Black Blazer from ModCloth / Black Shoe from Lulus / A Chic Start Pants in Black from ModCloth / Cup O’ Jyo Duster (Beige Cardigan) from Olive + Oak / Dark Denim Skinny Jeans from ModCloth / White Blouse from SheIn / Little Black Dress (LBD) from Of Mercer.
VARIABLE PIECES:
Variable items are brightly coloured or patterned and considered trendy. For example: a floral patterned summer shirt, a brightly coloured pair of shorts, a one-shoulder top, a crop top, asymmetrical blouse, etc. Think of a fashion style, colour or pattern that is trending or was trending in any season and any item from those categories would be a variable item.
Trends come and go
Last summer it was rompers. A few winters ago it was thigh-high boots. Tie-dye made a comeback not too long ago and so did bell bottoms. Overalls were around not too long ago either! Getting the idea yet? Remember when patterned pants were the trend? That wasn’t too long ago. I loved the trend and I bought about four pairs. Do you think I still wear them? NOPE. Don’t get me wrong, I still think they’re cute and i’m all about being different and individuality but the thing is that I’m just not that into them anymore. I sort of grew out of them and got sick of them after awhile. That’s what usually happens with variable pieces whereas key pieces are timeless and classic. You could probably wear them 20 years down the road and still look relevant.
These are the pieces that you will most likely replace each season – if you want. This is your paint and your key pieces are your canvas. Think replaceable, colour, crazy and cute patterns, ruffles, clever designs, graphic tees, textures, etc. – this is where you can pick the cute patterned shirt or the bright pink pants. Have fun with it and pick the items that most represent your style.
Don’t break the bank for these
You don’t have to get quality pieces for your variable options. In fact, it’s probably smart not to spend too much money on these pieces because they’ll most likely be absolute next season. However, this depends mostly on your personal style. You may really like a variable item and decide to carry it forward to several other seasons.
From left to right, starting at the top: Pixel Blouse from ModCloth / Prime Heel in Dandelion from ModCloth / Maui Mountains Indigo Blue Tie-Dye Off-the-Shoulder Romper from Lulus / Mind Your Cone Business Blazer by ModCloth / Fashion Leaves Hair Accessory from Cupshe / Playtime Romper by Olive + Oak / Sparkling Sensation Necklace from ModCloth
Another word about KEY PIECES:
They ain’t gonna WOW you! Well, those pumps above are pretty wow but I digress. Seriously, these pieces are not going to get noticed as much and they’re definitely not head turners. You’ll get bored shopping for them and it might be hard to reason spending more on them. Some would say they’re boring pieces of clothing– yeah on their own, they are. That’s ok though. If the piece is timeless, looked great on and will go with anything. You’ve got yourself a winner! But before handing over your credit card, ask yourself these quick questions: Will I be able to wear this three years from now and will it still in fashion? Is it of good quality? If the answer is “no”, “not sure” or “maybe” – don’t buy it and move on!
How can they be worn together?
It’s super easy! Once you’ve designed your wardrobe and have all your key and variable pieces you’ll figure out all of the outfits you can make by mixing and matching all of your pieces. Take quick pictures of the combinations that you make and pin them to the inside of your closet door. Do the same thing when you find a new outfit combo that you like. You’ll be surprised how many outfits you can make out of few items of clothing. Take a look at the examples below:
Some other examples:
How do you start?
To get started you’ll have to give yourself 5 weeks. Seems a bit long but it’s necessary. During these first weeks you’ll start organizing and figuring out what you’re going to keep from your existing wardrobe and what you need to buy. You’ll also design and slowly start building your new capsule wardrobe.
The following is the exact 5 week schedule that I followed and it worked perfectly. I would recommend following it as best as you can. At the very very least, go through the de-cluttering exercise below.
WEEK 1-3: ORGANIZING AND DE-CLUTTERING:
Determine and organize what will be in your capsule wardrobe.
a) Start designing your capsule wardrobe.
Get a pen and paper out and jot down the following questions: What categories of your wardrobe do you want to include? Do you want to include your accessories such as scarves, bags, etc.? What about your workout clothes or lounge wear? Answer them with as much detail as you can.
What you decide to include in your wardrobe is completely up to you.
The structure of your capsule wardrobe will based on this. So, the number of pieces you’ll use as key and variable pieces will be determined on how what you want to include in the capsule wardrobe. For example, take a look at what I decided that I would not include the following: Winter coat, boots, hats, mittens, scarves, etc. (Because sometimes you need to look ridiculous to keep warm) Accessories such as jewelery, eyeglasses, headbands, bags, purses and scarves. Workout clothes and pyjamas/lounge wear. Bathing suits / beach wear. Formal attire by which I’m talking black tie affairs and weddings and such. Underwear, socks and bras.
That means that I won’t have restrictions on these items and they won’t be included in my key or variable items spots. However, to save money I will try my best to buy pieces from these categories that can be used for more than one season and that are somewhat classic and timeless.
b) Declutter as much as you can.
What do you actually wear? And what can you actually use in your new capsule wardrobe? Put your current wardrobe to the test by trying a simple exercise:
WARDROBE DE-CLUTTERING BOOTCAMP:
Make sure all your laundry is done and everything is folded and/or hung up where its suppose to be. Turn ALL your hangers in your closet the opposite way and turn ALL your clothing in drawers/shelves inside out. Put a reminder in your phone or write a note on your calendar for 3 weeks from this day (if you want to be really strict, use 1 or 2 weeks instead). After you use a piece of clothing toss it in the laundry basket. When it’s nice and clean again, hang it or put it away in the drawer the proper way (hung the proper way and folded properly).
At the 3 week mark you’ll discover exactly what you wear on a regular basis. And guest what? If you wore it, it’s clothes that you actually like and feel good in. I was genuinely surprised at how little of my wardrobe I actually wore.
Here comes the hard part:
All of the remaining items are to be tossed into a garbage bag or storage container for now. Store it in another room or closet where you won’t see it.
At this point, it’s also a good idea to organize and de-clutter other areas of your wardrobe. For example, even though I’m not including pyjamas or lounge wear into my capsule wardrobe – I followed the above exercise with them too – just to make some room in my drawers.
Follow the tutorial for the Underwear Drawer Organizer to organize your sock/underwear drawers. You’re welcome in advance - Just saying! lol. This will completely transform your dreaded first drawer. It’s really simple and quick to make and so worth it! It keeps your drawer nice and organized and your brain clutter free! It was a nice little compliment to my new wardrobe.
WEEK 4 & 5: DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING:
This is where the magic really happens. The next two weeks are completely dedicated to designing and implementing your capsule wardrobe. You’ll design exactly how you want to structure your capsule wardrobe and how many key and variable pieces you’ll need to fit your lifestyle, budget and fashion style. This includes incorporating some of the items that you’ve saved from your previous wardrobe after completing the decluttering exercise above.
This second part of the guide is COMING SOON. In the meantime, work on decluttering and organizing.
Sign up for the NEWSLETTER and we’ll let you know when the second part of this guide is live (late March 2017).
Things to think about:
The items that you keep/buy will have to suit your lifestyle:
If you’re a stay at home mom, you’re not going to need business attire, you’ll most likely need clothes that are comfortable but presentable and probably a few key pieces that would dress you up, if need be.
On the other hand, if you’re a secretary at a law office, then you’ll most likely need to fill your capsule wardrobe with business attire with a few other pieces that you can use on the weekends.
You may need more than one capsule wardrobe:
Number of seasons
I live on the east coast of Canada and we have four seasons but most years it feels like we only have two: winter and summer. Our spring and fall are usually very short-lived and the weather is often unpredictable. So, for me, four capsules wardrobes would be overkill. Two capsule wardrobes work better – one for colder weather and one for warmer weather. I also will certainly be using items from the winter capsule into the summer and vice versa – such as jeans and t-shirts but I definitely won’t wear shorts in the winter!
If you’re lucky
Because of this, the number of items that I’ll be needing in each wardrobe would be differ from someone who only needs one capsule all year (lucky duck!) For that person, she would want to add a few more items to her key and variable pieces so she can have more outfits to play with and to keep it interesting. The pieces would also be quite different from mine – she might live somewhere where wearing pants and long sleeves in considered foolish (because of the weather of course!!! 
)
The same principle applies if you have 4 distinct seasons – you’d create 4 wardrobes with fewer items.
The items that you keep/buy should suit your personal style – to some extent:
If you’re a boho-hippie chick, don’t buy blazers and fitted slacks for your key pieces. You won’t build a successful wardrobe if that’s the case. Instead, get a nice cardigan and boot cut jeans. Dress it up with some chandelier earring and a fringe purse. See what I mean? You can still buy key pieces that are neutral and timeless but still in your style.
Key pieces will be the items that will be challenging to look for to fit your style but remember that you have those variable pieces to work with and my favourite: ACCESSORIES!
We don’t all have to look like business women if we don’t want to.
Are there any rules?
Yes but only ONE and no exceptions.
You can ONLY buy items to fill the spots in your capsule wardrobe X the number of capsules you have per year.
Let me explain it a bit further: if you’ve decided to give yourself 6 key items and 6 variable items – your only allowed to fill those spots ONCE per SEASON.
As I’ve mentioned above – personally, I need two capsules, one for spring/summer and one for fall/winter. So I’d only be able to fill each pre-determined spots in my wardrobe twice per year. And that’s if I want to – I don’t need to buy or replace all the items if I feel like my wardrobe is still interesting and works for that particular season, of course.
There’s an art to it
Let’s say I find a top in mid-summer for a spot in my key piece s– I can buy it and use it but I can only replace it one more time during that year because as i’ve mentioned before, I have two capsules and can only replace each item the number of capsules I have in one year. If this applied to the person who has one capsule per year, she wouldn’t be able to replace it until next year. If she really wanted the top, she would have to use up another spot in her capsule. Get it?
What I discovered this did is it makes you really think about whether or not the piece you want will fit in your capsule wardrobe, if it’ll be a key or variable piece and if you actually really want it.
It will make more sense once you read the second part of the guide which is COMING SOON (March 2017).
Say goodbye to thoughtless spending on clothes and say hello to an organized and stylish wardrobe that you’ll feel great in!
Stay tuned for the second part of the guide -> Designing & Implementing Your New Capsule Wardrobe:
Coming late March 2017 — > very soon!
I’ll show you how to take the information from this article and start your new capsule wardrobe from scratch. If you followed this guide, the next step is a breeze! You’ll learn how to figure out how many capsules you need, how many key and variable pieces you’ll need, how to work with colour and much, much more.
Be notified when the next part of this guide is live, sign up for our NEWSLETTER now!
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