This spring, I am trying out a capsule wardrobe for the first time. It's a new-ish idea to me and if it's new to you too, here are the basics:
-Choose a number of clothing items to wear for the season and stick with it. Clothing items include pants, tops, dresses, shoes, and outerwear. Clothing items do not include socks, pajamas, or yard work clothes. For reference, my number is 40.
-Once you have completed your capsule for the season, do not shop for clothes again until roughly two weeks before the next season begins. This part is extra exciting for me because I feel like I'm always "on the lookout" for one piece or another and now I can just not be. In fact, there were a couple of pieces I was hoping to find for my spring capsule, but I did not find them before my self-imposed deadline (the first day of spring), so I'm going to do without them.
-Make sure the items in your capsule are really versatile and also work well together. This is key because I always end up with a shirt that I love, but that somehow doesn't go with any of my pants/shorts/skirts. No more! When building my capsule, if I was considering a shirt, I could easily check my list and see what bottom pieces I'd have to pair it with and then decide accordingly.
Now depending on what type of person you are, this probably either sounds awesome or like torture. To me, it's awesome. I don't like to own a lot of things and I don't mind wearing the same type of clothing over and over, provided that I love it. I also really like neutral colors for clothing, but sometimes try to force myself to buy bright colors because it seems like I should. No more! My capsule has at least 4 gray shirts! (I really do have a few colored pieces in there too, the majority are just neutrals.)
It's so weird for me to write about clothing or fashion, because I don't consider myself at all fashionable. In fact, sometimes I'll have to give an interview for some online magazine or blog about trends in men's fashion and although I do research trends in men's fashion, I still don't necessarily feel qualified to speak on their behalf. You know, the trends.
But, it has been really good for me to spend some time thinking about what I feel good wearing. In fact, I noticed a few things that were totally surprising to me-
1. I love shirts that are not 100% cotton. I always thought cotton shirts were my favorite, but then I got a couple of shirts made with viscose (semi-synthetic) and they are perfect! The perfect drape! Not too clingy! Look great even after washing!
2. I love high waisted pants. This makes me feel totally old and I don't even care anymore because I'm so darn comfortable in my own pants. I realized I was old when I finally tried on a pair of high waisted jeans and thought "these aren't high at all!" I can crawl around on the floor and play cars all day in these pants and they stay right where they should.
Just so you know, I am not turning into a fashion blogger. You will probably never see pictures on this blog of me wearing the outfits in my spring capsule. But, it is something I've been thinking about and working on a great deal and I find minimalism very interesting, so I may report back towards the end of the season on how things went and if I plan to do it again. I also really like to plan ahead, so it was fun for me to think about things like "how many dresses will I need over the next three months?" and "can I wear these shoes when it's still chilly out in the mornings, but also when it's 80 degrees by noon?"
If you enjoy things like fashion bloggers though, you should check out Caroline at Un-Fancy. I love her style and it is a lot of fun to see the outfits she puts together with just a few pieces to work with.
*The photos in this post are examples of some of the pieces in my spring capsule and were taken from the manufactures websites*
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