a capsule wardrobe doesn't need to be perfect

I recently did an Instagram poll to see how people were feeling about capsule wardrobes. The majority of people were still intrigued by them, but also completely daunted by how to go about making one. 

It made me think about how capsule wardrobes have become just another thing to do perfectly, to feel like we’re not measuring up to, that we don’t have the right things for. 

Do you mostly wear the same things over and over? Guess what? Whether you know it or not, you have a capsule wardrobe. 

When I asked what the most daunting aspect of creating a capsule wardrobe was, the most common answer was going through the entire wardrobe and making decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of.

But what if I told you you don’t have to go through your entire wardrobe to make a capsule? What if it’s just an exercise you do to gain clarity around what you need and want to wear? What if a capsule wardrobe can be made up of the things that are actually comfortable and easy and lounge-friendly? What if you didn’t have to buy all new clothes to create a capsule? 

My version of a capsule wardrobe doesn’t involve going through all your clothes or shopping for new stuff. Those are totally different tasks (ones we tackle in the Making Space course). My version of a capsule wardrobe is pulling out all of the things you already know you wear and storing the rest of it. 

There are so many decisions to make these days. What time to go grocery shopping to encounter the fewest number of people. Whether you should do virtual school, or homeschool, or hybrid school. If you should have socially distanced social visits and how far away you should be and if you should wear a mask. 

If you can make just a few less decisions in your day when getting dressed, I’m all for it. I made you a guide in case you want to try it:

should a minimalist personal stylist get free stuff?

When sponsored content, affiliate linking, and gifted products first started becoming common in the world of blogging, I made a conscious decision not to engage. Blogging isn’t my actual business, minimalist personal styling is, and with very little childcare, I didn’t have the extra time to devote to it. 

Even more than that, I had a philosophical objection. There’s a big difference between having a “minimalist” style and actually *being* minimalist. If someone is constantly receiving new items from brands to review, can they really be maintaining a minimalist wardrobe?

I also don’t want to perpetrate the societal norm of always needing new things. It may be boring to wear the same things all the time, but it is the most ethical, frugal, and environmentally friendly way to dress. 

Disclaimer: this does *not* mean that I don’t think people should get paid for blogging. I think of blogs as akin to magazines. Bloggers give us great content to read and enjoy, and they make money for their time by selling products in different ways. That’s just not what *my* business is, and it doesn’t align with the message of my business (basically: less is more). 

Now that I’m expanding my business, I wanted to explore that avenue of revenue (hey that rhymes), but in a minimalist way. I also recommend products to my clients all the time, and having the ability to try things serves my clients’ needs. 

When creating my fall capsule wardrobe, I made a list of things I could use for fall. One of the items on my wishlist was a pair of not-so-skinny jeans. 

I tried the 90’s Cheeky jean from Everlane, the Mom jean from Mott & Bow, and with my own money, I purchased the Classic Straight from Madewell (via Nordstrom). These items were “gifted”, which means they were given to me free of charge, but I was not paid to write this post (that would be “sponsored” content). I am now an affiliate for Everlane and Mott & Bow, which means that I have specific links to products I share about, and I get paid a commission if a purchase is made. If you’re curious about the official designations, it’s all here.

On to the honest review! (Note on sizing: never go by size, go by measurements! My measurements are 31” at my natural waist, 33” at my belly button, and 39” at my hips)

First up, I honestly don’t think I’m cool enough for the Everlane Cheeky jean. The cut is really unique, but a little too close to the SNL mom jeans skit on me. I’m wearing a size 28 in Medium Blue here, and it’s possible I could have gone down a size. I always recommend squeezing into the smallest size of denim you can, since they’ll always give a little after wearing. Another deal breaker is the button fly. Thanks to two pregnancies, I don’t have time to spare when getting to the bathroom ;)

The Mom jean from Mott & Bow in Ridge, Medium/Dark blue was my second favorite. The fit was great and they’re super comfortable. The 26” inseam length is right where I like my hem to hit, above the boot shaft. I’m wearing a size 27. Ultimately, I just wanted a slightly lighter wash. Mott & Bow also sent me the fitted v-neck Marcy t-shirt to try, which I’m wearing in all these photos. This is possibly the softest tee I’ve ever touched. The fit is incredible, a little slouchy, but not baggy. I’m wearing a size medium. My only wish is that it was slightly thicker fabric. It’s fine with a nude bra, and is definitely not as sheer as most tees seem to be these days, but it’s not completely opaque either. I highly recommend it, and am adding it to my minimalist wardrobe.

For me, the Classic Straight from Madewell is the best option. Often, you find a denim brand that works for you, and Madewell has for me. They’re the right mix of mom jean and wearable, and the wash is what I was looking for. Often the more relaxed styles from Madewell run really big, and that’s true for these, I’m wearing a 26 (I wear a 28 in the High Rise Skinny).

Since I only need one pair of jeans to fill this need in my wardrobe, and even though they were free to me, I returned the other two pairs. I kept the pair that was best, even though it cost me money. However, they may still work for you, and you can still support me as an affiliate of Everlane and Mott & Bow by shopping through the links in this post. The great thing about both of these retailers is that their products are ethically made (Madewell’s are not). In addition, even though the Madewell jeans weren’t gifted, the link to the jeans is an affiliate link, so I get a few cents when you click through to that one too. 

What do you think? How do you feel about sponsored content and gifted items? Is it possible to do it in a minimalist way? In addition to the Mott & Bow tee, I also kept a pair of boots from Everlane, so stay tuned for that review!

Want to work together? For the month of October 2019, I’m offering 20% the price of my virtual personal styling packages. Get in touch!

10 piece maternity capsule wardrobe

A fun challenge that goes around Instagram periodically is the 10x10 challenge, created by Lee from the Style Bee blog. Essentially you choose 10 pieces to mix and match for 10 days. I've done it a few times, but wasn't sure if I was up to it late in my pregnancy. I'm glad I decided to go for it, because I came up with some fun new outfits and hopefully a little maternity style inspiration. 

Here are the 9 pieces of clothing I chose: 2 tank tops, 2 tops, 2 pairs of pants, 1 pair of jeans, and 2 dresses. I also chose two pairs of shoes, so technically I had 11 official pieces instead of 10. That's cool, I always say do what works for you. By doing some creative layering, it was easy to come up with 10 outfits. 

What do you think? Doable? I found it to be just a fun exercise when you've gotten a little bored with your wardrobe. Try it! 

WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN CAPSULE WARDROBE? GET MY CAPSULE WARDROBE WORKSHEET AND EMAILS LEADING YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS - AFTER 5 DAYS YOU'LL HAVE A CAPSULE READY TO GO! 

make your capsule wardrobe work for you + a giveaway

So it’s November 10, and I’m just now getting around to posting my “fall” capsule wardrobe. I really felt bad about that for quite some time, but you know what? Life was busy in October, the weather was 100 degrees, and that’s just not when it worked for me. But that’s the thing - capsule wardrobes only work when they work for you. If the “rules” don’t work for you, make up new ones.

Even a few weeks into this capsule, there are a few other things that are not working for me. If it’s not really warm, I just can’t make myself do the dress or the wide leg crops. I hate being cold! So those won’t get a lot of use. For winter, most of this will stay the same, but I purposely kept a few sweaters out of the fall capsule to save to have something “new” to pull out in January or February. To my surprise, I haven’t actually purchased anything new for fall, except for a $6 secondhand layering tee. There are a few things I purchased at the end of last winter that are just now showing up, but nothing purchased recently. I may find something I need to add midway through the season or I may not.

So here’s my not-perfect fall capsule, with some not-perfect photos to accompany it. 

*purchased or made ethically

TOPS:

First row: *Elizabeth Suzann Sullivan sweater, purchased secondhand, similar; *Free people long cardigan, purchased secondhand, similar; *Target striped black and white tee, thrifted; *LulaRoe Irma tunic, purchased secondhand; *Elizabeth Suzann artist smock

Second row: MOD black and white patterned blouse; Neiman Marcus cashmere poncho, similar; *Elizabeth Suzann black linen Harper tunic; *Vintage sweater, purchased secondhand; *Vince taupe sweater, purchased secondhand

Third row: *Off white long sleeve tee, Piko 1988, purchased secondhand; *Liz Clairborne cardigan, thrfited; *COS blue and white striped top, thrifted (Madewell Courier shirt is similar, also easy to find used on Poshmark); *Black Michael Stars dress, purchased secondhand, similar; *J. Crew blue and white striped top, purchased secondhand

BOTTOMS: *AG light wash jeans; *Madewell high waist dark wash jeans, purchased secondhand; Old Navy rust cropped pants, similar, similar; Madewell slim boyjean; Express black pants; *Everlane high waisted cropped pants; *Pact black leggings; *Black AG high waisted jeans (not pictured, oops!)

SHOES: Danskos; Nine West black chelsea boots, similar; Eileen Fisher mules ; Blondo booties; Vaneli black suede block heel ankle boots

Read all my blog posts about capsule wardrobes here.  Download my Capsule Wardrobe Worksheet here. 

This post contains affiliate links, which may generate a few cents of revenue per click

summer capsule wardrobe

It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve done an official capsule wardrobe and blogged about it. Starting with fall of 2015, I did a few rounds (see all my capsule wardrobe blog posts here, including how to do your own) and I learned so much from doing it that I thought I’d give it another go and see if I could apply any of the knowledge I acquired.

As a quick refresher, a capsule wardrobe is a limited number of pieces that can be easily mixed and matched and that you wear for a determined length of time. Capsule wardrobes have been around since the 70's, but have experienced a resurgence in recent years. I usually go by the rules outlined by Courtney Carver of Project 333 (33 items for 3 months).

I haven’t ever done a summer capsule, which seems like a unique challenge. It’ll be easier than a cold weather round because you need fewer overall pieces of clothing. It’ll be harder because since there’s not much layering, you have fewer combinations you can make.

This is what I've been wearing since the beginning of June and will continue to wear until the end of August. As always, you need to be realistic about the ways you’ll be spending your time in this season. I know that in this three month period, I’ll be momming or working from home approximately 75% of the time, seeing clients 24% of the time, and dressing up 1% ;) Since I can assume that it'll be blazing hot in St. Louis for most of that time, most of my clothes need to be comfy, kid-proof, and cool. I marked the mom-appropriate items in the list with an *, and it works out to about 81% of my capsule. No surprise, most of my items are black, white, or denim, with a few patterns and a bit of rust and blue.

There are lots of different ways you can adapt the capsule wardrobe “rules” to fit your needs. For this round, I’m including clothing items and shoes, but not accessories, and I've ended up with 32 items. If I came across a great jumpsuit or go-anywhere dress, I still have some room to add it, so I'm not adhering to the "no shopping during the capsule" rule. 

From top left:

*1) Black tee: thrifted, similar ethical version
*2) Rust top: thrifted, similar
*3) Black and white ikat print top: gift from a friend
*4) Ivory crop top: ethically made, Elizabeth Suzann
*5) Indestructible poly blend black top: Forever 21 from several years ago, knockoff of this one
*6) Blue and white striped boxy shirt: thrifted, COS, similar here 
7) Drapy white top: James Perse, no longer available
8) Embroidered white top: Joie Mahan blouse (on ebay in blush), similar
9) Boxy white blouse: Vince, no longer available, but two similar options, plus one ethical option
*10) Patterned cropped top: Eileen Fisher, no longer available
*11) Drapy black dress: ethically made, Hackwith Design House, also available in plus
*12) Black shift dress: Michael Stars, purchased at consignment
*13) Blue and white striped dress: thrifted, similar 
*14) Black linen tunic: ethically made, Elizabeth Suzann
*15) Linen dress: Eileen Fisher, no longer available, similar ethically made version
*16) Light wash skinny jeans: ethically made, AG Jeans, similar on a budget
*17) Rust culottes: Old Navy, similar
*18) Denim cutoffs: vintage from Otis and Maclain
*19) Black culottes: Madewell, no longer available, similar, similar on a budget, similar plus size
*20) Boyfriend jeans: Madewell
*21) Brown flat sandals: mine are old from LOFT, pictured from Old Navy, ethical version
22) Nude wedge sandals: Earth, also search "Earth Coriander Sandal" on ebay
*23) Black thong sandals: Birkenstock "Gizeh"
24) Black wedge sandals: Nine West, similar, similar on a budget
*25) Black stacked heel sandals: Madewell "Marie", no longer available, similar 
Not pictured:
26) Crop top: Living Collective
*27) White top, similar to Vince top pictured, but kid-friendly: The Limited
*28) White tee: thrifted
*29) Black and white patterned shorts: old via Rack+Clutch
*30) Brown ankle boots: Blondo 
*31) H&M red patterned tank top
*32) Thrifted patterned caftan dress

The best part for me about doing a capsule wardrobe is looking in my closet and just seeing these few options. Hardly any decision making necessary! Would you do it?

Want your own capsule wardrobe? Go here to sign up for my 5 day capsule creation challenge! You'll get my capsule planner and emails leading you through the process of setting up your capsule! 

If the thought of having fewer clothes sounds dreamy to you, but you've had trouble paring down, go here for more info about my online course called making space. The course is 4 weeks long. It's for anyone who’s ever opened their closet and thought “I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear” or who’s tried cleaning out their closet on their own and wasn’t able to make decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. The four modules are: 1) Defining your Style, 2) How to Edit, 3) Overcoming Stumbling Blocks, and 4) Continuing the Momentum Mindfully. I'll walk you through all the hard parts and you'll end up with a closet full of only things you love and wear. 

This post contains affiliate links, which may generate a few cents of income for mindful closet when clicked. 

a 10 piece eileen fisher capsule wardrobe

There are always different capsule wardrobe challenges going around the internet. In recent memory, there were 30x30 (30 pieces for 30 days), then Project 333 (33 pieces for 3 months), then the Unfancy capsule (37 pieces for 3 months). Currently, 10x10 (10 items for 10 days) is popular. Since I wanted to introduce you all to how versatile, practical, and useful Eileen Fisher clothing is, I thought I’d take it a little further and see how many outfits I could get with only 10 pieces of clothing.

As when I have chosen my own capsules (to see all my capsule wardrobe blog posts, go here), I started with more and edited it down to 10 items. I made sure to have basic tops (white tee, striped tee, and dressy shell) and bottoms (dark wash jeans and black pants). I wanted to have a versatile dress and lots of top layers that would go with every foundational piece for lots of combinations.

Here are the 10 Eileen Fisher pieces: Sleeveless Silk Long Shell, Dolman Sleeved Linen Tunic, Long Sleeve Jersey Top, Long Draped Open Cardigan, Fisher Project Wool Poncho Top, Fine Merino Birdseye Angle Front Jacket, Wool Blend Twill Graph Serape, Slim Ponte Pant, Washable Silk Dress, and Soft Stretch Skinny Jean. 

You may have noticed that the prices on these items are higher than some I might usually post. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, this is an amazing company. When you pay a higher price for an Eileen Fisher item, you're paying for the fact that these are classic pieces made with quality fabrics that won't be out of style in six months. You're paying for the fact that the items are made with textiles that are produced with less waste and fewer chemicals. You're paying for the fact that this company actually tracks the supply chain of what its products are made of to ensure that when they say it's organic cotton, it's actually organic cotton.  You're paying for the fact that this company is committed to human rights and not only monitors its factories for violations but is beginning to do cell phone surveys of workers to allow them a voice.

There are also many ways to get discounted Eileen Fisher pieces. I've found pieces on eBay, at consignment stores, Nordstrom Rack and on sale at the Eileen Fisher store. If you can shift your buying from 4 fast fashion pieces to 1 discounted ethically-made piece, you'll be doing good at the same time as you reduce your overwhelm from excess in your closet. 

But back to the outfits! All in all, I came up with 24, a good month's worth of looks for both casual and dressy work and play occasions. 

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To create your OWN capsule wardrobe, go here to sign up for my super easy 5 day capsule creation challenge. After just 5 days, you’ll have a capsule ready to go, without buying anything new!

P.S. Just in case you were wondering, Eileen Fisher isn't paying me for this post or this event, I just really believe in the company. P.P.S. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on them, I get a few cents, but it costs you nothing.