When I started planning my 52 goals for this year, I knew that I wanted to factor in something to do with my wardrobe, and lack of fashion sense (seriously, I have none). I also knew that with my weight loss, I would be at a point where I would be forced to buy new clothes.
So with all that in mind, the idea of a capsule wardrobe became very appealing.
Welcome to my 52-in-52 recap of starting a Capsule Wardrobe, or as it’s more informally known, this rookie tries to become fashionable.
What is a Capsule Wardrobe
A capsule wardrobe is basically creating a “mix and match” collection, where each piece can be worn with other pieces to create a large combination of outfits. There are quite a few benefits:
- Save time: you can pick outfits pretty quickly
- Save money: instead of buying a long list of items, you keep your purchases intentional, and preferably high-quality, so they last a lot longer.
- Less waste: there’s less of a focus on fast fashion, so it’s my little way of “doing my part”
- Easier packing: less need to pack a lot of outfits, since you can create a heap of combos
This honestly might be how most people just naturally structure their wardrobe, but it wasn’t for me. I was never intentional with my purchases. I just settled on anything that fit, and then hoped for the best when it came to getting dressed.
What you need for a Capsule Wardrobe
There is a huge rabbit hole when it comes to capsule wardrobes, so it depends on how far you want to get into it. On the surface, some varying rules help work out what to buy or pack, for example:
- 3-3-3 rule: 3 bottoms, 3 tops, 3 pairs of shoes.
- 5-4-3-2-1 rule: 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 dresses or layers, and 1 set of accessories.
And so on.
I started making a bullet journal so that I could try to capture what I have now, and then develop a bit of a “lookbook” on the different outfits that I create. The plan was that when I need to plan some outfits, I could just flick through that for options.
Well, I’ve started the lookbook, but due to time, I haven’t gotten much further than drawing some images at the front to try (kind of like an inventory). I do think it looks pretty cool so far, though.
Other than that, I had to go shopping and buy some clothes recently. I had reached a point where I didn’t have jeans that fit, unless I wanted to pretend I was MC Hammer and wearing parachute pants – my skinny jeans were now baggy jeans.
So, my hand was forced, and it was time to dive into my first capsule wardrobe.
My Work Capsule Wardrobe
Recently, I had the chance to go to Melbourne for work and spend several days with my work colleagues. I had also extended my stay to the weekend, and my husband flew down Friday night. We spent the weekend catching up with friends and visiting some wineries.
So when it came to packing, I needed to figure out a capsule wardrobe that would not only last the working week, but also something a bit nicer for dinners and wineries. We dress pretty casually for our work retreats, so no formal business attire was required. Oh, but Melbourne was cold (it’s winter in Australia right now).
Disclaimer: At no point do I declare myself to be a fashion icon. These outfits might be considered terrible. Or basic. I also acknowledge my lack of dusting on the mirror, sorry.
After losing a lot of weight this year, I’m also still new to feeling semi-comfortable in front of a mirror. Taking/sharing selfies still makes me nervous, let alone sharing them. Yikes.
Long story short – I need to get better at taking photos showing off outfits.
I’ve organised the outfits based on the bottoms and the different variants that I came up with for those. At the end, I’ll recap everything I had packed.
Bottom 1 – Brown Skirt
Yes, this was ironed before I wore it.
I had a couple of nighttime or formal events – going out for dinner with my colleagues, or on the weekend, visiting some wineries. When I bought this skirt, I thought it would pair nicely with some fleece-lined stockings and either my brown or black boots.
My brown boots ended up making the cut, and my black boots stayed home (I had no other outfit to wear them with).
I paired it with a brown sweater and a long-sleeved black tee underneath for warmth.
Bottom 2 – Jeans
My jeans were perfectly suited to match the brown and charcoal sweaters. I mixed and matched between my boots and my Converse. The thick outer layers were only needed when I was outside, but I wanted to see how they all looked together.
I did end up leaving the “Inspector Gadget” trench at home. It was bulky, and I didn’t have enough reason to wear it; it felt too formal, and my puffer was much better for the temperatures.
Bottom 3 – Camo Pants
My inner 90s baby is so excited, because I cannot believe these are in trend again! I grew up thinking Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam was the coolest, and in the grunge era, cargo pants were definitely in.
So when I saw these at the shops, I knew I was getting them.
I also paired these pants with a black hoodie (not pictured) as my flight outfit, and ended up leaving the denim jacket at home (it wasn’t warm enough for an outer layer, and unnecessary inside). But these pants go great with the denim jacket and some other tees that I have at home, so these pants still fit the capsule wardrobe requirements.
I did end up wearing them with just a plain black long-sleeve shirt, the outfit on the right, for the last day of our working week. Spot the different selfie, taken using the hotel mirror this time. Also, my freshly washed and straightened hair got a shout-out by a workmate for looking nice, yay!
Bottom 4 – Corduroys
My sister and I have a running joke that when you wear white pants, you’ve officially hit middle age.
Well, I’m here.
The striped shirt and trench both stayed home (not sure I love that outfit anyway). I only wore these once on the trip, with the brown sweater.
To be honest, I don’t think I loved this outfit. It was very comfy and warm, though. I think in the future I’d like to style this with just the black long sleeve top, maybe a belt, some different shoes… I don’t know, something. Maybe a beige jacket? The white trench didn’t look great with it, in my opinion. I think these pants have some options for the future, but probably weren’t the most flexible option to pack for this trip.
What I ended up packing
All up, I ended up following the 5-4-3-2-1 rule:
- 5 tops: 2 x long sleeve black tees, 1 x white long sleeve tee, 1 x white short sleeve tee, and 1 x tank thermal top. I almost always had a jumper on though so it was rare anyone saw these tops anyway.
- 4 bottoms: 1 x jeans, 1 x camo, 1 x brown skirt, 1 x white corduroys.
- 3 shoes: 1 x brown boots, 1 x Converse, 1 x runners (they were for plane days, and didn’t make any outfit above.
- 2 layers: 1 x brown jumper, 1 x charcoal jumper.
- 1 accessory: I had a scarf that I packed, not pictured above.
All up, I think the trip was a success, packing-wise.
I did end up packing my swimmers and workout clothes. I didn’t end up using the heated pool or spa, and I did try to go to the hotel gym one day, but the lift wouldn’t take me to that level. I ended up doing a workout in my room every day, typically in just my undies (overshare warning). But I’d packed multiple workout clothes, because if I get sweaty, I don’t want to re-wear my clothes, ew.
My only other thought would be that all these clothes still felt bulky. I was there for 6 days all up, and had to use a rather large bag. My hope is that in summer I won’t need as much room. Shorts, shirts, and dresses will definitely take up less space. I’ll probably still overpack workout gear, let’s be honest.
I have a holiday coming up later in the year and plan on doing another capsule wardrobe for that – summer style. So we’ll see how I go with round 2!
Have you ever tried using a capsule wardrobe before, or do you just wing it like I used to? Are you a pack-too-much or pack-too-little traveller?
