Baby Steps to a Capsule Wardrobe
Have you been bitten by the capsule wardrobe bug yet?
I'm the size of a station wagon right now, but in the fall after we're deep into life with three little kids, I'm intrigued by the idea of opening my closet, seeing two feet of clothes, and loving every inch. My brain is losing its thinking capacity at breakneck speed, so not having to put energy toward shopping, putting together outfits, and even extra laundry sounds magical.
After reading dozens of blog posts, I wanted to crawl in a capsule wardrobe and die because it was so overwhelming. Then I ate a cookie, took a breath, and found my lazy genius way to get started. If you're also overwhelmed by the decision process, maybe this will help.
I started a Pinterest board.
I used words that fit my style in the search bar - casual, classic, simple - and scrolled through all the outfits. (Use your own words.) If I saw a photo that a) I liked, b) would work for my body type, and c) would work for my life as a stay-at-home-mom of tiny messy people, I pinned it.
I made a list of all the clothing pieces on the board.
After I pinned several dozen photos, I made a list. If there was an outfit with black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a gray cardigan, I would write down those items. Then as I went through the board, I'd make tally marks next to clothing items that had already made an appearance. It turns out, a lot of pieces repeated themselves way more than I anticipated.
I downloaded the app "Stylebook."
You know those mood boards of clothes? This app makes those but out of your own wardrobe! Bonkers love it. I'm sure it will be hugely helpful when my own clothes are in the app, but for research, I did an image search on Google for items on my list, like "white button-down shirt" or "black skinny jeans," and uploaded those files into the app. Then with a couple of clicks, I put together dozens of outfits, straight up giddy like I was Julia Roberts in a shopping movie montage. The bonus? You're able to clearly see what pieces you might not use as often as you think. If that's the case, maybe they don't belong in this capsule!
That's where I am now... just photos of clothes I don't own in outfits I'm too pregnant to currently wear. But I have way more confidence that a fall capsule wardrobe will work for me, simply because I proved that my style lined up with having only 30ish items in my closet. And I didn't realize that a lot of them I already own!
So move slowly, and decide for yourself. The capsule wardrobe idea might not be the best choice for you, and that's okay. But this is an easy way to try it out without committing anything more than time and a couple of bucks for the app (which already is totally worth it).
