I don’t know if I’ve talked about my aspirations toward a capsule wardrobe on this blog (though my friend, Corina of www.nowthaticando.com did a guest post a few months ago). The idea is that you choose a certain number of items and build your wardrobe in the confines of that set number. For example, your number may be 25: 5 shirts, 5 tanktops, 5 bottoms, 5 sweaters, 5 dresses. Some people include shoes in their numbers, I don’t because a life with a set number of shoes is a life I don’t want to live (shoe addict here). People build capsules for many reasons: to curb spending, to eliminate waste and excess, to save space. For me, the most inspiring element of a capsule wardrobe is wearing what you love and loving what you wear. When you only have a certain number of items, you’re less likely to end up with a closet full of clearance rack shirts that you bought because, well, clearance.
I’m not sure I’ll ever achieve my capsule wardrobe dreams because they conflict greatly with my spit up covered, legging loving, fashion aspiring lifestyle. However, I’ve been following Caroline over at Unfancy for years and she occasionally does something called a 10×10 challenge. That’s 10 pieces in 10 days to create 10 unique outfits. Now, I have commitment issues and 10 days is a lot of days in a row to try to do anything. So, I teamed up with my friend and fashion twin Corina (because everything is more fun with friends) to create a 5×5 challenge. Much more doable for us busy mamas. And, feel free to follow along and post your own 5 items, 5 looks, in 5 days pictures right along with us over at Corina’s Facebook group, Frumpy Fighters or by using the tag #5x5summerchallenge on Instagram.
Without further ado (I like that phrase, don’t ya know?), here are my five items that I will be mixing up to give you five complete looks next week:
1. Black Casual Maxi Dress c/o Gozon
2. Rainbow Graphic Tee by Hudson Lillian Designs
3. Light Floral Blouse, the Loft, similar
4. Sailor Style Jean Shorts, the Loft
5. Maxi skirt, my closet, similar
My tips for building your own 5×5 Challenge:
First, pick a color pallet. You can see that mine was black and more black with a little splash of color (Blush is the hot new neutral this season so you can’t go wrong with a solid skirt and a floral top with blush accents). By going neutral, you can plan to make your outfits pop with colored shoes and fun, bold accessories, or even just with a bright lip color.
Second, choose items that mix and match. Ideally, you would choose shirts and bottoms that you could mix up anyway you want, which will give you more than five options. If you choose a piece such as a dress, make sure it’s a piece that can be worn multiple ways. Stay tuned to see how I dress my casual maxi up or down with the right accessories.
Third, have fun! Pick items you love, that you want to wear differently. See if you can figure out a unique look that you wouldn’t normally wear.
Now, CLICK HERE to head over to Corina’s Blog to see how she’s doing her own 5×5 challenge.
And, don’t forget to share your looks, use the tag #5x5summerchallenge on Instagram and check us out on Facebook: Frumpy Fighters.
The 5×5 Challenge is done, check out all the looks below or skip ahead to the 5×5 Summer Wrap Up:
Day 1: Look 1
Day 2: Look 2
Day 3: Look 3
Day 4: Look 4
Day 5: Look 5
Bonus: Look 6
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Have I been living under a rock? Just learned what a capsule wardrobe is and the 5×5 challenge. Mind-blown. Very informative and fantastic blog!!
Thank you! It’s so much fun. Capsule wardrobing has been around for a little while- I think it’s gained popularity with the idea of minimalism. It’s made me much more mindful of my shopping. I still shop but I return a lot after I decide it’s not going to work after all.
You go girl! I tried a capsule wardrobe because I do admire Unfancy but it is just not me. I love colors, stripes, neutrals and patterns too much to try it. This idea sounds like fun and I’ll enjoy watching on insta!
http://www.mylittlenest.org
Yes, a full capsule has never been a success at my house either. But, the 5×5 is perfect because it’s fun to try to remix them to get different looks. I’ve actually been wearing that rainbow Graphic Tee all sorts of ways so that I have a whole separate post just on that tee lol. Which is also why I love neutrals- they go with everything ❤️❤️❤️
What a concept, I think this might even be able to be applied to older kids, say, 10 years? Man this is a game changer for me.
Yes! I have weeded down my kids clothes by a lot since I started looking into capsuling. They have more clothes than they need but it’s still a lot fewer than I used to buy them! And, it makes for a much easier time choosing what to wear!
Loved everything about this post! I’m always on the hunt for easy outfits that I can throw on and wear – not too frumpy but still comfy and makes me look and feel great!
Yes! That’s what I love about that black dress and the pink skirt- so comfy and put together at the same time.
Graphic tees are one of my favs!! So easy to dress up or down. Love pairing them with a blazer.
Yes! I love graphic tees and this one is close to my heart because it stands for so many things one of which is PPD Awareness ❤️ plus all proceeds from the sale of it go to charity which is pretty darn amazing!
This is pure genius! I’ve never heard of a capsule wardrobe before, but I feel like I need one! We have way too many clothes in our house that we don’t wear and are just taking up space. The 5×5 idea is for sure ideal for busy moms! We have way too much laundry to do as it is!
Yes!! Although, I did have to wash my blouse once this week because I wore it to Mexican but everything else was good to go for two wears before washing. It’s a lot of fun trying to come up with different ways to wear things and how to dress them up with different accessories and hair styles and even just how you wear the pieces (tucked/untucked, knotted/unknotted)
What a great set of clothes to work with! Mixing and matching is definitely something I need to work on. I definitely need clothes that easily work together.
It helps if you take inventory of what you have and what you need before you go shopping. That way, you end up with a lot of things in the same color pallet that can all be worn together!
I was actually cleaning out my closet when I decided to get on FB and saw this. This is deff a big help!
Yay! I hope you follow along and share your looks ❤️ there is nothing quite like a good closet cleanse for the soul!
I am so inspired. I hate all the piles of clothes that I never wear taking up space!
Yes! I have to confess, I still have this problem- it’s just not quite as intense anymore because at least I go through and purge pretty often!
This is fab! I’ve never heard of this before. Thanks for sharing! ♥