Favorite look of the week: Bomber Jacket: c/o Mint Julep; Graphic Tee: Hudson Lillian Designs; Jeans: Silver Jeans Co; Boots: c/o Rockport
Week One Favorite Pieces: Oversized Cardigan from Asterisk Boutique; Velvet Leggings (I would live in these if I didn’t hate doing laundry); Bomber Jacket c/o Mint Julep; Graphic Tees from Hudson Lillian Designs; Boots c/o Rockport
Wait, what? I know I know. It’s a shock that I’m coming out and saying this (especially given my last post) but it’s true. The traditional chose 28 pieces and wear it for 3 months version of capsuling is not functional for a mom. First off, if you limit your wardrobe so drastically, you’re cutting out some mom stay at home essentials like leggings and tees. Second, when baby spits up on your favorite shirt, you don’t always have time to pop it in the wash immediately. So, sticking to a number or set of clothes is really unrealistic. How then, do you keep your wardrobe functional and less overwhelming?
You create a mini-capsule and practice functionality and diversity in fashion. Before we get started on all that, what is a capsule wardrobe anyway? A capsule wardrobe is a way to streamline your closet to increase functionality and wearability in your closet. It helps you both weed out your old (rarely worn) clothes and focus purchasing for the future (I’m currently looking for two pieces: a chenille pull over and a camel cardi- give me a heads up if you find one!). It helps eliminate the overwhelming task of getting dressed in a closet full of nothing to wear, while encouraging functional fashion. It’s an ethical way to look at your style and it cuts clutter (which I’m all about these days). If you want to find out more, head over to Un-fancy – my capsule inspiration.
I wasn’t ready to dive in or commit to a capsule when I first became interested in them several years ago. Instead, last spring, I started doing week long style challenges that I call the 5×5 (fashioned after StyleBee’s 10×10 with a few tweaks- I don’t include shoes or outerwear in my number and I can only commit to five days of pictures and so the 5×5 was born- see the original 5×5 here).
As the New Year dawned, I found myself unimpressed with my closet. So many clothes, not enough hangers, and nothing to wear. How is that even possible? That’s when I decided it was time to try a capsule for a month. Not to confine myself and my choices but to really focus on getting dressed daily, exploring what styles and pieces work best for me, and to streamline my fashion choices in the future.
Here’s what I focused on (and how you can do it to):
Color: I chose neutrals because that’s what I prefer to wear. My favorite colors by far are tan, grey, and blush. I expanded it slightly to include black and blue. Later this season, I plan to add olive, which is also a favorite of mine. The benefits of a color palette include mixability (all the pieces are easily swapped around to give you many outfit options) and wearability (choose colors that flatter your skin tone and your lifestyle).
Style: Once I chose my color palette, I looked at my daily style. What types of pieces do I wear on a daily basis? Jeans, leggings, tees, and cardis needed to make up the majority of my mini-wardrobe. As much as I love dresses, their functionality in my life as a mom, is just not great during the winter especially. That said, they are my favorite thing to wear to make myself feel pretty. I wear them on the daily when weather allows and therefore a couple classic comfortable styles needed to feature a place in the wardrobe.
Life: What do you do every day? How do you feel. What makes you happy? Clothing is as necessary as food or water. It should not consume or overwhelm you. If you find yourself drowning in laundry with nothing to wear, there needs to be a change. I love getting dressed and feeling good about myself. I also love God, my family, and my life. I don’t want to feel sad or disheartened when I look in my wardrobe. I also don’t want to continue to accumulate stuff- wear once and throw away. That is not in accordance with God’s plan for life.
In my efforts to live life better, choosing a way to move forward with my wardrobe is important. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and bogged down by materialism, capsule wardrobing might help you too!
As you may have noticed, not all pieces were in my original capsule. In fact, the red sweater look was all lounge clothes. And, this is the key of the mom capsule- you have to be prepared for those days when you’re not going anywhere and you just don’t want to get dressed. It’s why I’ve had success so far- I’m not sticking strictly to pieces but colors, feels, and above all- comfort.
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I totally agree – the traditional capsule wardrobe is amazing but has its challenges with motherhood – especially when you have small children. I think I could create a capsule wardrobe for home life & one for worklife, and allow them to interchange every now and then.
Love the idea of the mini capsule to make it work for YOUR life!
xo
Katrina
http://www.katrinagwenrose.com
Yes and the fluidity of not actually getting rid of your closet. It’s also why having a clothing rack is helpful. Let’s you build a separate wardrobe for a month’s experiment.
Thank you so much for this super helpful post! I really love the idea and I think I definitely need to start and to try it too… I feel my closet is just chaos and has no significant style and I wanna change that. I have an idea of my style but I never full filled it and I’m sure it’s because you always buy things kind of spontaneously. Well, I need to get it on!
Xo, Sara | missesviolet.com
Yes! I feel like this is exactly me. I’m not sure of my style and trying to mature it for my age while keeping it functional and comfortable. It’s already really helping me decide what I like and what I don’t like. I think I’ll be going through my closet again at the end of the month to weed out the non-functional pieces.
I’m not too familiar with the time capsule wardrobe. But as a mom, I have a stock of my own basic essentials, like comfy pants, layers (like sweaters, sweatshirts, vests, etc), and shirts. I think accessorizing with layers or jewelry is our best bet.
I totally agree. Leggings can be fab as long as you throw on some pretty accessories!
I can see how this would be so true. Also I think it sounds like you found a way to stick to the concept but make it work for you which is after all what we should all do with our wardrobes.
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
That’s exactly it! I love working on my wardrobe constantly.
I wasn’t familiar with the capsule wardrobe, interesting read. I know when I became a mom my style went out the door and my daughter now dresses cuter than me.
Yep! I can get the kids dressed cute- or me but generally not both haha.
I am so excited you are doing this. I tried doing it and it’s just not for me. It did really have me think before I buy things. I also started making a list of what I need so it doesn’t get lost in all the cute clothes I find. It did help me find my style too! Can’t wait to see how you feel about this and what you end up doing!
http://www.mylittlenest.org
That’s what it is all about! I’m not sure capsuling is for me either. I’m definitely not sticking to my capsule pieces and I’ve already learned I have major gaps in the pieces I picked! But, it’s made getting dressed easier…as long as I do the laundry ??
I have been on the fence about a capsule wardrobe but you have convinced me. Being a stay at home now for eight years I have lost a bit of myself. Clothing has become just something I throw on and style has been thrown out the window! I can’t wait to get started!
Yes! This is how I feel. I’ve been living in leggings for so long. It’s hard to break that in the winter especially but I’m trying!
I never heard of the capsule wardrobe before reading your blog. This does give me some ideas to put pieces together. Right now I feel like I have nothing to wear. I have a 5-month-old son and a toddler. I’m not fitting all of my old clothes and still trying to lose weight so it seems like I can never find anything to wear.
That’s so hard. Transitional times are always difficult to dress for.
I tend to just live in jeans and t-shirts for my moms duties. But I do had a capsule type selection of things I use for work.
I love the part about your intent to focus on getting dressed every day. These are great pieces! Love LOVE the bomber jacket.
really cute picks, especially the bomber jacket!!
I want to do this so badly! Those outfits are the best!
Thanks! It’s been interesting. Not sure how well I’m sticking to it ha…
I’m surprised I didn’t comment on this sooner. I read it before and totally thought I did to say that i agree with so much of this. BUT, I’m back because I was thinking about this post this week as I’m almost 6 weeks postpartum – not quite able to fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes, but way past maternity clothes. I pulled out a pair of pants that were too big pre-pregnancy, but fit perfectly in this inbetween season. I was so thankful that I kept them even when they were too big. I think moms go through so many seasons and our bodies go through so many changes, it can be tough to fully commit to a capsule wardrobe, even as we might adopt many of the principles.
Loved this post!
Yes, I totally agree. Spoiler alert my February capsule challenge ended in a bit of a flop ha. I did wear a lot of the pieces interchangeably but it’s so cold!! I think maybe this is a challenge for spring or summer when the weather is warmer. I keep a couple bins of clothes in different sizes so that I can wear them during pregnancy. All that said, working on the principles of wardrobe building can help with purchasing or choosing pieces which is my current goal!