The Capsule Wardrobe: Keeping it So Simple, it’s Almost Scary

Growing up, I was very into dressing myself. There was one dress in particular – a white dress with a unicorn on it – that I often insisted upon wearing every day. I had very particular tastes when it came to socks, and did not believe in jeans until I was about 18, and didn’t believe in fitted jeans until I was about 20.

I learned a lot from being invested in my clothing. For instance, I learned that all of my favorite clothes are to be kept on the floor below the hanging clothes in the closet. No matter how many times I think I put them away, that is where they end up. (This knowledge can also be applied to clearance racks.) I also learned that I tend to wear the same 15-18 pieces of clothing for several weeks at a time. Washing is optional, but strongly suggested. A favorite pair of leggings or favorite graphic t-shirt frequently become part of the rotation… until their demise. (R.I.P. perfectly soft black v-neck, 2012-2014.) 

Recently, I learned that there is an entire community developed around this idea. They call this pile of mix’n’match clothing a capsule wardrobe: a collection of clothes, accessories, and sometimes even cosmetics that you select at the beginning of a “cycle” (a month, a season, a year, etc.) and wear, exclusively, for that period of time. Exclusively.

The Capsule Wardrobe

A capsule wardrobe by Breanna Rose.

As far as I can tell, this practice traces back to something called The Project 333, created by Courtney Carver in 2010. The Project 333 has specific yet simple guidelines for your capsule wardrobe: 33 items, 3 months. So you’re picking 33 pieces to wear for an entire season.

It sounded pretty extreme to me when I first read about it, but once I saw how people used their capsule wardrobes, it started to make sense. A lot of sense.

This method of outfit curation is favored largely by “minimalist fashion” followers. While I dont necessarily consider myself a minimalist, I’m far from a maximalist because I’m also cheap AF… so what I really like about this challenge is the level of clothing quality required! When you only have a finite number of things to wear, you better make sure each ones passes the test of time.

Courtney Carver offers a $20 “micro-course” on developing a capsule wardrobe, but there are a few bloggers who operate out of capsule wardrobes and document their outfits! You know those “What I Wore For 30 Days” features that many magazines do? It’s like that, but in blog format. Talk about dreamy!

Capsule Wardrobe Resources

Although I’m a blog writer, I started as & will always be a blog reader. Fashion blogs are some of my favorite blogs to read, and nothing is more relatable and satisfying than seeing a blogger whose style I respect reusing the same articles of clothing. So often, especially in larger blogs, you see 3-6 new pieces of clothing in every. single. post. and it started to get kind of… unrealistic!

Un-Fancy
This is my favorite blog for capsule wardrobes! She posts outfits that directly connect to her capsule wardrobe, and includes keyword code-names so it’s easy to see which pieces are being used together. She’s got great minimalist (but exciting and only mildly trendy) style that I can relate to. An awesome blog!

Capsule Wardrobe Examples

A summer capsule wardrobe by Roots, Wings & Wanderings.

A lot of bloggers have started the capsule wardrobe challenge, but didn’t get as in-depth as the ladies I mentioned above. Though they don’t document each outfit, they do have great examples of capsule wardrobes posted on their blogs! It’s a great way to get a visual blueprint for building one of your own.

• The Small Things Blog
• The Anna Edit
• Minimalist Beauty

Could You, Would You… Capsule Wardrobe?

I am very tempted to try out this method of dressing. It makes sense in a budget context, it makes sense in an ethical fashion context, and it makes sense in a space-maximizing context! There isn’t much here that I don’t love – outside of my control freak-ness, which makes me wary of making any of my clothes “off limits” for any given period of time. What if I wake up and REALLY NEED to wear my leather jacket in the middle of summer? Will my day be ruined? (No, but I won’t know until it’s over.)

This may be something I need to do just to get over my wardrobe control issues! Besides, three months isn’t forever… Even though I’d probably start at 2 weeks and work my way up.

Would you consider doing a capsule wardrobe? 

This post was originally published on Broke & Beautiful on August 28, 2014.