The challenge of building a capsule wardrobe is simultaneously alluring and frightening. The idea of a capsule wardrobe, for those who don’t know, is using a set number of garments and accessories for an entire season (or if you have commitment issues like me, part of a season) and using them exclusively to create unique outfits. It’s an exercise in minimalism, creativity, and resourcefulness.
I’ve been interested in trying this out ever since I discovered it was a thing, but I am currently pretty unhappy with my wardrobe. Because of that, I’ve been browsing new arrivals for the last few months and have developed a longing for versatile pieces. There definitely needs to be some wardrobe upgrades for me before I attempt to limit myself to a handful of pieces. In the meantime, though, I love the practice – selecting the garments to use is definitely the most important (and daunting) part!
In this post, I have created a capsule wardrobe from Target’s new arrivals. There are a total of 12 pieces, including tops, bottoms, jackets, and shoes.
I didn’t include jewelry this time because I am still a baby when it comes to curating capsule wardrobes, and including shoes at all is kind of a big deal for me. Keeping it based around a a theme, or a statement piece came in handy when selecting additional (or “complimentary”) clothing.
Late Fall Capsule Wardrobe
| Top row, L-R: Lace Trim Kimono, $22.99 Eve Quarter Strap Sandals, $24.99 Standards & Practices Rolled Skinny Jeans, $68 Crochet Trim Ribbed Tank, $19.99 |
Middle row, L-R: Cold Shoulder Top, $22.99 WhoWhatWear Modern Pencil Skirt, $27.99 Floral Cocoon Kimono Jacket, $29.99 Micki Pointed Toe Ballet Flats, $24.99 |
Bottom row, L-R: Missi Huarache Heeled Sandals, $32.99 High Neck Top with Crochet Trim, $19.99 Mixed Stripe Pullover Sweater, $49.99 Mixed Print Soft Short, $19.99 |
This took a lot of strategizing, but once I realized that I was selecting products based on a subconscious color palette, it developed direction. After that, it really did feel like I was curating a wardrobe, and realizing what didn’t fit and what was missing became much easier.
As you can see, Target has a lot of dusty earth tones in their new arrivals. There’s a definite Latin American/Southwest vibe going on in a lot of these pieces, though I was happy not to see any cultural appropriation or “tribal” references. Instead, there were muted pastels, comfortable knits, and lots of crochet.
Here are some of my favorite pieces:
Target Mixed Stripe Sweater, $22.99
This is my go-to comfort style – a striped sweater in neutral-but-somehow-edgy color palette. In my opinion, you can never have too many lightweight sweaters! This one is a great addition. The beige stripes look almost sheer due to their neutral-ness, kind of cool!
Crochet Trim Ribbed Tank, $19.99
As someone who lives in ribbed tanks, this makes it 100% more acceptable to wear out to dinner or to a meeting. What? It does! The crochet details at the sleeve remind me of epaulettes a little bit. The fact that they’re crochet makes it even cuter.
WhoWhatWear Modern Pencil Skirt, $27.99
A collaboration I haven’t heard about?! What is this sorcery? WhoWhatWear collaborated with Target to create this insanely perfect, double-slit pencil skirt. They look like gauchos a little in this pic, but that doesn’t make me dislike them at all. I think this skirt probably looks so cute when it’s moving, I need to get my hands on this!
Here are a few of my favorite combinations:
As you can probably tell, this is “Late Summer” because I love pants and hate sleeves. Consequently, nothing is quite warm enough for fall, but there are too many sweaters and kimono jackets in here for it to be strictly summer. Target’s prices allow these outfits to be less inspirational and more actual thanks to their pricing. Each outfit above comes in around $50-$70!
As it turns out, half-season capsule wardrobes aren’t so bad after all.
Would you wear this capsule collection? Which item is your favorite?