Using a capsule wardrobe planner to create a capsule has perhaps been one of the most valuable life hacks ever. Seriously. Starting a capsule wardrobe has been an absolute game-changer in terms of how I shop for clothes (and how much money I spend) and how much time and frustration goes into choosing an outfit day to day and a capsule wardrobe planner workbook just makes it so much easier. Additionally, with the use of a capsule wardrobe in my life, I feel that I now have a wardrobe that reflects exactly how I want to look and present myself as a woman to the world (men, this will work for you too).
To start a capsule wardrobe you will need to curate a set number of clothing items that interchange with each other easily to make different outfits. To start a capsule wardrobe that is most functional, one should consider lifestyle, season, and personal style.
A capsule wardrobe will be your forever solution to the never-ending “I have nothing to wear” predicament. Want to discover how to build a capsule wardrobe of your own? Read on…
What is a capsule wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of essential items that don’t go out of style such as skirts, pants, dresses, and blouses that may be mix and matched interchangeably. The idea is that you own only a few clothing items; then add seasonal items like coats or accessories as needed and based on your lifestyle needs at any given time – be it school, work, or even dating for example.
This is according to Susie Faux, the owner of a London boutique called “Wardrobe” in the 1970s. Faux perhaps saw a need for her clients to invest less money into their clothing collections while still maintaining an admirable style sense.
Here’s an example of my own capsule wardrobe I created using my Capsule Wardrobe Workbook:
With a capsule wardrobe, one can have many different outfits without sacrificing the quality of high-quality items before being swapped and shuffled for the next season or year.
Why you need a capsule wardrobe.
The truth is, what you wear tells a story about you to the world. Be it a loud statement, or a quiet whisper, you are always communicating with your personal appearance.
Would you rather spend your efforts fighting reality or ignoring it altogether? Or with a bit of forethought, effort, and learning how to start a capsule wardrobe, use this to your advantage?
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Your style and wardrobe can be a powerful toolbox that you use to communicate to the world whatever story you wish. You can use this toolbox to your benefit by starting a capsule wardrobe to help enhance your life.
Building a capsule wardrobe will help you accomplish the following:
- Save you time getting ready every day.
- Save you money shopping at random throughout the year.
- Make your life much easier overall.
- And perhaps make you more stylish, too.
If you ask me, that’s power! The question one must oneself is what message do you wish to communicate to the world through your wardrobe? Strategically creating a fabulous capsule wardrobe will help you do just that.
Steps Inside Capsule Wardrobe Planner
A capsule wardrobe planner workbook can be used to help you organize your wardrobe space, as well as seeing what clothes you already own. You can also use a capsule wardrobe planner to plan out future outfits and look forward to a certain event by matching different wardrobe pieces together. It is very helpful in keeping your wardrobe organized and helps prevent clothes from being unworn.
Step 1. Getting Personal
Creating a capsule wardrobe of your own will require some introspection. Whatever your desire, it’s important to think through these questions to get a good understanding of exactly what it is that we want to accomplish by starting a capsule wardrobe.
Analyze and answer the following questions:
- Why is it that you want to upgrade or curate your wardrobe to begin with?
- Are you looking to do a complete overhaul? Or just make some tweaks to what you currently have?
- Maybe you dress in a masculine way and wish to dress more feminine?
- Haven’t really upgraded your style since high school and wish to look more mature?
- Perhaps you’ve never given much thought to your style and you really desire to look more polished, and put together.
If you’re not a great dresser, for example, take a moment to get real and tear down all the excuses you’ve told yourself ( you don’t have the money, you don’t have the time ) about why you dress yourself the that you do. Sometimes when people dress very sloppily, there could be some much deeper issues — perhaps even some insecurities bubbling up through how you choose to present yourself.
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In seeing yourself as you really are and how you really feel about yourself and your current wardrobe, you’re then able to fix and improve these aspects of your life.
Analyze and answer the following questions:
1. Embrace the bad. Be willing to embrace the very worst about yourself. Perhaps you’re that girl who chooses to wear yoga pants and an old baggy tee-shirt every place. It’s easier to actually improve from a standpoint of recognizes your faults and false beliefs (such as you look fine or looks aren’t important).
2. Listen to and seek criticism. Prepare in advance mentally as to take, but not take to heart criticism. After all, you will be working on it by building a capsule wardrobe.
3. Reverse your projections. Every time you see yourself judging another person’s appearance, stop yourself and think: “is it possible, is there anyway, that someone out there might be making the same judgment about me?”
4. Look up to people rather than down. It’s always easy to make yourself look good by finding people even worse than you. Try instead looking up to people that you think look great. What things do you see in a person’s style that you admire?
5. Take a step back and Criticize yourself. As hard as it is, get real! Yes “everybody is beautiful”, blah blah blah, are you projecting however your best self, and how you want to be perceived by the world. Are there areas, as beautiful as they may be now, that you could improve?
Everyone’s goals and ambitions are different, so of course, one’s objectives will also be different when curating one’s style and capsule wardrobe. What are yours?
Step 2. Getting Inspiration
In order to be well-dressed with a beautifully curated wardrobe, you don’t need to recreate the wheel when starting a capsule wardrobe. You don’t even nearly need to have a good fashion sense or superb style. There have been many elegant men and women alike to come before you. Take from these stylish muses inspiration, ideas, to make your own.
Great resources to get inspiration:
- Fashion Magazines (Print and Online)
- Fashion Bloggers
- Celebrities
- Books
- Movies and TV Shows
- People watching
- Pinterest Boards
I personally love to get style inspiration for my capsule wardrobe from Pinterest. I have been continuously adding and subtracting to and from my various Pinterest boards for years.
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I have various different boards for style inspiration. For example, I have “real-life” style inspo boards and I have “fantasy” style inspo boards. In my “real-life” style inspo boards, I pin things that I could and would love to wear or would like to look like in real life. In my “fantasy” style inspo board, I pin things that I absolutely adore, but would not practically serve me whatsoever.
When you begin curating inspiration, don’t be afraid to get carried away — collecting inspiration from everywhere! Afterward, you will refine and cull from what you’ve gathered.
Step 3. Getting Funtional
After curating your style and wardrobe inspiration, you’ll need to refine these ideas to suit your lifestyle. Because what’s the point of having a closet full of beautifully tailored suits, because you love how they look, if your not the Duchess of Sussex? You’re never going to wear them!
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List out all the activities you do on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis to help you plan accordingly. You may also choose to group together activities where you may wear the same kinds of outfits. In my own run-down, for example, I’ve prioritized (with an asterisk) the categories that are underrepresented in my own wardrobe. These are the categories I’ll pay extra attention to.
Here’s an example:
Weekday activities:
- Sleeping
- Lounging/Chilling around the house
- *Working from home ( should be comfortable, yet make me feel professional )
- *Working from office, Lunch meetings, Dinner out after work
- *Gym ( should be functional, but feminine )
Weekend activities:
- Date nights
- *Sunday Brunch, Lunch
Occasional activities:
- Presenting a workshop or at a conference
- Hiking/Biking
This step helps you to get practical in order to start a capsule wardrobe that fits your real life, and not your fantasy one.
Step 4. Wardrobe Workout
The objective here is to sort and organize the clothes that you already own. Once you get a clear idea of how you want to look and what items you might like in your capsule wardrobe, you can more easily decide which items in your current wardrobe deserve a spot in your new wardrobe — and which ones have got to go!
Follow these steps to declutter and refine your current wardrobe:
1. Take everything out of your closet and drawers and lay them out so that you can see everything.
2. Ask yourself the following questions as you go through and try on your different items.
- Is this item damaged or worn beyond repair?
- Have I worn this in the last 12 months?
- Does this fit properly? If not, can it be tailored to?
- Does this make me feel great?
- Does this fit my style?
- Can I make an outfit with this that I’m excited to wear?
3. How you answer the above questions will help determine which of the following piles your items ultimately belong.
- Donate/sell
- Tailor
- Out of season
- Back in closet
- Trail seperation
It can be a very hard process getting rid of clothes that are seemingly perfectly good. But when you get rid of clothes that don’t make you look or feel your absolute best, you allow space for clothes that do. After this process, you’ll likely find some hidden gems in your current wardrobe or perhaps you’re left with absolutely nothing (that’s fine too).
Step 5. Putting Your Capsule Wardrobe Together
The objective in this step is to put everything we’ve done thus far together in order to clearly identify and fill the gaps in what will be your capsule wardrobe. From the work done in the previous step, you’re going to be able to clearly identify the biggest gaps in your new wardrobe that you need to fill. This will also help you create a comprehensive shopping list of wardrobe pieces if needed.
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Analyze and answer the following questions:
- What are the biggest gaps in your wardrobe?
- What are the underrepresented areas as it pertains to clothes and outfits for your lifestyle?
- What are the missing key, statement, and basic pieces you need to complete your outfit formulas?
Get The Capsule Wardrobe Planner Workbook / Worksheets
A capsule wardrobe is a great way to level up your appearance and always look your best. It can also be an effective strategy for simplifying your life and to avoid overspending on clothes long-term.
Found this guide helpful? My Capsule Wardrobe Planner Workbook / Worksheets will guide you through how to start a capsule wardrobe step by step. This workbook will save time, money, and mental energy by helping you create a capsule wardrobe that is perfectly stylish and fits your daily lifestyle. Get started with my capsule wardrobe guide today!
