Glitter & Grace

Summer is coming to an end, and soon I’ll be trading out my seasonal capsule wardrobe for a new, fall edition. This was my very first experience living with a capsule wardrobe. Next week I’ll be sharing my reflections on the process, but today I want to offer some tips to help with assembling a capsule for the first time. If any of you are considering adopting a capsule for fall, hopefully this will be a good source for advice and inspiration! Besides the basic rule – choosing a set number of items to wear for the next three months – these guidelines will make the process of choosing your items less stressful and (hopefully) more successful.

• Remember that it’s ok to make mistakes. If this is your first time assembling such a specific set of items for your closet, chances are that your choices won’t be perfect: maybe you’ll include way too many t-shirts, or forget a certain item all together. But it’s important to really commit to wearing only these items for the entirety of the season. This is the only way to truly test if a capsule wardrobe makes your life less stressful and more enjoyable. And trust me, regardless of the mistakes you make in choosing your items, you will still have plenty of options. Just remember to reflect on and learn from these mistakes when the time comes to choose a new capsule.
• Shop mostly from your own closet. At this point in your capsule journey, you probably have many more items of clothing than you need. For this reason, I suggest building your first capsule from pieces you already own: simply pick your favorites, the ones that work with the current season and you know you’ll be excited to wear, and put the remaining pieces in storage. This will teach you how easy it really is to survive with significantly less shopping in your life. It will also give you the opportunity to get a good wear out of some of your favorite pieces, especially those that may have been hidden from focus in a cluttered closet.
• Try to incorporate a variety of different types of items. With more limited options, you will certainly start to crave variety. Make sure to include a decent mix of casual and dressier pieces, as well as pants, dresses, sweaters, and shoes. This way, you can have fun and mix things up when you need a change. Eventually you may settle upon a go-to uniform or two, such as jeans and a cardigan or a shift dress and flats. Once you’ve discovered the pieces that really work for you, it’s great to focus your wardrobe more heavily on these items. But until then, make sure to include a variety of items, so you have the chance to experiment with each style and learn what fits your body best.

*This post is part of a series about my summer capsule wardrobe. Read more about it here.*