In this episode, I dive deep into the world of capsule wardrobes! Discover what a capsule wardrobe is, explore its benefits and drawbacks, and hear my personal journey of downsizing to just 50 pieces of clothing!
What is a capsule wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is downsizing your clothing to a limited amount of items that all mix and match well together. All of your shirts go with all of your bottoms, all of your blazers go with all of your skirts, and so on. You essentially have a smaller amount of clothes but still have a large variety of outfits you can create with those clothes.
Benefits of a Capsule Wardrobe
You need less space! When you have fewer clothes, you need less space to store those clothes.
It's not a fight! It's physically easier to get clothing out when you have less!
Fewer Decisions! Everything matches with everything so it's easier to pick items and pair them!
Drawbacks of a Capsule Wardrobe
You might feel limited. This is common when you first pair down to a capsule wardrobe until you start fine tuning things.
If you want to buy new things you may have to get rid of other items.
Overall wear of the clothes. When you have fewer clothes you will likely wear out your clothes more frequently.
Amanda's Personal Capsule Wardrobe
Since I have a capsule wardrobe, I thought it would a good idea to give you an idea of what a realistic one looks like. So as I've said before, I maintain 50 items total in my wardrobe not counting undergarments.
Here's my break down:
2 - shorts
2 - workout shorts
2 - skorts
4 - jeans
4 - leggings/workout pants
4 - tank tops
6-8 - t-shirts
4-5 - cardigans/hoodies
1 - dress pants
2 - dress shirts
3 - blazers
3 - dresses
When you do the math you can see that even if we go with my over estimate, I'm only at 40 items. That's because I also have a few jui-jitsu ghees and rash guards that I have but those are specific for jui-jitsu. I also have a pair of snow pants that I also count in that 50 but they're only used once a year.
I choose to hang everything up instead of storing items in drawers. I do this specifically so I can see everything I have. This really works for me (and even my husband).
BONUS: Seasonal Storage
Talking about the snow pants earlier brings up season storage of clothes. I really hate seasonal storage and here are the reasons why!
When clothes are stored seasonally, they're not typically stored properly. Ever notice the musty smell of your seasonally stored clothes? It's because they're not stored correctly. Clothing needs airflow, so storing it in bins or space saver bags prevents it from properly breathing.
Packing for vacations is more difficult. If you have clothes stored seasonally, it's going to be more difficult to pack for that trip to the tropics when you're living in the middle of winter.
It adds an additional task to my list! If you store clothes seasonally, you have the added task of swapping out your clothes when the season changes.
How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe
Now that we've talked all about what a capsule wardrobe is and the pros and cons, you may be thinking "wow this sounds great! But how do I do it?" I can help with that as well!
The first thing to remember is that this does not happen over night. It look me years to get down to my 50 item limit! The best way to start is with the downsizing process. The way I accomplished this is by asking myself a very specific question about each piece of clothing, "Do I avoid wearing this?" Thinking about this more critically, as in, do I do laundry to wear something else before I will wear this? If the answer is year, then it's time to go!
Next, give yourself a limit. You don't have to go all the way down to 50 at the start. Maybe you want to pair down by half. That's alright! I chose 50 because I purchased a pack of 50 hangers so that's my limit.
And finally, when you do choose to purchase new items to add to your wardrobe, make sure you get ride of something so you stay within the limit you set for yourself. Ask yourself the question about avoiding an item and replace it with the new purchase. Remember, the goal is to have items that mix and match so you can create a variety of outfits with fewer items.
Wrapping Up!
So now you know all about capsule wardrobes! We discussed what one is, what the benefits are, what the drawbacks are, and even took a look at my wardrobe and how to create your own! As you know, I am always here to help so if you have any questions about creating your own capsule wardrobe, drop them in the comments!
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