The latest buzz-phrase in the organizing world, and the fashion world for that matter, is: capsule wardrobe. It's just a fancy phrase for taking a more minimalist approach with the volume of your clothing.
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing that is exclusively composed of clothing items that can be mixed-and-matched with one another.
Some of the benefits of a capsule wardrobe include:
1. Fewer decisions to make, which results in less time, stress, and energy when it comes to deciding what to wear.
2. Less money spent on clothing...and less space needed to store all of it. You may be interested to know that back in the early 1900s, women owned about nine outfits. Today, the average woman owns at least 30 outfits...over three times as many.
3. Less clutter. The more clothes you have, the more you're unlikely to wear. Most people have their favorites...and the rest just hang in the closet or sit in a drawer.
4. Maximizes the number of outfits that can be created. The main goal is to be able to make up outfits that are suitable for most any occasion, without owning excessive amounts of clothing.
How many clothing items are in a capsule wardrobe? My recommendation is to keep it at 40 items or less for spring/summer...and 40 items or less for fall/winter.
So, that would be 80 items total for the entire year if you live somewhere where the weather changes dramatically. If you live somewhere where the weather is constant all year round, then a simple 40 items or less capsule wardrobe would be the goal.
It can be made up of items you already own as well as a few new pieces you can shop for.
Keeping that in mind, the steps to accomplishing your capsule wardrobe are easy:
1. Decide on your 40 items for spring/fall...or your 40 items for fall/winter depending on where you live. This includes tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and accessories. Be sure you love them all enough to wear them fairly often... AND that they easily match up with other clothing. Black,
navy, beige, and white match with most anything.
2. Vow to wear only those items. Don't go shopping for anything else unless you're under your 40-item per season goal...or unless you have to replace something that has worn out or no longer fits.
To give you an idea of what your 40-item capsule wardrobe might include:
- 2 pairs of jeans (one light-wash and one dark-wash)
- 4 pairs of shoes (one pair of heels, one pair of flats, one pair of sneakers, one pair of sandals)
- 2 casual dresses (basic black or white can be dressed up in different ways with scarves, jewelry, etc.)
Now, this may seem drastically minimal if you have quadruple the number of clothes above or more. But don't fret. You can do this gradually over time until you've reached your goal. Perhaps just begin by removing those items that you don't love, that don't fit, or that really don't match well with anything.
Then see where you're at and go from there.
