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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: The Core Pieces, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

Join me on this adventure! Someone wrote to me last week, after I showed this amazing storm photograph, asking if these colors could work as accents for a capsule wardrobe that is mostly grey.Well... maybe. I'm going to give it a try, to see how it works. But I have a real concern: all of the shades of pink and purple will be glorious accents to the grey wardrobe, and would be madly flattered by black leather goods and silver jewelry with pink, lavender or purple beads, stones or pearls. HOWEVER... introducing the warm browns and tans into the mix immediately makes me think that I need to use gold, rather than silver, jewelry. And I'm not at all sure where the leather pieces will fit in....

Nonetheless, we shall endeavor to make ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in a A Black-Based Capsule Wardrobe – An Evaluation

December 7, 2016  

Ah, this one is closest to my normal capsule wardrobe, and to what I would buy if I had to start all over...Remember, we left this wardrobe on the first of November like this:

 

You can see the outfit-by-outfit progression of this wardrobe here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November.

Because this wardrobe is so close to my own, I wasn't really concerned that things wouldn't be reasonably well balanced. The easy assembly of a "Four by Four" capsule wardrobe supports my thoughts:  

 

I wasn't quite as certain that things would be as well-balanced for seasons and dressiness - I tend to love cold-weather clothing more than warm, and ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 5

November 11, 2016  

It's tempting to say we've reached the home stretch of building this capsule wardrobe, but in reality, you're never finished building your wardrobe. Things wear out, or suddenly shrink, or you just plain can't stand the sight of that tee shirt EVER AGAIN... (after travel, you might need to find something new just to retain your sanity!)But for people who don't put all that much worry and fuss into clothing, this wardrobe is at a pretty good stage for a long time:

 

Here's where I like to stop and lay things out in an orderly fashion, to see where I've gone awry, and what needs to be supplemented, and what needs to be avoided, for the last little bit of shopping:

 

It's important to me to ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 4 – I MUST Have a Winter Coat

November 10, 2016  

The capsule wardrobe we finished with yesterday would make a GREAT travel wardrobe; you could wear 3 pieces, and pack the other 12. With our new silk pants (and the silk blouse from the first steps) you could be prepared for a dressy event, and obviously the rest of the wardrobe is ideally suited for... wandering Chicago in November? New York? Montreal? The choices... sigh... 

At this step, I always plan for a complete outfit. This time, I thought that some brightness and a real emphasis on our accent colors would be a good idea!

Flannel shirt – Patagonia; cardigan – L.L.Bean; cords - Patagonia     Even though we haven't (in Chicago) see anything that resembles cold weather, we ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 3 – Do I Have to Own a Dress?

November 9, 2016   Ah, this capsule wardrobe is starting to have some personality! Here's where we left off:  

As always, this would be a good point in wardrobe-building to pause, especially if you're purchasing all of these items. Wear all your new goodies in every possible combination (which will take quite a while!) and make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you're comfortable with the styles, the colors, and the overall mood. It's not a dreadful thing to stop at this point, if you feel that it's the right thing for you. It WOULD be dreadful if you kept on shopping and consuming and spending money without being certain!As I look at these 9 pieces, I clearly see that we'd better get some teal into this picture soon! And the ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 2

November 8, 2016   When we paused at the end of yesterday's capsule wardrobe building, we had five pieces of clothing - not a ton, but still enough for a tidy handful of outfits:  

Clearly, this wardrobe is going to take on some real depth of color with the addition of some accessories. I'm sticking with this gorgeous rich brown leather for as many things as I can manage, including a really nice bracelet!

 

watch - Kapten and Son; bracelet - Colana; scarf – Santorus;  earrings – Lagos; bag – Frye  

Generally speaking, a well-balanced wardrobe should have more "tops" than "bottoms." Jeans and trousers don't need to be laundered as frequently, and because they're worn below the waist, they're ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, First Steps

November 7, 2016

Another step by step, starting from scratch Capsule Wardrobe exercise! This week, I'm tackling olive and beige as the neutrals, with teal, rust and ivory as the accent colors. Our primary emphasis is going to be on the "very casual, lots of jeans and corduroy" sort of style. Many of you have told me that you have very little need for dressy clothes in your wardrobe, so let's see what can be done with that in mind.

And fear not, when I do this in December, it's going to be conservative-office dressy!

First up, let's visualize the colors:

Since these colors are definitely pretty warm, with the exception of the teal, my current plan is to use warm deep brown leather goods, and gold jewelry. Our heroine's style is ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Finishing Up

Frankly, at this point in proceedings, you could easily stop building your capsule wardrobe, and be just fine!

But it's always reasonable to stop and evaluate where you are with your wardrobe - are there things that you still need? Items that might make OTHER items more versatile, or get them used more frequently? Are you sure you're ready for whatever events might come up in the future?

The answers to these questions will be different for each of us, but they are worth asking...

The biggest lack of balance that I can see is that I'm "navy-heavy" here. This often happens - it's normal that either you simply like one of your neutrals more than the other, or that it's much more readily available, or that you want to have a solid core ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Four

October 13, 2016

 

This capsule wardrobe is starting to look pretty coherent! (Step 1 is here, Step 2 is here, and Step 3 is here)

 

After one has lived with the above wardrobe for a while, it might be time to buy an entire outfit, all at one time! Or it would also make sense to buy 3 pieces that aren't necessarily intended to worn together, but all of which are useful and integrated additions to the existing wardrobe.

Sticking with the idea that our heroine lead a pretty casual life, I thought that a pair of shorts would be handy for her. Another really pretty cabled sweater in one of her accent colors is an obvious choice, and a simple white shirt is never a bad idea...

Almost any color scheme that I use for a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Three

At this point in our starting from scratch capsule wardrobe series, you're in a pretty good position for travel; it wouldn't be impossible to be away for a week with this collection. Toss in a white shirt and white tee shirt, and you would only need to do minimal laundry!

Our next step is to start filling in shirts and sweaters, so it's time to take a quick look at what we currently have. This would be an obvious place to pull in a beige shirt, sweater, or blouse if that holds any appeal. But I'm thinking that my imaginary protagonist is more interested in pretty accent colors, so I've chosen these:

Sweater – Lands’ End; necklace – Karine Sultan; shirt – L.L.Bean  

Yes, the necklace is in a very similar vein to her ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Two

Yesterday we left this capsule wardrobe with five (very carefully chosen) garments, and eight possible ways to wear them. It's about time for some accessories!

This is the stage at which your personality and preference can really begin to show. For this imaginary wardrobe builder, I've decided that she has two really strong "themes" that she likes: Cables (like those on sweaters, or in twisted and rope-like jewelry textures), and Flowers. These preferences will be more and more apparent as we move forward, but it's good to starting establishing these personal style signatures as soon as possible.

Watch – Skagen; bracelet – Vanessa Mooney; scarf – Gucci; earrings – Nordstrom; bag – Louise et Cie  

Everything is very simple, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – First Steps

October 10, 2016

 

Ever since I did the first Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe series, I've received questions about why I chose the steps that I did, how did I figure out color schemes - well, anything that could be questioned, was questioned!

Which is good. You should always make sure that anyone giving you advice can explain themselves, and that what they're telling you makes sense. In the US right now, this is being brought home to us every day...

So let's walk through another capsule wardrobe, a couple of steps a day, and see if I can answer some of your questions!

First up, color scheme. If you don't really worry about any other step of the process, THIS is the one that deserves your thought. There's no rule ... View the Post