Planning a Capsule Wardrobe. . .

I thought I’d take a little time for this post to share details behind my Capsule Wardrobe planning.  I will also share some helpful resources that I’ve found in this topic.

If you’re not familiar with the term Capsule Wardrobe, Wikipedia notes the following:

Capsule Wardrobe – “The term has come to refer to a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximize the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. This is usually achieved by buying what are considered to be “key” or “staple” items in coordinating colours.”

Some might just ask, “Why would I want to focus on a Capsule Wardrobe for my clothes/accessories?”  For me, the answer to that question branches out into a few different areas:

• One convenience of a Capsule Wardrobe is to be able to quickly grab pieces from your dresser drawers or closet that will always go together or complement each other.
• Another feature is to minimize the number of articles of clothing that you own while maximizing the number of combinations that the pieces can be worn together.
• A fun advantage to this concept is with travel.  A Capsule Wardrobe allows you to pack fewer articles of clothing in your suitcase yet have many outfits that you can wear together in multiple combinations during your trip.
• The main benefit for me is related to a handmade wardrobe.  As that I’m slowly moving toward a handmade wardrobe, making garments and accessories to wear (via sewing, knitting, spinning fiber into yarn, crocheting, etc.) take time.  With this time, I felt it was worth planning ahead for what items to make and what color tone of fabrics/yarns to chose (to maximize their wear).

There are a lot of helpful tutorials and blog posts online for this topic.  A few sites that I’ve found helpful are: this wardrobe planning post from theblissfulmind.com, this Wardrobe Architect series from Colette, and the printable capsule wardrobe planner from un-fancy.com.

I like to take time at the end of each season and go through my wardrobe to get rid of pieces that don’t fit well, aren’t flattering anymore, or items that I’m just not wearing.

To simplify my personal integration of the Capsule Wardrobe concept, I first explored a personal color palette.  This palette will then help guide me as I plan materials (fabrics, yarns, fiber, etc.) to add handmade pieces to my wardrobe.

I enjoy thinking about colors.  To get inspiration for color palettes, I browsed the paint chip area in a local hardware store.  I looked for existing palettes that were already put together in the paint department (via 4-5 paint color series that were grouped together). One color addition that I’ve made to this palette is that I’ve added a cool red tone for accent pieces.  The mustard and deep purple tones shown in the photo below are also for accent pieces (scarves, hats, etc.)

The following is a photo of materials that I’ve been making with, in parallel, not realizing that each had a mustard tone within the textile.

The floral fabric at the top is a jersey knit fabric from Art Gallery Fabric and I sewed this fabric into a Julia Cardigan.  Moving clockwise, the crocheted fabric is a hand towel that I made from cotton/linen yarn from Knit Picks.  The ball of yarn shown next is a lovely wool blend (BFL wool with nylon) that I’m planning for a textured pair of socks.  Finally the multicolored knitted item is a sock blank from Norah George yarns and I’m currently knitting into a plain pair of socks.  Hand knit wool sock are currently my favorite knitting project to make (and to wear).

Is a Capsule Wardrobe a new concept to you or have you already adopted this idea into your own wardrobe?