Back in September, I got inspired to try a few capsules. After one misstep -- a capsule of outfits that, however good in themselves, didn't really answer to my daily needs all that well -- I came up with this one -- a more casual capsule for work at home days during transitional early fall weather.

Not only that, but I rashly promised to wear it -- and report back on my experiences.


Here I am with that report.

Let's cut straight to the chase. This was a massive fail. I couldn't stick to it! I managed to wear capsule outfits for approximately 10 days out of the possible 30 (or more, counting weekends). A few of those appear in Pics 1-4.

So, what happened to my fine intentions?

I. Got. Bored.

Seriously bored. And hey, there was other stuff already in my closet so I started putting it on. (See Pics 5-7)

Oh -- and then some fab new stuff arrived, and that was much more fun to play with!! (Pics 8- 14)

Plus, I had various occasions to dress for, which threw the capsule out the window anyway. (I can give myself a pass for those days, right?) (Pics 15-19)

What I've learned:

While a small capsule is a great way to begin experimenting with different combinations, I am one of those people who needs a medium sized wardrobe that I can treat essentially as one BIG capsule (with overlapping and interwoven sub-capsules).

At the same time, it's really useful for me to think occasionally in terms of purpose-driven capsules, to ensure that my needs for different kinds of activities are covered. And I've learned that I need more variety than I thought in my work-at-home capsule.

Except for travel, I don't want to wear the same few items all the time. Even if nobody is seeing me except the cat.


I love my pretty new things best, no matter what. I am so, so, so firmly on Team Wear it is ridiculous.

BUT I do mix in my new things with old things. Look how much wear those white jeans got! (I actually wore them way more than this -- this is simply a sampling of photos.) Ironically, I was almost going to dye these jeans last fall until Angie talked me out of it!

Capsule making can offer surprises. I loved the look of Pic 1, but the rolled up jeans there drove me batty with their ill fit. After three wears, I tossed them. As for the print pants in Pic 3, before this capsule making exercise these were in my donate bin. I'd forgotten that they are the absolute perfect weight for transitional temperatures. I got a lot of wear from them in the past six weeks, drastically reducing their CPW. The capsule exercise was useful for that, if nothing else!

The best part about doing the capsule was the way it provided me with some FFB outfits for those days when I really couldn't think all that creatively in the morning. I already knew how the outfit looked and felt (from having taken pictures). I just pulled it on and went with it.

What about you? If you tried a capsule, how has it worked for you?


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10 years ago