Shannon, I don't think you NEED to do the work! You automatically think in capsules -- you show us that every single day with the fun and practical ways you mix and match your outfits. Both for work days and weekends, you always manage to look fab. And you show a lot of variety in your looks.
Mind you, there may be more than one reason you adore your dresses, LOL! It's always great to have a fast fall back.
Actually, I suspect there are a few things going on here.
Yes, you are probably overwhelmed by the idea of pulling everything out and looking at it and doing that work. No wonder. It took Ingunn and me and couple of hours each to do ours! If an unexpected time slot hadn't opened up in my weekend due to an engagement being cancelled, I would not have had the time. As it was, I had to rush a bit at the end. So there is no shame in feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea.
I actually think Beth Ann has a smarter approach. She picks one difficult or new item and tries to style it in 15 minutes or half an hour. This is more feasible in our lives. I would only do what I just did once or twice a year. Or before a big trip, if I needed to.
Also, far from not having the pieces for a good capsule, you actually have quite a large wardrobe, so in your case, choosing the pieces might take quite a bit more work than it would take for me.
In my case and Ingunn's, our wardrobes are smaller so we only have so many options. Yes, I do own more than six tops and three bottoms. But some are similar in style. (In fact, quite a lot are similar in style because, like Angie, I really only wear a few types of top.)
Anyway, I tried to follow Angie's suggestion to pick different styles of top, and this really narrowed my options quite severely, right out of the gate. The situation was probably quite similar for Ingunn, who like me has a medium sized but fairly tightly edited wardrobe.
Ditto for footwear. I did have a few more options that I could have chosen, but not a lot. So the decision making process was simplified -- even if the result was less than ideal!
Finally, I don't think one has to have an analytical brain -- or not exclusively -- to do this. I strategized, true...but I strategized with my heart, if that makes sense. In other words, the challenge to use my Leith pants was quite analytical ("Well, Suz, when ELSE are you going to wear these babies? Make them earn their CPW, darn it all!)
But when I reached for tops, it was "Oh, rich berry, yum yum yum, give me that sweater!!" and "Ooooh, that silk feels so darn nice, better have two of those, thank you!!" And "I want to wear my NEW stuff, darn it!!!" And so on.
Actually, I had a little argument with myself about which booties. My heart wanted the new red Munros but my head told me light taupe would be more versatile and also it is a good time of year to wear the Reports.
The thing is....I don't love the capsule I created. I will only actually wear a couple of those outfits that I created...and the ones I will wear, I didn't need a "capsule exercise" to show me! I already had them in my imagination. Or had already worn them in real life, or knew I would.
Part of my dislike of those outfits springs from the specific limitations I put on myself (in addition to Angie's). But doing the exercise was helpful to me anyway, even if I don't intend to wear those specific outfits.
Why?
It revealed some definite wardrobe holes. (Fall toppers, bag).
It showed me why I am having such trouble styling particular items. (Leiths, that thrifted jacket).
It renewed my commitment to current, fabulous footwear as a key purchase for every season.
It renewed my commitment to get a new bag!
And it showed me another way to attack a capsule. My next experiment is going to be much more function-specific than this one. This one was sort of all-purpose, anything goes -- both casual and dressier -- and I think that's what makes me a bit unhappy with it. It's not fish nor fowl. Would that be a problem for another woman? Maybe not? But it does seem to be an issue for me.
More and more I am becoming confirmed in my sense that I like a little separation between my spheres.
And this exercise showed me, more clearly than ever, that my work-at-home capsules and my city travelling/ appearances/ going out capsules are genuinely different!!!
Some of the items can and do overlap (mostly jeans and knit tops) BUT to be truly useful and to have a high happiness factor, I actually have to think of these capsules as separate entities. And it's okay for me to do that.
In some ways, I live the opposite of most working women. My work-at-home capsule is like most women's casual weekend capsule. Meanwhile, my city trip/ appearances/ going out capsule is much more akin to most women's business wear, including denim Fridays! Plus their date nights.
Maybe that sounds obvious to the rest of you, but I sort of need to bang my head against the wall repeatedly before I get it.
