Here's a long noodle on more wardrobe organization.

I’ve still been doing some editing and outfit creation and that gets me thinking more about wardrobe numbers and capsules.

I’ve started to like not having as many things “out”
in my main closet, but I also need to watch out so that I don’t run 2 whole
closets. Meaning, I’m good with “off season” storage in the spare bedroom closet, but I don’t want it swollen to be large amounts of clothing that is only worn for a few months of the year.

I like the idea of the "40-hanger wardrobe" or similar, but meaning, what is readily visible at any one time, because I can’t really deal with many more items than that for decision-making.

So as you have likely read about, there is also the 4-season, “37” or whatnot capsule wardrobe idea.

I like this idea on one level, too, but not as a plan to have 37 different pieces for each of 4 seasons! I guess in part because I'm more focused on workwear organization, and so I dont' need 120 workwear items nor want 3/4 of all workwear lying fallow at any one time.

More it's the idea of having about 40 items that are what I am likely to be wearing for some weeks of a given temperature range-- that is just made up, but is based on some practical numbers related to 2-weeks of outfit rotations, plus some extras for
mood or temp (warmer or cooler) plus a few mix and match, so something like 8-10 pants ( I wear pants a LOT ) and 3-4
skirts (again made up number based on having fewer “skirt days”) and 15 tops and some layering pieces and toppers. And, it’s related to my hanging rod
space that is at best “eye level”, easiest to see and reach and visualize. That sort of thing-not rigid, but just it’s about what I’d wear.

For the idea of “capsule, ” I don’t hold to the idea
that everything goes with everything, but where it interests me is that if I
picked out these 40 or so items, then they still of course ought to relate to each other in a rational
way (several smaller capsules and overlapping capsules and a few single-outfit pieces--reasons why these tops and these bottoms are “what I’m wearing”, and which toppers go, and why.

(For a further random departure into flight of ideas, it brings up my topper problem such as, why does it take seemingly a dozen jacket options in order for to be able to complete an outfit in a way that looks good to me, even within a given weather season? It’s my problem of proportions and lengths—I feel it is very hard to find the all-purpose topper because of colors, lengths, and fit over
tops, and that may be a HEWI. The closest thing is actually a non-indoor topper, such as a lightweight coat that goes over longer tops or bulkier tops with pants, and also looks like it could belong to a skirt outfit.)

Looping back to the 4 –season capsules, I would use more of a “shifting core” where I’m thinking somewhat seasonally, just because my brain does work that way, but with half or more items staying the same and then some being subbed in, again primarily for temperature comfort but also for “evoking seasons” for pleasure with different fabrics and colors.

Where I’m going with this is that I need to give more thought to whether, if some core items are staying, do the upcoming season-change refresher items ( like subbing in some warmer sweaters to wear with some all-season pants that are still warm enough) truly relate to each other in the best way and create outfits that are just as good as the ones that are being “retired for the season”, meaning, am I collecting versatile items that make multi-season “great”
outfits.

Or flip-flop it to also be that a core item can be made warmer if its style allows layering a thermal item under. I look at that as different from layering over, because I sometimes want to retain the look and proportions of the actual top, and because thermal underlayers are cheaper, washable, and repeatable and store easily. This causes me to re-evaluate my love of cozy woolens and
place more value on seeking out more upscale, lofty cotton and linen knitwear, or selected wovens, that for me is still comfortable in summer A/C but might take an underlayer in chilly weather. Thin merino almost qualifies but loses out a bit in humid weather.

A truly more scary thought is that perhaps I would do well with a true, completely separate 4-season wardrobe change-up, but then I'd need to use much fewer pieces per season. I've thought about that first, I'm too temperature-temperamental, and also, that once I've got pants hemmed and tailored and skirts done and all that, I want to be able to reach for them in more than one season, so I think emphasizing the season-less core works better in my relatively mild 4-season climate.

Whew--not sure anyone can relate to all that, but it's how I'm analyzing why certain items seem to pay their way versus others that languish.