All of the forum talk of minimal dressing and capsules got me wanting to try it myself. I decided to do a 34-day capsule as a test, herewith described.

My goals: to learn about my existing closet, my dressing habits, my true lifestyle needs, and importantly -- what I don't need. After 3 years 7 months on YLF I have acquired a big wardrobe. I like a lot of my pieces too. But it's become too much, and the sheer choice overwhelms me now rather than makes me happy. So the capsule test has become my technique to help me edit plus determine a wardrobe count, then to practice one in, one out so I don't end up with the 200-300 pieces I have now (an estimate).

34-day Capsule
I started with a lifestyle assessment of the next 34 days. Why 34 days? Because it's a manageable test amount for me, and also lets me build a new capsule for September, where I have different activities planned and the environment changes. I used un-fancy.com's wardrobe planner, and it made the exercise quick.

Lifestyle Needs for August

-35% work outfits
-50% casual and comfortable
-10% smarter casual - a degree more stylish than casual & comfortable; shopping outfits for example
-5% smartest casual - similar to smarter casual but dressier, usually involving higher heeled shoes; dinner outfits for example.

Colors for August

Major -- white/cream + blues/indigo
Minor -- black
Accents -- Coral + Green + Gold

Go-to Pieces
White button down shirts
Fluid fit tees
Fitted denim bermuda shorts
Boyfriend jeans
Skinny jeans
Black fashion-forward bottoms (harem pants, long shorts etc)
Mini wedge sandals
Statement necklaces

My Go-to Outfits
Skinny jeans + white button down shirt + black clogs + black waist apron for work.
Boyfriend jeans + fluid tee + sandal
Knee shorts + tunic tee + sandal
Maxi skirt + white tee + sandal
Harem pants + knit top + sandal
Culottes + crop top + sandal

The Count-
Work (11 pieces):
5 work shirts (4 white button downs + 1 teal button down)
1 black clogs
5 work-appropriate jeans (2 skinny jeans + The Groupie jeans + Knee shorts + lightweight skinny jeans)

Smart Casual (7 pieces):
3 black bottoms (JF long shorts, harem pants, long skirt)
Silky Zara tee
Cropped white tee
Raquel Allegra tee
Strappy black mini wedge sandals

Casual (16 pieces):
5 shoes (Birks, Glads, Nude wedges, cognac ankle strap + one wild card)
9 tops (Mandarin white tee, scoop white tee, v white tee, green tee, green stripe tee, coral tank, cobalt tank, coral stripe tee, chambray shirt)
2 shorts (From Wal*Mart in 2 colors)

Pictures - to give you an idea
1 -- Typical casual, at home outfit for August. Avg. temps are 95 F, the day I took this picture it was 102 F.
2 -- Smart casual
3 -- Work outfit


Next -- lessons learned.

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9 years ago