Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. I acquired a head cold on the plane back from Seattle (I think -- no one else around me has it) so am not thinking as clearly as I might, but I'll try anyway.
La Belle Demimondaine, thank you for the links. The piece about going for a look and a lifestyle that we can't duplicate, is why I think I overshop for my smart casual capsule. It was re-assuring and made me smile to think I'm not the only one who needs plane tickets and more glam in my life to wear my clothes. I'm not a SAHM but I have needs for a SAHM capsule.
To those of you more critical of the concept, here's my thinking. I believe unfancy's capsule approach is geared towards someone who craves newness in her outfits yet also does not want the stress of having to look at a huge closet with the feeling of nothing to wear. I completely relate to this; I tire so easily of even last year's silhouettes, let alone something from 2 years ago. So I like her solutions. And I believe that, even though she photographed the outfits all at once (how honest that she revealed that fact), why would you think she doesn't wear the outfits she had planned. The outfits looked great in photographs, I would repeat those outfits. If you look back a few posts you will also find a posts where she lists her mistakes, which was just as interesting as looking at the outfits if not more so.
She mentioned somewhere that she will start photographing the outfits more in real time starting with this season. She comes across as a blogger with integrity much like our own Angie and I think that is why she has become popular so quickly and why many YLFers enjoy her.
As for myself, I am going to continue to try to create capsules but perhaps with a list of what I want and then to shop around it gradually. As well as to leave room for some wild cards as Adelfa mentions earlier. It feels very stressful to me to have to come up with everything during a 2 week period. I don't have the stores around me to try things on and honestly I don't have the resources to buy a lot at once.
Marley I had to laugh when you thought her capsule was minimal because I completely agree! I tried a 34-item capsule for 34 days and was itching to introduce more pieces. Mo I see your point about putting things away for the sake of putting them away, but I believe she does it because the visual excess troubles her and makes it harder to get dressed. Here's where I see her point. When traveling to Seattle, it was so easy to get dressed because I had a suitcase capsule, just a few things to pick from. It felt good, and I felt really happy with my wardrobe.
Ironkurtin I found myself nodding along to what you said about keeping it only if it's perfect because I already have so much. I need to always remember to be PPP! Did someone else say that too? Sorry if I am not acknowledging everyone!!
Thimbelina your point about simplification based on consumption is excellent and one that some brands are entirely based upon (hello Container store and Simple magazine). Personally I am not anti-consumption as I believe it fuels the world economy and is what is advancing the living standards of many in less developed nations. However I am not that familiar with the environmental impact of the apparel business.
Going forward for me. When I first did the August capsule test I combined everything into 34 pieces but now would like to create a work capsule (in my case a simple uniform inspired dress code of 25 pieces), and a casual/smart casual capsule, with the numbers around 50 so I can get my desired variety. My fancy capsule doesn't need a capsule as I have so few pieces in this category, it's already a minimal capsule.