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Capsule wardrobe

Irina

Veteran

Went to our art gallery yesterday. We saw a small show, a photo exhibition of cross dressers from 1960s. As a reference to fashion styles of those years, there were some pictures from a magazine. A couple of them caught my attention. #1, 2 and 3. Photo #4 is from my home page on YouTube.

I don’t know about you but I had enough of “capsule wardrobe “

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22 replies

Latest reply was from quietloud

Runcarla

Veteran

Never! I discovered capsule wardrobes through Angie and YLF 10 years ago, and it was instant love for me!

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Cardiff girl

Veteran

Well l an understand why as l think it’s an overused term these days However the principle of having a wardrobe full of interchangeable pieces is a sound one and that’s probably the reason it’s never gone away!

Runcarla.l used to love those posts from Angie on a Friday!

Roberta

Veteran

I like a full closet, so the very word capsule sounds small and confined to me. But my wardrobe is limited in other ways - no skirts, no heels, no evening bags, etc. A uniform of any sort can be appealing because you don't have to evaluate every outfit if you don't want to. In the summer my capsule is shorts and tops. But for many of us the evaluation and deliberation is half of the fun!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I have never liked them Irina. I am quite the opposite of Carla. To me they are reminiscent of those lists of “every woman should own” whatever they say like a white shirt, dark dress jeans, a trench coat etc.
But then Carla likes a tight smaller wardrobe and I prefer a lot of choice. Each to their own?
I do try to make sure anything I buy goes with more than one other item so I don’t get clothing orphans.

Irina

Veteran

I think that the term and a concept is so overused. And no wonder , was used since 50s and 60s! I don’t have a capsule wardrobe. At some points I might come up with a “capsule “ like a vacation wardrobe. I think my simple style and small color palette allow me to wear most of my items within a season, together. Or as I call it “play well together “. So, I see a season as a capsule and don’t feel a need to divide it more.

Dee

Veteran

I personally don’t like to be to confined with my wardrobe and capsule wardrobes reminds me of packing for trips which I’ve always struggled with. I prefer the the idea of a mix and match wardrobe with only broad seasonal limitations due to practicality.

Interesting to see that the capsule wardrobe concept is nothing new, but then again most people for centuries had very limited wardrobes anyways.

Helena

Veteran

I love capsule wardrobes but never stick to them hahaha ... So cool to see some vintage versions! Thanks for sharing Irina!

pirouette

A capsule wardrobe helped me to finally understand my own style. I had a wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear and was constantly shopping and worrying about what to wear. I decided to make a capsule wardrobe from those lists of must haves and I found out some of those things eg a striped top didn’t suit me but I was able to build on the things I liked in the capsule and it helped me realise that I like a very simple black white and grey palette with no fuss of frills. I understand lists and capsule wardrobe are not everyone’s cup of tea but they gave me a starting point to build on.

Olive Green

Veteran

My clothes do play well with each other, mostly because of a lack of patterns to clash, and harmonious colours, mostly ;-), and a fairly consistent style and silhouette. Took some work and honest assessments (sorry, fantasy life) but I am pretty happy and almost always have something to wear, with enough stuff in each daily category to avoid laundry bottlenecks.
That said, because I don’t go to work anymore, I had NO formal occasion or business type clothes left, and did make up a formal basic navy capsule that could span the seasons with the right supports.
I also have a tiny swim capsule, and a couple of fancy arty toppers that have lasted through moving and culls, for casual fancy. Like lunches or art galleries or musicales.
The rest of the clothes are everyday, chosen for temperature and coverage needs, and can be laid out and packed into a travel capsule in 5 minutes.
Like you, Irina, I love a minimalist approach, and I watch your posts for your assessments of interesting clothes!

Ket

Veteran

I love reading all the nuances everyone has shared for both sides of the capsule debate.

I don’t consider myself a capsule wardrobe person either. I like variety and choice. I dress by mood. That said, I echo the point about uniform dressing. I loosely have one. Nothing that constitutes a true capsule wardrobe? Fun top+simple bottom, with accessories and maybe a topper. Dress+topper, with accessories. Nothing earth shattering. 95% of us wear some version of this. For me it’s making it all my own with line, fit, and deep heart vibe.

What I love are photos of outfit collages. (I see those used a lot with capsule wardrobe photos.) Somehow those are so helpful and inspiring to me. “Look at what one can do! Oooo!” Do I run out to buy the outfit or entire capsule wardrobe and then wear it? Rarely, if ever. They’re great fantasy dressing to me somehow. If I see the same outfit dressed on a person, that’s when I start wondering if it would actually work for me or my fantasy has run away with me.

cat2

Veteran

The capsule wardrobe posts confuse me, as they always seem to assume a really consistent life style where you only need one level of dressiness. Real life throws up a wider range of events.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

I still love it! Though I never really bit the bullet and did it. Are those cross dressers? They look pretty delicate and feminine. And I love the color and pattern in those photos. The best capsule wardrobe video I've seen on YouTube was a girl who spelled it out exactly--4 cardigans, 4 shirts, etc. Not so much "maybe you'll have a white tee, maybe you'll have a black cardigan." Her exactness turned into like, 256 outfits.

lyn67

Veteran

I don't know but for me was a revelation to find out about this concept 15 yrs ago here and other places on the net as it tremendously helped me think about what/where/why to wear.
I think the concept has 2 ways to be aknowledged.
For me, "capsule wardrobe" is usefull for when starting creating outfits from scratch with a deliberate purpose(function, color, level of formality, season stc).
Then, thinking about different "warobe capsules" (with the same deliberated purposes) is useful when having a big wardrobe and one wants to dig out and put together smaller groups of corelated items.
During the last 1,5 decade I used the concept both ways for my needs. First way was vital when I wanted to look proffesional at work the second way was helpful when my wardrobe growed bigger but didn't want to cull that much.

kellygirl

Veteran

I still like the idea but don't have the discipline to make it happen. I like variety. I think it works better if you wear a variety of basics. My uniform is basically jeans, top and some sort of topper. Most of the capsules I see incorporate other pieces - like a skirt, trousers, etc.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think the term is used in different ways.

I think it's useful sometimes to think of categories of garment as a capsule, i.e. my coat capsule -- do I have a coat for every weather I regularly encounter? Or do I need to update/ upgrade my puffer coat? Etc.

For certain people with specific lifestyle needs, thinking in terms of capsules by activity can also be helpful -- i.e. my hiking capsule, my skiing capsule, or even, my beach vacation capsule. (I have a hiking capsule that has only minimal crossover to daily or even other gear wear.)

Or you might think in terms of a PJ capsule or underwear capsule. I do, because I tend to upgrade these at intervals only. I examine them, see that I have my needs met, pay attention to what's falling apart and needs replacement.

Anyone who wears a lot of separates probably wants to think about mix and match, which is what those early magazine examples seem to be illustrating. Is that a capsule? Maybe it you buy all the parts at once? I don't know.

I don't like it when people congratulate themselves on their (supposedly, but not really) tiny "capsule" wardrobe (that they buy in its entirety every year.) That often feels self-congratulatory and smug to me. I think, yeah, of course everything goes together and mixes and matches perfectly and looks completely contemporary. -- you just bought an entire closet full of clothes at one time!

Note: I don't see anyone on this forum using the term in the latter way.

Irina

Veteran

I didn’t put too much thought into this post. I just saw the pictures and found them amusing. I certainly didn’t know the term “capsule wardrobe “ has been around for decades. I don’t have an opinion about its usefulness.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I meant to say, I actually love the outfits in that first spread and would wear updated versions of them all!

Irina

Veteran

Suz, no doubt, those outfits are classic and preppy
I look at 90s minimalism and bet I can wear it now.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I noticed the very rigorous color sorting by cool and warm in those vintage capsules. Interesting! I had the impression that the concept came along in the 90s with Donna Karan's 9(?) easy pieces but apparently it is much earlier. Also notice the headline: "in synthetic fabrics". This used to be a feature not a bug .
I am not a capsule person myself, but can certainly see how it could suit a less moody personality!

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

I'm weary of capsule wardrobe articles and videos where everything looks vaguely beige and shapeless, and/or sponsored by LilySilk and/or Sezanne. (Although I understand that for YouTubers, sponsorships are an important source of revenue. No judgement there, just tired of seeing the same silk blouses and slacks).

I think that "capsule wardrobe" online has just become about trying to sell a concept and products to people. I think "mix-and-match" is a better description of what we're actually all trying to achieve.

So while we're talking about things we're tired of hearing about... French Girl Style/French Girl Chic/French Girl Capsule. Discuss. As best as I can trace it back, it seems to be derived from Audrey Hepburn's style across a couple of films (Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina)... and she wasn't even French. And..... go!

Writtenpage

I love a capsule wardrobe concept - it means I am not overwhelmed by choice as it is easier to put the outfit together.
That being said, I have multiple capsule wardrobes! I find that there's some aspects of what I wear that just don't cross over well. Workwear is inevitably trouser suits, occasionwear tends to be asian embroidered outfits, and casual tends to be skirts and a top since my shape changed.
I do like to lookup trend seasonal capsule wardrobes for inspiration to see what I can add or change-up in my own wardrobes.

quietloud

I am also kind of tired of hearing and reading about capsule wardrobes everywhere, especially in that very prescriptive tone. That being said, I am actually trying out a capsule wardrobe of sorts for the first time this winter, hoping it will give me some clarity with my wardrobe that right now feels full of stuff and nothing to wear. I think it will benefit me to pack away the things I am not planning on wearing for the season, and that having fewer things available will force me to vary my combinations more, as well as hopefully seeing more clearly what's missing in my wardrobe.