Hi, Keturah -- I'm also in, but I won't be starting properly until the end of August.

Goal: a "warm fall" capsule.

I want to break my seasons down into sub-seasons, both in the hope of staving off some boredom, and also as a way of seeing more clearly which items and silhouettes work best for me when -- and what my true holes are. I was bored with my choices last winter, and I would like to have a clearer idea why, and what to do about it.

In the meantime, I have to put a short travel capsule together for the coming week. Off to do that now!

I'm in! Not yet sure about my goals - will spend some time working on them later this evening and then add them to this thread!

This is going to be fun!

I hate to be an idea lemming as well as a clothes lemming, but I htink my goals will be very similar to Suz's. I'd like to do the same type of analysis I've done with my summer clothes, to my fall clothes... and maybe after that my winter (if I keep them separate, I haven't in the past) in the hopes that I will realize I have too much stuff BEFORE I buy a whole bunch more :).

I was NOT bored with my clothes last winter, for the first time ever, in part because of YLF and the fact I was having a fun with my clothes, and was discovering more what my style might be. So this year will be fine tuning, seeing what works, and figuring out the holes. A couple of holes have been filled (or will be filled, if my fall off the wagon NAS order is successful).

Cerinda, welcome!! Your goals sound great. I especially love
the Basement Boutique idea!! That is a really great idea.

CocoLion, I read Alana’s post and it had a lot of good discussion. Where I live late summer starts to cool off a lot. But I always have loved the idea of a late summer capsule. One month sounds good. This is all about making it work for us individually, however that works and plays out.

I don’t see the white jeans as cheating. If you already own it, and you're not doing it all the time, why not pull out an item if you’re feeling it? Doing that keeps me from spending and buying new all the time too. Thanks for the link to Gaylene’s thread. Can’t wait to read it!

Suz, I understand. I’ve started organizing my fall things in my head because autumn really starts in late August where I live in the mountains. But like you, it’s more of a warm fall capsule – nothing too heavy or too warm, a few sweaters, and layers (because it can be 35 in the morning and spike to 60s
and 70s by noon). However, I’m really itchy for my true fall capsule, which is basically just adding a few more warm things and leggings ha Can’t wait to hear about your travel capsule!!

Marley, YAY! Post your goals when you have them finished. And yes, it is going to be fun! I’m already having a blast!!

Elizabeth P, lemming away! The great artists learned by copying other artists’ work and internalizing things, until their own style came out. I feel that does work for clothes – I have to try things to learn what does and doesn’t work for me. So far, I already find myself being more creative, more open, and having more enjoyment in the whole process.

Well, so far my fall capsule is coming along splendidly!! I'm learning so much from it. While I don't have it actually layed out and in my closet yet (waiting for the end of August or early September to transition, unless the weather changes)

I have learned that I like different silhouettes and proportions for different seasons. For f/w, I don't want bottoms that are loose-fit or have volume. BF jeans (not too baggy), skinnies, leggings, and tights are best. I love maxi dresses, mini dresses, and tunics. I want more volume on top, with oversized sweaters, lots of layers, fur vests, cowls, etc., etc., etc.

Well, I intended to put this thread on the backburner as I used this week to plan ahead for this school year. However, I'm sick today and feeling like I just couldn't drag myself into lesson planning. Decided to take a little while and type out my plan while the kids are watching TV. Talking clothes is just way more fun than planning math lessons. Plus my brain hurts.

My goals for Fall 2014 Capsule Wardrobe:

1) Learn to love dressing the way I love shopping. I know I am doing something wrong because I just do not enjoy getting dressed the way I know I could. I find my closet stresses me out and I deal with stress by shopping more and bringing home more items that add to the problem. I want to reach into my closet and find things I love, that are easy to wear and make me look my best. I think working on the capsule concept will help get me closer to that ideal.

2) Focus my style into a mixable wardrobe. I have tons of items that I liked for some reason or another but don’t really fit together at all. I have always been a big fan of purging frequently, however in the past my criteria has been based solely on fit, condition and my emotional response to the item. I want to begin to think of items as they work with each other (or don’t) as I decide whether they should stay or go. I’d love to think of my wardrobe as a cohesive unit rather than a conglomeration of poor impulsive shopping binges with no functional use as a means to my goals.

3) Shop productively. As much as I love to shop, I have so much to learn about responsible shopping. I still need to nail down the details as to what that means for me, but I know for sure there needs to be a plan and there needs to be a significant change.

My plan:

1) Continue to evaluate and thin my current wardrobe. I need to tread carefully, because I can’t go right out and replace items. I am considering boxing items up into a holding area until I re-evaluate down the road. I’ve done this before with success.

2) Photograph all items and add to Stylebook. I have started this already but I really need to set aside an evening and get a proper background and light set up. I think I would really get use from this, but since the vast majority of my wardrobe is thrifted I can’t just steal the stock photos from the retail site. When I start doing this before, it was actually a great tool because I started with my favorites and once I got past them I would pick something up and think “is this worth the time to photograph”. Reality is, if I don’t want to bother taking a picture then it probably isn’t going to be incorporated into my daily wardrobe, won’t fit into a capsule anyway, and in fact probably isn’t worth keeping
at all. BAM. There it is.

3) Shopping break. I have done this before and it is very much time to do it again. I am considering a long break from August 1 through October 30. That would be a huge stretch for me and would really challenge the capsule project too. I know that I will want to buy some items that would really pull the capsule together. I’m going to give this some more thought. I may offer myself the chance to sell some clothes and put the money toward new wardrobe purchases. I think that might be a nice compromise, although I probably won’t be able to make much money that way! I think breaking the shopping habit may be more vital toward my ultimate goal than adding items to the wardrobe at this time. Working with what I have will be a good exercise, at least.

Well, I was going to wait until the weekend and post pics of my core neutral items but hey, I can do up a list now. As I mentioned earlier, I am going to follow the main theme of Vivienne files blog "wardrobe from scratch step by step series". I have also decided that this capsule is going to be 2 month long ie. September and October (thanks to Suz for planting the "warm fall" idea into my head). Also, folllowing the blog unfancy.com's idea, I have come up with a number of items for this capsule which is 24. So far, I have my neutrals figured out.
Navy:
A pair of dark wash denim
Navy moto jacket
A pair of black pants (I think black and navy are interchangeable and I did not want to spend money on another pair of pants) OR VC navy tube midi skirt
Navy pullover - still need to buy
Cream/white:
A pair of cream coloured jeans
Off-white jacket
cream chunky pullover
a pair of off-white windown pane pants

Goodplan, Mona. 24 pieces will be more than plenty for a two month wardrobe!

I've been following along, and I'll join in too. I'm not ready for true fall yet, so warm fall capsule it is. As I have time, I'm trying on outfits to determine which combinations make the cut.

Goal-- be warm AND stylish this winter

Division of time-- about 1/2 of my waking time is spent at work or commuting and 1/2 is spent in other pursuits = exercise, lounging, housework, dates, time spent with SO, volunteering, etc.

Usually I combine a small smart casual capsule, with a tiny buisness capsule, a small casual capsule, and a gear capsule---- this season I'm focusing on adding to my smart casual capsule with just a couple additions to my casual capsule

I also have a big Christmas party and 1-2 trips coming up-- I might have to add an additional top for the party

Pulling off the goal-- I need to add some additional bottoms so I have enough warm casual bottoms to get through a week without doing laundry twice (new silhouettes-- BF jeans, black slim pants, straight jeans), boots (new colors and ability to switch up footwear daily for comfort), and warm layers (hoodies to wear with summer and leather jackets indoors, sweaters) to meet the first part. The second part will be accomplished by the bottoms, sweaters, and boots, but also by introducing accessories and a couple new blouses and through the selection of the color palette. I'm thinking I would like to give jeans' belts a try, add 1-2 scarves, start wearing stud and hoop earrings again, and buy a new watch. I'm hoping to stick to the black, navy, medium/charcoal grey, denim/medium blue, and brown leather palette I've been building with accents of red/orange and evergreen/olive. I also have a rock tee and flannel shirt on my list for my casual capsule.

Budget--- hopefully this next week I will have a better idea of how much I have to spend for fall. I have a big variable payment that I should know the total of this week.

So ideally, my shopping list would include:
BF jeans (full length 33.5-35")
Straight black pants
brown boots
black boots
brown belt
black belt
green blouse
navy blouse
flannel shirt
rock tee
black merino tee/sweater
red or orange cozy cardi
grey drapey sweater
additional fluid sweater
2 hoodies (navy, grey)
2 scarves
watch

That should leave me with a 35-piece F/W capsule including outerwear and shoes but not including other accessories or gear.

I'm in as well. Sounds like a good way to occupy myself during this no-shopping August. Mine will be a "hot Fall" capsule. Fall doesn't generally hit in Atlanta until November, so I'll be in Summer hangover for Sept and Oct. My silhouette will likely be the same as high Summer (sleeveless top and ankle pants/crops), but I'd like to move into more Fall-like colors. I'd also like to get my true Fall shoe wardrobe figured out now that I can only wear flats. I wear flat sandals for work all Summer. I'm really not sure why it's such a challenge for me with Fall/Winter outfits, but it is.

Baby steps, right?

First: division of time. What I do varies radically month to month.

• August? about 75% smart casual, 15% funky (but still casual), and about 10% dressy.
• September? Zero weddings and a performance art festival shift the balance to 50% casual, 48% funk, and only 2% dressy.
• October? Holidays, a short vacation, and a looming deadline shift the pattern back again to about 70% casual, 16% funky, and 14% dressy.

• most of September has beautiful summer weather
• October is cooler but still beautiful
• and the rain starts on Halloween

• black, grey, cocoa, and denim are my central neutrals
• olive, cream and midnight are secondary
• my accent colors are complementary - blue-green and orange-red (well, more or less)

I think I am up for the challenge! Generally I just sorta kinda roll into a season with no goals or plan. I don't think that process has served me well so maybe a change of strategy!

Goal #1 - identify true wardrobe holes. This will require that I spend some time in my closet doing the hard work. Then make a list of those holes and that becomes my shopping plan for fall/winter

Goal #2 - This season I want to explore the Sporty Lux trend and use that as a guide for new items that come into my closet.

Ah, I had every intention of starting a capsule for summer-into-fall today.

But this week has been kind of overwhelming for work and study - and on top of that, I found myself somehow paralyzed at making capsule wardrobe decisions. As of today, I have a partial capsule, but it isn't finished yet.

Maybe that's the idea... to take what I have already chosen, and select the rest of my capsule as I go. Perhaps I will never be finished with my capsule.

About an hour ago, I made myself a cup of coffee, and sat browsing my Pinterest pages, and the blogs I ardently follow, and I realized - I've gotten caught up in some idea of what my capsule is 'supposed to' be, and I lost sight of the things I really love to wear. I love Un-fancy's premise, but for my part, I love to be fancy every chance I get, even in shorts and flat shoes and 90+ degree temps.

I still feel like I have made a good start. Here are my choices to begin with - things I frequently reach for, and one or two things that I want to join Team Wear with (leather shorts, studded skirt). These are mostly bottoms, although I have photographed a couple of tops. The shorts in #3 are on the verge of becoming shabby, and I am planning to retire them soon, to become loungewear. Most of my bottoms are shorts, because I mostly work from home, and it is plenty hot in Atlanta.

I have some white pieces - tops and sweaters - to photograph, as well as some other pieces. Then I am going to tackle some color, including pink. But you get the general idea.

ETA: At the moment, I don't feel that I have any wardrobe holes. And I still haven't really set a number for my capsule

Goals:

1. A trench coat with a removable/detachable hood and liner that is NOT made of polyester
2. A light-weight coat that is a step up (or four) from my nylon LL Bean parka
3. Learn how to walk and run in fashionable high heels OR find a smokin' hot pair of comfortable shoes
4. Replace my double-knit wool pants that was eaten by moths
5. A pair of long leather gloves in a funky color to complement the light-weight coat that is totally lady-like but will nevertheless cause men to pant (because, of course, long leather gloves...)
6. A new pair of sunglasses
7. Start wearing more jewelry
8. Learn how to not--per Angie--spill things on white pants (or sit in, or walk past flying dirt, etc)

Em, I love your goals! I'm going to lemming a few of those: 1) keeping white pants clean 2) the long leather gloves. and 3) If you find that holy grail of cushiony high heel shoes, pass a shopping link along to me, okay?

I'm in. I'm doing the August shopping ban, but I can do some of the other work until then.

Goals

1) move closer to my aspirational style. primary- UWP, shadow- 80s punk, sporty

2) determine the wardrobe size that size that is small enough that everything gets worn, but large enough to prevent boredom. One of my goals for 2014 was to get it down to 240. I did that (cheated a little by not counting some tops that I only wear as undershirts). It still feels like much more than I need so I'm ready to move on to 200.

Goals: 1.Pare down my current wardrobe by 1/3 and only add items that I truly love and that make me happy, fit well and look great.
2.Chose fall capsules for comfort at work (a non-traditional physician working with children in school setting), and home (on the go mom).
3.Make no purchases of items for special occasions. None are anticipated.
4. Improve comfort level of shoes; bonus if they are also pretty and have heels.
5. Avoid blazers and jackets that feel constricting to movement and substitute cropped cardigans, or other sweater as substitute.
6. Move away from Navy colored skirts that are currently serving as base of wardrobe and try to replace with some that are in wardrobe neutrals.
7. At least one wild card outfit in terms of color or silhouette.

Color Goals:

Wardrobe neutrals include Ivory, Camel, Chocolate, Olive and Teal

Wardrobe accent colors include soft rust, all sorts of green, warm navy, coral, mustard, and purple/aubergine.

Wardrobe patterns: animal prints in warm tones, small to medium (no larger than 1.5") floral prints, or graphic prints, low to medium contrast

Navy can only be worn mixed with other colors, in a pattern, or with colors that are part of soft autumn palette, never as a stand alone! Even if it is warm navy!!!! (It just makes me look ill). Absolutely no black allowed!

Silhouette: 1. Straight leg jeans with dressy tee and cardigan/sweater. Accessorize with scarf or cool necklace.
2. Toothpick jeans with loose sweater, lightweight or layered. Accessories as appropriate.
3. Pencil Skirt with loose blouse (no buttons in front)
4. Pencil Skirt with sweater (Loose or not)
5. Fit and Flare Dress with Cropped Cardigan
6. Wrap Dress and sweater if needed

Shoes:
1. Possibly find another pair of Born brand booties since last years pair is worn out and they were very comfortable and stylish. (Will go back to same place they were purchased!)
2. Consider replacing one pair of Munro Shoes which looks a little worn out
3. Look at Anyi Lu, Chi Mihara, and Steve Weitzman as these are the three brands that fit best this summer. Also Naot and Finn Comfort. All expensive, but your feet are worth it - foot surgery costs more, especially if you have to take time off. Reminder: You are on your feet all day lady!!

Steps already taken for Fall:
I have one transitional pencil skirt, it is a rusty paprika orange color, and strangely enough, it goes with almost everything in my closet. It isn't one of my wardrobe neutrals, but it seems to work as one. I also have one new wool pencil skirt in Chartreuse. Both of these a surprise. I ordered them from J Crew. I also ordered some other colors, including camel and another shade of green. I only kept the Paprika, and the Chartreuse. They seem to go with absolutely everything. Amazing! (They also fit my mood board which included a Ruby throated hummingbird - green and orange).

I now own two new pencil skirts and they fit nicely and go with everything in my closet! Awesome. I'm still waiting for a brown leather pencil with a zipper in front that I ordered from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I hope that one works. That would be perfect and round out my skirt collection with something with a little edge, but still in keeping with my aesthetic. I'm hopeful!

I just received the Charlotte Gainsbourg for Current Elliot Blouse that I ordered from Nordstrom. Pricey, but interesting. It is loose, light and flowy, which I love, has no buttons up the front, which is one of my requirements, but does have some asymmetrical buttons at the neckline and it has a mock turtle neck. (Good for me because I have a long neck). It is Ivory. It looks good with jeans and with a skirt, but I'm still not sure this is the right blouse for me. I think it may be too sheer to stand alone. I am looking for the right under layer to see if it will work. If not, it is going back. ( It is very well made, the seams are perfectly sewn so the money paid is well spent if I keep it.)

I would still like to add at least two or three more blouses in different colors, and maybe even a print. This has been a challenge! I am having a hard time finding something that doesn't have buttons up the front. (No more Ivory blouses!) I was hoping for something that would look good with my new skirts, and also jeans. No black allowed! I don't mind sleeveless. In fact I love them. I don't like drapey cowl necks because they gape too much when I lean forward. I don't like v necks that are too deep. No peasant tops or boxy shirts. Nothing with an exaggerated mullet shape either. I'm not in love with the overly long blouses that remind me of tunics worn with leggings. I did that in my 20's.and I do not think it will look great on me as I move into my 50's. Hopefully I can find something with interest around the neck, or shoulder area. Bonus if It has some sort collar or a high neckline. So, now, I just have to start looking again, and keep looking. I know they are out there somewhere! I would love a great teal blouse.

I also added the following items: A J Crew Cashmere Long Sleeve Crew Sweater in Rusty Clay color, J Crew Sateen Toothpick Jeans in a warm pink color. These are my wild cards in terms of color. The two look nice together, and they also magically mix in with the rest of my wardrobe. They especially look nice when worn with one of my fall colored scarves. Nice! I'm happy! They are comfortable and tick all the boxes.

I added an open long cardigan in heather camel, also from J Crew. I like the length, and the color. It looks good with most of my dresses and will extend their wear into fall/winter, plus it looks good with the new pencil skirts. Also looks great with jeans. Can't go wrong with this one. It just works with everything.

I'm temped to order a v-neck cashmere cardigan from JCrew in the heather acorn color. still debating this one. I like the color, but am trying to decide how it will work with everything. (I have a teal wrap dress that I think it will look great with, but, the sweater may not be cropped enough). I won't get it unless I can figure out how to use it multiple ways.

Accessories: I need none! Just went to a local art fair and found something that I have been hunting down for several years! A green necklace that doesn't overwhelm, and looks nice on me! Hooray, there was also a bangle and earrings that coordinated but were not to matchy! I can reuse my purse from last year. Still love it, and even though it is a bit worn, it is still in good enough shape. It will look good with the colors I purchased so far and I know it goes with what I already own. It's chocolate brown.

Shoes: Found a pair of Aquatalia Boots in Chocolate at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Perfect! Great for the weather we have here. Fashionable, and comfortable low heels! They are replacing a pair that I have had for many years and they are too worn to repair. (Maybe they will replace two pairs because I have a significant boot collection). Great that this style of Aquatalia fits slender calves.

Writing all this out was very helpful. Now I can see that I still need some interesting blouses and some shoes. That's it! I'm pretty much done! Oh, I still need to pare down my closet.by 1/3. I'm working on that.

Preliminary Fall Capsule: 3 Pencil skirts (Chartreuse, Paprika, Brown Leather?)
1 a line lightweight corduroy skirt from athleta (purple)
1 organic cotton ribbed shirt to go with above skirt - teal (a favorite outfit that I have worn now for past two years, still looks great, and I love it, Great mom on the go look.)
1 Teal wrap dress
1 pair toothpick jeans (dark blue)
1 pair toothpick jeans (pink)
1 pair straight leg jeans
2 long sleeve ivory blouses (silk)
STILL NEED 2-3 MORE BLOUSES
1 sleeveless print ivory pattern blouse (silk)
1 Ivory peplum nice t-shirt (can be worn with jeans or skirt)
2 short sleeve crew neck cashmere sweaters (peacock, camel,)
1 lightweight cashmere sweater set in light yellow
2 basic ivory t shirts
1 merino wool sweater set in dark teal
1 long sleeve cashmere crew in rusty clay
1 open cashmere cardigan in heather camel
1 sheath dress in rust
1 fit and flare dress in admiral navy
1 wrap sweater in ivory
3 cashmere hoodie sweaters (various weights and styles for mom on the go look)
1 merino sweater with silk print panel on front ( a favorite from last year and will look great with paprika skirt)
3 3/4 sleeve t-shirts solid colors
2 pairs aquatalia boots (red, and chocolate)
1 pair chi mihara sandals (wear until it gets too cold)
1 pair born booties (try to replace)
1 pair leopard print loafers
STILL LOOKING FOR 1 CLASSIC, SIMPLE, FITTED,
V NECK SHEATH, KNEE LENGTH, IN A WARM COLOR. PREFER SLEEVELESS, IN ONE OF MY NEUTRALS BUT NOT CAMEL OR IVORY.
Outerwear: Lightweight down sweater (green)
lightweight down sweater (chocolate)
Raincoat (Chartreuse)
Wool Tweed Poncho with fur collar (Chocolate mix)
Warm furry mohair/wool coat (for colder weather and for work) Chocolate)
Accessories: Pick from any scarf in my collection and all necklaces.
Always wear a bangle, or bangles, depending on the outfit and it's complexity/layers/ruffles, etc.

Layer necklaces as well.

Nail polish will remain neutral pale pink (looks clear)
Make up colors: Only change will be in lip color, will use darker gloss and change eye shadow from very pale yellow to a more mustard yellow. Blush and eye liners will stay the same. Courtesy of Elea Blake soft autumn palette.

I may add another cardigan sweater, a sweater set, and perhaps some t-shirts to the mix. Hard to tell. I have them already, I'm just not sure if they belong,

Progress towards my goals:

1. Shoe sorting and shopping is complete. I tossed out 12 old pairs and purchased 4 new pairs. My favorite of which is a pair of black quilted knee high boots from Steve Weitzman. Very Chanel and elegant!

2.Could not find a teal sheath dress. I have given up on that. Instead I will keep my online purchase of a Vince rib sheath in Charcoal. It is very simple and will serve as a base for many outfits. It would be better if it was in a warm tone but I can work with it for now.

3. Keeping the Charlotte Gainsbourg for Current Elliot blouse. It worked with a camisole underneath.

4. Managed to eliminate 107 items fairly easily from my closet. I still have 46 to go. It's the last 46 that will be tough. I think it will come from purses (I am trying to shift to lighter weight, smaller purses instead of leather.) Some of the bags are just too small and those can go as well.

5.Looks like I will have to accept black for shoes, boots, leggings, and slacks. I actually love black shoes so this is ok. I just don't like it right up next to my face. It's ok in patterns also, as long as there isn't too much.

6. I still need a few long sleeve blouses in good colors. I'm not having trouble finding sleeveless blouses.

7.I went ahead and ordered the J Crew cashmere cardigan in heather acorn. I love that rusty brown color. I also bought a merino v neck cardigan in a light teal color (not sure about the color name), It was in the store when I went to return something else and I knew it was right for me. It has a matching Tippi crew sweater but I didn't purchase that. I stuck to my goal which was for cardigans in place of blazers. It ticks two goal boxes because it is teal, and it replaces the use of a blazer.

Below are some of the items I have purchased for my Fall Capsule. For each item I purchase, I am removing 1 or 2 items from my closet. I am starting to see the items I love more easily.

I have to say I am doing fairly well at sticking to a goal of only purchasing and keeping items that I truly love, fit well, make me happy, and look great.

Staysfit, I love your color palette and how you said your rust and chartreuse skirts go with just about everything! Your wardrobe sounds absolutely wonderful. I am doing a mood board and was surprised to see how much rust was in it. And I love to add lime green to perk up some of the darker colors of the autumn palette.

Gigi, I think that would work so well! The chartreuse I have is fairly soft, but I know the same would work with more intense or darker colors. I think lime would look great mixed with aubergine, dark teal, and I would even put it with coral! They would have to be of similar intensity for it to work.

Great challenge! I have an intensely busy August/Sept, with a big trip in the middle of it all, so I'll be doing my capsule for travel, and saving autumn for later! I find it works best when I create capsules to work only for 4-6 weeks, and when I feel free to dress outside the capsule when I feel like it!

I'll be watching the rest of your capsules develop and am eager to have you share what you've learned!

I'm in!!! Thanks for starting this Keturah.

Step One:

Organize my wardrobe and start thinking capsule.

I have been reading the Starting from Scratch series (Vivienne Files) and finding in very useful. I also have been going through Imogen Lamport's Blog. And of course I am a big fan of Angie's posts.

I will look at some of the other posts.

I have chosen my colours from Starting from Scratch based on what was already in my closet and what I love.

Two Neutrals, Two Accents, One White/Cream.

My neutrals are: Cognac (Caramel Brown), Olive Green and Black. Yes I know that is 3 but I have lots of cognac, black and some olive. I am not going to buy anymore black but I will still wear black.

My accents are: Golden Yellow and maybe Turquiose/Teal. The second one is hard for me because I wear lots of green but now green is a neutral. I sometimes wear teal.

Cream. That was easy.

I won't make a soap opera out of this but choosing my neutrals was not easy. I went through my fall/winter clothes and debated about chocolate brown. Anyways this process was difficult. Also my jeans will be blue. Okay. That is done.

Step Two:

Make a Shopping List

My next step is making a shopping list. I used the Vivienne Files' Starting from Scratch plan to do this. I live in a remote area without shopping so I will be going to Toronto in a few weeks and doing my shopping then. This is the first time I will go with a big list. Usually I just wander around and buy what looks interesting. I don't know how this will go. I am looking for nice olive green pants but what if I don't find them. Oh well.

I think I have made great progress on my fall capsule and my goals.
My work capsule looks something like this:

Bottoms:
3 pencil skirts (1 wool chartreuse, 1 brown leather, 1 rust stretch cotton)
3 pairs skinny jeans (1 dark wash, 1 warm pink, 1 high waist dark wash)
1 pair straight leg jeans (dark wash)
1 pair black leggings
1 a-line light weight corduroy skirt (rusty brown)

Tops:
2 feather weight cashmere longsleeve sweaters (brick red, lavender)
3 long sleeve cashmere cardigans (V-neck button hip length (Heather Acorn color) and Long Open Cardigan (Heather camel and Heather Indigo)
1 cashmere crew in rusty pink color
1 merino cardigan in light teal
Two Long sleeve silk blouses (Charlotte Gainsbourg, and more traditional button down with pockets and collar)
Three sleeveless blouses (Blue, Ivory and Wine colors)
One Patterned Kurta by Tracy Reese (Rust, orange, yellow)
One long sleeve pinstripe button down in maroon

Dresses:
Grey Sheath (Vince)
Rust Sheath (Ralph Lauren
DVF Linda Wrap (Teal)
DVF T72 Wrap Feather Leopard (olive green and Ivory)
Ivory Wrap top to go with all the above

Shoes: Steve Weitzman Quilted Knee high boot (Black)
AGL Bootie (Black)
Anyi Lu Bootie (Camel)
Aquatalia Knee high Boot (Black)
Beautifeel Leopard Print loafer
Chie Mihara Sandal (Black/Ivory/Chocolate)
AGL Ballet Flat (Chocolate)

Scarves: (Any from my collection)

Jewelry (Any from my collection)

2 Belts (Simple Navy belt to pair with dark jeans, Aligator print reversible black Chocolate belt)

Camisoles: One in Ivory, One in light gray

I decided to go ahead and purchase yet another sweater, which was the J Crew Heather Acorn color V-Neck Cardigan to go with the fall work capsule above. I have some pictures of three ways I would wear it below along with three of my new pencil skirts. I wanted to replace blazers with soft and comfortable cardigans and this does the job nicely. I love that the color of the sweater works with the skirts I just purchased and the scarves I already own. I particularly love the brown leather skirt which I picked up at the NAS. Great find!

Oh, and I forgot to include one of the pencil skirts I will be using in my capsule. i will also use the Leopard print skirt I photographed yesterday. I have to admit that I am not a minimalist even when I try!

My closet still has a total of 378 items in it, including the new items I have added. These items span across four seasons, but that still doesn't justify the number. I will be working on eliminating 46 items over the next week as this is in keeping with my goal of eliminating 1/3 of the items in my closet.

I've been following this thread with interest. The first thing I did after finding YLF a year ago was to create fall capsules for casual and work wear. Now I'm reviewing them, deciding what to keep and what to change. My sticking point is my neutral colors. I'm trying to choose two from navy, black, and grey. For secondary colors, I plan to wear burgundy, olive, and a few variations of blue. Hmm...black and grey would work well with all of these. Maybe I'll keep navy as a secondary color, at least for fall.

Sorry in advance for a longish post, and no actual photos to reference....

Melaine, I somehow missed your post six days ago. I just read your wardrobe goals, and WOW, did it ever resonate!

Melaine's goals, which I am going to lemming (hey, have we made this a verb yet? Let's make "lemming" a verb):

1) Learn to love dressing the way I love shopping.
2) Focus my style into a mixable wardrobe
3) Shop productively.

And like Melaine, I am continuing to thin the wardrobe herd.

Two weeks ago (or whenever we started this challenge), I had some idea that I was going to have it all together, decisively, by August 1st. Well, that didn't happen. But I have made some real progress in terms of the goals I have set so far.

I went through the Starting From Scratch series on the Vivienne Files. There are a number of steps I have not been able to complete - such as the Core of Four in a second neutral, and tops in statement colors. That was an eye-opener. In all honesty though, a neutral jacket or bottom to coordinate with an existing neutral jacket or bottom is more of a 'want' than a 'need' right now. As are tops in statement colors (Violet-blue, blush pink, light aqua).

By the fifth step of Start from Scratch, I realized that a visual color palette would be very useful. I was going to try and make a color wheel, but realized that a Pinterest board for my color palette would be more helpful. When I finished this, surprise surprise, I realized that these are the dominant colors in my home decor.

Armed with my color palette board, with my three-image mini-moodboard, and my original inspiration list for this capsule (dieselpunk & cyberpunk: 1930's, sleek, sci-fi, urban, futuristic, military, action-adventure, Rocketeer, Bond Girl, Indiana Jones, safari), I have been able to cull a lot of things and focus on creating new outfits, some of them based on Pinterest images.

I have most of my capsule selected, and it is, after all, becoming a summer-to-fall capsule. Because I feel like I am very good at all the theoretical and two-dimensional planning, and not as good at the real-time execution of ideas, I intend to start taking photos tomorrow and Friday, borrowing a page from Rabbit and photographing multiple outfits based on a single concept or image.

Keturah, you've really put a lot into this challenge with your insight and research and I'll be following along and hope I can join in down the road. I just discovered the un-fancy site when I read CocoLion's post and it was fascinating as is everyone's contribution here on your thread.

I am starting to look at the unfancy and into mind blogs. I could get carried away with all this material that is available to plan my wardrobe!!

I have decided to think about what activities I do and what I need to wear for these activities. I am so use to going to work that I keep thinking about work clothes. I retired a few years ago and now I spend my time differently.

I am enjoying all this planning. I am impressed by what is available on the internet.

I'm in! This is some great information here. I'm going to have to go back and catch up with all the posts and links. I had just staring working on this exact topic and had even printed out the Un-fancy planner. Right now I'd like to throw out everything in my closet! I have a very casual lifestyle and tend to only buy jeans, t shirts and cardigans. If I have an event that requires anything more, I go into a panic and run to the mall - or tragically decline the event! My goal is to have a versatile wardrobe that is stylish (ugh, I'm still figuring that one out), and to not have to run to the mall for an outfit I'll only wear one time. Do they make "transformer clothes"?