I am joining in the “30x30” project that many forum members are undertaking this January. Thanks again to Sterling for getting us started!

My project has a few differences from that of many other members:

1. I will be wearing this group of clothing for longer than 30 days. I plan to take this into early-mid March, exact end date TBD.
2. Therefore my capsule is larger than 30 items. (See discussion below.)
3. I am not building my capsule as I go but rather have assembled all the (season-appropriate) clothing that fits the color palette I had in mind. I tried to be fairly expansive with the palette, with the idea that as I wear the capsule I will see what “really” belongs.

I really liked the idea of having a kind of narrative inspiration for my holiday “Nutcracker Suite” capsule. So I am going to try to do that for my other seasonal capsules as well. This capsule is inspired by northern landscapes as in Russia and Scandinavia. Photo 1 is a picture of a scarf that is basically my inspiration for the capsule and color scheme.

I see this capsule as more casual than my holiday capsule, less colorful than some other capsules (more focused on playing with value contrast and tonal color combinations rather than strong color contrasts). Colors are primarily cool and metals are mostly silver but a bit of muted gold does creep in here and there.

As in my previous capsule I’ve divided this one into groups based on color:

Photo 2: Birch Forest. Think of bare trees, snow-covered ground, a grayscale world but one that is not lacking visual interest.

• Bottoms: Black jersey dress, black merino skirt, black ponte leggings, black skirt leggings, gray skinny jeans
• Tops: Black layering sweater, black knit, gray sweater tunic (this needs to be shortened), gray/white stripe popover, white blouse x3
• Toppers: Black long cardi, black hip-length cardi, charcoal long cardi, gray floral sweatshirt, gray hip-length cardi, lace-print cardi, white cable-knit cardi

Photo 3: “Birch Forest” accessories.

Photo 4: Northern Lights. Hat tip to The Cat who mentioned the northern lights in the context of my previous capsule. I thought that might be a great way to tie together the more colorful component of this capsule, which includes a range of blues (mid-tone through icy aqua) and pinks (burgundy through pale rose). The scientist in me is compelled to beg you not to take this too literally — yes, I know that the most common color in auroras is a shade of yellowish green which I don’t have represented here (and isn’t a color that looks great on me to boot). Just go with the overall gestalt!

• Bottoms: Navy skirt leggings (don’t really fit the color scheme but I know I’ll need them), medium-wash skinny jeans, medium-wash straight jeans
• Tops: Pale aqua layering sweater, fuchsia layering sweater
• Toppers: Burgundy long cardi, lavender crochet vest (I suspect this will not be warm enough for this season but am going to try it out), vintage fair-isle pullover, pale rose cardi, orchid-pink cardi, camel cardi, pale blue-gray cardi, wedge wood blue cardi, robin’s-egg cardi

Photo 5: “Northern Lights” accessories.

Photo 6: Footwear

• Black tall boots, black snow boots, black ankle boots, black patent loafers
• Gray tall boots
• Cognac riding boots, tan heeled oxfords, tan clogs

Total numbers: 41

• Bottoms - 8
• Tops - 9
• Toppers - 16
• Shoes - 8

As in my previous capsule I notice a lack of tops!

Overall, though, I think that 40-45 items is about the right size for a 2-3 month wardrobe. I have been thinking about numbers as others have posted their capsules and here is what I have come to. In winter, many of us are wearing 4-piece outfits most days (bottom, top, topper, and shoes). Seven days’ worth of items in each category already adds up to 28! It is no wonder that 30 feels very limited at this time of year. I feel that a 30x30 could work, I would be willing to rotate through 7-ish items in each category 4 times. But longer than that, I think it would feel like a bit of a slog. To me it feels comfortable to have about a week and a half worth of options in each category. (Many people would probably feel comfortable with slightly fewer shoes and might want to shift that item “budget” to tops. But you get the general idea.) That way you are wearing most items most weeks but there is still a bit of “ease” to include items that might be valued but worn less often. Curious to know how that logic sounds to others.

A couple of other “problems” I notice right off the bat:

• In my previous capsule I really enjoyed pattern mixing but there is almost no pattern here!
• I think the capsule overall is tilted a bit more towards neutrals than I would prefer. I see this especially in the sparseness of the Northern Lights accessories bundle.

I may also add to or replace items in this capsule as we go. I did some shopping in the after-Christmas sales, guided in large part by insights from my previous capsule. Many of the items I have ordered will also fit in this capsule and if any of those purchases work out I plan to add them.