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Wardrobe size via capsules

salt-sea

Inspired by Jussie's thread on optimal wardrobe size, I would love some advice on how I could sensibly optimize my wardrobe. I have diverse wardrobe needs, and that has led me to believe that thinking of it in terms of capsules is a sensible approach. In previous attempts I have included exercise and outdoor hobby capsules, and I think that is just complicating my overall approach, so I am excluding those at present.

I live in a 4-season climate, and I think I have these wardrobe capsule needs.

work - business casual - 4 seasons, ~20 outfits, repeats ok every 3 weeks (I work in tech, so blazers and jeans are fine)
work - conferences - the dressier end of business casual / business formal, with comfortable footwear - 4 seasons, ~4 per season
work - client meetings/speaking engagements business formal, but with a tech slant - 4 seasons, ~3 per season
work - travel (not sure if I should count this as a separate category - business casual but optimized for travel - wrinkle resistant, packs small and ideal for minimizing the amount of stuff I bring) - 4 seasons, ~5 per season
holiday parties - winter only, 2 outfits
family gatherings - 4 season, 4 outfits
date nights - 4 season, 2 outfits
home - 4 season, 10 outfits
hosting/visiting friends - 4 season, 5 outfits
weekend away - (maybe I could combine this with the previous category?) 4 season - 5 outfits
formal occasions - summer, 2 outfits

I would appreciate a fresh perspective on this. Where might I need fewer or more outfits? Where should I combine categories? What am I missing? I think when I winnow this down, then I will identify outfits and assess my wardrobe from there. And other advice that comes to mind is welcome also! Thanks.

General

21 replies

Latest reply was from

Liz

Veteran

Thinking in activity capsules has helped me a lot -- it's a great exercise for me. When you say, for example, "Home, 4 season, 10 outfits" are you thinking you need 10 outfits per season -- 40 outfits? Or are you thinking you need 10 outfits altogether? I

Is there overlap in your weekends away / family gatherings / visiting & hosting friends capsules? Or in your holiday parties / date night capsules?

Could you just do a business casual capsule with good travel items within it, and a business formal capsule with a few tech-slanted items in it? That might be less complicated.

I have a four-season climate, but I cluster clothes by temperature and wear many items for both spring and fall. So I cluster my capsules in three seasons: cold, coolish/warmish, and hot.

rachylou

Veteran

I definitely find thinking in terms of capsules more helpful. Have the same question re number of outfits per season or across them. I personally do have winter and summer versions of my capsules.

I’m also wondering about crossover in your work capsules - and how often you travel for work and how long you are away. For two-three years I traveled every week and was away five nights a week. I basically had clothes that lived in a suitcase...

jussie

Veteran

I like the way you’ve done this. I’m wondering can family gatherings, weekends away and visiting/hosting friends be one capsule? Or does your weekend away capsule need specific things like resort wear?
Also I’m inclined to think that 20 Work outfits is quite a lot.... that would be a 4 week cycle. Of course it’s up to your own preference! But I would think maybe 10 fantastic work outfits would be enough to carry you through, as it sounds like you would be wearing your conference clothes reasonably regularly too.
Just my 2 cents!

SarahD8

Veteran

Seems like maybe work - conferences and work-travel could be merged?

For me there would also be a lot of overlap between holiday gatherings, date night, hosting/visiting friends, and family gatherings. For me those would all involve a kind of “dressy-festive” approach (vs “dressy-professional “ for the more elevated work looks). But I have little need for true formal clothing, ymmv

anchie

Veteran

I think you may be over complicating. Can you create looks for all those activities from the same capsule, with just a different styling? And do things that you wear only few times a year require a capsule, or are they stand alone, like probably a dress for a formal occasion? Just my 2 cents,

salt-sea

Lots of good points!

Liz, jussie and SarahD8, you're right - I should really combine hosting/visiting friends, family gatherings and weekends away. And I've merged the work categories. I think I just need to make sure at least half of my work wardrobe is travel-friendly.

Liz, I think I'm slightly confused about outfit counts, to be honest. For instance, for work conferences/client meetings/speaking, I need at least four distinct outfits, as some trips & conferences last 4 days. The conferences and travel and such occur throughout all four seasons, and some but not all of the clothing items will span 3 or 4 seasons. So it's not 16 outfits that I need for that category, but I might need more than 4 to cover meetings in Boston in January and conferences in Las Vegas in June. This is a category where I think an investment in a few key pieces from a company like MMLaFleur would really help, but it's not my biggest pain point, which is probably the other categories to start. And I think your three season consolidation is a realistic approach.

So how many outfits do I need, if I don't want to repeat outfits more than once every three weeks, and I want them to suit cold, hot, and in-between?

Rachylou, I travel for work every 3-4 weeks for 4-6 days at a time. I'm pretty happy with my optimization of my work clothing for travel - except for my shoes. I have too many shoes, but every few months before a big conference or client trip, I am seized with the delusion that there is a better, more comfortable, more versatile style of shoe out there, and acquire another pair or two that are ok but not as perfect as I think at purchase time.

Anchie, I am probably overcomplicating. Yet, except for jeans, I don't think I'd have much overlap between work and the other categories. For instance, I wear blazers or button down shirts at work but wouldn't choose them for family gatherings/hosting/visiting etc.

I've also deleted formal, since I only have a couple of outfits it doesn't make sense to include it here. No optimization needed there!

Thanks to the advice give, it pares down like this:

work - business casual at least half travel friendly- 4 seasons, ~20 outfits?, repeats ok every 3 weeks
work - conferences/client meetings/speaking engagements business formal/tech, travel friendly, comfortable shoes - 4 seasons, 4 outfits
holiday parties - winter only, 2 outfits
family gatherings/hosting/visiting friends/weekends away - 4 season, 4 outfits
date nights - 4 season, 2 outfits
home - 4 season, 5 outfits

Any advice on how I should think of the outfit counts / seasonal needs?

Liz

Veteran

Good thinking! regarding outfits and how to think about them, a few questions:

Do you really only wear your outfits once every three weeks? If so, may i ask why? Do you like lots of creativity, are you concerned people will notice that you repeated an outfit, or is there some other reason? You could simplify this if you were OK with repeating outfits more often.

And, are you OK with repeating items, just not in the same outfit combinations, or do you want entirely separate outfits?

To use your business casual capsule for an example, if you only want to wear outfits once every three weeks, that means you need 15 outfits per season, not 20 (5 per week for 3 weeks). Does that mean you want 15 bottoms (trousers/skirts/dresses) that you wear once, 15 blouses/shirts, and 15 toppers (cardigans/blazers)?

Or are you OK with 7 bottoms, 10 blouses, and 5 toppers, worn multiple times with some mixing to create different outfits?

Personally, I"m good with about 7 work outfits. I don't mind repeating exact outfits, and sometimes I use the items in different ways. But I don't need a lot of variety in my work clothing, and I don't care if someone notices that I wore the same blouse last week or the week before. (I may remember that I've seen a coworkers pink blouse or blue t-shirt before, but I simply do not remember when my coworkers last wore a clothing item or outfit, and I assume they equally are not paying attention to what I wear.)

Elizabeth P

Veteran

This is where I find the whole capsule thing fails me personally, because it imposes an (artificial) boundary between clothes.

I personally would consider your conference clothes separately from your work clothes. Conferences (at least for me) require different things... shoes that you can walk a lot in, items that are versatile (day to night), wrinkle resistant, light weight, sometimes more professional. Sometimes need different layering options because you don't know exactly what the weather and ac conditions will be. And generally you want to build outfits around only a couple of pairs of shoes.

Then build your work capsule, but don't be afraid to pull from the work travel capsule, if some of the pieces fit into your normal life. They might, but they might not.

lyn67

Veteran

Thanx for this post, you are a fab anyliser-I have to put in some effort and do my maths, too! I do have 4 seasons as well, but like better to consider -as per Suz suggested years ago- rather 2x 6 weeks sessions for each season as dressing for early season and true season can be so very different and challenging. Not much of a help, but hope this is also a fresh take on the subject:-).

Oh, and yes, seasons and activities Do overlap, too-so it is really hard to count/plan right, isn't it!:-)

Sara L.

Veteran

I'm like Liz and tend to think of my wardrobe in terms of items not outfits. I have far fewer bottoms than tops because I mix and match. So some items work for several different capsule categories. I don't separate my clothes into capsules (except workout and formal wear because they're stored separately) but I occasionally pull stuff out to lay out outfits in order to make sure I have enough items for key capsules.

Lynn

Veteran

Very interesting sea-salt. I will have to ponder the item vs outfit approach to wardrobe planning. Like Sara, I typically have thought in terms of items. Downside is I have adequate items but am often missing items, especially accessories, to build outfits that I am completely satisfied with. I think intergrating the two approaches will be helpful to me. I have to think more on this.

The Cat

Veteran

Agree with Liz and Sara L.

Of course, all fabbers are different, and your many different capsules with what I suppose are "fixed" outfits might work well for you. But you asked for perspectives on this. And to me (who need to dress for many different appointments and activities, from rather elegant to quite casual), the idea of having a lot of "fixed" outfits sounds boring as well as expensive. What is more, I would feel rather restricted by such a concept.

I like most of my items to be versatile, meaning that I want to be able to (1) style them in several ways, and, if at all possible, (2) wear them for more than one purpose/activity and (3) wear them in more than one season of the year. With this in mind, I get a lot out of my money, and a lot of wear out of my clothes. Besides, I enjoy playing around with my clothes and accessories.

Remember that one bottom (i.e. a 4 season-skirt) can be worn with multiple different tops and toppers. And accessories like scarves, jewellery and shoes can make even more variety.

When planning your wardrobe, it is very helpful to stick to colours and styles which you know suit you and look great together. That will give your items a large mix&and match-potential.

SarahD8

Veteran

I agree with others that it seems like your next step is translating your need for outfits into how many items you need. (E.g., to make those 15 work outfits how many pants/tops/toppers do you need?)

Maybe one way to do it would be to think in terms of outfit formulas? For example, for date nights I like to wear skinny jeans, a silk cami/tank, and a cardigan or slouchy pullover. Skinny jeans can be borrowed from my everyday casual wardrobe, etc.

salt-sea

Liz, I'm ok with repeating items, I just don't want to repeat exact outfits. I don't care so much about what colleagues notice - it's more that I get sick of outfits. On the other hand...uniform dressing is attractive to me - I'm thinking of trying a smaller set of formulaic silhouettes - skinny/straight jeans, longer drapey short sleeve, blazer; straight jeans, button down shirt, flats; dress with flats, etc.

I am more of a minimalist and while I have a few scarves and a watch, I don't accessorize much beyond that. So my outfits will be rather basic - shoes, pants, top, topper for the most part.

I think perhaps what might be a good next step here is to take it a step beyond silhouettes - more like outfit formulas as SarahD8 has described - and then the clothing items that are needed to make those up with enough variety that I don't get bored. I think that will also allow me to use key items - particular jeans, or a skirt, for instance, and use them across outfits (and capsules).

Thank you all for the perspective on this!

Sal

Veteran

I would choose one category - whether it is work or social and work on that.

So for work you want three weeks of work looks, plus conference and travel looks - or about 24 outfits.

I would start with your sure fire successes - you might have 10 great work looks already, and two great conference looks. I would take these pieces and see where your gaps are - and what you can add in from the other clothes you have. See if you can build 24 different looks that you like - from your existing wardrobe. If not where are the gaps - is it tops or shoes? Where is the excess - you might have a skirt you never wear - is it just a poor choice - or is it an orphan? I would be tempted to either photograph them or write them down in a way that works for you... I would definitely start with the pieces and outfits that you love....

Do you want to reduce your wardrobe size? Or just be better organised and prepared?

I don't have such a variety of weather, nor do I travel for work. I tend to think of my potential occasions and whether I am covered for them. At the moment I am - but should I need to go to a four day conference I would need to go shopping!!

unfrumped

Veteran

Such a fun post!
It’s too late for organized thoughts but I like your musings.

You can get some rough numbers to start. Then it’s still key that the items. make great outfits.
I’ve always been bad about acquiring an item that ought to be good, maybe classic, and thinking it would automatically go with whatever else. Then find that a blazer needs to be longer/ shorter or a top boxier or whatever, to make an outfit.

Travel capsules are hard god md because I work find my items weren’t as mix & match as I thought. But in theory they’re easiest to plan ahead— pretend you had to pack for a conference in December in Boston, or whatever.

I need some “ complete “ workwear outfits to go to in- town conferences twice a month or so. So that’s a capsule in one sense but it’s really OUTFITS and I can pull from closet, no limits that travel imposes . But these I don’t want to repeat much( not entire outfit) , and so need a few options for each season.

bj1111

Veteran

Are you comfortable repeating across mtgs instead of within a mtg? That could reduce you outfit needs.

Anonymous

After many hours of analysis with my own wardrobe, the trick with capsules seems to be ratios for most versatility: prints vs solids, neutral vs bright. Maybe a quarter of my clothes/shoes/scarves are print and the rest solids. Then for each print item i have solids with some of the colors to go-and i make sure i can wear things across different levels of refinement (re inside out style) and season.
Anushkas blog has at least one page about silouettes, as inspiration, though if i remember correctly it was casual primarily. One thing i figured out this year was that the looser longer tops that have been available the last few years do work with skirts, as long as they're tapered, not just skinny pants. Win!

jussie

Veteran

Suntiger, I also have discovered that it’s crucial to have adequate amounts of nuetrals and solids. It’s easy to be attracted to the bright, showy clothes but it’s so helpful to have a good base of quieter items.

Anonymous

My main neutral is black, probably 40% of wardrobe, but i like to mix my brighter colors too (esp orange with purple like a bright happy sunset!).

Anonymous

Wow- I am not necessarily a capsule type dresser but I have to say- I would love to see a picture of your closet and possibly sign up for a “class” to have you go over my wardrobe- lol. But YLF Friends are always great in giving gems of wisdom for making things even better.
Following this fabulous thread closely.