Which capsules do you have? - YouLookFab Forum

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About: Wardrobe Capsules For Your Life

Which capsules do you have?

Sal

Veteran

I do think in capsules, whilst in Finds I have colour capsules, in reality I think more of activities....

These are my capsules

Sports/active wear specifically

Hiking
Walking/gym/yoga
Pool
Pickleball
Board (I have to be in public several times a year giving speeches in athletic wear)
Cycling

Work

Smart and business professional
Business casual

Social

Weekend casual
Evening/events

Vacation

NZ Beach/holiday home
Away from home (NZ or international)

Other

Funeral

There is a lot of crossover, for example my pickleball shorts get worn for a walk. My business casual crosses over into weekend casual sometimes and for a funeral I would wear business professional. I have some pieces that could fit across three or four capsules - for example casual sneakers.

Once a year I run through these scenarios and think about my options. I don't need many professional work looks, nor pool swimming choices. This year I have needed more hiking and cycling options.

How do you think about capsules and which ones do you consider?

21 replies

Latest reply was from Sal

Irina

Veteran

I think my capsules reflect and serve my activities. Some might crossover but not all of them.

- Sporting activities - pool, yoga, gym. Each is separate, some yoga tops are worn in a gym but not the other way around. Also, I keep some sweats for daily walks that are worn to the pool, too.

- Out of the house wear (formerly work/weekend wear). Separated by a season. My main category of clothing.

- Beach wear - swimsuits, coverups and a hat. Strictly for beach activities
- Lounge wear - comfy clothes that is worn only at home.

- Event wear - most of pieces are too dressy for anything else but occasionally a pair of pants is used for less formal occasions.

Aside from my main “out of the house” capsule, I keep capsules functional but small. I’m not into gear and these garments don’t excite me as a new pair of jeans or shoes. It actually pains me to spend money on it.

Runcarla

Veteran

I have a separate drawer for sports/fitness kit, but otherwise my clothes are all mixed together - though arranged by colour. Some clothes cross over into more than one capsule, but not the fitness kit. I don’t wear my lap swimming suits for beach vacations, and my black leggings are not worn as ‘pants’ IYKWIM!

When I think of distinct capsules, I think of:

dressy capsule
fitness kit
warm weather vacation capsule
everyday summer
everyday winter

I can source a funeral outfit from my everyday items and dressy items, and create a capsule for most travel from those same categories. The outlier is warm weather vacations where a different type of bathing suit and associated garments isn’t something that crosses into other activities!

I do not have any loungewear.

slim cat

Veteran

Hiking/swim
Work/dressy possibilities
Off work/casual
Home/lounge
There is a crossover to some degree

Star

Veteran

I group together a capsule at the start of the various seasons. I insert clothes I want to wear. I have a vast wardrobe so this makes it less overwhelming for me and ensures I get to wear my favourites. I also group together clothes by colour. I do not have seperate clothes for my daily walking. I also made a Grownup Tomgirl capsule which crosses over with what I really want to wear seasonally.

Sisi

Veteran

Thinking about it, I think I have three capsules in total:

Smart casual capsule
This capsule covers a lot of situations: work - out and about - errands - - casual lunches and dinners with friends.

Casual capsule
for life at home/gardening/chores and also for exercising (at home or in the gym hall)

Summer vacations/beach capsule

As you and other fabbers already said, I also have a lot of crossover.
I have a long time wardrobe hole for a dressy/formal capsule.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Good discussion here. Yes, I have the capsules. I define them this way:
Running and exercise (includes swimsuit and water shorts). I never wear these for other activities unless maybe for house cleaning or yard work, when I’ve done or getting ready for activities and just haven’t changed yet.

Art-department. This includes some boho silky tops, some print kimono jackets, a couple of sweater tops with glittery accents, black knit blazer, gauzy skirts, some summer dresses, a few bolder style jewelry pieces. Worn (with nicer casual jeans or tees) for date nights, concerts or theater, art gallery things. So a little crossover with casual.

Casual, every day. And I mean every day, including church, shopping, social activities, restaurants, painting with my groups, etc. Not very smart casual, because I don’t have much in the way of fancier jeans, dressy slacks, hard soled booties or coordinating pieces. This includes jeans, tees, flannel shirts, cotton button shirts, cardigans and pullovers, fleece and cotton jackets, vests, shorts, graphic tees, sleeveless tops, tennis shoes. This is 80% of my closet.

Funeral wear. Black pants, black skirt, a couple of dressier button shirts, black dressy cardigan, black loafers. Fortunately rarely worn but necessary to have at the ready.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

My toes are tickled reading about your focused and personalized capsules for your life!

Sal, your capsules are BANG ON THE MONEY. Irina, Carla, Sisi, cjh and Slim cat too!

Sal, I want to know about the board you're on that requires you to present in athletic wear. Fascinating!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

To answer your question I have many, MANY capsules. I add and subract from them all year. I seldom begin a new capsule. Lots and lots of crossover. But some capsules have no crossover at all.

I have:

colour capsules (e.g. red capsule, chartreuse capsule, white bottoms capsule)

category capsules (e.g. jeans capsule, coat capsule, shirt capsule, handbag capsule, silk blouse capsule)

yoga capsule

outdoorsy doggie trail capsule

beach and pool capsule

Summer capsule

holiday and event capsule

funeral capsule

business formal capsule

business casual capsule

loungewear capsule

sleepwear capsule

everyday casual and smart casual capsule

horsey capsule (I don't ride anymore but love horses, so I need them represented in my style!)

My travel capsules take from these capsules. I don't have designated travel clothes

cat2

Veteran

I’m keeping track of Gear, Resort, Evening and Accessories. The rest of my stuff isn’t managed that closely, as there is always something to wear. The other capsules need attention so I don’t have last minute panic shops.

Ket

Veteran

I admit I abandoned the idea of a "capsule wardrobe" long ago because it just felt frustrating to me. However, I do have capsules, even if I don't consciously recognize it. A lot of crossover and mixing and matching. Of course.

Dress capsule
I have many dresses. I just call it a capsule because well, a dress can stand alone easily. I own several.

Jacket/Topper capsule
Small and I'm always looking to add to it. I love toppers even though my capsule could use some expanding.

Summer capsule
I added to it recently, as it was very small and I need and want more variety.

Activewear capsule
For weightlifting and walking.

Comfy capsule
Slouchy sweats for winter weekends.

Dressy capsule
This is mostly just a very nice dress coat. I have very few dressy events, thus don't need much.

Knitwear capsule
All my hand knits including sweaters, shawls, hats, cowls, and more. Needless to say, I mix these into various capsules and outfits.

Jewelry capsule
Decent amount of costume jewelry in all sorts of glamorous and ethnic styles

Scarf capsule
Adding to this. Love a good scarf, 99% of the time worn in my hair.

Turban capsule
I have a couple of new hand-made turbans I'm enjoying, especially on days when my hair needs washed or cut.

Casual, everyday capsule
This is basically everything that I wear for church, coffee dates, errands, and the like. Lots of blouses, tunics, commercially purchased sweaters, jeans and jeggings/leggings. It's the bulk of my wardrobe, especially for autumn, winter, and through early spring

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, interesting to really think about this because there is no crossover between my main three capsules:
Work out capsule - leggings, tanks and sports bras. I workout at home and just wear a version of the same functional outfit every day.
At home capsule - a larger collection of graphic tees, sweatshirts, half zips and sweatpants/shorts and the like that I wear when I get home. I go no further than the minimarket two houses down in this. Key features are washability and softness. Includes my house Birkenstocks.
Out in the world capsule - Everything else. I get dressed every morning before I leave the house. By far the biggest capsule.
I also have a Holiday and occasion capsule - Dresses, skirts and fancier stuff, which might crossover with the out in the world capsule.
Then there are endless other possibilities by category, color, material, designer and so on but I wouldn't know where to begin with that.

JAileen

Veteran

My capsules:
- Color - for when I started adding pink to my wardrobe, and later, olive.
- Exercise - mine is for swimming, and includes warm clothes that I don’t care about wrecking
- Birding - this is mostly sturdy footwear and warm jackets, hats and gloves, but also things for sun protection.
- Scottie - I bought this Radley London bag and then added things to go with it, including other things with Scotties on them. I might have gotten carried away with this capsule…

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have colour capsules (e.g. navy, white, red, burgundy, lilac), and all of these cross seasons to a greater or lesser degree (with different items to suit that temperature range). So at times I think in terms of my "summer navy" capsule or my "winter white" capsule, for example. Since these are my dominant neutrals, it's a huge help to know I have my essentials covered in these neutrals for each season.

Within seasons I tend to think in terms of "item" capsules, too, e.g. "belt" capsule, "coat" capsule, "bag" capsule, "footwear" capsule. This helps me recognize any holes before they get too big.

I also think in terms of my "basics" capsule because I like to refresh that once a year.

And then I have capsules by activity. For me right now those include:

Fitness Gear

Bikiing
Hiking
Swim
Gym

Sleepwear

Everyday wear -- work from home, work out of the home, socializing. This is my largest capsule and there is activity crossover here -- for example I wear the same pants at home that I would wear socializing or classroom teaching. However, some of the socializing might involve dressier pieces pulled from my....

Dressy capsule.
This capsule includes items that skew festive and those that are a bit more sober (so could be pulled into a funeral outfit, for example). It is mostly composed of separates at the moment so it is very mix and match.

SarahD8

Veteran

I had an a-ha moment recently that if I want to pursue seasonal capsules I should think of these as aesthetic capsules (Urban Snow Queen, etc.) with a *complete* complement of items.

So rather than deep winter clothing being a capsule and then my outerwear and bags capsules being separate, my "Urban Snow Queen" capsule includes clothing, footwear, bags, and outerwear.

This has been HUGELY helpful to me in thinking through how to build out my neglected bag and outerwear capsules. Instead of building a collection of bags in and of themselves, I'm thinking: ok, is there a bag or two that would really help complete these Urban Snow Queen outfits?

Not sure I am making any sense but it is really helpful in my head!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sarah, it totally makes sense. It's like a subdivision of the moniker idea. It corresponds to what Brooklyn and Tanya have done at different times -- just a verbal way of looking at it vs. a visual way (for Brooklyn).

Tanya's was explicitly a way at pulling out those trends she'd incorporate in a given season, e.g. Urban Princess does xyz. I did it one year with Laid Back Luminous Garçonne does Utility Pretty. In the end I didn't find it super useful, or at least no more useful than my LBLG moniker. But I can see how it could help a person narrow down purchases.

Sorry for the hi-jack, Sally!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think I really, really hated the idea of any capsules at all when I first heard of them (maybe 15-17 years ago when I started buying fashion magazines?) Well before finding YLF which is 8 years ago. I think it’s because the advice tended to be along the lines of having the perfect white shirt, the perfect black pants, the perfect blazer… and that could take you anywhere in business, type thing. That was a “capsule wardrobe”. So not me! I don’t have a white shirt at all or a true blazer and never enjoyed those items. I think Angie’s idea of them is different. I am not sure which ones I may have. Colour capsules maybe? Olive, grey…?

Dee

Veteran

Hmm... I guess I do capsules in the way that Angie describes them. I have a couple of colour combo capsules labelled in my Finds and I do more or less seasonal capsules as well. I also have dedicated skiing and hiking capsules, but beyond that, most of my items do crossover a lot.

Suntiger

My most specific ones are sport related- swimming, cycling, general gear, archery, and SUP. Also things that I'm using to paint the house, my print harem pants that I sleep in, and snow boots/heavy puffer for bitter cold/snow. Those are things that don't cross over into other areas.

Daily wear is a bit harder. There are dressier things that I wear just to work (heels, wide trousers), mid range things like most tops/maxi skirts/some pants and dressier jeans that are fine anytime, and casual-only things like flare leggings and sneakers that I wouldn't wear to work. I also have a few more festive things, like my blouses and velvet skirt, which could be considered a capsule. Of course the daily wear stuff is separated into summer, winter, and transitional too. My summer and winter clothes have no crossover pieces, except during transitional weather where I might mix a skirt with a sleeved top or pants with a sleeveless top and sandals.

ChristelJ

Veteran

This subject is fascinating and I live reading everyone's take on it. I relate to Jenni NZ in that I used to think capsules were primarily small and business related. The word capsule always meant tight and rigid in my mind. If I call it a collection, that works better in my head. I have a big, rambling wardrobe but I am beginning to see the capsules (collections) within it. Most are activity based. Some are oddly specific, for example:

Nursing home capsule: jeans and ornate printed tops and cardigans that please my mother when I go to see her. Flat shoes and ethnic earrings too.

Driving capsule: stretchy or loose clothes and sun shirt, sun gloves, sun hat, sunglasses, add coat and knit hat and gloves in cold weather.

Outdoor country capsule for summer: long linen pants, big hat, tanks and long sleeve tops for layering, all this for sun and bug protection.

Then the usual ones:

Casual out and about capsule, which overlaps with casual at home capsule
Exercise / lounge
Dressy casual
Dressy formal
Sleep
Beach

I do think in categories too, like boho tops or trendy jeans or walkable footwear, or colors, like cognac accessories. Also seasons, cultures, geographical locations, because I spend time in two different states. Really, it's about endless once I start to think of the mix and match possibilities in addition to all that.

I really appreciate the posts Angie linked to in the recent wardrobe capsule post, and together with reading all your interpretations I finally see the lightbulb.

Lisa

Veteran

I have lots of capsules.

For activities a few that come to mind are:
Multiple gear capsules (weight lifting, walking, pickleball, horseback riding)
WFH
Loungewear
Sleepwear
Business casual
Business formal
Cruisewear
Sportsfan (to support my favorite NHL team)
Beachwear

Other capsules include:
Jeans
Graphic tees
Seasonal colors
Summer capsule
Winter capsule

I'm probably forgetting a few but this is a good representation.

Sal

Veteran

Sorry to post and run!! Thanks to everyone for their contributions. It’s interesting how we all think about it and what serves us best. I have found the concept useful because I can check off occasions and see if I am covered. Sometimes it’s obvious - for example if you keep having laundry bottlenecks - but sometimes it is not.

Thanks for all the ideas.