Happy New Year, guys! I hope you all had a great holiday, with some R&R, lots of food, and many visits with friends and family.
I’m starting off 2016 by sharing my winter capsule wardrobe, but to start, I want to make note of how much I learned during my fall capsule. I talk about some of the things that worked and didn’t work in this post, which led me to some major changes the second time around.
Most significantly, when creating my winter capsule, I took into account that I am at work roughly 70% of the week, every week. With my fall wardrobe, I created two separate capsules: one for work and one for weekend with roughly 35-40 items in each one. What I found was that I had many more items than I needed for my weekend wardrobe, and not enough variety in my work wardrobe. This time, I created one capsule with roughly 60 items, that is 70% work/office attire, and 30% weekend attire in an attempt to create a wardrobe that mirrors my lifestyle.
Because I got bored with my selection early on with my fall capsule, this time I have a a larger quantity of items in hopes of countering that feeling. One of the main purposes of having a capsule wardrobe is to get your creativity flowing, challenging yourself to create more outfits with fewer pieces. Feeling bored with the selection is counterintuitive, and negates the purpose. In order for this to work (and perhaps I will find that it doesn’t work for me), I don’t want to feel bored with what I have.
One of the main ideas that I’d like to convey for anyone who is also trying to create a capsule is not to get hung up on a number. Whether you have 20 items or 100 items, it can work. There’s no magic number in all of this. Yes, minimizing is the basis of this concept, but you can tweak it to make it work for you. The real key is to create a quality and timeless wardrobe with pieces that fit you perfectly and make you feel great. We want to rid your closet of any clothing that you don’t wear because they’re ill-fitting, too worn, or outdated.
All of that said, let’s take a look at this winter’s capsule. This capsule is intended for the next 2 1/2 to 3 months (January through mid-March/April). Most of the items pictured below are the exact items in my wardrobe, though a select few are pictures of similar items. For all items, I’ve hyperlinked the same or a similar item for you to shop, and you can also view them any time here. If you have any questions about any of the items, please feel free to get in touch!
Row 1: Sleeveless + Short-sleeves tops
Similar White sleeveless blouse | Black racerback blouse | Similar Maroon Shell Blouse | Similar Bright Red Capsleeve Top | Similar Reversible Faux Fur Vest (and a grey non-reversible version here) | Similar Striped Sleeveless Blouse (and another cute version here and here)| Similar Embellished Collar Tank Blouse (could also go with this Light Blue Popover Blouse ) | Similar White peplum top | Similar Navy Plaid Blouse | Similar Striped Popover Blouse | Similar White Silky Front Tee
Row 2: Button-Ups + Blouses
Contrast Tie Front Blouse | Ivory Silk Blouse | White Dress Shirt | B&W Striped Dress Shirt | Blue Dress Shirt | Similar Swiss Dot Blouse (could also go with this one (available in pettie) or this one) | Similar Round neck textured blouse | Similar Cheetah print blouse |
Row 3: Tees + Sweaters
Navy Striped Tee | Grey Striped Tee | Black Turtleneck | Striped Turtleneck | Maroon Turtleneck | Mixed Stripe Sweater | Black V-Neck Sweater | Fur Collar Cardigan (cheaper option here)
Row 4: Blazers
Similar Drape Open Blazer (cheaper version here) | Similar Tweed Moto Jacket (lighter color option here) | Similar Plaid Schoolboy Blazer
Row 1: Pants
Black Trousers | Brown Trousers | Skinny Black Dress Pants | Skinny Black Pants | Skinny Navy Pants | Faux Leather Skinnies | Black Jeans | Distressed Skinny Jeans
Row 2: Skirts
Maroon Pencil Skirt | Similar Red Midi Skirt (more options here and here for $13!) | Similar Printed Midi Skirt | Black Pencil Skirt | Ivory Wool Skirt | Similar Brown A-Line Skirt (cheaper option here) | Pleated Leather Mini Skirt | Oatmeal Wool Skirt
Black Pencil Dress | Similar Asymmetrical Collar Suit Dress | Similar Red A-Line Dress | Similar Collared Pattern Dress | Chambray Dress
