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The Ultimate Guide: How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe?
If you are unaware of the term, let me introduce you to the concept. A capsule wardrobe is nothing but a thoughtfully curated collection of versatile clothes. These interchangeable clothing can easily be styled to the maximum possible outfits.
This way you invest a minimum but own as many as outfits a walking closet. That might be an exaggeration but it’s also true that with a small collection of clothes you can create many looks.
That’s why I am a big fan of minimalistic living. A capsule wardrobe has numerous benefits and is a must-have for those who don’t like to spend much but want to own 100s of outfits.
In this guide, I will teach the basics of creating a capsule wardrobe. But let’s see the benefits first:
Upsides of Capsule Wardrobe
There are so many benefits that will definitely convince you to create your own wardrobe.
Less Decision Making:
Lesser options make it easy to select the outfit in the morning or every time going out. You become more creative in styling and with minimal addition of accessories you make a beautiful outfit.
Better for Motherearth:
Capsule wardrobe has a positive impact on our environment in many ways. Lesser clothes need less detergent to clean. Rivers and oceans will be clearer. Lesser clothes also reduce landfills hence a smaller carbon footprint.
Lesser harvesting maintains the natural cycle. For example: to harvest silk, lakhs of cocoons are killed daily. Such kind of brutality will decrease significantly.
Saves a Lot of Time:
Since you have limited options to choose from it doesn’t take long to device OOTD. You save a lot of time every day. The exact opposite happens when you have hundreds of options to choose from.
Managing the wardrobe also becomes easy. Within one to two hours your wardrobe becomes nice & tidy. You get to invest the same time in more constructive things.
You Can Actually Own Nicer Stuff:
Now that you haven’t spent hefty bucks in purchasing hundreds of clothes, you actually have the freedom to invest the money in nicer stuff. And you will be actually wearing them rather than the former one where you won’t be wearing every single outfit. Having many outfits increases the cost per wear.
Lesser Clutter Lesser Stress:
More clothes bigger mess. Clutter increases stress hormones. By reducing the number of outfits, you actually make it please for eyes and mind.
How To Create Capsule Wardrobe?
With a few easy steps, you can create your own capsule wardrobe.
Step 1: Declutter Your Wardrobe:
The first step is to remove all unnecessary things from your wardrobe. You can donate, sell or recycle things that you don’t need at all. Here are the criteria to declutter the wardrobe
- Bad fitted clothes
- Things you don’t like
- Similar clothes
- Don’t go with your skin/body type
- Damaged clothes that you can’t repair
Step 2: Choose Staple Capsule Pieces
The very next step is to select staple pieces of different categories. The following things are a must-have for a capsule wardrobe.
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Capsule Wardrobe Staples |
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Tops |
Seasonal tops of different fabrics (cotton, linen, wool, loop knit, etc) in basic colours |
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Pants & Trousers |
Lighter & dark coloured trousers (white, off-white, beige, taupe, brown, black) |
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Everyday cardigans |
Light knit, everyday cardigan, 1-2 midweight & chunky sweaters |
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Skirts |
Knee-length skirt, midi skirt, or maxi skirt |
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Denim |
Demin tops & bottoms of different washes, 1-2 pairs of denim shorts |
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Tees & Tanks |
Black, white & neutral tones. Sleeveless tops are more versatile than long sleeves |
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Coats & Jackets |
Versatile blazer, denim jacket, neutral lightweight to midweight jackets, leather jacket, fleece jacket and heavier winter coat |
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Dresses |
Black, sleeveless midi dress, light linen dress, maxi dress, classic mid-length a-line dress and sweater dress |
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Ethnic wear |
Kurti (in basic colours & patterns), saree, crop-top & skirt, shrug and dupatta |
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Low, medium & high impact sports bra, a pair of tights, tank top and dolphin shorts |
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Black, white & nude bras & briefs, push-up, strapless, and multiway bras Mid-rise, low rise and high rise panties, thong, boyshorts & boyleg panties |
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Short nightdress, top & pj’s, top & shorts, slip dress and sleep tees |
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Footwear |
Neutral or white sneakers, nude heel, neutral everyday flats (like a ballet flat, loafer, or mule), Flip flops, Strappy sandals, supportive sandal, Athletic sneakers, ethnic juttis and all-weather boots |
This is the most concise list of capsule wardrobe that work all around the year.
Step 3: Look for Inspiration to Create Daily Outfits
If you have a hard time finding inspiration to create daily outfit ideas you can rely on Pinterest. Be it, ethnic, boho, fusion or minimalistic, Pinterest has so many aesthetics you can pick what suits you the most.
Now that you have all the information you need to create your capsule wardrobe, don’t delay. Many people can easily create their first capsule wardrobe by using 80% of existing clothes. The rest 20% can be purchased with very little investment. A capsule wardrobe is not only economically sustainable but also very good for our environment.
Aparna Pal
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