One of the categories where I pared back my own personal spending tremendous and have successfully kept it low in the last 10 years has been spending on fashion / apparel / accessories. I did so by doing something that many Europeans have done for years – maintaining a capsule wardrobe. I somewhat landed on this by chance as I was moving around the country a lot and the closets we had in New York City were mouse-sized. Nowadays I have a lot more space, but I have come to enjoy the many advantages of a capsule wardrobe – I look great, I have high quality clothing, and I save money.
What is a capsule wardrobe?
It’s a fancy way of saying that I have a wardrobe of a few pieces from which I can make a lot of outfits
Why would one want a capsule wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is great on your wallet as it saves time and money. I shop less, I spend less, I use less space and storage, which ultimately means I don’t need as large a home to store my stuff. I look amazing. A key part of capsule wardrobe is to stick to styles that you love to wear over and over. And it’s good for the environment. The fashion industry is one of the most destructive industries when it comes to using our planet’s resources. through washes which use a lot of water
How does it work?
Capsule wardrobe depends a lot on layering. This works in most climates with the exception of a place with hot year round climate in which case you may use more pieces than what you see elsewhere.
The three key layers are: outer top, inner top, and a bottom. As you will see in the image below, I show three bottoms, three inner tops, and three outer tops.
From these I can mix and match each and every one of them. So from 9 pieces I create 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 unique outfits. That is one month’s worth of clothing!
Do you need to have 3? Or limit yourself to 9? Nope, this is just an example. Having 3 of each layer or type of clothing is a random starting point, it’s up to you how few pieces you want to get to. The fewer the pieces, the fewer outfits you make, but also the less money you’d spend.
Check out this post to see how I capsule wardrobe over 9 days in 2018. From that post I still have 8 pieces today in 2023!
How does one get started?
I use a three part method: 1) edit down, 2) observe, and 3) create outfits
1: Edit down with what you have!
The biggest misconception people have is that you have to go out to buy a whole new wardrobe and that is a Save My Cents no-no!
So it’s time to do a closet purge. Remove:
- anything you haven’t ever worn in a season or two
- anything that you hate the look and feel of. A capsule wardrobe means you have to love each piece
- anything that doesn’t fit and can’t be easily tailored
If you have a special wardrobe such as special occasion dresses or outdoor gear or fitness gear, those aren’t part of your capsule wardrobe – for now at least. Set them aside for decluttering later
2: Observe
For a week or two, you want to see which types of clothing you wear the most – and that’s where you can have the most clothing. For me, for example, I wear semi formal professional clothing 5 days of the week and these I’d like to have a different look each day. I then switch into lounge / athletic wear in the evenings and on weekends, but I’m fine with them being the same look for many days. I may wear a nice dress once or twice a month for dates.
That means most of my wardrobe should be semi formal. Then I can have a small staple set of lounge / athletic wear.
The more often you wear clothing for a specific occasion (semi formal, lounge, casual), the more you can allow yourself to have clothing there.
3: Create outfits
With the clothing you have left, do the mix and match outfit method that I showed above. If you’re just starting out, it might even be helpful to photograph each outfit so you remember what works.
Each piece of clothing you keep in your capsule must work with multiple other pieces in your wardrobe, as many as possible. It doesn’t have to be a perfect match between all of them, but the more the better. I take photos of my wardrobe and outfits and I keep those photos in a folder on my phone for easy reference when I’m browsing or shopping. This way I know how many jeans I own, or how many red sweaters, for example.
How can you get more of your clothing to match?
- Ensure that silhouettes are similar in a given layer
- Keep your style timeless, so you can find similar items all the time as you replace clothing pieces
- Your inner tops need to fit inside your outer tops
- Stick to a color scheme. For me I do neutrals (black, white, cream, browns) + a highlight color group (reds, pinks, purples). Most capsule wardrobes feature neutral colors, but if you love colors don’t let this stop you! You can do it too, but your colors need to match
- Re-use as many layers as you can across seasons. Though this can’t always be avoided
By doing this, you can further declutter if you have too many of one color or style, or add items selectively as you see fit.
And that’s it! As with most of my advice, don’t over think and don’t over complicate it. No one is giving you any hard rules to follow. Don’t feel like it has to be perfect! And don’t stick to something that doesn’t work for you.
FAQ
What about underwear?
I am not unhygienic! I always have plenty of underwear, I don’t capsule that
What if my size fluctuates?
Use different sizes to also add variety. Meaning, if you need 3 sizes of pants, make each of them a different color. Then assign outfits to a specific size range. So you’d have the same number of clothing overall but you would have fewer outfits of each size
How do I find colors that match?
Color is a preference that is completely up to you. I use colors that are close to each other (pink, red, purple) but it’s not a rule you have to follow
What about special occasions?
I personally have a large dress collection, more than I need, but I just try to wear the dresses as much as I can and change it with accessories
How do I stay within a budget?
In the beginning you’re not buying new clothing, you’re most likely getting rid of clothes, and if they’re in good condition you can sell for some money! Then you only add what is needed and usually on a replacement basis going forward (I replace when a clothing has worn out or breaks or truly doesn’t look good).
How do I change with the seasons?
The beauty of layering is that you would have clothing that changes with the seasons. Your clothing layers should be optimal for spring and fall. Then you might add some pieces that make sense for extreme weather. Typically for me, the inner top layer alone would suffice for summer, and I wear more skirts and dresses. In the winter, I often add tights under my pants and thermal shirts under my sweaters, both of which I own maybe 2 or 3 of.
How do you determine when to sell vs donate clothing?
I sell clothing that is in good condition, has known brand, and is worth my time. Otherwise I offer up to my local buy nothing group, as it’s more likely for it to go to someone else, than a thrift donation center where many clothes might still end up in landfill.
How do I find high quality clothing on a budget?
Shop used! I do Poshmark (because it’s easy to sort by size), ebay, I’ve been browsing TheRealReal, and sometimes I get great stuff from buy nothing groups (more for a bag of clothes like maternity clothes). Not all brands are consistently high quality. Sometimes quality changes based on season or piece. So while I do have my favorite brands, I sometimes get something that lasts 5 years or longer from fast fashion – which, funny enough, makes fast fashion… slow fashion.
