Capsule Wardrobe - What Does Google Say?
The term “capsule wardrobe” typically refers to a collection of clothing this is made up of interchangeable items that allow you to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing.
I was curious to see what a Google search on “capsule wardrobe” gives.
Here I’ll give you a snapshot of the top 5 results I found and let you know if there is any use in exploring these results further.
1. Pinch of Yum
https://pinchofyum.com/how-to-start-a-capsule-wardrobe
Lindsay from Pinch of Yum writes a really fun article about why she adopted a capsule wardrobe and how you can build one yourself. While she stresses there are no rules when it comes to capsule wardrobes, she does provide the following guide:
- BASE ITEMS (Lindsay has 50 items that are used year round but not part of daily wear)
- 9 TOPS
- 5 PANTS
- 5 SHOES
And the steps to create the wardrobe being:
- Reduce
- Establish your base wardrobe
- Build your capsule wardrobe
And how to decide what goes in your wardrobe is based on:
- How useful it would be in your daily life
- How it fits today
- How easily you can create outfits based on other items
Capsule wardrobes is not what Pinch of Yum is known for, and while there are some worksheets and guides on offer, it probably isn’t the best place for comprehensive information on capsule wardrobes.
2. Be More With Less
Courtney Carver is the creator of Project 333 and is all about the capsule wardrobe, as well a number of other topics centered around steps you can take to simplify your life.
Project 333 is a minimalist fashion challenge where you challenge yourself to wear 33 items of clothing over 3 months. Each season you rotate the 33 item wardrobe out for another 33 item, seasonally appropriate, wardrobe. Challenge suggests that this is a one off thing, when really many have started on this and have (more or less) stuck with it. Courtney herself has had a capsule wardrobe for more than 10 years (as far as I can tell, if not longer).
The process she covers in her blog is as follows:
- See what you have
- Sort what you have into what you love, maybe, donate and trash
- Choose what will go into your 33 piece wardrobe.
Simple as that! Courtney has a book, courses, as well as blog posts and further tips, that delve into the subject a lot further.
Admittedly I have not had the chance to explore the rest of the website myself. I have heard about Project 333 quite a bit from other YouTubers I follow and when I started on capsule wardrobes myself I loosely followed the structure covered in Project 333 but I never went to the source to learn more. I will write more about that later.
3. Classy Yet Trendy
Her 5 step process is to:
- Select “Navy” or “Black” As Your Base Color
- Select Your Neutral-color Coordinating Essentials
- Choose Your Accent Color (optional)
- Add A Few Patterned Items & Layers
- Choose your Shoes and Accessories
Again, another one that I was not all that familiar with. I was impressed by the range of sample wardrobes she had in the rest of her website and I think if you were after some style inspiration, this would be a good place to go.
4. Who What Wear
A fashion blog that has around 7 pages worth of articles on capsule wardrobes (if you want a sneak peak into how many fashion influences have adopted a capsule wardrobe). This particular blog post covers an interview with Caroline Rector of Un-Fancy – who I have to point out, was my portal into the capsule wardrobe world.
Caroline has a five-step approach to building a capsule wardrobe:
- Pare down your closet to 37 items.
- Wear only those 37 items for three months.
- Don’t go shopping during the season until…
- During the last two weeks of the season, plan and shop for your next capsule.
- The amount you buy for the next capsule is up to you, but less is more.
There is really not much else to find in this blogpost. The rest of the blogpost has a number of links to items you could include in a capsule wardrobe – this is primarily a fashion blog so its expected.
5. Good On You
On this website you get a really good summary of bloggers out there that have a capsule or minimalist wardrobe system. These are:
- Daria Andronescu’s Wonder wardrobe
- Courtney Carver’s Project 333
- Sam Leigh Ecomono
- Verena Erin’s My Green Closet
And then the website does what it does best – providing links and ratings for ethical and sustainable fashion brands that you can go to shop for your capsule wardrobe items. So its not the best website to learn more about capsule wardrobes but I can tell its would be a really great resource to explore and discover sustainable and ethical clothing brands.
And that was it. The top 5 results from Google in 2020.
In terms of learning more about capsule wardrobes I would say Pinch of Yum, Be More With Less and Classy Yet Trendy delivers. While I personally did not learn anything new by delving into these pages (having already established my own capsule wardrobe for the last 5 years now), I appreciate how these sites provide guidance and a new perspective to those approaching this wardrobe system for the first time.
