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It is a concept that everyone has been talking about for a while. In the era of a fast fashion, it is becoming an everyday topic. You are right! Today’s blog is talking about capsule wardrobes!
What is it? How to build a capsule wardrobe? No worries, Sumissura has asked fashion advisors and bloggers these questions and has collected all the answers for you!
What is a capsule wardrobe?
The vision of what a capsule wardrobe encapsulates (see what we did there?) differs as much as we do. We liked the way Jackie, a personal stylist from Stylings by Jackie described her idea. She believes that capsule wardrobe is a 'limited selection of staple pieces that all work together for creating many different outfits. Part of the concept is having an overall neutral color palette with a few pops of color so that everything will work back to each other. ' Wouldn’t that be amazing to achieve?!
Benefits of a capsule wardrobe
There are so many benefits of having a perfectly curated wardrobe of pieces you actually love. Laurice from ClothedUp thinks that the biggest benefits include 'cutting down the time it takes to get ready, saving money and space and shopping more sustainably.'
There are some beneficial psychological impacts as well. Maggie from Maggie Gillette believes that 'creating your own perfectly tailored capsule collection can also cut down on the stress of finding something to wear that you feel good in because you have go-to items you truly love.'
Jackie also shares with us the vision that we, at Sumissura strongly support – long lasting, timeless fashion that is actually worn. It is about 'investing in pieces that will be worn long term versus constantly having to refresh your wardrobe. You are also always in style and do not have to be up on the latest trends because you are wearing classic apparel that is fashionable.'
'In terms of slow fashion and sustainability, when shopping for essentials and keeping a limited wardrobe you are cutting down on how much clothing you are purchasing. This makes for less waste. One is not buying clothes every season to rotate but rather wearing what they own for an extended amount of time. You are being intentional with what you bring into your closet. There is much value in that!'
As Sumissura produces everything made to measure, we actually produce clothing that is worn. Everything is made to order and we do not keep any stock which would later have to be dumped or burnt. This one by one sustainable approach reduces the impact of fast fashion on our planet and creates the clothing pieces that will fit, last and you will feel and look good in them!
How to build it
So now that we know the biggest reasons to turn towards a capsule wardrobe, let us see how to build it step by step. Maggie says that 'everyone's perfect capsule wardrobe is going to look a bit different - and that's OK! Your capsule wardrobe should reflect your personal style.' We cannot agree more! Yes to diversity and individual approach.
Step 1
'One of the ways to start thinking about building your capsule wardrobe is to look at the pieces you already own.
Let us start by answering following questions:
- What outfits do you reach for over and over?
- Which colors brighten your day?
- What shapes make you feel great about yourself?
- Conversely, look at the items that are rarely worn - what do they all have in common? '
Step 2
'Pick a color palette of 4 - 6 colors that can all work together in any configuration. Lighter shades that work well together are white, light grey, pink, denim. If you are drawn to darker colors, a palette of black, navy, turquoise, forest green, yellow, and gold,' says Diane from New York at Home. 'Filtering by color, size, and item always reveals surprising new-to-you pieces.'
Step 3
Jackie says that as you 'add things back in, you should keep only the basic essential items as well as things that are classic and tend to not go out of style. You would keep pieces in neutral colors that are the foundational items in your wardrobe. Then, fill in with some colorful pieces to accent the wardrobe. These can be either classic colors, which work wonderful in this case, or some personal favorite colors.'
Step 4
The fourth step is about adding some special patterns and final accessories to your closet. Jackie recommends 'adding in a couple of traditional patterns such as florals or polka. Finishing off with layering items that are weather appropriate and complete the wardrobe with shoes and accessories.'
Items in your capsule wardrobe
As we explained before, everyone’s capsule collection will look differently and that is amazing! If you do not want to own a trench coat, a blazer, or a pencil skirt, you are good! Take these ideas as a generic guide to having pieces that are sure to work together.
'A few ideas to consider for your capsule wardrobe - a classic blazer, a well-fitting button down shirt, a pencil skirt, a sweater you can use for layering, a great pair of jeans, and a dress that can be worn dressed up or down depending on the accessories. These items can all be mixed and matched to create outfits and seasonal trend pieces can be added in to keep things fun and fresh,' explains Maggie.
Jackie’s idea would expand the collection with 'a striped shirt, basic T-shirts, a sweater, blouse, cardigan, denim jacket, black leggings. The same idea applies with accessories and footwear to have an item represented from each category.'
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| Blue Ankle Pantsuit | Grey High Waisted Skirt | Black Sleeveless Sheath Dress |
Vega from Just Luve concludes with a very important note to ourselves. 'To be more sustainable, the secret lies in considering purchases going forward and using or repurposing what you have already. As far as purchasing new items go, a capsule wardrobe is such a great tool as it focuses on mixing and matching items together so that you can do more with fewer pieces at your disposal.'
We at Sumissura believe that sustainability is the biggest benefit of building our perfect, curated capsule wardrobes. No matter how big or small they are, we hope we helped you identify the pieces you love and feel good in! And don’t forget – the more wear you get out of an item, the cheaper it becomes. This way the capsule wardrobe becomes a good long-term investment in sustainable pieces and compared to regular shopping of a fast fashion, it can actually save you some bucks.
We also recommend focusing on your capsule collection of shoes. The basic collection should include at least one pair of sturdy winter boots, a pair of loafers and dress shoes. Have a look at our shoes section and design what you think might be the best fit for your particular capsule wardrobe.
We have created this infographic to help you visualize how our ideal capsule wardrobe collection would look like. We would be happy to see yours! Let us know if our tips on how to build a capsule wardrobe were useful to you and how the actual building went :) Good luck!
