Goodness. The internet is one swell of a wave. Seek ye a wardrobe capsule checklist and ye shall find with quickness. If you’re here for my rendition, then be prepared for a little twist. Mamas done sat her a spell. She’s rejuvenated and ready for her first blog post in 6 years. DId she just say six years?

Yes. Yes, I did.

I’ve been:

A. In absentia

B.On a boat

C. On a train

D. In hot pursuit of life as a public educator

Life takes lots of turns if you’re not careful. And even if you are, life still takes lots of turns. Learning to be okay with the rhythm of the unknown drum sounding in cadence with what God plans for your next adventure tends to be one’s best life lived. Add in a pinch of just exactly what sets your soul on fire and you have arrived, my friend.

So, for my first toe dip back into the writing pond, I’m coming full on ATCHU with my version of how to implement your very own capsule wardrobe project. I hope these five easy steps will have you digging through drawers, holding up hangers, and taking some chances all while having fun. These 5 steps can be implemented with any season. Heck, you can even do capsule wardrobes bi-monthly or monthly.

Favorite times I implement a capsule wardrobe project:

When I need to be reminded that I have everything I need inside me to live joyfully.
When I need to be reminded that money doesn’t have to be spent to enjoy the feeling of new.
When I am in a slump and need something to look forward to.
When I need to practice intentionally.
When I need to get rid of things.
When a new season has arrived!

1. Start with palette.

This first step is essential. I’m gonna ask you to do a backward skate on this one, though.

Least Favorite First

Head to your closet and grab the first 5 items that you DO NOT enjoy because of their color. You know, the articles of clothing that stay put because they just aren’t in your every day hues.

Now, keep one of those article of clothing and set it to the side. Put the other 4 articles in a separate pile.

This cardigan is my 1 “keep” piece from my 5 least favorite articles selected.

Most favorite second

Head back into your closet and select the top 5-7 pieces you love to wear because of their color. It doesn’t matter if you wear them often. Just pull those suckers out. Below are my 8 favorites.

Two Categories || three piles

You now have 2 categories and 3 piles.

A color piece you don’t enjoy wearing because of color.
A grouping of 5-7 items that you do love because of color.
A pile of 4 items that you have removed due to lack of color interest.

Round Two of Favs

Now head back into your closet and pull 3 more articles that you love to wear because of print/texture this time.

Add these 3 items to your pile of 5-7 color favorites above. Below are my 3 print/texture favs I teamed with the 5-7 {Ok, really 8} color favorites along with my 1 least favorite piece.

10-12

You should have roughly 10-12 pieces of clothing that you love with regards to print/texture.

1

You should have 1 item you have out because you don’t love the color.

4

You should have a pile of 4 items that you don’t love color wise. Go ahead and create a donate bin/bag and place those these 4 articles of clothing inside that bin/bag. Keep this container nearby or in your closet for the duration of your capsule wardrobe project.

2. Grab your happiness.

Next up, happiness.

Head into your closet and grab 4 items that you just love to wear because they make you happy! It could be a super soft cardigan or a fun tee. It could be a comfy pair of pants or a super favorite pair of shoes. Grab’em.

Add these to your pile of 10-12.

Below are my happy 4 additions.

14-16 + 1 = 15-17 pieces

Voila! You’ve just created your color palette for your capsule wardrobe with one wild card least favorite color added in.

Many capsule guidelines tell you to begin with specific color swatches that you pre-plan. I don’t advise this especially on the first capsule you work to create. You need to begin with what you know that you like. You always should keep in mind what you feel good wearing. Re-vamping and re-organizing your mindset to energize fresh looks and new options should start where you feel most at home.

I’ll plan to write another blog post about beginning a capsule wardrobe project with specific selections of color swatches later. For now, this post is a great starting line to begin.

3. Try something new.

This step is gonna stretch you. Now that you have roughly 15-17 items you feel most drawn to for a palette, it’s time to Gumby up. You’re gonna need to be flexible to dive in once more to that closet of yours. Make sure you have all of your 15-17 items lying out individually visible.

Assess what items are inside this selected stack of goodness.

Too many tops?

Too many bottoms?

Too many dresses?

The goal is to have about 30 pieces in your capsule wardrobe.

I usually try to have more tops than bottoms and about 3 dresses. Making this call depends on the articles of clothing you enjoying wearing the most. If you are dress person, add more. If you enjoy wearing a variety of different styles of pants, go that route. It comes down to personal preference.

Now, head back into the your garment wonderland with ONE GOAL.

FIND things NEW TO YOU.

Cardigans or blouses that you haven’t worn or even noticed. Prints that have been skipped past. Pants or skirts that you haven’t really paid attention to in the mad rush to get dressed and get out the door.

BE intentional to notice the unseen.

Below are the something news I added to my capsule.

4. Try something old.

One last time head back into that house of hangers wearing your goggles of yesteryear. Sneak a peek at articles of clothing you’ve not worn in awhile. Perhaps you’ve forgotten about them or perhaps they’re not your super best go-to pieces. That’s okay. I usually try to select about 7-8 old items that have been around for a few seasons.

I choose this quantity count for 2 reasons:

It allows me to re-evaluate what made me have this item for as long as I have. Was it a color that I was drawn to? A print? A fine detail? A trend that’s since faded?
It allows me to get those items front and center for a second chance to see if they stay in my closet or if they need to be moved to the donate bin.

Below are my oldies, and potential-to-still-be goodies as I work to decide their fate through this capsule project.

“The story of you is best told when you keep fresh the old.”

— Meghan A. Cobble

5. Stay honest.

The goals of this project are:

CREATIVITY & FUN
INTENTIONALITY
APPRECIATION FOR WHAT YOU HAVE
FEELING GOOD IN THE CLOTHES YOU ALREADY OWN

It’s gonna be super important to tell it just like it is for each article of clothing. The time frame you set for your capsule wardrobe is to your own clock. It can be stretched out just any ole way you choose. I would just make sure that after you wear each article of clothing you assess how you felt wearing both individually and as an enesemble.

Questions to ask yourself are:

Did I feel comfortable?
Did I enjoy the colors and print?
Did this article of clothing work well with this new piece{s} I wore it with?
Did I feel excited to pull off a new look or was I let down by the way it turned out?

I usually use a 5 star rating scale to help me decide how I enjoyed the outfit. I also make special notes for how I felt wearing the outfit/article of clothing. And, as noted on Instagram, I’ll take pictures from time to time of new outfits created during a capsule project. I’ll save them to a capsule album on my phone to serve as an “inspiration look book” reference when I want to find creative energy from outfits I’ve worn in the past.

See you on the story!

Check out my Instatories to see how to systemize your wardrobe capsule usage.

FINAL TIDBITS

House all of your capsule wardrobe in one central location. This gives you the opportunity to stay focused and fresh on the intentionality you prepared for this project.
Utilize a system to designate when an article of clothing in the capsule has been worn. I shared my clothespin + washi tape system on Instagram. This will help you note what you love to wear and what your shying away from or not wearing at all.
DONATE the article of clothing if it is not meeting your happy criteria after your’ve worn it in your capsule project. Life is short. Clothes are meant to spark creativity and joy not torture and dread.
If you plan a capsule wardrobe project, I’d love to be a part! Simply tag me on social media at Life Is Big In The Little.

Creating A Capsule Wardrobe