Building a capsule wardrobe: Five practical tips
Building a capsule wardrobe that will truly withstand the test of time can take patience and know-how.
The concept might be intimidating, but planning your wardrobe strategically can help you make better buying decisions that will benefit your wallet and the environment, too.
Keep reading to learn about five practical tips that will help you build your capsule wardrobe more easily and make better decisions in the future.
1) Define your style
First of all, understanding your personal sense of style can go a long way toward helping you buy smarter pieces.
If you’re not sure where to start, look at Pinterest, fashion magazines, or clothing stores and single out specific pieces, outfits, and styles you like. For example, you can browse online stores like Gentle Fawn and see which items pique your interest, using that as a baseline for the style of clothing you want to aim for.
2) Choose a color palette
Creating a color palette for your wardrobe makes shopping and picking your outfits so much easier. With a cohesive collection of colors, pairing items together is seamless, and you’ll never need to worry about your clothes not matching!
Take the time to really determine which colors suit your skin, hair, and eyes, and try to build your color palette around those tones, whether they’re cool or warm.
3) Focus on quality over quantity
One of the main points of building a capsule wardrobe is to reduce it to just a few high-quality items that work together cohesively. With that in mind, you shouldn’t use this endeavor as an excuse to purchase a lot of new clothing.
Instead, prioritize staple pieces like jeans, trousers, a few tops, a coat or leather jacket, etc. Make sure you invest in items that will all go well together, and that will last for years to come. This might mean only buying one or two more expensive pieces per month instead of everything in one go.
4) Prioritize versatility
Another important element of a capsule wardrobe is that everything in it will match with other pieces and can be used for various occasions.
For example, a stunning but simple black dress can be used for many different occasions, and a high quality coat can be dressed up or down, depending on what you need it for. Before buying an item of clothing, try to think about a few different cases where you might be able to use it, and determine whether it’s really worth the cost.
5) Regularly edit your wardrobe
Finally, don’t become restricted by your capsule wardrobe. As you change as a person, your style can change too, and that’s okay.
So long as you’re not following fast fashion trends, you can update your capsule wardrobe from time to time as you find new pieces that align with your style and needs, or as your need to replace older pieces. Feeling boxed in or restricted by your capsule wardrobe is never the point, so make sure you always express yourself!
