Winter Capsule Wardrobe

First of all, what is a capsule wardrobe? A capsule wardrobe can be created by limiting the contents of your closet–purchasing staple pieces and purging items that go unnoticed for months or even years. It’s not always true that more clothing = more options. In fact, most of us reach for the same items again and again and the unused items fade away in our wardrobes taking up valuable closet space. A major advantage to creating a capsule is saving time when deciding what to wear. Often too many choices creates too many choices! There are several ways to go about creating your own capsule wardrobe. Here’s one way…

Begin by sorting your clothes and accessories into two piles. “1. Items I can’t live without” and “2. What the heck was I thinking”?
From the first pile select your favorites. Think 3-4 bottoms, 3-4 basic tops, 1-2 classic sweaters/sweatshirts, 1 jacket, 5 pairs of shoes, and some versatile accessories. (The numbers and styles may differ depending on occupation, climate, season, etc.)
Donate the items from pile #2
Take the 10-20 key pieces and begin mixing and matching. How many outfits can you create? Can you layer? What can be worn more than one way? How could you transition from day to night? If you do the math, these items can take you through an entire month without repeating the exact same look!
If you’re missing a key piece, think about adding this essential staple to your wardrobe. This would be the time to invest in an item that you’ll have for a long time. (i.e. Hunter Boots, faux leather jacket, the perfect pair of skinny jeans, etc.)

I selected the following…3 pairs of jeans (black, basic, and distressed), 2 t-shirts (white and grey), 1 grey sweater, 2 bell sleeve tops (black and striped), 1 faux leather jacket, 1 sweatshirt, 5 pairs of shoes, and an assortment of versatile accessories. In just about an hour I was able to create 20+ looks. Here are my favorites! (Scroll all the way down to find the links to all my items.)