My Capsule Wardrobe

A stock photo of the antithesis of a capsule wardrobe. 

This post is just for the fashionistas, so if you think you might get judge-y, sign off now and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.

ApartmentTherapy has posted a couple of articles about Capsule Wardrobes in the last couple of weeks (part 1 and part 2), which inspired me to share my own experience with the phenomenon.

If you know me IRL, you know that I like clothes. A lot. When packing for this adventure, I decided to take some create a "capsule wardrobe" of a few items that mix and match easily. There are lots of blogs that sing the praises of capsule wardrobes, but I liked the explanations at Project 333 (and the list of 33 items to get started), The Everygirl, and Unfancy. My reasons were both emotional and practical.

• Emotional: I wanted to prove to myself that I don't need a huge wardrobe. Conventional wisdom says that French women have small wardrobes of favorite, very high quality items. I also wanted to make it easier and faster to get ready in the morning by minimizing my choices. I was also honest with myself: I would want to buy some new stuff in France "to look more like a French woman." (Um, if you didn't already guess from my last post, I fit in just fine.)
• Practical. The luggage allowance on our flights was two checked bags per person. Bags 1-4 were big (28 inch) suitcases with a year's worth of clothing for each person. The Boys' bags also held each Boy's favorite fleece blanket and a bit of overflow from Hubby and me. Bags 5 and 6 (22 inch size) held every Lego we own, a few toys, a few books, and up to 3 stuffed animals. Bag 7 was mostly winter gear for ski trips with school and family: coats, snow pants, 2 sets of hats and gloves each. Finally, bag 8 was packed with shoes and some basic household items like towels, curtains, and kitchen items to get us started. 

So the woman who attends academic conferences with a nearly-bursting 22 inch carry-on (including 3-4 pairs of shoes) was going to bring a year's worth of clothing in one 28-inch suitcase. Fortunately, I figured I would need to bring only one dressy, work-related outfit on this trip just in case...of what? I don't know. I haven't needed them yet. Otherwise, I needed to pack clothes that would be comfortable, work in a lot of situations, take me from about 100 degrees Fahrenheit in July to near freezing in January and back. They had to be quick drying because we have only a clothes washer, and they couldn't require ironing because I didn't feel like buying one. 

I found a checklist at House For Five for a year-round wardrobe, and since that's exactly what I was creating, I just copied it into a Google Doc and make a few tweaks. At first, I tried to stick to a muted palette with lots of grays and blues, but pops of color kept working their way back in. That's fine. It means that the wardrobe reflects me and not some generic ideal. I started out by asking, "What do I love?" but quickly found that was no help at all. I purge my closet twice each year and try to stick to a "one in, one out" policy, so the things that stick around tend to be items that I really, really like. Finally, I changed my question to, "What will I miss the most if I cannot wear it until next year?" Suddenly, the capsule came together.

Once you build a capsule, you are only supposed to buy new items as replacements for things that have worn out, lost shape, or lost your interest. In spite of all this planning, as I typed up the list to share with you, I realized that I still packed some items that I am not using enough to warrant bringing with me. I have also bought a few items, reassuring myself that they are "souvenirs of my year in France," so I'll have to purge the capsule before we leave or do some creative packing to bring it all back.

Here's my version the capsule wardrobe checklist.
     # = never worn
     * = worn once
   ** = worn twice

Pants: 6 year round
dark denim x2
white denim**
colored pants x2 (light and dark gray*)
dress pants (gray)*
purchased: khaki pants**

Dress/Skirts: 6-7 year round
little black dress#
pencil skirt#
black and white stripe tunic/dress**
winter skirts x2 (blue/white and gray/white maxi skirts)
summer skirts x5 (gray, white, and navy skorts; gray and khaki cargo skirts)
purchased: navy/white floral dress**

Tops: 10 year round
solid t-shirts x3 (black, white*, turquoise)
colored/patterned tee x2 (navy/white, black/white stripe)
solid tunic or blouse x2 (cornflower blue, black)
colored/patterned tunic or blouse x2 (navy/white, turquoise stripe*)
colored/patterned seasonal top: (orange flower sleeveless*, red/khaki thermal)
Purchased navy/brown patterned tee for summer, navy/white floral tee for winter

Jackets: 4-5 year round
classic jean
white leather moto*
rain coat
neutral blazer#
winter coat (mostly for skiing)
purchased: turquoise puffer, navy blazer

Sweaters: 3-4 year round

lightweight cardigans (white, orange)

solid crew neck (gray, pink)

warm winter x3 (black, navy, red) - all too heavy for this area

purchased: 5 (ubiquitous French stripe, my first cashmere, black wool, white wool blend, red acrylic)

Shoes: 8-9 year round

neutral or metallic flats x2 (gray, black)

walking shoes

athletic shoes**

black 1-inch heel sandals**

seasonal: summer sandals, flip flops, black ankle boots

purchased: neoprene sandals for the river, nude 1-inch heel sandals, black knee boots

given: brown mid-calf boots

Athletic Clothes and Lounge Wear

yoga pants

athletic top (for layering under sweaters, too)

sports bra#

athletic socks

Accessories 

summer/fall scarves x3 (2 multi color, 1 green)

winter scarves x2 (green, turquoise, orange)

earrings x2 

necklace x3**

bracelets x3**

purchased: 1 black scarf

given: 2 blue scarves

 Overall, I think I met my objectives pretty well. There are a few wasted items, particularly in sweaters, and I have caved in and bought a few things that are really fun or comfy. The bloggers warn that it takes a couple of tries to figure out what works and what doesn't, so this is really just my beta capsule. Other bloggers suggest creating seasonal capsules and changing things out twice a year. 

The absence of work clothes helped a lot, of course. You might be thinking, "My play clothes are my work clothes." That might actually be true at my workplace because at American universities, teachers wear jeans and students wear pajamas and yoga pants. But during my formative years of college, I was (1) living in the South, where dressing well was seen as a sign of respect for self and others and (2) I attended business school, which emphasized formal business wear. (As an undergrad, I lost points during an in-class presentation in marketing for wearing an mid-calf-length skirt, long-sleeve sweater, and a black and gray floral scarf. The male professor's written comment: "No suit?" So I guess I should remember that little things can make a lasting impact with my own students.)

If I were to try the capsule wardrobe at home--and I think I will--it will probably be almost double this size to accommodate that. The capsule wardrobe does make getting dressed easy, and living this way is making me re-think my buying and dressing habits back home. I don't know how much I will keep and how much I will give away, but I'm starting to look forward to revisiting my closet.