I’ll be completely honest: I’m not very fashionable. I think one of the main reasons why I don’t get too into fashion is due to being overweight. It’s not very fun to shop for clothes when you want to run out of every dressing room screaming once you see yourself in a three-way mirror.
I recognize that it’s very possible to be fashionable and look good even when you’re overweight. I see so many women my size who manage to make their size work for them, not against them. I’ve been putting off really honing in on my style and creating a wardrobe I love because I wanted to lose weight first. When I am at my perfect weight, then I can get my life started. This is how I approach many things in life: everything is going to fall into place and my life will be super perfect when I am finally at my happy weight.
The truth is even though I want to get to that happy weight and I am working towards that, there’s no reason to put off building a wardrobe I love. I’ve been putting this off for years because I wanted to lose weight first. But I still deserve to feel good and wear clothes that make me feel good, even at the size I am now. I need to stop thinking the girl I am now doesn’t deserve good things in life. She does. She deserves the effort, she deserves the time, she deserves to feel good even at an unhappy weight.
So that’s what I’m doing. I am going to work on putting together a capsule wardrobe. It’s going to take me a while, but I am really excited to take this on and find a style that makes me feel good. Because we all deserve to like our appearance and feel good about ourselves.
So, let’s talk capsule wardrobes! Basically, a capsule wardrobe is a small collection of essential clothing and accessories to use during a season. You want to choose classic pieces that won’t go out of style and can be mixed and matched in different ways and add a few seasonal pieces to the mix with each different capsule. Things that don’t count in a capsule include workout clothes, loungewear, pajamas, undergarments, and sentimental jewelry (such as a wedding ring).
For me, since I live in Florida and we don’t experience actual seasons, I’m only planning on creating a summer capsule and a winter capsule. It’s only August and we still have a good four months of hot weather ahead of us, so I’m going to work on building my summer capsule now.
It’s up to you how many pieces you want in your capsule wardrobe, but you do want to keep it minimal. For me, I am considering the below 35-piece wardrobe:
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- Skinny jeans – 1 pair
- Dressy slacks (for work) – 2 pairs
- Dressy capris (for work) – 1 pair
- Capris – 2 pairs
- Dresses – 2
- Skirts – 2
- Dressy shirts (for work) – 12
- Cardigans (for work) – 4
- Flats – 2
- Sandals – 1
- Tees (casual) – 6
One thing I should note is that I didn’t include accessories with my capsule wardrobe. I don’t wear jewelry and I consider my sunglasses more a necessity than an accessory. (They’re as essential to me as my eyeglasses.) It’s up to you if you want to count jewelry in with your capsule, but I don’t think it matters that much.
So this is where I am at right now. I did a big closet purge this weekend and even though I just sent off a huge bag of clothes to ThredUp in May, I have enough clothes and shoes to fill up another bag! That seems so crazy to me! I’ll talk more about my closet purge next week, and where I stand with my current wardrobe.
I know I’ll have some shopping to do to get my summer capsule wardrobe set into place, and it’s something that will be a work in progress for a while. (Since I’m also trying to live more frugally and pay off some debts, which takes priority.) But I’m excited to have a plan and to begin curating a wardrobe that makes me feel good.
Have you ever created a capsule wardrobe? Do you consider yourself fashionable?
I totally get the wanting to wait until the pounds come off to invest in clothes or anything while I’m in transition. I’ve bought a few wrap dresses and tops which have been helpful for feeling and looking good as the pounds come (slowly) off since they are so versatile. I think the best part in deciding to fit the body I have now is that it has made me feel more comfortable/confident because I have the clothes that properly fit me– I actually have had a few compliments on weight loss from people, even though I’ve barely lost a pound!
I’m also in the process of figuring out a capsule wardrobe, though in New England with 4 seasons that aren’t always clear, it’s a bit more difficult! For me, I’ve worked really hard in the past year or so to buy clothes that are, for the most part, something that can be worn at work or on weekends. Gone are the days when I need special tops for going out haha!
I spent a lot of time over the winter purging my closet. I filled up 6 garbage bags of clothes to give to my younger cousins! I am a keeper of all things, so it was hard for me to part with some items that reminded me of my first job or my first year in college, etc. I still have clothes that I do not wear EVER so I need to part with those items soon. At the same time, I tried to build up my collection of classic items, like solid colored tops, tees, cardigans, etc, that won’t go out of style and are acceptable for work and weekend wear. My biggest problems is my sizing – I definitely fluctuate 5-10 lbs and some days I fit into one size comfortably and other days I feel like I need a bigger size. It’s frustrating and I wish I could just get to my “happy weight” and stay there.
I most definitely do not consider myself fashionable! I don’t wear makeup or a lot of jewelry (I have like three necklaces from my mom that I rotate for work but I never buy myself anything) and my clothes are pretty basic. If I’m not at work I’m usually wearing workout clothes because, well, comfort wins over fashion most days!
I’m with Kristen on the tops for going out piece; I still have a few from my younger days because I can’t bear to part with them BUT they just hang in my closet. Which is rather silly, I suppose.
I have never really given though to a capsule wardrobe, though it makes sense from a practical standpoint and financial. I have a mix of clothes right now and several pieces from each season I will wear in the summer or winter, and that feels pretty darn good to me. I am really into long dresses or jeans and a cute t-shirt with accessories on the downtime/weekends (or ok, workout clothes because I’ve turned into that person who will wear them around the house. It’s part of my motivation to workout!)
Can’t wait to hear/see more about this!
Stephany, I love this idea. Lately, I’ve been trying to focus on buying fewer quality pieces than tons of cheaper clothes. (I try to keep this in mind in terms of what I am keeping from my Stitch Fix boxes.) I feel the same about accessories and jewelry. For me, I’ve been focusing on buying fewer scarves, purses, and jewelry pieces in the last few years, but the ones I buy are better quality and I can wear them with multiple outfits. I’d also say having some accessories you love, or a nice pair of sunglasses or a nice bag can go a long way to dressing up a capsule wardrobe or making up different looks from the items you have. Can’t wait to hear more about this!
Yes, yes, yes, you deserve nice things NOW! I think it’s less about figuring out what fashion size you want, but which style works for you (because I am pretty sure, the style will work at any weight! :))
I definitely need to purge my closet again. I don’t really have a sense of fashion. I like certain pieces of clothing but never really have a “style”. I suppose I should get on that?
I’m working on my first capsule wardrobe now and am SO excited about the idea! I’m also only doing two — spring/summer and fall/winter. For summer, I just culled my current wardrobe, didn’t do too much planning, or too much adding. But for the fall/winter, I’ll be more intentional and pick pieces, count, etc.
Also, this paragraph: “But I still deserve to feel good and wear clothes that make me feel good, even at the size I am now. I need to stop thinking the girl I am now doesn’t deserve good things in life. She does. She deserves the effort, she deserves the time, she deserves to feel good even at an unhappy weight.” made me think YES, YES, YES!
You more deserve deserve to have nice things now that will make you feel confident and good about yourself! I haven’t heard of the concept of a capsule wardrobe, but I really like the idea of it. Hopefully by building a summer one now you can take advantage of some of the sales going on in stores on their summer items? I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
I really do not think of myself as being stylish. I have a very well-defined look and I have had friends see things and say, ‘oh this is so Lisa’ so I know others understand my sense of style too. But I am really bad at breaking out of my norm of Banana Republic looks, which is why I am giving Stitch Fix a try right now. I definitely need to do a closet purge soon, I should make that a goal for August! Because right now i am sort of out of hangers but that problems would be solved if I’d do a purge!
My capsule wardrobe would be very different because I wear a work uniform five days a week, and sometimes on my days off I spend all day in PJs. Is that bad?
I have been exploring and moving toward a capsule wardrobe for about a year. I have chosen my main colors and am sticking with buying only things that will go well together. I am very classic in all my tastes and have never been one to buy trendy fashions. I do love jewelry, but will only wear real stones and metals. My jewelry is also very classic and understated. I have purged my closet a couple of times, but need to continue that process. I challenged myself this summer to choose only 20 pieces and wear those, just to see if I could actually be successful with a capsule wardrobe. I am happy to say that it is working out well. I live in Texas and it is either hot or cold, with not much of a spring or fall. I have chosen colors that can go for either season for the most part, and all I have to do is add or subtract a sweater, cardigan or jacket and choose seasonable shoes or boots. I also use scarves for a different look. I have to say that this is the most stress free that my life has been in many years. Everything goes with everything. My first experience with a limited palette and capsule wardrobe was when my daughter was a fifth grade student. We would choose her school outfit the night before to save time and tears in the mornings. When she started to get dressed the next morning, many times she had changed her mind. Along came the tears and we went off to school stressed and upset. One year as we shopped I made the rule that we were not purchasing anything that she did not love enough to wear everyday. We ended up with 6 pair of jeans/pants and 12 tops that coordinated with all of the jeans/pants. It was WONDERFUL! No problems in the morning getting ready for school. I did not know that was a capsule wardrobe, but it was and it worked out beautifully!
So, this is not actually related to a capsule wardrobe, though I, too, have been trying to cultivate a better sense of style for myself. What I really wanted to tell you about, in case you’ve never heard of it, is Poshmark, an app for buying & selling women’s clothes/shoes/accessories, etc. I’ve made a lot of money off of it, actually, & there are no listing fees, so you don’t have to worry about losing money if something doesn’t sell. While it can be annoying because you have to hang onto stuff until you sell it – as opposed to sending it off to ThredUp or taking a bag to Goodwill – you can end up with a pretty decent chunk of extra pocket change if you’re willing to be patient with your old stuff!
(If you do sign up, my referral code if HMUGD; we both get a $5 credit if you do – but I swear I’m just telling you because I’ve had really good experiences with it!)
I think it’s important to make oneself feel good to keep oneself sane and this also includes feeling comfortably in the clothes you’re wearing. So building a capsule wardrobe, even if you don’t have your happy weight yet is great!
I’ve tried to build myself a capsule wardrobe, but in Germany, where we have 4 seasons (-5°F in winter to 95°F in summer) I find it rather difficult. So, for a start I’ve limited the colors of my tees, dressy shirts, etc. to shades in reds, blues and white/cream, that I know suit me well (and excluding oranges and greens, that make me look pale and sick) making sure that I can wear basically everything together. Then I go and mix everything up with one or two seasonal highlights, especially accessories.
You’re really lucky to only have 2 seasons. I can’t wait to hear more!
Cool idea! I have never even heard of a capsule wardrobe before! I’m not sure if I really have a defined style and I definitely don’t consider myself super stylish, but I do my best. In the summer dresses and skirts are a staple and in the winter I wear a lot of slacks and dresses with tights + boots. I also do a lot of accessorizing and have a ton of fun necklaces and scarves. That’s about the extent of my fashionableness 🙂 I closet purge at least twice a year so don’t ever feel like my closet is overflowing with stuff!
I would not say that I have a capsule wardrobe, but I have been working on wearing my closet – today I’m wearing a raspberry dress I bought for Easter a couple years ago, and it is so happy. I have so very many dresses, I need to wear more of my dresses. I’ve been taking the rest of my closet apart the same way I purge the boys’ toys – I take a ton of it out, stuff it in a corner somewhere and if I’m not missing it after a few weeks then it’s ready to go.
Yes! I am with you, April. I do not have a capsule wardrobe, but I clean my closet out a lot. I’m the friend that gets all the hand-me-downs and sometimes I take things just because they’re given to me, even if they’re not overly flattering or something I would actually wear.
I love clothes but I also hate spending a lot of money on clothes. My favorite store is Ross because you can get cute clothes for cheap. I’m also a firm believer that fashion can really boost your confidence. I find that on the days that I feel comfortable and look cute my confidence is higher, which helps in all aspects of life. Find what makes you feel good and own it!