Fall Capsule Wardrobe

I was reading "The Small Things" blog and she mentioned this capsule idea for organizing your closet. I had never heard of it and am very intrigued to try it for the fall. I went to Un-fancy for details.

The premise is that you empty out all of your clothes onto your bed. Then sort them into 3 piles, LOVE, MAYBE, and DONATE.

My name is Alycia Chernick and I am a clothing hoarder. I stand before you now and commit to change. I am guilty of holding onto old clothing for sentimental reasons, hanging onto something in hopes that it will fit, buying something because it was a great sale but not a great piece of clothing, and not getting rid of junky things that are worn out!! 

You can see where this might be a system that will work for me. I did start to get rid of things this summer, but there is more in there that has to go. 

Now onto the capsule part (not sure why it is called this) the clothing you LOVE should make you feel good and stand a little taller when you are wearing it. The MAYBE items you put in a box and date then stick it in your garage or basement. If you never go into it and pull something out, then take the box to Goodwill after 3-5 months. The DONATE stuff is self explanatory.

The clothing you love and have kept needs to be versatile. This is the step of the process I am on. You should be able to mix and match most things to make multiple outfits. Dear friends, I have many things that I can only wear with one specific thing and it takes up time to try them on with something else and decide that it looks bad or is a poor fit. I need to work on this step...

Getting dressed should be easy. You should not have to think it through the night before/stress over it, or stand in front of your closet in the morning with glazed over eyes. Guilty!

You should be able to have a few staples and investment pieces that go well together, so you can basically get dressed in the dark and look sensational. Her rule is 9 pairs of shoes (I would have to buy more or simply use what I have), 9 bottoms (I need to trim back here), 2 dresses, and 15 tops (I really hang onto these guys... gonna have to try a little harder!). Bottoms include pants and skirts. Tops include long sleeve, short sleeve, and sweaters. Accessories and jewelry don't count. However, I have some crummy scarves that I never wear and will be going to Goodwill. I also have seasonal clothing and t-shirts that I wear for holidays for my classroom and I have to decide about some of it. Maybe I just look like a weird teacher lady instead of classy when I get all theme-y? Maybe I just don't care? AND best of all workout/lounge clothes don't count. My poor hubby only sees me in these... good thing he likes me!!

I did a little shopping this weekend and ordered some things from the Gap and Old Navy. I also found the perfect skinny black pants and cable knit sweater for super cheap at Kmart. I am still looking for a crisp white button down and possibly a shirt dress. I may hit up Walmart or Shopko for these. Again, I really like be choosy about the pieces that I spend more money on.

*Edit: The capsule is only for one season. You can carry clothing pieces over from season to season or choose to have separate pieces for each one allowing you to have more total items of clothing. I will personally have some carryover. However, once you have picked your capsule clothing for the season, you stop shopping. That's right, you plan it out in advance and then stay away from stores for 3-4 months, so no more impulse buying friends!!

Here are some outfit combos I like:

from the tiny twig

from pinksole

from travelista