Over the last couple of weeks, I have written about how to take stock of your existing wardrobe (see here) and how to plan your next capsule wardrobe (see here). Today, I am going to talk about the next stage - that is, how to actually build a capsule wardrobe. I'm going to take you through this step-by-step. So let's get going.
Step 1 – Gather your clothing items
First, you need to gather together all of your clothes for the coming season. In my case, they are in a storage box under my bed.
Step 2 – Create piles on your bed
Second, lay out your clothes on your bed in piles by type e.g. trousers, jumpers, shirts, dresses and skirts etc.
Step 3 – Remove items which don’t fit your colour palette
Third, from those piles, remove any pieces which are not within the colour palette you have chosen for the season.
Put those pieces to one side. They will need to be stored away until next season or this time next year.
Step 4 – Select the pieces for your capsule
Fourth, select the pieces from the piles that you wish to include in your capsule wardrobe.
If you want to create a 30-piece capsule wardrobe, I would suggest the following ratio, as a rough rule of thumb:
- 10 tops
- 8 bottoms
- 4 dresses
- 6 jumpers / cardigans
- 2 jackets
If you want to build a smaller capsule wardrobe, halve these quantities; a bigger capsule wardrobe, double (or even triple) these quantities.
Step 5 – Play around a bit
Keep playing around, swapping items in and out, until you have a capsule wardrobe that you are happy with.
Step 6 – Hang your capsule in your wardrobe
Now, hang your capsule in your wardrobe.
I suggest hanging the items in groups of like items (e.g. all skirts together). And within each group, hanging the items from light to dark colours: see photo below.
That way, it will be easy for you to find any item. Also, if you pick a dark bottom, you can easily go to the tops and see which light or dark tops you could pair with it.
In practice
As before, I’m going to follow all these steps in relation to my own wardrobe. So, if you want to see exactly how I do it, check back mid-week to read all about it.
Next week
And next week, I will be talking about wearing your capsule throughout the season. You want to make sure that you get the most wear out of your items. I’m also going to be sharing some pointers in case there are items which you haven’t worn yet.
In the meantime, you may like to check our my Autumn Edit or some of my previous blog posts like Capsule wardrobe basics: white or black or Top 5 Trends: Autumn 2019 or How to style one dress x 5 ways.
Til then!
Commentaires