Today, I want to get the ball rolling with a full, in-depth reveal and explain why I started my capsule wardrobe journey and how I went about it. (If you are new to the capsule wardrobe concept, you may like to read my previous blog post, which explains what a capsule wardrobe is and why you should build one.)
I am conscious that I’ve written a lot of posts already about capsule wardrobes but not really shared my journey with you. That probably sounds quite corny. But over the last few years, I’ve loved (yes, absolutely LOVED!) watching other people putting together their capsule wardrobes. It has completely inspired me to build my own. Now, I feel that it’s my turn to share what I am doing to inspire others. So without further ado, let’s get straight into it.
The packing problemo
So rewind to about 5 years ago... And I decided to create my first capsule wardrobe when I was packing for a trip. Actually, it was a bit more than a trip. It was a 5-week period during which I was attempting to squeeze in:
A relocation from Asia to Europe for work.
A two-week holiday in Australia en route home.
A big family event in England.
Wow, that was a lot! I had one suitcase and I needed to pack for all eventualities. (Fortunately, I only had to pack clothes for sone season: summer.) I had no idea how I was going to do it but figured that there must be a way.
Help at hand
I’m not sure if I really knew much about the capsule wardrobe concept at that point but I do remember that I started to search on YouTube for a video that would help me. I think I watched a couple of videos, which explained that I need to choose items of similar colours and which would mix and match to create lots of outfits.
I decided immediately to give it a go and pulled some items out onto my bed. I switched pieces in and out and attempted to make various outfit combinations until I had something that I was happy with. I remember that suitcase being full of a lot royal blue pieces (blue being in the main colour in my wardrobe)! Most importantly, everything fitted into my suitcase and, while I was away, it worked! I had enough outfits to wear and I didn’t run out of clothes.
Reflections & rolling out
It made me think about the rest of my wardrobe. At that point (my late 20s), my wardrobe was mainly made up of fast-fashion pieces and it was very colourful. And while my wardrobe was always full, it often (more often than not) felt like I had nothing to wear. I figured that if I could roll out the concept to the rest of my wardrobe, I would shop better, get more use out of my clothes and, most crucially, always have something to wear.
Of course, it has been a process and I am still on that journey. I am now build seasonal capsule wardrobes. And while I buy less clothes than I once did, I still feel like I have TOO many clothes. So, for me as well, it is Work.In.Progress.
Why & how wrap-up
So that is why I first started a capsule wardrobe. Over the next few weeks, I am going to show you how I create my capsule wardrobes. I am ready to change over my wardrobe from summer to autumn and so I am going to show you exactly how I do it, step-by-step and hopefully with lots of pictures.
In the meantime, you may like to check our my Autumn Edit or some of my previous blog posts like Top 5 Trends: Autumn 2019 or Capsule wardrobe basics: white or black or Top 5 investment pieces for your capsule wardrobe.
So I hope you found today’s post helpful. If I can inspire just one other person to create a capsule wardrobe, then I will feel that that is a job well done.
Do you use capsule wardrobes or are you planning on creating your first one? Leave me a comment below.
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