Why I decided to start a Feminine Capsule Wardrobe This Summer and How I did it

I always felt like capsule wardrobes were not for me. How on earth can someone survive wearing 10-40 pieces of clothing for a whole season?

Background 

I have always had my reservations about capsule wardrobes, mostly I have found them gimmiky and a bit pias. At the same time I have always struggled to dress myself or 'dress well', and have always struggled to put outfits together on my own. I felt that this was mainly due to my upbringing which was spent mostly outdoors; growing up in a rural area with little to no internet and TV did not help. 

This was something that partly contributed to my journey with sustainable fashion, as I have wasted so much money on cheap clothes that I have never worn. Nothing I bought ever seemed to look how I expected or 'fit' right. I felt out of place in a lot of clothes that are fashionable and my body never seemed to look like everyone else did. 

This started my journey with trying to dress myself a little better and working out what styles and cuts and colors work well on me, while also developing my sense of style.

Inspirations 

The people that have recently been inspiring my style and developing my style are Anna Bey and Mrs Midwest. I really wanted to inject some class and femininity into my wardrobe and they have so many good advice videos on how to pick your colors how to be more feminine etc. I have found it very helpful.

This might sound strange but the reason I decided to try to be more feminine was after reading Men are from Mars Women are From Venus and Beyond Mars and Venus - both written by John Grey. This began a fundamental change for me in the way I approached my life ( I may write something else on this at some point). 

Because of this I decided to focus on changing my style and embracing that more feminine side to myself. This has included taking inspiration from the people above in terms of the items I have added to my wardrobe this year. The florals were inspired by Mrs Midwest and after watching Anna's videos on becoming more classy I decided to get a long slinky pink skirt, a silky cami and I am still looking for a 100% silk slip dress. 

What I Chose to do and Why 

After reading how many people have started a capsule wardrobe, I didn't feel that this method was for me. I am not a massive fan of monochrome outfits and most of my clothes are a little jazzy. To make a capsule like many of the ones I have seen I would literally need to buy sooo many items. 

This is why I decided that what I would do instead was to actually just carry on wearing what I liked wearing from my wardrobe for the next two weeks. I collected all this clothing and kept it separate from everything else to see what it was in my closet that I actually regularly wore.

Two Weeks Later

 After two weeks I was shocked to see how little items I actually wore day in and day out. Overall, I had around 12 things that I was regularly wearing!

I then decided to keep these separate and hang them all up together. I looked at patterns in the colors I seemed to be reaching for and looked for potential 'gaps'.  Doing things this way I was just using and reorganizing the things I already had. It let me look at them in a new light and see what I really needed/wanted to add in. 

I was slightly shocked when I saw the colors I have been reaching for, however I have tried to incorporate shades that work with my skin-tone. Doing things this way I have been able to focus more on building a wardrobe that I will wear, rather than one someone else has designed. 

I have spent the summer adding in a few key pieces for summertime and feel like it is nearly at a place that I am happy with. As we move into Autumn I am going to see again what I am reaching for, what I can keep wearing into the winter months and what needs to go in storage.

This might not be the radical style makeover I thought would come with starting this journey but it has helped me use what I do have much better and figure out where the gaps in my wardrobe really are.

I have also wanted for a long time to inject a bit more class and femininity into my wardrobe. You can probably see that from looking at the people who are inspiring me! Doing things this way and more slowly has let me really think about what feminine pieces would actually work for me. What fits in with my style? What works with my everyday life? What will I actually wear? Below are some of the things I bout this summer for my capsule. For tops, everything I chose had to match with most of the bottoms and vice versa. I have also invested in a stunning Cult Gaia bag from Depop, some ByFar mules and a lovely vintage straw hat (thanks Mrs Midwest).

 I think it is coming along quite nicely and I am ready for the challenge of updating my wardrobe with Autumn pieces soon!