Timeless Pieces to Purchase for Your Wardrobe
As we all know, fashion trends and fads can be fickle—one day velvet and choker-style necklaces are in. The next, they’re (reportedly) out out out and it’s “normcore” time. Even seemingly-classic items like a particular style of sneaker can go “stale” surprisingly quickly if it is (or once was) “the sneaker of the moment”. Wouldn’t it be nice to avoid all this, and have a closet (and dresser) full of pieces that look great wear after wear, year after year? The good news is that this doesn’t have to be a pipe dream (er, closet dream?). Read on and we’ll show you how to curate a personal collection of timeless pieces that’ll look perennially chic.
Introducing: The Capsule Wardrobe
The concept of the capsule wardrobe is a great place to start our explorations on how to build a capsule wardrobe. Just what exactly is a capsule wardrobe, you might ask? It’s a tight closet edit that contains only the most versatile and classic pieces—pieces that can all be mixed and matched. (Remember preschool report cards? Perhaps one or more of your kids came home from Pre-K carrying one, or maybe you’ve received one yourself. A common notation on these cards is “[student name] plays well with others”. Isn’t that nice? Wouldn’t it be lovely if all your clothes played well with others? A worthy ideal, to be sure.)
One way to determine if you’ve got a capsule wardrobe is to ask yourself if all the tops and bottoms in your closet can be worn with one another. If the answer is no, don’t despair, but do consider investing some time and effort in a closet edit! Your soon-to-be fabulous-looking reflections in the mirror will thank you. Another popular way of determining whether you’ve got a capsule wardrobe is the clothes rack test. No, this is not when you hang upside down on a clothing rack from the backs of your knees (though we concede that might be fun!). This refers to the following self-assessment—let’s call it a “closet quiz”: if you remove all your clothes from your closet and hang them on a freestanding garment rack, does the room the rack is standing in now look chic, cute, and well-organized ? Or, does it have a “dirty laundry left out to air for all to gaze upon” appearance? If your apparel collection looks messy, unsightly, or in any way overwhelming, it may be time to look into what a Capsule wardrobe can do for you.
What a Capsule Wardrobe Can Do For You
A capsule wardrobe is an especially great choice for busy moms, folks with high-stress professions (nurses, doctors, and accountants during tax season, I’m looking at you!), or anyone who simply wants to spend less time getting ready in the morning and more time doing other things (like enjoying a chatty breakfast with the kiddos before they head off to school, or baking a tasty, festive breakfast casserole even though it’s not a weekend or holiday). A capsule wardrobe enables you to shorten your list of closet-related responsibilities. There’ll be fewer pieces to buy, wash, dry, iron or steam, fold or hang, and consider when putting together outfits. When we were in high school, struggling to get the hang of SAT II essay writing, one of our favorite teachers gave us this memorable advice– “keep it simple, stupid” (or “KISS”, for short). We know you’re not stupid (and we’re not either), but this catchy phrase is useful in that it can help us to focus on the “meat and potatoes” of our wardrobes (rather than the sequins, feathers, and fishnet—which, unless you’re Lady Gaga, aren’t exactly useful for pulling together a typical weekday look amidst the chaos of getting the kids ready for school, making breakfast for the family, and handling the other thousand and one things hectic mornings demand of us).
Embrace Your Uniqueness With the Capsule Wardrobe Concept
Also, even though we want to always choose timeless pieces for our capsule wardrobes, there’s got to be some personal style in the mix. Your capsule wardrobe should be tightly edited, but it shouldn’t look like it could belong to just anyone. It ought to look like it belongs to you! That being said, some classic pieces belong in every capsule wardrobe: a trench coat, a trouser, a jean jacket or military-style anorak, a turtleneck, a white button-down shirt, a denim pair of jeans, a maxi skirt, a little black dress, a solid-color tee, a twinset (think: sleeveless shell and cardigan), a one-piece swimsuit or a two-piece swimsuit, and a swimsuit cover-up.
We’re happy to report, too, that you can (and we’ll even go so far as to argue that you should!) put your spin on these classic pieces. For example, even though every capsule wardrobe should contain a trench, perhaps yours will be fuchsia—or turquoise!— rather than basic beige. Remember, a capsule wardrobe—and any wardrobe!—is all about celebrating you: your figure, your face, your sense of personal style, and the joie de vivre that you bring to everyday life! As the old Revlon slogan goes: “Only we make it; only you make it unforgettable.” When you’re wearing pieces from your own curated capsule wardrobe, you’re sure to shine bright and feel confident in every setting and situation—and that, in our book, is what style is really about!