What is a Capsule Wardrobe?

You may have heard the term “capsule wardrobe” before. There are loads written about it, with women adopting a Marie Kondo attitude about their belongings in general but notably, with their clothing. And it makes sense – who wouldn’t want to get the most bang for their buck, the longest life, and easy mixing and matching from their closet?

a clothing rack with capsule wardrobe for women, in autumn colors

Table of Contents

My #1 must-have for creating a capsule wardrobe for women

Why color is so important for capsule wardrobes

The benefits of a capsule wardrobe

Sample capsule wardrobe for women

How to create a capsule wardrobe for women

 

My #1 must-have for creating a capsule wardrobe for women

So, how is the info I’m going to share here on building a capsule wardrobe for women any different than what’s already out there on the web? Well, maybe my opinion on the subject isn’t completely unique, but I’d say that what I’m going to focus on here more than what you might see on other sites is – ding ding ding – COLOR.

(I mean, it’s pretty obvious at this point, right?)

While other capsules evolve around sticking to neutral colors or assembling your capsule according to personal style (and that’s all great, by the way), my approach starts first and foremost with finding out your best or most favorite color palette, and THEN creating a capsule wardrobe with color as the foundation. You can build from other elements, like personal style and silhouettes, from there.

Why color is so important for capsule wardrobes

The great thing about starting with using color as the backbone for your capsule wardrobe is that even if your personal style changes over the years, your colors probably won’t change quite as often. (Although it IS possible that your palette can change over time, with age and with bold moves in hair color, for example, it’s probably not going to happen as frequently as a style change.)

Not only are the colors in your color palette flattering on you, but they also mix and match together in such a wonderful way that if you stay within your palette, you’ll know that the items in your capsule wardrobe (and the future items you shop for as well) are going to pair together beautifully.

(Need a visual? Check out my ultimate guide to all 10 color palettes here – complete with samples!)

The benefits of a capsule wardrobe

Now, before diving into how I create a capsule wardrobe for women, let’s talk about the benefits since those will serve as real motivators for creating a capsule wardrobe of your very own!

What a capsule wardrobe will do for you:

  • Your ability to mix and match items in your wardrobe will improve significantly
  • You avoid the risk of having “orphaned” items in your closet (i.e., those pesky tops, skirts, and shoes that don’t seem to go with anything else you own)
  • You save money by avoiding having those orphaned pieces
  • You save money by getting more life out of the pieces you do have, since they are more likely compatible with each other AND they are in colors that you love
  • Using the method of capsule wardrobing I teach, you’re less likely to have unflattering colors in your closet or colors that you’re not in love with.
  • It makes shopping a breeze
  • It makes getting dressed each day easier and more FUN.

Sample Capsule Wardrobe for Women

OK, you’re on board with creating your own capsule wardrobe now. Great! Now what? Let’s look at an example of a capsule wardrobe for women to give you a good visual:

[Sample goes here – layout with Amazon links]example capsule wardrobe for women in autumn color palette with brown, cream, teal, army green, gold, and rose gold jewelry

This is an example of a capsule wardrobe using the Autumn color palette as its backbone. You can see how everything in this wardrobe could easily match together. According to my nerdy calculations, from these 11 base items (I didn’t count the jewelry, jacket, or bag), you could theoretically create 28 different looks!

Shop this capsule wardrobe for women:

Shop more clothing in Autumn colors here

How to create a capsule wardrobe for women

What’s the next step? It’s time to make a capsule wardrobe of your own!

First, be sure to check out my page on how to quickly choose your most flattering color palette, step by step.

Then, be sure to learn more about your color palette and see examples here so you can start visualizing your capsule wardrobe.

Finally, hop over to my post about how to create a capsule wardrobe of your own.

Happy capsuling!

 

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