Hey guys!
I wanted to give you a little peek into my capsule wardrobe life by showing you exactly what is in my day to day wardrobe this season. I started doing capsule wardrobes two years ago when I first got serious about simplifying my life and got sick of having a huge closet and yet feeling like I never had anything to wear. If you want to read more about it you can check out my post here.
I’m still learning a lot about this process and I’m not super strict on myself, because life is too short to spend your time worrying unnecessarily. I have better things to do with my time (hello, two kids). So if I haven’t included a sweater in my summer capsule because I live in North Carolina and it’s a million degrees here, but then we decide go to the movies, you better believe I’m going to dig out a sweater. Because it would be silly not to! And yes, that totally happened.
So I’m two years in and I can honestly say I’m really happy with how the capsule system is working for me. I worry less about what I’m going to wear in the morning, which leaves me more time for the important things in life, like building pillow forts and baking cookies with my babes. Pretty much everything goes together, which makes things super simple. And this season I’ve simplified even more by completely embracing the one item outfit… dresses and jumpers! One item and you’re ready to go. I love it.
So, let’s dig in… My summer wardrobe includes 33 items–
- 4 tank tops
- 6 t-shirts
- 1 long-sleeve shirt
- 6 dresses
- 3 jumpers
- 1 skirt
- 3 pairs of pants
- 3 pairs of shorts
- 6 pairs of shoes
In all honesty, at the beginning of the season my wardrobe contained an additional 8 items (2 dresses, 1 pair of shorts, 3 tank tops, 1 shirt, and 1 pair of shoes), but I went into it knowing that I might not wear those items. After a few weeks, when I realized that I indeed wasn’t wearing them, I took them out. Some have been donated, and others I will hold onto in case they grow on me by next summer. And that’s another way I’m giving myself grace in this process.
As you can see, I’ve got a lot of neutrals in here, but if you know me then that’s probably not surprising. But the reason is twofold. One, I like them and I feel comfortable in them. And two, pretty much everything matches! It just makes things easy. But I also included some pops of pink and orange… because #summer. I’ve also tried to use a lot of natural fabrics because they’re cooler in the summer months and they’re more sustainable than synthetics. Below are some more up close photos, as well as sources, although some items are old, so you’ll have to forgive me.
- White tank – Ann Taylor, old
- Striped tank – Madewell, old
- Navy tank – Ann Taylor, old
- Black Tank – Julie Billiart, old
- White crop tee – Madewell, old
- Cream peplum tee – Madewell, old
- White tee – LOFT, old
- Blue striped crop tee – Others Follow, old
- Pink striped tee – Target
- Pink henley – Madewell, old
- Chambray button up – Cloth & Stone, old
- White linen dress – St. Tropez, TJMaxx, this season
- Oatmeal linen dress – Son de Flor
- Denim button up dress – Madewell, old
- Orange floral dress – Free People, old
- Black raw silk dress – Maeve (Anthro), old (similar, different material)
- Black linen button dress – TJMaxx, this season, but I ripped the tag out because I wear it backwards, so I don’t know who the designer is. Oops.
- Striped skirt – Target
- White jeans – Citizens of Humanity, old
- White linen – Stem (Nordstrom, really old)
- Distressed jeans – Madewell, old
- Blue shorts – Madewell, old
- Black shorts – Madewell, old
- Denim – Madewell
- White sandals – TOMS
- White tennies – Converse
- Rose booties – Sevilla Smith
- Brown sandals – Birkenstock, old
- Cognac sandals – Dansko
- Cognac clogs – Sven, mine are color “fawn” but I don’t see it listed anymore
So what do you think? Are you feeling the pull of simplification? Are you interested in trying a capsule system? Or have you already taken the plunge? I’d love to hear about your journey!
XO.
Thistle + Fig 