I have a love/hate relationship with capsule wardrobes.

In case you don’t know about the ever-popular capsule wardrobe, the concept is that you limit your wardrobe to a set number of pieces (usually under 40 or so, including shoes) and change it out seasonally. You don’t shop except for when you’re building your next seasonal wardrobe and need to fill some gaps; you end up with a closet full of only clothes you love and you don’t even miss the excess.

I started my first capsule with a fall wardrobe back in mid-August and just reached the end of my 3 months with it. I have so many positive things to say about the experience, and I am so incredibly glad I did it, but I don’t know if I’ll be doing it again for the winter. Part of my problem has to do with the climate where I live (Texas is indecisive, y’all), and part of it is just the concept of enforcing “rules” on myself when it comes to my clothes.

But, before I dive into talking about why I’m questioning a second go-round, let me tell you what was awesome about my capsule wardrobe: I didn’t miss my closet full of clothes. Not even once, not for a single second. Before I started this little project, I was a clothes hoarder. I never got rid of anything, I loved shopping for clothes, and I could not have enough. I would go through my closet a couple of times a year and donate a bunch of stuff, but it was still always stuffed to the brim. And in reality? I only wore about a quarter of it on a regular basis. Sometimes I would feel guilty and wear one of the less-loved pieces, but I always felt uncomfortable and not like myself because it wasn’t really something I loved. So, I decided to try out a low-commitment capsule for a season – I packed up a bunch of clothes, and whittled my wardrobe down to 47 pieces. It was shockingly easier than I thought it would be, and a few weeks in I ended up donating a whole bunch of stuff that I knew I didn’t need anymore.

Throughout the course of the three months I had my fall wardrobe, I can genuinely say I didn’t ever wish for any more than what I had in my closet. I didn’t think that was possible, but apparently it is. Ever since I cleared my closet, getting dressed in the morning is a breeze and I actually feel good in what I’m wearing every day. On top of that, I finally have a better sense of what I need and can make more thoughtful purchases based on what is missing in my closet and not just whatever strikes my fancy when I’m at the store.

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But, despite all of the wonderful aspects of this little project, I ran into a few fundamental issues. First: the weather. Texas weather is almost impossible to predict. When I was picking my “fall” wardrobe in August (intending to start in September, but I actually started a bit early), it was a million degrees outside and still felt like summer. It continued to feel like summer all through September and about half of October. But the problem is, by early October I was over it feeling like summer and I wanted to dress for fall. Which meant that the flip flops, shorts, and tank tops that were in my wardrobe, while weather-appropriate, held zero interest for me anymore. I never realized how much the season affects how I want to dress, but I’m not interested in bright spring prints and sandals in October and November; I want plaid, neutrals, and leggings. So, for the first half of the capsule I had long-sleeved clothes in my wardrobe (just in case!) that didn’t get touched, and for the second half I had a significant number of warm-weather clothes that were useless to me. It felt like a waste of space in my limited closet to have things that weren’t even seasonally appropriate anymore.

In addition to that, there was something mentally difficult for me about imposing “rules” on myself about my wardrobe when it didn’t make sense. For example, as a teacher I often need to wear school spirit shirts to work. I wasn’t about to put those into my capsule, but they needed to be in my closet so I just didn’t count them in my official number. But then a day came where I really needed to wear sneakers to work… they weren’t in my capsule and I felt guilty about pulling them out of storage. And then, about a month later, I saw a huge gap in my shoe collection and decided I would really benefit from a new pair of shoes. I seriously questioned buying them in the middle of my capsule (that’s against the rules!) but I did it anyway, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I wear them 3-4 times a week…so I consider it a good purchase! But it felt “wrong” since it went against what I was trying to do.

So, where am I at now? I finally got tired of having all of this stuff in my wardrobe that I no longer wanted in there (in addition to the summery stuff, there were a few things in there that I apparently don’t like as much as I thought – there were some pieces I didn’t ever wear!), and so I switched out to a winter wardrobe a bit early. I didn’t pay attention to numbers when I was pulling out my new clothes, I just focused on if the pieces I was grabbing fit me well, made me happy, and went with plenty of other stuff in the closet. And surprisingly, I still ended up with under 50 things in my closet overall, so I’m calling it good.

I guess you could say I’m not officially keeping up with a capsule wardrobe anymore, but I will likely still uphold a lot of the same practices – I don’t plan on doing any shopping for the winter season unless there’s something I absolutely need, or unless I find something that will fill a specific gap in my wardrobe. I also plan to continue to cull down my closet to only the things I truly love – if I get a few weeks in and realize I’m just not loving a few pieces in there, I’ll get rid of them with no hesitation. And I’ll probably be doing another round of donating from the clothes that I have in storage, because I’m realizing that I just don’t need all of that extra.

Bottom line? I am so glad I tried out a capsule wardrobe, and I really think it changed how I look at my closet and how I shop for clothes. It really changed my attitude and my perspective, and I don’t ever want to go back to having a giant wardrobe. However, I don’t think I’ll be setting specific numbers for myself anymore or making myself feel guilty for buying things I need. I may try a “one piece in, one piece out” method if I start to feel like I’m getting too much stuff in my closet again, but for now I feel really good about where I’m at and how much I’ve eliminated.

Have you ever tried a capsule wardrobe? I’d love to hear other experiences!