Let’s be real. You are not wearing all of the clothes in your closet right now. If you are wearing the same few pieces and with a closet of clothes that go unworn, and don’t feel put together when you leave the house, a capsule wardrobe may be the solution you are looking for.
Follow along for how to find your perfect wardrobe and not only will you leave the house feeling great, your laundry game will become next level as well.
Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast
What is a capsule wardrobe?
The whole concept behind having a capsule wardrobe is LESS is MORE. It is essentially narrowing down your entire wardrobe to a set number of tops, bottoms, shoes, and accent pieces that all mix and match together. This allows you to dress in clothes you love every day, with less laundry, and more style.
Adding in clothes to create this intentionally curated closet is where a lot of ladies get hung up. I promise the system I use will save you money and make it way less overwhelming to boot.
The First Step in How to Make A Capsule Wardrobe is This: Find your look.
Put together a design board or mood board of all the looks that inspire you. This is the most vital step for reducing the amount of money you spend, and creating a cohesive closet. The last thing you want to do is show up to Target with money in your hand and a hankering for clothes, and no real idea what you are looking for. It’s like going to the grocery store hungry and no list. Bad news bears.
This is not mood shopping. This is not where you go to make yourself feel good then realize there was zero intention behind your shopping and end up with a gut full of buyer’s remorse and a closet full of clothes that don’t make you feel good about yourself. (Which is where we started, so let’s not do that).
Where do I find inspiration for my capsule wardrobe?
Pinterest. That is exactly where. You could scroll Instagram for hours but you will get results immediately from searching Pinterest with keywords like this:
- spring capsule wardrobe ideas
- spring clothes for moms
- spring outfit ideas for moms
- easy capsule wardrobe ideas for spring
- spring outfit ideas for curvy moms
- simple spring outfits for stay-at-home moms
Every time you see an outfit you like, SCREEN SHOT the image. You want to have about 15-20 images to work with in order to come up with a solid 9-image mood board.
You can also pin them to a board if you want to keep them for later on, but the key here is to get an actual jpeg that you can put into your mood board.
“The whole concept behind having a capsule wardrobe is LESS is MORE. It is essentially narrowing down your entire wardrobe to a set number of pieces that all mix and match together. This allows you to dress in clothes you love every day, with less laundry, and more style.”
An Often Forgotten Tip in How to Make a Capsule Wardrobe is This: Make a mood board.
Take the image you found, and pick the top 12 outfits that you think suit your lifestyle and have a similar aesthetic.
I use Canva to pull together the visuals into a mood board. It’s free, allows for a lot of creativity and is super intuitive.
- Open Canva.com
- Click “Create A New Design”
- A search bar will open. Type in “Pinterest pin” (This will give you the correct dimensions for your projects) Your project will then open and is ready for you to start creating.
- On the left sidebar click on “elements”
- Click on “see all” in the GRIDS section
- scroll through the grids until you find the 3×3 grid, then drag and drop it onto the white canvas. It should look like this.
7. Click on “uploads” on the gray sidebar
8. Click “upload and image”
9. Select all the images you screenshot and upload them
10. Drag your images to each square and they will auto-fit.
If you want to adjust how the image looks in the square double click on the picture.
11. Top right corner click the download arrow and save your image as a jpeg.
Make a list.
Once your mood board is all set get out all your clothes. Lay them all out. Toss any clothes you know you don’t feel like superwoman in, and keep what you have from last year that fits with your inspiration mood board you just made. For the most part, your staple skinny jeans, jean shorts, tank tops and blouses, and dresses will hold over from year to year once you have the ones you love. The fun part is including trends that give you an updated and confident feel when the seasons change.
Now you see what is lacking in your current wardrobe. Look at everything you have laid out on your bed and compare it to what you created on your mood board. Put outfits together and see what pieces are missing from the elements you already have.
The fun part of how to make a capsule wardrobe? Get shopping!
Make a specific list of what is lacking from your current wardrobe and go get your shop on. My favorite places to shop are my local resale stores like Good Will, Ross, TJMax, also gotta love Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Old Navy.
Once you have completed this process a few seasons in a row you will become incredibly efficient at it and will look forward to putting your wardrobe together each year.
A capsule wardrobe is an essential part of my Home Management system: it makes getting ready in the morning quick and easy, cuts down on the amount of clothing that has to fit in my closet, and simplifies laundry. And it’s not just for me. A capsule wardrobe can make getting ready a breeze for everyone in your house. Come find out more details about the Systemize Your Life Academy to learn the routines that can streamline your whole day, in motherhood, business, and home all the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I learn more about time blocking?
Time blocking is such a beautiful way to lead a more productive and intentional life. You can check out my free time blocking workbook to create time blocks that will set you up for success in your day to day life! Pair it with the workshop for even more rewards in helping you to zero in on what you need to focus on in your mornings and everyday routines. If you have any questions come ask the community in our Systemize Your Life Facebook group! You got this!
