Curating your Closet: Capsule Wardrobes & other tips for fabulous, budget-friendly style

Being stylish, or feeling relevant in our clothes offer so many perks: feeling empowered, prepared, confident, and a tool to simply express ourselves. While I love scouring other style blogs, retail websites, and the latest fashion inspiration from celebrities or Parisians, I find it exhausting when it seems like I need one more item to complete my wardrobe already full of clothes. Or other bloggers who continually encourage followers, “you need this...,” and then you never see that item in their repertoire ever again.

Not to mention, the dreaded variable, eh em—our wallets, who quickly remind us we need to practice sensibility and restraint! So how do others do it? How can we have our duds and wear them too (see what I did there? ;))

Well I took to the streets of Paris, albeit figuratively, and studied the artistry of their claim to fame, “capsule wardrobes.” And to my delight (and likely yours) curating a capsule wardrobe supplies you with basics, both to be dressed up or worn casually, year round depending on climate, and supplemented by other accessories or additional garments, but not out of necessity.

So to define the term capsule wardrobe, or capsule closet, we are talking about fewer key items or staples that are typically of higher quality, thus lasting longer, and can be worn numerous ways by styling, layering or pairing them with other items in the capsule. Frankly, a capsule wardrobe is really almost more like wearing a uniform than creating “outfits.”

Per the French recommendation, specific items, outlined in my chicken scratch above, which have been modified for the American girl, can serve as a guide for pieces to acquire for wardrobe staples and mainstays. As previously mentioned, in France, it is very common that capsule items are of higher quality, which tend to last longer. However, I think it is totally doable to create the same look with pieces found at retailers of your preferance. Furthermore, I also think creating seasonal or four mini capsules are cost efficient and keep your duds feeling and looking fresh!

See my lookbooks below for capsule category essentials. In the first lookbook, ”Tops and

Base Layers,” these tend to drive the look intended. If you are looking for a sweater and jeans, you start here. If you need something to wear to the office or an interview, you have an Oxford collared shirt, or a blouse and a blazer. Should an occasion arise where you want to dress up after work, you can wear the black dress and the blazer for daytime activity, and lose the blazer for an evening event.

As the base layer guides a style, bottoms certainly complete a given look. Here are a variety of colors and styles of denim, a skirt and cigarette-style, ankle-length trousers. However, joggers or leather pants can also be a major staple depending on one’s style and lifestyle.

SHOES!!! My dad refers to me as Imelda Marcos because I love a good variety among my footwear! However, look how simple, yet totally relevant these five options are?! I mean pick one depending on the activity, and... Voila! You are chic, put-together, and totally stylish!

Lastly, the final category of a capsule is outerwear! Perhaps the only addition I can truly think of is the need for a denim jacket, which can be very helpful for a lighter-weight option, but other than that, four primary styles are all one needs, regularly.

And with limited quantity of items across the capsule spectrum, it becomes easier to

see how some of our favorite style icons appear to have it all! They have very key, selected pieces, and they know how to style them well, for all occasions!

Having great style does NOT mean you have it all. Rather, you have curated a look for yourself, (or with the assistance of a stylist, wink wink ;)) that is limited in quantity, perhaps maximized in quality, and is re-evaluated on a regular basis, i.e., for wear and tear.

Most critically, the best style advice I can give is to PLAN your wardrobe. Just like everything else that matters in life, plan for it. If you know what items you are lacking, you will save in order to achieve exactly what you want! It may be fewer in numbers, but that doesn’t equate to poor style. And then, when you are in places like Target, or Zara, etc., you can pick up a one-off $10 find or $40 blouse as an accessory. But I caution too much of this as it can exasperate your resources on items you only wear a couple of times before it ends up in your donation pile!

I hope this helps you in your pursuits of chic, yet a very utilitarian style-guide!

Xo,

kd

”How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight than silver.” Proverbs 16:16