A capsule wardrobe is getting more popular and certainly for good reasons. What started as something that is rarely done and in the end became the spotlight in accordance with the guidelines of the book written by Marie Kondo The life-changing magic of tidying up.
To better understand the capsule wardrobe, we must learn where the concept originally came from. The term first came up by clothing consultant and writer Susie Faux in the 1970s because of her frustration with the lack of well-made clothing. However, it was not a trend until designer Donna Karan decided to make the first capsule collection in 1985 which she called “Seven Practical Pieces.”
Today, the Fashion Business site defines it as something more commercial than the traditional collection of fashion:
The idea is to make a capsule wardrobe that only displays the most important or influential parts of the collection. The capsule collection is basically a shortened version of the vision of the designer, often a limited edition, which goes beyond season and trend to become more functional.
Capsule Wardrobe and the Fashion Industry
While the fashion industry uses capsule collections to produce an atmosphere of exclusivity and artistic expression of designers, capsule cabinets are more directed at the personal style of every woman who has art in different clothes.
Most of the individuals who eventually moved to the capsule wardrobe because they were bored with “despair in making decisions.” Consumerist culture and fast fashion have deceived us into believing that we must have everything. The result is like a doll closet because it is full of clothes that we might never use.
The capsule wardrobe encourages us to think more about what clothes we really want to wear, and whether we really need every outfit in our closet. Start buying less, so you can use more, and find high-quality clothes. One of the early adopters of this method, Caroline, the owner of the Un-fancy website, explained this concept by:
It is the practice of editing clothes to your favorite clothes (clothes that suit your current lifestyle + body), mixing them back regularly so that you can end up shopping less often.
Capsule Wardrobe and How to Apply it
Courtney Carver from Be More with Less spreads this concept to others. She defines the capsule cabinet as:
A small collection of items including clothes, jewelry, accessories, and shoes that encourage you to wear your favorite items every day.
Courtney focuses on finding yourself in the wardrobe and you can determine your style, not by other people’s standards. She has gone further and created an outline called Project 333 ™, which urges participants to choose 33 different items to be worn for 3 months. Project 333 focuses on the seasonal wardrobe of the overall minimalist lifestyle.
Courtney suggested choosing 33 items including shoes, accessories, and jewelry for Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. This type of wardrobe encourages a more regular style every season. Of course, this doesn’t work for every region. Los Angeles, for example, may have two seasons so it requires one larger summer capsule cabinet and a smaller “winter”.
There is no right or wrong way to start your capsule yourself. If you are not ready to fully hand over your closet now, Lee Vosburgh from Style Bee created 10×10 Challenge ™. In 2015, Lee decided to develop a guide to try this. This challenge consists of 10 days, and 10 pieces of clothing (not including accessories). The entire site is based on celebrating personal style and wise shopping and reminds readers that it’s all about “timeless style and making the perfect wardrobe perfect for you without pressure because you have to follow fashion.”
It can be concluded that displaying your personal style is very important to feel more self-confidence and that is one of the important goals we have in a capsule wardrobe.
