Girl, let’s talk about clothes.

Have you been shopping your whole life but feel like you have nothing to wear!? Me too.

My momma raised me to be a shopper and a deal finder.  So, pretty much the opposite of a Capsule Wardrobe. I’ve never been interested in buying something just because it’s on sale. I believe that’s a big ole’ scam, unless you were already planning on buying it in the first place.

Back in my younger days when I was upset about something my mom would try to feed me and if that didn’t work, she’d ask if I wanted to go shopping as sort of a last resort to making me feel better (not a bad technique if you ask me 😛 ).

Throwing Clothing Into The Abyss

Then I got older and made a lot of cash quickly from waitressing. When I had spare time or felt feelings of the deep, gnawing, emptiness of the abyss, then wouldn’t you know it… I’d go shopping! Back then I did not have enough awareness of my feelings to realize I was doing that.

When I shopped I never thought about making outfits. I’d go into stores basically trying to fill the sad-emptiness-void. I would find individual pieces I liked and made me look good and I’d buy them. Then at home I’d get dressed and put on whatever worked right before I had to be somewhere. I never had regular “set outfits”.

Minimalism and 70 Pairs of Pants (which would equal 140 pant legs…And I only have 2 legs so… what are we doing here)

Later in life I discovered The Minimalists and grew interested in minimalism. So I began pairing down my things and guess who had tons of clothes…me.

I literally had 70 pairs of pants… I know. It’s crazy. I hate pants so I’d always strive to find the perfect pair, and over the years I accumulated a lot. Since my weight fluctuated a lot I needed different sizes and would cling onto a lot of them “just in case”. 

Since then I have whittled down my clothing by a lot, but I still find my house to be cluttered with too much clothing.

Now enter: The Capsule Wardrobe

What Is A Capsule Wardrobe?

A capsule wardrobe is a carefully curated selection of versatile, high-quality pieces that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits. It isn’t just about the quantity of clothing you own, but also the quality. A capsule wardrobe is all about streamlining your wardrobe so you don’t have a closet full of clothes that you never wear. 

In order to have a capsule wardrobe you first need to get your closet in order. Start by getting rid of anything that doesn’t fit, doesn’t work with any of your other clothing, or just doesn’t appeal to you any more. Next, create outfits with the clothes you have left. You will want to choose clothing that works well together and can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits. Once you have your outfits planned out, you can organize your closet so you can easily find what you’re looking for.

I heard about capsule wardrobes a few years ago but figured it wasn’t for me. I don’t seem to wear my clothing like other people do. Using those capsule wardrobe “guides” I saw a lot of tucked in shirts which I don’t find comfortable and felt like a capsule just wouldn’t work with my body type or be comfortable enough etc… But it really clicked for me when I realized most of my clutter around my house is clothes. AND I saw this:

Click and scroll down for inspiring before and after photo!

ding ding ding aha moment. I get it now. I want that.

Wardrobe Apps

This led me to try different wardrobe apps. These apps allow you to add the clothing you own onto the app. Then you create your own outfits or let the AI do it for you ! Here’s a link to the one that is by far the best one I’ve tried.

How Much Clothing Does It Take To Fill A Black Hole?

When I used to shop like a maniac, I bought things as if my closet was an endless black hole that could never be full enough. I was living in survival mode and desperately grasping onto anything that provided a dopamine hit and made me feel good about myself.  My shopping was an endless pit of me trying to buy self confidence. Feeling like there was something deeply inherently wrong with me and the only cure was to look good enough and skinny enough (ugh, sad but true).

Learning about Capsule Wardrobes helped me see that there is a limit. There is a set amount that I can decide on, identify my style and clothing goals, cater this wardrobe around that and make actual set outfits and have them pre-planned out.

Before I thought of doing it this way I would put outfits together every day and rarely ever wear the same things together. It felt chaotic and I hated getting dressed everyday. It was a total drag. 

This app helps you plan which outfits to wear on specific days and tells you the weather forecast along with the outfits would work in that weather! It helps me to think about it differently. When I’m staring at my closet I don’t necessarily see everything and it’s uninspiring but using an app completely changes that viewpoint.

Now I’m Buying More Clothing?! 

Not going to lie…deciding to create a capsule wardrobe has tempted me to buy new clothes because it made it easy to see what I was missing that would make my clothing-life easier. I realized it almost defeats the purpose of getting rid of clutter and having less clothing items. So I told myself I can ONLY buy new clothes if I am going to get rid of even more than what I buy, and if it makes sense in my capsule, thus simplifying life. So I have done this and am continuing to do this.

I am not allowed to put clothing into my closet if I have not added it to my inventory in the app. With the free version there is a limited amount of items and outfits you can have so that works out really well. Anything that doesn’t belong in this “capsule” I have to get rid of. Except for a very small amount of pjs, athletic clothing and a couple nice dresses.

5 Benefits of Capsule Wardrobe

1. MORE TIME Instead of rushing through your mornings putting together an outfit and trying to find where your dog hid your other shoe! (well that might still happen)… If you have your outfits pre planned it is so much quicker to get ready for your day.

2. LESS OPTIONS actually makes us happier. Read about the Paradox of Choice here. When we have less options we will have more time and easier mornings.

3. LESS CLUTTER I have identified that when I am irrationally angry and wondering what is wrong with me, why am I so angry? It is almost if not always related to STUFF. Not being able to find certain things. Tripping over things. Feeling annoyed about the clutter in my car, spilling coffee on myself because something got in the way. I imagine that if I had less stuff life would feel more clear and lighter.

4. MORE MONEY the clothing you declutter you most likely can make money from. Doing less shopping will save you so much money! Think about all the money you’d have if you hadn’t done as much unnecessary shopping over the years.

5. YOU’LL LOOK BETTER and feel better. Having a plan, narrowing down your personal style and specific fits of clothing will help you feel your best knowing you only have the items that look the best on you. And if they don’t then well, you kick them to the curb (aka donate them).

If you’re tired of feeling like you have nothing to wear, it might be time to try a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a carefully curated selection of versatile, high-quality pieces that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits. With a capsule wardrobe, you can easily find what you’re looking for and have your outfits planned out ahead of time. There are many benefits to having a capsule wardrobe, including more time in the morning and less clutter in your closet. So if you’re ready to simplify your life, try a capsule wardrobe today.

If you use the app you can follow your friends and see their wardrobes too so let me know if you use it and we can follow each other!