2.24.2016

MY CAPSULE WARDROBE : WINTER EDITION

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Hello. My name is Kel and I'm a sentimentalist hoarder. 
(all chime in: Hello Kel!)
Yes, I hang on to that purse my mom gave me that one time on a whim, 
and that blouse my husband proposed to me in. Better yet, those  shoes that make the arch of my foot look amazing, but I can't even stand 10 minutes in. 
So to combat this... errr...problem, 
I decide to follow in the footsteps of Viviana and create a capsule wardrobe. 

If you are unfamiliar with what this entails, it is basically putting the cap on your closet collection. 
Finding your perfect number of tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and outwear
that will make you and your closet feel stylistically complete.You will rotate these designated items for, say 3 months and change seasonally.Whittle out which items you actually wear affectionately and toss (donate or trash) the ones that don't meet the mark. This is not only to help define your style, but is also to help those, like myself, that get a little Asos/Madewell/Jcrew  happy, 
save a coin or two for investment pieces or down payments on a house. 
( my husband LOOOOVES this plan) 

Since it is the mark of a new year and a new season, 
I figured now is the perfect time to walk through my process and selections for Winter. 



GETTING STARTED:

Planning is probably the most important step to making this whole charade work. 
Caroline from Unfancy created a great planner that will help you
narrow down your style, define your lifestyle, see where the holes are in your closet that you 
need to fill, and of course budget. 


chambray // white tee //  leather jacket //  black denim  // dark denim // black bag (similar)  //  tote

MY PROCESS: 

It came with the blow of turning 30, and my exit from corporate. (yeah it's been about 2.5 years but still...).  
I no longer had the appetite for being festive 24/7. It almost felt fake working from 
home and getting gussied up...to get the mail.  My staples became chambray and black skinnies. 
The tackling ensued and I got rid of the too tight, too short, too big, too masking
bits and was left with a handful of  "but I loooove it" and I "actually wear it" pieces.
I've since packed up the sentimental pieces & created quite a bit of air in my closet. I did have some holes to fill that were quite obvious once I cleared out and identified my palette for the season (denim, dark neutrals, stripes, blush, and olives),  go to brands (Madewell & J.Crew), and accepted my current lifestyle (work-at-home mom of 2 very active littles). 

I did a trial run during the fall to see just how capable I was. Along the way I continued to chuck anything that made me roll my eyes. (note: except when Flo was around. The eye gets used too often then.) When I found myself wishing I had "this or that" to complete a look I wrote it down on a paper I had tacked inside my closet.  That way I wouldn't forget or get distracted on future shopping trips.  

all from Madewell ( heels // boots // oxfords sold out similar style )

BUDGET:
(insert haunted house music)
This is the least fun part of this whole project, mainly because I don't have 
a kafillion dollars to spend on my wardrobe. And to take heed from Caroline, 
I had to cut it with emotional purchases. 
The "I dealt with the kids ALLLLL day so I need this" dress or 
the "he's been acting like a fill-in-the-blank" shoes. Instead I have shifted my focus to pieces that 
I am going to love enough for 3 months and most importantly are going to last for that time plus more. 

Essentially, sale sections are bae, okay. 
New stuff flows in about every other week.  If you love something that is
a bit out of your price range, give it about 3 weeks and it'll be on sale for 20%+ off. 
Not only do you save, but you really scale out whether or not you truly love that polka dotted vest or 
if it you were caught up in your feelings that day and needed a brownie to mellow out.  

Also, during the Fall, I picked up a PT gig at Madewell. 
The extra bit of change plus the glorious incentives helped facilitate this plan tremendously. 
(I feel like I needed to mention this just in case people started doing the Madewell math)
I am doing my best (like it's a struggle) to get the majority of my pieces from here because 
I know that my dollar will stretch further. If I recycle pieces seasonally &  don't spend $30 here or $50 there on crap pieces that end up cleaning the cleaning fan,  I will be able to stick within my budget of $150 per cycle. 


necklace // sneakers //  jeans (similar) //shirt

THE RESULT

(insert exhale of pure exhaustion) 

This was the hardest project I have ever started, but it has been incredibly rewarding. 
In the sense that I feel free from clutter, but more importantly, as I enter into this new age bracket and period in life, I feel like myself more now than ever.  Having this curated closet has forced me to curate more areas in my life on a micro (beauty, hair, and skincare) to macro ( friends & experiences).  Hope this doesn't come off as pressuring, but more so as inspiration to live your best life. 

To keep up with my style "journey" and additions to the capsule follow
me @kelcadet

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