The Capsule Wardrobe Concept
For the last 5 years or so, I’ve loosely subscribed to the capsule wardrobe concept. It’s a thoughtful and edited approach to fashion that I credit with helping me define my personal style and feel more organized, calm, and in control when it comes to my wardrobe. If you’re not familiar with the capsule wardrobe concept, it basically involves editing down your closet to pieces that you love and that fit your lifestyle and body right now, and then refreshing and remixing your wardrobe seasonally, or more frequently if you prefer. I love the concept for so many reasons, but I also happen to think it’s a perfect approach to pulling together maternity, postpartum, and kids’ wardrobes, even if it’s not something that might ordinarily be your thing. Let me explain….
It might be obvious, but the capsule wardrobe concept lends itself to maternity, post-partum, and kids wardrobes so well because they are all naturally timebound and because growing and shifting bodies means that what once worked, might not fit or work right now.
In terms of maternity and postpartum specifically, maintaining your sense of style and confidence in how you look can be an important part of feeling your best mentally in times of transition, and can be an important part of celebrating your body, exactly as it is now. In both of these time periods, decision fatigue, or just plain fatigue can also set in. Opening a closet full of clothes you love, the ability to get dressed quickly, and feel great about how you look, can be especially valuable for tired parents and parents-to-be.
What does the process look like?
Firstly, get rid of all the clothes that aren’t working for you - essentially Marie Kondoing your whole closet. Your closet should be reserved exclusively for clothes that you love, that make you feel good, that fit the current season, your current style, and your body, right now. Decide what to pack away for another season and what you are ready to let go of.
Next pick a general color palette and find style inspiration (I usually use pinterest and style blogs). Make sure to consider your lifestyle - do you mostly need casual, work-appropriate, lounge clothing, or a mix? These steps will help ensure that everything in your capsule is more or less cohesive, and the pieces are versatile and can be reconfigured into multiple outfits.
After that, assess what you have and where there are gaps. Then set a budget and shop!
Once your current capsule is “complete” (this might mean something very different for different people. Some experts recommend a set number of pieces, for me its always been way less formal than that) take a break from shopping for a few months. The concept is about predefining what is “enough” at this moment in your life. It’s not forever, don’t be scared! But this temporary shopping ban takes away the temptation of getting “just one more thing”. It helps curb impulse purchases and the tempation of sale or last chance offers, endless “new in” from fast fashion companies, and other ploys specifically designed to get you to buy more. Living in a stylish and endlessly inspiring city and the constant exposure from instagram, pinterest, blogs etc. makes it tempting to want to consume more - this helps pause that, even if it’s just for a few months.
I’ve included links below to the bloggers that I turned to when I was first exploring capsule wardrobes if you want to learn more. Whether or not their personal style speaks to you, they provide all the information you could ever want on the topic.
Adapting the process for maternity or postpartum wardrobes
Firstly, define the time period. Maybe it’s your last trimester or your maternity leave. Next, put away the things that aren’t going to fit or be comfortable during this time. Then follow the steps outlined above in terms of defining a style and color palette, and identifying where the gaps are. For maternity and postpartum, you might need to make investments in foundational pieces, like a good pair of maternity jeans, but many of your other pieces may still work throughout - what do you have that might be stretchy or oversized to begin with and that could still work through the various stages of pregnancy? Define in advance what you need to feel like you have a “complete wardrobe” for this time period. Maybe it’s a set number of pieces, or the ability to make a certain number of outfits - whatever feels right to you. Then set a budget, and give yourself a week or so to shop and then stop and enjoy.
Why it works well for newborn and kids wardrobes
Most newborns and kids grow out of their clothes within a season so it’s a perfect fit for the capsule wardrobe concept. It can be tempting to go overboard with kids’ clothing, it’s adorable, I get it. But when they grow so quickly having tons of clothing means that you may only get one or two wears out of certain things or may not even get to certain pieces at all! I cringe at the number of newborn and 0-3 month onesies we were gifted that were never worn.
As a parent, I also appreciate eliminating unnecessary decision-making. My daughter has more or less a mix and match wardrobe and I’m very rarely at a loss for an outfit that “goes together” regardless of how dire the laundry situation is. This approach also limits the amount of stuff I’m confronted with every day: her small closet isn’t overrun with fast fashion, and I don’t feel as wasteful. Even when I do buy fast fashion, which at the moment is mostly what I'm buying when it comes to my daughter’s clothes, I feel like I am greatly reducing cost/wear and consuming less of it.
Additional considerations for babies and kids
Starting with what you have means looking through hand-me-downs, gifts, or clothes that still fit and deciding what to keep. Give away, sell, or store the rest.
Kids and babies also may need a larger wardrobe due to multiple outfit changes per day. Take this into consideration when trying to define what a complete wardrobe looks like for your child (and how often you’re willing to do laundry).
Also, note that daycare and nursery schools usually require you to leave multiple changes of clothes at school. My daughter’s school requires 3 complete outfits and 5 complete outfits during “potty-training” weeks. You might want to reserve clothes that didn’t make it into your capsule wardrobe for this purpose.
Lastly, the capsule wardrobe approach provides guidelines around how to define your style and create a wardrobe, and while you might find it lumped in with minimalism, there is in no way a prescribed style or color palette (e.g. neutral, minimal, scandinavian, etc.) involved. In fact, I’m a big fan of the power clash, especially when it comes to kids’ clothes.
And that’s it! A capsule wardrobe definitely takes more planning upfront, but I strongly believe that it ultimately saves time and brain power by only thinking about your wardrobe in concentrated bursts. For me, it was the catalyst for finally feeling like I have a clearly defined personal style and it has been so helpful for transitional periods of dressing (bonus: and for travel). It’s also helped reduce my consumption and encouraged me to buy fewer, better things. There really is no right or wrong way to do it. There are endless variations and spin-offs of the concept. You can always just try it out and decide it’s not for you, or adapt it to your own needs or preferences. In a future post I’ll share some of the related approaches that I’ve tried out and liked. I’ll also share some of the tips and tools that I use to plan my own capsule wardrobe. Thank you for reading and if you like this be sure to subscribe or check back often and look for the capsule wardrobe tag.
Great resources for further reading (image sources from left to right): The Anna Edit, Anuschka Rees, Mademois-Elle, Un-Fancy
Top image via: Storq