The real questions you should ask yourself when creating a capsule wardrobe

A capsule wardrobe suppose to be a closet with a few favourite items that you can remix regularly. A capsule wardrobe should therefore result in less shopping and increased usage of the clothes you already have. The art of creating one has therefore been used in several contexts as a way to create a more sustainable closet.

However, A Sustainable Closet, would like to clear a few things out and guide you on the path towards a closet that is sustainable closet for you.

First of all, articles in fashion magazines listing the items you should buy are making two mistakes.

1. To tell you what items a capsule closet should have

2. To list new products you should buy

The first mistake has to do with the fact that we have different preferences, lifestyles, interests, wallets, bodies and so on where certain items are not serving our lives while the same item might be good for someone else. The suggestions a capsule closet normally comes down to are the colours (black, white, beige, marine blue, grey. etc.), the materials (wool, cotton, linnen etc.) and the items (a pair of jeans, a trenchcoat, a black sweater, the white shirt, the black dress etc.). Not all of us like to wear black, white and marine blue. Some of us might prefer to only wear colourful clothes and never black. Some of us might not at all enjoy wearing white, and would prefer only using black clothes while others like a mix and some stay in a palette of a few chosen colours.

Some of us might not like to wear jeans or pants for that matter either. Some people might prefer to wear skirts and dresses on a regular basis. Some highly dislike trenchcoats and black dresses, while others only wear jeans and loose fit shirts.

We might change our taste and preferences depending on our life situation and change in lifestyle. You might be single and go out a lot, and maybe you do want to wear dresses then, some might get pregnant and your body is changing and some might move from the city to the countryside. We might be more or less active. For some, they already know from young age what they like and dislike while others are searching for their style their whole life.

The point is that no one can tell you what basic items you need to have in your closet! Because your closet needs to be based on what you like to wear. What you feel comfortable in, not what society tells you are basic good items to fit in. Go to hell black dress and trenchcoat and hello your own favourite item!

And of course, saying that it is a sustainable practice to have a capsule closet and then list items you should buy is not sustainable at all. Only you know what you need (and of course there are professional stylist that can help you figure it out if you feel lost) so don’t buy it because someone else says so. Because it doesn’t really matter how sustainably produced and high quality those jeans are if you are not a jeans person. And by saying a jeans person, we mean a person who wears them almost daily. Because those are the items you should have in your capsule closet, the items you are desperate to wear several times per week.

Now you might feel confused, and you might have started to ask yourself what would your capsule wardrobe be? Here comes some important points and steps.

1. The number of items is not important

   Let’s start with the fact that for some a capsule wardrobe might mean more clothes than others, to go down to a certain number, might not suit you at all. Specially if you have a mixed lifestyle. It would be good for environmental reasons if we all had small closets, but since there is an overload of textiles on the second hand market, it’s absolutely fine if your capsule closet consisting of items you can’t remix.

2. It should be based on your lifestyle

   Ask yourself how you live your life? Do you sit down a lot? Are you exercising a lot? Are you spending a lot of time in nature? Your capsule closet should help you to go through your daily life. In today’s pandemic era, for all the people working from home, maybe it’s enough to only have one pair of really comfortable pants while exchanging with a few colourful blouses? If you are very active, maybe you should have more of sportswear, and only a few items to “dress up” your active/outdoor clothes?

3. It should be based on your preference of colours and materials

   Are there certain colours your like or dislike? There’s no idea to keep the black blazer if you don’t like wearing black, even if you find it necessary to keep just incase you get promoted on your job, when yo get promoted, stay true to your style. If you hate ironing, get rid of those white shirts or/and don’t buy them in the first blaze. If polyester materials make you sweat and you get nervous about smelling bad, don’t use that material.

4. Break rules

   One reason why black, white and grey are suggested in classic lists of capsule wardrobe is the fashion code of how they look together. But who cares about that? Why not wearing yellow, red and pink at the same time? Why not mixing blue, green and pink? Why not mixing heavy materials with lighter, or just heavy and heavy together? Why not wearing oversized pants and shirts if your feel good in that? Why not wearing yoga pants with a t-shirt and a colorful blazer? Dear to test and try.

So start by asking yourself; what items have I worn the most the last few weeks and why?

Just by answering that question you might already know what would be your capsule closet. Maybe you already have it and other things needs to be cleaned out. Maybe there are a few magical pieces that would increase turnover of the clothes you already have, get those second hand or ethically produced.

To create a sustainable closet starts with ourselves. To know ourselves. To understand why we make the choices we do. To become textile aware and reduce the impact of the (marketing) voices telling you what you miss, should have or be.

You are beautiful just the way your are.