I’ve long been an admirer of the capsule wardrobe. It seems like a great goal for me. A capsule wardrobe is the simplicity of having a few, well-suited items to wear that coordinate with each other.* Being able to effortlessly get dressed each day without wasting time finding something that looks alright together, feels like a dream. Reducing clothing waste by only buying a few items that you actually wear is a legitimate goal for me. Then, there’s the bonus of not continuously spending time and money buying new clothes. But, I’ve never been able to achieve the capsule wardrobe, and it may not be for me.
The Fashion Attraction
I admit that I’m easily attracted to new and interesting things and that includes fashion trends. The fashion industry is designed to make it really difficult to ignore the latest colours and styles. I’m not going to stop enjoying what’s new and different each season. This may be the first reason why sticking to the restricted colour palette and style of a capsule wardrobe is challenging for me.
Choosing Clothes For The Image
In the past, I’ve been lured by fashion trends, and what looks so good on others, to buy clothes that don’t suit me or the life that I lead. It’s amazing to think of the things that I bought over the years that I didn’t feel comfortable in! The high heeled boots, the dresses, the black pants and the tailored jackets all looked the part of a person who took their job seriously: a professional. But over time each of those items got worn less and less and sat lingering in my closet until I donated them.
Caught In The Cycle Of Frequently Replacing Clothes
The mind-boggling thing was that I would regularly replace them with a new assortment of clothes that looked good, but I didn’t like wearing. Year after year this went on. My wardrobe had an alarming turn-over rate that definitely wasn’t earth-friendly. When I look at my clothes now, there are only a very few items that I’ve had for more than 5 years.
Choosing Clothes For New Reasons
It’s only now that I’m starting to buy clothes that fit the life that I live, and that are comfortable and fun to wear! I am slowly removing items that I bought because I thought I should be wearing them. I gave away my black pants. I donated my suit jackets and dress shoes. I resist buying clothing that looks good but for which I have no use (mostly, I succeed). Those are my guidelines for shopping.
Beginning To Achieve My Clothing Goals
Ironically, I don’t have a capsule wardrobe but I am starting to achieve my clothing goal of reducing waste by slowing that cycle of replacing my wardrobe regularly. I buy what I will actually wear because I like it and it fits my life. It’s easy to get dressed in the morning when you like what you see in your closet! Time for me to get over the capsule wardrobe dream?
I’d love to hear your opinions about a capsule wardrobe. If you have one, how did you get there and make it work for you? Comment below.
*A great blog post on how to create a capsule wardrobe: https://www.maximumgratitudeminimalstuff.com/2025/02/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-dressing-with-less.html
Retired, And Now What? 
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