Why Are We Trying To Capsule Our Wardrobe?

reflections of a recovering mindless fashion consumer

How Did I Get Here?

I didn’t start actively thinking about my wardrobe until January 2022. It wasn’t until I lived in sweats for a few months that I realized how much what I put on every morning affects my mood. Little by little, I pushed myself to put more effort into my daily outfits. The more I ventured out of my comfortable sweatpants and sweaters, the more comfortable I became with myself. As I experimented with my outfits, I craved learning about how other people were approaching getting dressed. Ultimately, I went down a content rabbit hole that I’m still working on pulling myself out of. Here’s my take on the capsule wardrobe and why it may not work for everyone.

Transitioning from Summer to Fall in 2022, where I felt like I was slowly starting to get a handle on wearing things I liked. At the same time, I still wore things I wouldn’t reach for today.

What’s A Capsule Wardrobe?

For the purposes of this article, I wanted to define what a capsule wardrobe means to me. I define a capsule wardrobe as a list of “must haves” in your closet that change every season and in theory provide countless outfit pairings. These items are often sold as essentials in your closet.

I think when we approach things seasonally we have a greater degree of tolerance for a piece that may otherwise not work ¾ of the year. Do we really need a given piece if the wearability window is 1 to 3 months? Exceptions exist — but a majority of your closet shouldn’t only be wearable for such a limited time. That may point to the very problem I think capsule wardrobes can cause — blind consumption with little regard to how we actually want to show up and get dressed.

The type of messaging that can often lead us to buying items that don’t serve us.

Blind Consumption

Fast forward a few months after escaping out of my sweatpants and I’m being shown content about capsule wardrobes and what I should have in mine. Fresh out of elastic waistbands, I was eager to transport myself to the final destination of being a cool “it” girl and finally feeling like I fit in — or so I thought the more I consumed that content.

I meticulously wrote down and saved every thing I came across and started building out what appeared to be a never ending list of things I was told I needed in my life.

What these articles and videos neglected to state was that capsule wardrobes are not universal. We are not all the same people, with the same tastes, lives, experiences, dreams or desires. So who were they to tell us how to present ourselves? And why did I feel the need to listen to them?

If you’ve been stuck thinking you need a capsule wardrobe —  you don’t. Or at least not in the format that has been so fervently sold to us on social media.

A collection of items I was told I “needed” in my wardrobe.

I would look at these lists and think about how I needed X instead of gravitating toward that item of my own accord. Rather than allowing myself to imagine how my current style could evolve to include such a piece, I blindly accepted that I needed it because it was on a recommended list. Surely once I acquired these pieces I’d be all set, right? I would be the fashionable person I admired through the screen? Not quite.

It took me a while to realize that I didn’t need external permission to dress how I wanted. Don’t get me wrong — no one forbade me, but I think deep down I needed the validation of what I saw on social media to rationalize my purchases. I neglected to see that the only acceptance I needed was from myself.

On Finding Your Style

I eventually realized that my “capsule” could be different from what I saw online —  it didn’t have to be this seemingly never ending list of “must haves.”  I found that I love wearing a button down with jeans and loafers. In the summer, you’ll find me twirling in dresses. In the fall and winter, I’ll wear the same coat over and over again. I don’t own sling backs, a trench or even a blazer. This doesn’t mean I can’t include those in the future — but the ever so narrow focus of approaching items from a capsule perspective can sometimes skew who we really are when it comes to getting dressed. Good things take time — there is no silver bullet. 

Capsule wardrobes should be treated as suggestions. They are often full of a life that is not necessarily ours to live and imitate. Nothing we see out there should be considered a universal truth. This content should be used as inspiration, not as a one size fits all list we copy paste onto our bodies.

I really like the idea of a trench coat, but haven’t fully had a need for it just yet. I do have my eye on this one.

I’ve found that the best thing I can do for myself is to simply wear what I enjoy and what I find myself reaching for regardless of if it’s recommended by someone else. To me, my best clothes are those that are well lived in — the clothes I wear confidently. Those that live alongside sweet memories with our loved ones seen through pictures of moments past. Those are your “capsule” wardrobe pieces. Not everyone needs or will enjoy wearing a blazer or a slip dress. What good is it if it just takes up space in your closet? Who is it serving?

I think we desperately want to look back and feel like we made the right decisions, so we seek that external validation social media so often provides. But if we put emphasis on how the clothes made us feel, if they simply made us enjoy life a little more — they’ve achieved everything we should expect of them. That is the confidence to be who we are with what we have — to appreciate the present and make space for the future we want to evolve towards rather than the one we’re told we should aspire to.

I hope one day my future daughters (if I'm ever so lucky!), recall the story of how their dad bought me this jacket as a Christmas gift and had my name embroidered on it as they steal it from my closet.

One day, your future grandchild/niece/nephew/loved one may look back at a picture of you — what do you want them to see? What will be the prized possessions you speak of that made up who you were in those moments?

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I’d love to hear your perspective on capsule wardrobes! If you partook in one, what was it like for you? Stay tuned for what I try to lean into instead — something I like to call “ritual dressing.” 

xx Ofelia