Capsule wardrobe woes

[Lovewearingjeans]

I really envy people who have capsule wardrobes. I am good at finding individual things, but don't necessarily go together. Any suggestions about what I need, and how to mix and match. I am 5'4" size 12 hourglass figure with pale skin and dyed copper hair. I tend to go for greys, blues, blacks and I love the autumn palette of colours in the shops at the moment.

Just marking my place as I need the same kind of advice - I'm just under 5ft and a size 8 with pale skin and red hair and I am not good at putting things together and have very few outfits which actually look really pulled-together if you know what I mean. I did the dressipi thing which tells you which colours and styles suit though some of the things suggested really wouldn't work on me. Will be very grateful for any kind of advice about how to make up a capsule wardrobe :)

Watching too. Just started putting one together, and only have gotten far as I jersey dress, and poncho. Had a large bag arrive from Boden today of skinny jeans, cords, altering tops and bento tops but it all looks horrid on and doesn't fit right so its going back . Sigh .

Cleaned out my wardrobe and am left with basic bits of similar colours.

I'm under 5 foot, size 8.

Pale with copper hair too !

Oh god . Sorry for typos. Phone a pain . Layering tops, breton etc .

The only way I managed to get a coherent capsule wardrobe was after having a colour and style analysis. It meant that everything in my wardrobe was in the same palette (which had the added benefit of being the best palette for me, but actually having everything in one palette is a massive help all by itself) and very 'me', i.e. my style. For instance, my capsule wardrobe contains things like slash necked cashmere, big angular accessories, leather leggings and suede ankle boots. Someone with a more classic style might have a wardrobe with a cashmere cardigan, perfectly cut casual trousers, crew necked tshirts etc.

Having done colour and style, I sat down and wrote a list of every single possible occasion I might need clothes for, and roughly how often they happened, and tried to plan accordingly, with as many crossover pieces as possible (e.g. I can and do wear the same dress for weddings, work and evening dos with the right accessories and make up for each event).

I haven't had a stock take recently (it's probably a bit more at the moment as I am due a cull), but at the last count I had a wardrobe of well under 60 items including underwear and accessories and never once failed to have the perfect outfit for any occasion.

How do you do a colour and style analysis ?

House of Colour or Colour Me Beautiful (not sure if Colour me Beautiful do style?) and there are smaller ones too.

Disclaimer: I work with one of them, so don't ask my opinion on which is best

Thanks for input ladies, pleased I'm not the only one! Have had a big cull this afternoon, but still not pulled together! Think it's colours I need to look at, as I'm quite good at knowing what suits my figure. Navy or grey are good base colours for me, I guess it's a case of going and trying combinations on.

Love I did that the first time I tried to capsule-ise my wardrobe, just tried on loads of random combinations. Was surprised at what things looked good and have become staple outfits (like loose silk shirt with pencil skirt, which has become one of my go-tos, and I never would have thought of if I hadn't just thrown them on at random).

Love, navy and grey are my base colours too. But green suits me to and I get confused because i don't know what it goes with.. Red and brown i avoid.

A cull sounds like a start . Do you have a list of items to get ?

I started a pinterest board to help me pull basics together, which is really useful.

I've started a thread today asking these questions - is anyone willing to let me link to their pinterest?

If you PM me your name ill link, although I'm clueless and have only just started looking at a capsule wardrobe. I think my style is nothing exciting .

I started pinning some time ago - my SS12 Board here.

No list of stuff really. I work as a TA in a reception class so work stuff is black trousers with a jersey top from either FatFace or Boden, with a cardie thrown over in the winter. That part of my wardrobe is sorted. In summer lightweight trousers or shorts with a t-shirt. Converse or boots on my feet. Out of work is skinnies with a variety of tops! My problem is I like quirky prints which will work with blue skinny jeans, but not much else. Sometimes I just look at my clothes and think nothing goes together

Lovewearingjeans - I know exactly how you feel - I see these Pins and think how lovely outfits are, and then wonder how on earth people can come up with the ideas.

Here's my AW 12 board -
pinterest.com/shopafrolic1/a-w-2012-purchases/

I responded on the MNV thread to you too but most of my purchases were with a stylist which has really helped me stick to a colour palette that works and means I can wear lots of pieces in lots of different ways.

I've always envied capsule wardrobes too, because I'm such a hoarder and I can't get rid of stuff even if I haven't worn it for years.

If I was creating a capsule wardrobe this year (which I'm trying to do) I would have four pairs of skinnies from Topshop (which I have now - navy, light grey, charcoal and aubergine) and get the rest from Cos. I am in love with Cos at the moment - everything goes with everything else, no annoying patterns, lots of nice details like leather cuffs, but there's very little for more than £80. I accidentally tried on a cashmere jumper for £115 but everything else was £40 - £80, so not much more than Topshop, really, but much nicer.

I'm about the same height and size (and colouring, but darker hair) as you ladies above thread, and I'm still working on defining my new capsule wardrobe/palette. I've had to ditch lots of things since having a baby.

My advice is to - as a first step - figure out which store/brand of skinny jeans look great on you. For some people, it's the really expensive designer brands; for some, it's Topshop or even Primark/Penneys. My perfect skinny jeans are from River Island. No idea why, but there you go. So now I own 4 pairs of skinny jeans/jeggings from River Island - dark denim, lighter denim, black, dark red, dark green. That's it: I don't have to think about my everyday jeans anymore.

Then you need tops and decent T-shirts. Today I'm wearing a forest green T from Cos which I actually took the time to iron. It hangs nicely and the colour is good on me. Try Cos.

A high waisted stretch pencil skirt in black might be an idea if you need to be smart - you can tuck your decent T-shirt into it and look smart yet cool. You probably don't need to spend much on one of these - try ASOS maybe?

I also have three blazers. Black, from Zara, tweedy brown, from Zara, and navy linen from (again somewhat randomly) Next. If you're size 8 and small I'd say you want to wear your blazers fairly fitted around the shoulders. Sometimes this means buying a size 6 blazer, but see how you go.

Finally, maybe invest in a metallic flat. (Oh yes, I use the singular now.) Dull gold tones suit my colouring better than silvery tones. So I am now wearing my Cos T-shirt, my dark skinny jeans, and dull gold animal print peep-toe flats. It's a totally boring outfit for working from home, but I don't feel like a complete disgrace.

Apologies if all the above makes no sense...

Sorry - am the same size roughly as Iceberg and twolittlemonkeys.

shopafrolic thanks, yes saw your comment on MNV, I am following a few more MNers on Pinterest, and am still tempted to get a stylist in

thanks again

Shop I love your AW board! Must get on and do my own.

Ooh following this with interest. Just looking at Pinterest now ....

Really fancy a style/colour consultation but it's quite expensive, may have to wait a bit. Wondered how much training/experience the stylists have as the websites I looked at didn't state this - anyone know?

I posted recently on another thread about John Lewis's free style consultation service. I can really recommend it, no pressure to buy at all, so you can take the points you learn and buy the same at cheaper shops. And you can go back as many times as you like.

As for a capsule wardrobe:

• blazer
• good pair of jeans
• white shirt
• shift dress
• pencil skirt
• smart/work trousers
• good cardigan

As a starting point.

Thanks Hopefully