Capsule wardrobe- help !trying to look better

[totoromama]

I'm thinking of putting together a capsule wardrobe. I've been looking at Pinterest and love the idea of everything matching and easy to use.
After looking at lots of ideas. I've come up with a basic plan of what I need to get.
I'm 40, 5ft9 size 12
I'm also open to suggestions- please help!

A beige trench coat
A black blazer
Black biker jacket

3 pairs of jeans, black,dark blue and grey
3/4 fitted t-shirts - black grey white
3/4 long sleeved plain top
A white shirt
Denim shirt
3/4 jumpers - black grey caramel

2 skirts- no idea
Knee length boots - brown black
Ankle boots brown black

Scarfs- no idea
Jumper dress- black grey

Anything else?
I don't go anywhere to dress up and can't walk in heels.
Budget wise - good quality but not ££££
Thinking John Lewis,Hobbs, Jaeger, l.k Bennett etc
I appeal to everyone on the s&b for some help

Maybe some scarves and neckties in brighter colours? There's a lot of neutrals on your list - are there any colours that suit you well that you could incorporate too?

Everyone needs some Breton tops to go with jeans

Can I suggest getting your style and colours done by house of colour? It is a big upfront cost but they do show you how to do a capsule wardrobe.

I'm not sure about colours maybe some olive and dark purple.
Again not sure about Breton tops. I like the idea but worry about stripes

I've done my colours online. I'm autumn dark greens,dark purple,navy, dark red.
I wear 99% black now so beige cream white grey and denim is a vast improvement.

I wear pretty much entirely black, grey, khaki and denim for casual wear, but do like the odd bright scarf every now and then. This beauty is my latest purchase.

Biker I have a similar Oasis one and have worn it so much, but it still looks almost new.

Skirts - are they for casual wear or for work?

You could maybe try a bit of camo or leopard print to break up the neutrals a bit?

Get a Breton top in there, and a good pair of trainers. Make sure your biker jacket is as plain and classic as they come - so nothing that has frills added for this years fashions.

I saw a good capsule series on the "on the spike" blog a while back. She's doing a men's capsule series at the moment but her woman's one was pretty sensible.

Casual blazer Love the burgundy. I have this or v similar in grey & it's lovely. V casual and comfortable but smartens up a pair of skinnies nicely. I got mine hugely reduced.

Remus- the oasis biker is similar to mine but I've torn the leather so it needs to be replaced. I've heard good things about the all saints biker jacket?

My details are v.smilar to you.

I would add a cardigan for layering (pick style you like, I like an oversized slouchy mohair style one).

A beige cable knit jumper.

A white/grey/beige (any light neutral) blouse or shirt with a Peter Pan collar for layering.

A soft denim shirt to wear as cardigan or under jumpers in winter.

A grey tube skirt in stretch fabric (over the knee pencil style). I have one and can wear with heels and smart top or flat tan sandals&t-shirt.

A leather pencil skirt, again, can be dressed up or down.

I have a trench but rarely wear, for some reason I feel it ages me.

I'm trying to do the same at the moment! On the spike have just done a brilliant capsule wardrobe series on their blog. Worth a loo as there are some good suggestions I think.

I'm 35, 5ft8 and 12-14 and our capsule wardrobe parameters are pretty identical!! I wasn't really deliberating putting together a capsule - I just sort of ended up with it. These are the things I wear most often:

Hush boyfriend jeans
Pocket-type tees in olive, dusty pink, black and white (H&M, Boden, Gap)
Stripy navy jumpers (from Only and Primark)
Biker jacket (All Saints Cargo)
Skinny jeans (New Look)
2 x jumpers (beige and black) with an abstract animal-type print that go with everything (M&S)
Denim shirt (New Look I think)
Harem pants (Next)
Tube skirts - mottled grey and olive (M&S)

Shoes-wise I have ancient taupe Supergas and Birkenstocks for summer, and brown leather Uggs (the nice kind) and chestnut brown leather ankle boots (poss Clarks) for winter.

One thing I wonder is how do you keep the capsual style and combine it with doing loads of walking - I seem to go through shoes at an alarming rate - typically a year out of converse/supergas mostly wearing from April-September/October, and I do have to consider comfort/weatherproofness as a main factor when I buy boots. I really want a pair of DMs but DH is not supportive because he thinks they're ugly...

Yes to tube skirts. Also, plain black jersey dresses with various necklines, sleeves and shapes!

Skirt suggestions: caramel suede A line or pencil. Charcoal knitted tube skirt.

I'd second at least getting your colours done professionally, if not style too. I know you did it online but I really wonder how accurate that can be, also it will give you your best rated colours so you know the exact tones of your best neutrals before investing. I looked at it like it's only the cost of one good quality wardrobe mistake which for me is very easy to make.

I'm starting to think about a capsule wardrobe too but what I've realised in terms of getting it to work is that it's not the individual pieces (i.e. 3 dresses, 2 skirts, 6 tops etc) that will make it work but how I choose them - the palette of tones all have to work together as well as the specific style be coherent so that everything mixes and matches rather than having 5 separate outfits and thus nothing to wear again.

Following with interest.

Can't really see the point of paying to get colours done, personally. I'm old enough, big enough and ugly enough to a) know if a colour suits me or not and b) not give a damn if it's something I really like anyway.

In other news, I tried the M&S long cotton trench coat on today. It's really lovely, but comes up absolutely huge. If they made it in burgundy, black or bright pink, I'd have probably bought it.

I've had a massive clear out of my wardrobe, and taken a load to the charity shop, and putting together a capsule wardrobe


It's not as pared down as a 'proper' capsule wardrobe, but I have most of my basics in several colours as it means I'm covered for stuff being in the wash and changeable weather


Almost everything is black, grey, white, navy and pale blue - I'd love to be all classy in beige/tan but it's just not me


For me the bulk of my stuff is Uniqlo - good quality and great value, washes like a dream



• Uniqlo silk touch blouses in black, navy, white and pale blue
• Uniqlo merino wool sweaters in black, grey and navy
• Uniqlo merino cardigans in black and grey
• Uniqlo leggings trousers in black, grey and navy
• Uniqlo cashmere sweaters in black and grey
• Uniqlo smart style ankle trousers in black and light grey


 
 Non uniqlo stuff

• jeans in indigo and dark blue
• chambray shirt
• bretons (navy on white, white on navy)


 I have a couple of jumper dresses in (gasp!) colour from &otherstories 
 And a black leather mini skirt 
 My black winter coat is All Saints, as is my beloved leather jacket 
 My planned autumn splurges are 


• new black trench to replace my knackered old one (I'm going mental and planning to splurge on a Burberry. Hobbs and Jaeger do beautiful trenches that are spendy but not nearly as obscene)

• proper black leather leggings to replace the faux leather ones I wore to death for most of autumn-spring (looking at Me+Em, Baukjen and J Crew)

Shoes wise I live in:
Stan Smiths trainers (casual workplace)
Flat Chelsea ankle boots (Dune)
Black patent brogues (Dune)
Black biker boots (also Dune)


Closest I get to heels are my black Acne Pistols

(in spring I swap the stompy biker boot for my black Angelica flats from Boden)

I don't consider base layers amongst this - so I have quite a few sleeveless white and black vest tops (H&M), uniqlo supima cotton crew and v neck long sleeved t-shirts in white and black, and uniqlo heat tech in black and white as well. I wear a base layer pretty much every day except in summer, so I consider these tops basically an extension of my underwear.

It's actually a lot less than it sounds when it's all written out like that!!

@GherkinSnatch I replace my boots usually every 1-2 years, and resole in between

I walk miles every day so I ruin shoes. Trainers wise a sturdier shoe like stan Smiths or gazelles are much more weather proof and longer lasting than converse or superga

Just bought 4 t-shirts and a Breton top from Boden

Any ideas on a good denim shirt?