Do capsule wardrobes work?

[Iwantcreamcakesformydinner]

Pretty please can you help me? I have far too many clothes, nothing goes together and I don't wear most of it 😂 thinking of doing a capsule wardrobe instead.
Do they work in real life?
Any tips? Starting points?
For background I'm a sahm, spend my life in leggings and Primark t-shirts and I just want to look, well...sort of 'polished'

It does for me- it takes a while to work out how to do it but once you do, it's easy
This is how I did it (also started from a point of view of having way too much)
I found it way too overwhelming to get everything out of the wardrobe and sort through so I just chose 7 outfits I liked (ones I could think of without looking in wardrobe)
I chose 7 bottoms and 7 tops and a couple of cardigans or whatever.
I hung those clothes on the bedroom door and only wore those for 2 weeks. During the course of those 2 weeks, if anything made me feel crap or was tight/ baggy/ uncomfortable/ stained - I would chuck it in a donate bag (don't put back in wash immediately otherwise they end up in the laundry cycle again and get put away- collect a big pile for donations then wash separately)
As things got discarded, I would every 2 weeks go into wardrobe but looking ONLY for replacements for what I had got rid of. Also, if I thought 'I fancy wearing a dress' for something - I would
go to the wardrobe to get it out- but not put it back- and that dress had to become part of the capsule
It helps if you have a 2nd rail (I didn't - small house) so the bedroom door held all my current capsule, and the wardrobe was a kind of 'storage unit' to be slowly worked through. It took me about 3 months to savagely cull my wardrobe this way but I liked it as it meant I didn't go out to purchase new things for my capsule, I rediscovered stuff I had I liked and it trained me into slow consideration of my clothes which is how you keep a capsule going. I am down to 50 items of clothing now but aiming to get down to 35

That's really helpful, thankyou.
Did you find it hard to do? Let stuff go?
I always feel guilty if I get rid of things that were bought as a gift etc

@crochetmonkey74

It does for me- it takes a while to work out how to do it but once you do, it's easy This is how I did it (also started from a point of view of having way too much) I found it way too overwhelming to get everything out of the wardrobe and sort through so I just chose 7 outfits I liked (ones I could think of without looking in wardrobe) I chose 7 bottoms and 7 tops and a couple of cardigans or whatever. I hung those clothes on the bedroom door and only wore those for 2 weeks. During the course of those 2 weeks, if anything made me feel crap or was tight/ baggy/ uncomfortable/ stained - I would chuck it in a donate bag (don't put back in wash immediately otherwise they end up in the laundry cycle again and get put away- collect a big pile for donations then wash separately) As things got discarded, I would every 2 weeks go into wardrobe but looking ONLY for replacements for what I had got rid of. Also, if I thought 'I fancy wearing a dress' for something - I would go to the wardrobe to get it out- but not put it back- and that dress had to become part of the capsule It helps if you have a 2nd rail (I didn't - small house) so the bedroom door held all my current capsule, and the wardrobe was a kind of 'storage unit' to be slowly worked through. It took me about 3 months to savagely cull my wardrobe this way but I liked it as it meant I didn't go out to purchase new things for my capsule, I rediscovered stuff I had I liked and it trained me into slow consideration of my clothes which is how you keep a capsule going. I am down to 50 items of clothing now but aiming to get down to 35

This is reallllly helpful!

The Minimal Mom's videos on reducing clothes and organizing into somewhat of a capsule/simplified wardrobe (like were really helpful for me (and my kids love the system she did on kids' clothes, they do that one every 3-6 months and it works so well).

She explains it better, but it's getting all the clothes out, thinking through categories for the types of clothes we need for our lifestyle, and then picking out our favourites in each category for the number of tops/bottoms that fit your lifestyle.

She has at-home/casual with something like 5 tops/5 leggings, simiar top/bottoms for nicer wear, and a smaller number for special dressy clothes, and a set of messy work clothes, but she discusses how the categories, types of clothes, and numbers are all individual.

She's also big on boxing up up the not obviously garbage but didn't make the top 5 or whatever picks. So, it's not a final decision, but it makes it a lot easier to get rid of latter, tweak the numbers if you find it's too many or too few, and to swap out with seasons. If like my kids when we first started that is a lot to box up, after a couple times we ended up with one box/large for-life bag for things to store for later and the rest move on.

@Iwantcreamcakesformydinner

That's really helpful, thankyou. Did you find it hard to do? Let stuff go? I always feel guilty if I get rid of things that were bought as a gift etc

I didn't put any pressure on myself at all about letting go- If it made me feel rubbish it was easy, harder things like presents etc if I didn't like them/ they didn't fit/ were sentimental I stored them in a plastic storage box under the bed (again sorting only as I came to wear them) Every now and again when I sort out under the bed, I'd have a rifle through and see if I still felt the same or if they could be culled. I was overwhelmed by the decision making so I tried to make it as kind and considered as possible. It's actually good to keep a donations pile and add to it (mine is sometimes in boot of car as house is small) I don't think I have ever gone back to a donations bag to get something out even if it's been in the boot for 6 weeks before I have donated it!

@BiBabbles thanks I'll check that out.
I think I might spend tomorrow making a start. Bit by bit. Thanks for the advice

It’s not for me, but what I do find useful is thinking about my life as a sort of “pie chart”, in terms of work, home, going out, casual out (eg Saturday lunch), and so on. That helped me figure out where I needed more or less clothes. So if you spend 90% of your time walking your dog in the country, and 10% at cocktail parties, you need nine practical outdoors outfits, and one fancy frock.

Currently useless as I am not going to work or out, mind!

Judy that's a good idea and reminds me of advice I heard years ago about spending money on hardwearing daily quality clothes and things like fancy dresses for one or two wears a year should be the cheapest you can get

Oh I like the pie chart idea. Really I'm mostly running about after the kids, I just want to look nicer. Figured if I had more things that go with everything I might venture away from my leggings lol

Depends from person to person. It doesn't work for me at all I am a mood-based dresser. Some days I feel sexy and want to wear a curve-hugging red dress, some days I feel fat and want something oversized, some days I want the feel of cashmere next to my skin, some days I want something structured. A capsule wardrobe is just way too limiting and sressful for me. It's probably good for people who look at clothes as functional stuff that covers their bodies.

Conversely, I have a capsule "wardrobe" for makeup. Own two lipsticks, one eyeshadow palette, one mascara and so on. Only ever wear two colors of nail polish and hardly ever try new shades. So in the beauty sense I am a minimalist, but there are people I am sure that love to wear many different colors on their face and nails.

I've just set myself up with a capsule wardrobe after realising 90% of my wardrobe was grey, which doesn't suit me at all.
I based mine on my colouring, and which colours suit me, which led easily to a capsule as everything goes together as they are in the same families of colour.

One tip I used was to put all your hangers backwards on the rail, and only turn them when returning things from the wash. You'll quickly see what you haven't worn.

Chuck anything that's stained / misshapen / worn through, these things add no joy to your wardrobe.

Maybe get a Pinterest board for styles you like.

I hate to mention it but the marie condo book changed the way i saw my clothes. (and all my belongings tbh. It was a life saver how much stuff i'd got rid off when we had to move suddenly about 6 months after me doing it) It also revealed the mistakes i make when buying clothes. This was about 3 years ago now. It was like being freed from a guilt/clutter/just can't face it cage.

I can't say i haven't slipped back into some old habits, but i can recognise them when they creep back and i know exactly what to do when i get the urge to sort myself out again.

I did do the big wardrobe clear out. It took a couple of days. It got easier as i went through it. I did it like this:

1 pile for

• yes i wear this alot. More or less daily, weekly or monthly.
• yes i want this because if i go out somewhere posh i DO wear it.
• yes, this is the best one of 3 or 4 of the same (bloody) thing which i own. (black leggings/t shirt/cardigan)

1 pile for

• i like this but honestly i haven't touched it or worn it for a year +.
• i like this but it doesn't fit me.

1 pile for

• i know damn well i will never wear this again and it's just taking up room.
• it's damaged or stained
• it's a double or triple of what i've got in the yes pile.

Give yourself permission to put things in the 2nd 2 piles right from the get go. Marie condo says if you find it hard then actually thank the things as you put them in the bag. They are worn out now, or they have taught you something about yourself. (maybe that you impulse buy or that your keep buying the same thing?) Thank them and let them go.

When you've got down to a bare wardrobe hang up your 'yes' pile and look at it. Look at all the space! Imagine now how easy it will be to grab an outfit. Can you see a pattern or a rut you are stuck in with colour (with me it was boring colours).

Bag up the other piles and put them ready for charity. Keep them out of sight for a while if you like.

I can promise you after a week you wont be able to really remember what's in them!

Then do the same for your clothes in drawers and your shoes.

It's fascinating and you learn about yourself :)

Some really brilliant perspectives here. Thankyou so much. I have pulled out a few things and put them in a bag. I dont know weather to put them on eBay or donate. Our local charity shops are all overrun atm so I don't think they would have room. Maybe I should sell them and use the money for something new but useful as a reward for decluttering

You could put on ebay- if you use pay pal you can save the money and spend on some items from there once you've made the list of what you want

This thread is so useful - thanks for starting it OP and for the helpful contributions!

I had to have a capsule wardrobe once due to the size of my flat. It made getting dressed easier - but fair warning, after three months I was SO BORED of all my clothes. No digging in my wardrobe for something I'd almost forgotten I had, no putting together a completely different look on the days where I desperately wanted something to cheer me up at the supermarket.
It did teach me a lot about my ideal style though. I now have a compromise wardrobe - everything must be comfortable and go with at least three other things I own, but I don't limit myself to necessities.