Guardian capsule wardrobe article- what items do you agree with and ones that you don't?

[PragmaticDramatic]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/aug/24/the-ultimate-capsule-wardrobe-the-only-20-items-youll-ever-really-need
I am assuming you need multiples of these items.

I have been reading articles about capsule wardrobes for more than 30 years, and they are always exactly the same. Cigarette pants, wide legged palazzo pants, blazer, Chanel jacket, white shirt, loafers. Who is wearing this stuff?

Who except for Theresa May has worn kitten heels since 1998? Who has worn ballet flats since 2010?

Anybody wearing this is going to look like an escapee from Miami Vice circa 1984. Which is fine, it’s a definite look, but not exactly relevant to most adult women.

Looks like a set of clothes for a character in a tv drama where she is only seen in the office, at a cafe or restaurant, in the car or meeting colleagues. She would be child-free and single but dating or having an affair - though maybe not the latter as there's nothing very sexy for her to wear in the lead up.

Not for me, so boring! Boring school run clothes. Perfect to go and shop in Sainsbury’s. Ugh.

It’s a very generic list. I would like to see a flexible capsule wardrobe list, with options for each item, so that women with different body types, colouring and lifestyles could use them as a starting point.

There are too many things on this list that perform similar functions. Kitten heels/ballet flats. Chanel jacket/blazer. Jeans/cargo pants. Even cigarette pants/palazzo pants/cargo pants.

Add in the shiny satin skirt and the wearer will look just like she's forgotten to put her frock on over the top. Suppose that's when she adds the overpriced boots and the mac so she looks like she's just had to leave her house in the dead of night because it's on fire.

That’s what the “playful” camisole is for!

She can take th Chanel jacket off, and turn the skirt inside out like Day to Night Barbie, so the lining looks like a slinky silk skirt.

I think Jess wrote this hungover for Megan Markle's Suits character in 2011.

This isn't modern life.
I note the Guardian haven't opened the comments for this one, it would be like AIBU after the wine has kicked in.

A lot of pairs of shoes to wear with not so many outfits !

I would love a capsule wardrobe and have been working on refining my style, for want of a better word, so that most of my items of clothing go with one another and I can mix and match.

I hate most of the stuff on this list, though! Absolute no to: the black blazer (I don't like the cut and black on top washes me out); the Chanel jacket (I’m not 63 and from Chelsea via Moscow); the cigarette pants (wide legged or straight legged/slouchy only here); the kitten heels and ballet flats (Doc Martens, white trainers and Birkenstocks for me); the camisole; the coats.

In fact, the only items I might wear are the wide legged trousers, the jeans and the crew neck sweater.

@Saschka, much to my horror (as I also remember wearing them in 2010) both kitten heels and ballet flats are back. Ballet flats in particular are everywhere at the moment.
As are the Chanel style jackets. The difficulty is, as you note, that if you are slightly busty or not completely svelte, you do end up looking rather like Theresa May (which isn't always the look I am going for!)

I think it's a pretty good list, and it would work for me in principle. I'd wear T shirt with skirt and Chanel jacket/dress with blazer/shirt with blazer and cigarette pants or wide leg trousers for my office days (or other smart dressing occasions) and jeans/cargos for other days.

I possess, and wear, items that look very much like most of their picks (along with lots lots more).

But obviously you'd need far more tops than that, you can't wear a single jumper every single day in winter, and I personally can't wear sling backs (nobody wants to see my heels), low cut chemises (nobody wants to see my ribcage) or ballet flats (plantar fasciitis).

I thought this.

I also thought it doesn't have either enough hot or cold clothes. I do live in Chicago but it doesn't have a warm enough coat or anything or hot weather.

It also doesn't have any athletic wear which seems a little old fashioned even at 50.

I agree with most of that, which is maybe worrying considering how scathing everyone else has been!
Wool coat, yes
Single breasted blazer, yes, but navy rather than black
Trench coat yes
Chanel style jacket, no, I actually have two but very rarely wear them
Skirt no, can’t be bothered with them
Cigarette pants I have and like very much but they don’t feel quite current at the moment
Wide leg pants yes
Jeans obviously
Cargo pants no, and this is an odd outlier given that the rest of the list is very classic
Dress yes but it’s a bit vague!
White shirt yes
Denim shirt yes
Breton yes
Silk cami no, this feels a bit dated
Loafers yes
Boots yes but why do they have to be lace-up?
Kitten heels I’d swap for pointy flats
Ballet pumps yes
White trainers yes
Round neck jumper no not really, I keep jumpers more casual and slouchy. I’d swap this for a cardigan.

No plain white Tshirt is odd, and I’d probably add a more blousy type blouse, but that aside it’s a decent list for smart-casual workwear. Doesn’t cover evenings or weekends, though.

Maybe modern classic or quiet luxury?

@mynameiscalypso if I had at least one nice version of everything on the list, it serves as a blank canvas for other more interesting bits whether that's fun shapes or different colours.

Exactly! This is how I look at it, it's a good starting point to look more put together.

Lol at people slagging off ballet flats, kitten heels and Chanel jackets. You're just showing that you're out of touch with fashion.

I like almost all of it other than the cargo trousers.

Oh and loafers are foul.

It’s pretty much a list of stuff I’ve put on Vinted, usually after buying things on the back of Fashion editors convincing me they are wardrobe staples.

Turns out I’m not a cigarette pant, blazer, Chanel jacket, ballet pump/ loafers kind of woman!

A lot of that light is quite dated tbh. But if you are a classic style type person then I can see how it would work.

I’m not, and life is so much more casual than this now.

So the idea is you get these items as the BASIS of your wardrobe. You buy a sweater - make sure it goes with your existing jeans/cargo/wide leg trousers and skirt. You get a few more blouses? Ditto.
I dint think anyone is really only expecting you to have 20 items in total - but it's a good capsule for a couple week city trip.

I would love for MN to have its own capsule wardrobe for all body types. Far better job.

I covet a Max Mara camel coat, long & Buberry raincoat in navy but ££. Is latter classic enough?

I agree with some of the items being classics and useful but £85 for a Breton t shirt is absolutely ridiculous to me and you could pick up a classic men’s but wear as women’s wear white shirt. I didn’t like the silver sling backs either.

DM boots are a bit masculine bovver boots for me as no willowy Parisian. Where are the wedges or heels for height?

I have accepted that I am not the capsule wardrobe type.

I do have probably one of all those... along with trousers in different colours and cuts. See also, skirts. An array of shirts but too many white ones. Blazers.Wool coat, thick raincoat, thin raincoat. Jackets in denim and leather. Dresses for every occasion. And that's just work clothes. My wardrobe has been building since I was 16, so it's fairly eclectic.

Sometimes wearing an interesting outfit is the only thing that breaks off up the mundanity of work. I'd love to be a capsule wardrobe person, but I just can't.

I agree with most of these. I guess I am deeply unstylish and dated. I have very few clothes.

I do wear a lot of colour though and this is a bit colourless. I don't like florals and frills.

Think yourself lucky. Some of us would look more like Margaret Rutherford or Alastair Sim.