Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Capsule Update

I'm beginning to realize that this capsule wardrobe is something that takes a fair amount of effort. I should have known that, really. But I've decided to start with postpartum, because that is taking me long enough to plan.

So far I am really liking the website. It walks you through all of the thought processes that you should be going through when mindfully putting together your wardrobe. I'm trying to use as many pieces that I already have as I can, but the truth of the matter is that there are probably a handful of pieces that I'm going to have to buy.

They help you figure out what your color palette should be. You answer some questions about your coloring, and they suggest colors for you based on that. To be honest, I was not a huge fan of the colors they chose. HOWEVER, it did give me good direction as far as what kinds of colors I should choose that would look best on me and would go with each other. One of the things that I think I struggled with before was getting enough pieces that were interchangeable. The best way to make a capsule is to make sure that almost everything in your capsule goes with almost everything else. And picking and sticking to a color palette can really help with that, I think. They divide colors up into neutrals (I have black, camel and slate), mains (navy, sky and white) and accents (mint, salmon and turquoise).

Once you choose colors, they you have better define your style for them. They give you several different ones to choose from. I think I chose "Girl Next Door". Basically meaning I like to be comfortable and I'm not the first to pick up on new trends. Which are both true.

Then they have you choose how many times per week/month you do certain activities like go to work, hang out at home, weekend, date night, worship, workout etc...

Based on all those things, they give you suggestions for how many different kinds of items you should have and suggestions as to which colors they should be (neutral/main/accent). Then you are supposed to clean out your closet (I already did that, and I'm not about to do it right now as my body is going to be changing sizes so much in the next few months). Next you go "shopping" in your own closet. You fill in what you can with what you already have. I added/deleted a few items depending on what I thought I'd use/wear during July through September. Then I ended up with about 6 items that I didn't have yet. One is a pair of black flats, but that is because the ones I have are shot and I need new ones, so if you discount that, then only 5 items.

They also give you ideas about where to shop for those items. They do a lot of homework on ethically produced clothing and where to find it. They have also answered questions for me on what colors to chose for sandals, what kind of pants to get that would be the most versatile, etc... I have also done a lot of research on my own.

I'm feeling pretty motivated to do this. And I'm looking at spending a few hundred dollars on the 5 or 6 items that I need, so I feel like that is a pretty big investment. I think that if I make that kind of investment, then I need to stick with it, you know? I also have seen myself carefully deliberating over exactly which shoes I want in exactly which color and things like that. I've been more mindful of my decisions, whereas I'm usually the person that makes more rash decisions and then goes from there.

We shall see. When I have the capsule finalized, which I'm hoping will be soon, I will post it (if I can).

Thursday, April 7, 2016

I did it!

I did it! I took the plunge! For $60 a year someone is going to help me develop a good capsule wardrobe. I can even start with pregnancy :)

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Simplifying Life

So, I ran across this website when I was visiting one of my favorite capsule wardrobe bloggers website (here). It is an interesting idea. Basically you pay $5 per month, and they build capsule wardrobes for you. They supposedly take information about your style, your color preferences and what you do in a typical week, and then they build a capsule. You tell them what you already have, then they tell you what you need to be on the lookout for.

I haven't really done a great job thus far in creating or maintaining my capsule wardrobes. I find it incredibly difficult. And, if I'm perfectly honest, a little bit boring. Many would argue that is because I am not including clothes that I can mix and match enough, and that I'm not including clothes that I really, truly love. I think there is probably some truth to that. I can remember probably a handful of pieces that I've owned that I really loved. And all of them I wore more than once a week until they completely wore out. One was a lime green sweater that I got at a clothing shop in Fayetteville, AR. Mom encouraged me to get it, and I thought it was too much money. It was something like $100 or something. But it was unique, the color looked great on me, and I wore that thing OUT. Totally worth the money. I also got an asymmetric turquoise dress that day. I also thought it cost too much. But I've worn it all over the world because it packs so well, and I still own that dress. I can probably even wear it pregnant, though I'm not sure how nice the sleeveless thing will look with the extra 30 pounds.

And I think that it is really, really hard to truly try to "live simply". To try to focus your energy on what you really need and not what you want, and to clear out those things in your life that don't bring you joy. Because there is so much more room for happiness and contentment when you clear all the clutter from your life. I truly believe that. But in our society today that is just so hard to do. Everywhere you look there are subliminal messages telling you how happy you will be if you just spend money on this or that.

If you watch the intro video on Cladwell website, they will tell you that in the 1930's the average woman owned 36 items of clothing. Thirty-six. Clothes were more expensive back then, so you didn't get to own a ton of clothes. But as we continue to make cheaper and cheaper clothes, we buy more and more. "Oh, well, it was $7! Can you believe it?! How could you say no?" Well, because it doesn't fit well, isn't made well, and you don't even really like it. I can't even tell you how many pieces of clothing I had that I had barely worn. And that is what retailers want. They want you to buy more and more and more. Now the average is 110. I have no idea how many items I have, but I can imagine that even after a closet cleanout I may have close to that number.

Last year Charlie and I both cleaned out our closets. And we made awesome progress. But I still have probably too many clothes. And too many "things" in general.

So I am contemplating trying this service. For $60 a year I think it may be worth it. At least until I can figure out what I really need on my own. If I decide to try it out, I'll let you know how it goes :)

P.S. If any of you are interested, if I send you an invite and you sign up, we both get a $5 credit, so let me know :)