How to Create Your Personal Style with the Capsule Wardrobe
Hello there friends! Tomorrow is supposedly the first day of Fall, or for those of you who are not from the States, you may prefer to call it Autumn. It's not exactly the time of year in California when the weather starts getting cold. Although, yesterday was strangely cold for September for some reason. Anyway, we still have about another month or so when the weather is actually considered Fall/Autumn worthy. Except for yesterday...and maybe today.
Anyway, I'm in the process of getting my Fall capsule wardrobe ready and sadly anticipating leaving summer behind. For those of you living in the west coast, it's a good time to get your wardrobe together now, and for the rest of you, it's never too late to get it together.
The one thing I love about the capsule wardrobe, is that it really helps you create your own personal style because you'll combine pieces you never thought would look great together. Ultimately, you'll be pickier about the pieces you'll be adding to your wardrobe, and you'll only add pieces that you love, not on items that are on sale at Nordstrom that you impulsively bought because the price was right. Afterwards, it sat in your closet for a couple years and every year you tell yourself you're going to wear it. Guilty. I did this a few months after giving birth to my son. I literally bought a crop top and told myself I was going to get down ten sizes like I was fucking Kate Hudson or something. Anyway, I never wore it and thank goodness for Nordstrom's liberal return policy. :)
Now, back to personal style. Figuring out your personal style can be a challenge in this day in age because there are a lot of different styles out there, a lot of brands, and the fashion industry has more than four season that it markets to consumers. Believe it or not, they actually have fifty-two micro-seasons that they market to their customers, which can be very confusing. There are fifty-two weeks in a year which ultimately means that every week, there's a new style we're supposed to keep up with. How about this, instead of keeping up with these micro-styles, try to create your own style for the season. Fuck the fashion industry, they just want your money.
The first thing you need to do, is block out all of the confusion about what's in style this week. One thing that helps me, is looking at Pinterest. I know, I know. Some of you may be thinking Pinterest is for moms and old ladies. For me, it's a place for all awesomeness because I'm a visual person and I save everything that catches my eye. Plus, I'm kind of like Dory from Finding Nemo and I literally can't remember anything unless I pin it. Okay yes, I'm an old lady! And I'm a mom, so eff off. However, I will tell you this, I get into a groove of pinning things that I can see myself wearing (while taking turns knitting my scarf and drinking my cup of tea), but the ideas are still there my friends. I pin all these great ideas on Pinterest and I can eventually go back to them. All the pieces I Pin fit my lifestyle, which is one of the most important components to creating your personal style. The items you pick must fit your lifestyle.
I can't tell you what style you should choose, but here's a little advice about how to get there. Think about what you do five out of the seven days of the week. Are you working in a conservative setting? A casual setting? Look at the items you wear consistently and keep them in your capsule for the season and store away items for a different season that you would like to wear in the future. Search online for styles that you like and if you want to pin them, be my guest! Make a list of items you want to have in your wardrobe. If might help to download my guide on how to kickstart your capsule wardrobe if you haven't already.
You could also try out a mini capsule challenge for a week of wearing your clothes that you have in your current wardrobe. Pick five items that fit your current lifestyle and that can be worn together (does not included shoes, undergarments or accessories) and combine those items to be worn for the next five days. I challenge you! It teaches you how to be creative and helps you understand your personal style.
Alright my friends! It's been real and I hope you take this time to prepare for Fall by looking through your closets, figuring out what you can keep for the season and making a list of anything else that you might need to help you feel confident and look put together. Again, here's my downloadable capsule wardrobe guide to help you put together the pieces of your personal style puzzle.
Cheers, Shelbi