Capsule Wardrobe

While we’re in the C’s, I’d like to give a little attention to the “Capsule Wardrobe”. This isn’t part of The One Hundred, and I know this is a bit out of order, but it’s worth a bit of a detour here as there seem to be lots of assumptions out there about Capsule Wardrobes, their “essential” nature, their success and even their consistuent items.

A capsule wardrobe doesn’t consist of a spacesuit, overalls and adult nappies, but of supposedly classic, interchangeable, foundation pieces of a wardrobe. The theory is that once you have these pieces, you can then accessorise your way into and out of trends, and dress up the basics with more elaborate pieces.

Fascinatingly, a lovely young lass called Sheena Matheiken appears to be implementing a capsule wardrobe of a single black button-up dress. Needless to say, she seems to get away with this by accessorising like crazy and often relegating her dress to work as an extra piece such as a coat, rather than the foundation of the outfit. It is an admirable, intriguing, eye-opening exercise in styling, sustainability and the generosity of others.

I’m obviously not as creative as Sheena, because I’ve not had much luck with making capsule pieces work, for the following reasons:

« If I rely too heavily on too few pieces, the buggers just wear out. Wear something 3 days a week for 3 months and see how it looks after all that. Not good, regardless of the quality. Even army uniforms fade after that little use. What chance has a couple of white cotton t-shirts?

« I get bored with wearing the same thing day in and day out. It’s not supposed to be a uniform. Maybe I’m more prone to being depressed by such limitations due to having very few clothes as a child (but that’s a whole other story). Putting a scarf or a brooch on it does not make it a different outfit, it makes it the same outfit with a scarf or brooch.

Net-a-Porter’s Essentials pages kind of give us a capsule-y menu of items for consideration, but definitely a drool-worthy one. If you like your foundation pieces to be perfectly cut and luxurious, this is where to go.

Many, if not all, of Nina’s One Hundred are included in a typical capsule wardrobe list. However, there are many different versions of the capsule wardrobe, and each person can have their own different 10-20 essential items which form the foundation for key outfits. Go ahead, google “capsule wardrobe essentials” and see how many different ideas there are on what is “essential”. See now many stylists and fashion-types are now creating capsule wardrobe “must-haves” for each season. Is a clutch of key seasonal items really a capsule wardrobe?

The typical foundation pieces of a capsule wardrobe are usually along the lines of:

« Little black dress

« Suit jacket

« Suit skirt

« Suit trousers

« White shirt

« White tee-shirt

« Black pumps

« Flats

« Boots

« Trench coat

« Casual jacket

« Jeans

« Day dress

And these are all very well and good, but the devil is in the detail. We all probably have most these items in our wardrobes, and wear these things frequently, but are these pieces all they should be? Does that casual jacket actually go with that day dress? Or does it only go with the jeans? If each piece doesn’t work at least several other pieces, then it’s not working hard enough. We have to choose really carefully, and be really, really fussy. It can be exhausting being such a nit-picking fusspot, but it’s worth it.

I must have become what the fashion industry diplomatically terms, “the more discerning older woman” (read: difficult). It pays to be particular, however. I’m finding that the fussier I get, the more use I’m getting out of each item I buy, because I’m less likely to buy something that has limited scope. With the basics, I try not to compromise at all from what I really want. For instance, if the jacket is great except I’m not convinced about the pin-stripes but what-the-hell it’s on sale and it fits – I don’t buy it. I’ll end up buying something that I’m not completely into and the rest of my wardrobe won’t work with it.

Be firm. Try to be ruthless. Be cranky, fussy and uncompromising. Buy only what you want, not what the magazines and shop assistants and department stores tell you that you want.

So, how do we know what we want? How do we decide amongst all that ever-changing stuff out there? There’s so much stuff! One way is to build your own personal “lookbook” to provide an at-a-glance summary of what you like from all different sources, and how they may or may not work together. It can become a fun wishlist and a practical filter all at the same time, before you spend a cent. I’ll talk about this later, a little after “Kaftan”, believe it or not.