And Now, the Post You’ve All Been Waiting For

After all this, I’m finally putting some outfits together from the items in my Fall capsule. 

Here’s day one. It was one of those days. You know, those days where just getting out of bed seems like an unreasonable request? I couldn’t stay in bed all day, though, so I threw on the most comfy-looking outfit I could find. I know, it’s not very exciting for the Opening Day of my Very First Fall Capsule. But it is what it is. 

   
This day was a bit better. I even wore earrings. lol. This sweater is thin, but warm enough for a cool Fall day. And . . . 

 
I even got to break out the leather jacket!

   
Here are a couple more outfits. I was pretty happy with these two. They both felt like “me,” if that makes any sense.

   
Feel free to offer constructive criticism. I’m still pretty unsure of what I’m doing when it comes to putting pieces together to form cohesive outfits. 

Down Under

 After a bit of a break, I’ve prepared another peek into my Fall Capsule. Today, it’s the bottoms. Because the number nine breaks up so neatly into threes, I usually do three skirts, three pairs of pants, and three pairs of shorts. I didn’t think shorts for October, November, and December sounded very practical, so instead, I’ve got skirts, pants, and capris.

Three Skirts

Here’s the first set of three: the skirts. They’re all long this time, since it’s been getting considerably colder. I didn’t have to buy any of these. The blue and green flowery one was bought at a thrift store years ago for less than three dollars. I’ve always liked it, but rarely worn it. The skirt in the middle is navy blue, with a faint flower pattern all over it. I’ve had this one for years as well, but now that I’ve got navy shoes to go with it, it’ll finally see the outside of my closet. Then there’s the cream colored denim skirt that was in my Spring capsule. I’ve had it altered so now it’ll fit better. Again, I’ve had this one for years.

  
Three Pairs of Pants

The pants on the left are brown Ralph Lauren, ordered online from Macy’s. They needed an alteration in order to fit, but now they’ll look great. The other two have been on this site before; the cream colored ones in the middle are from my Spring capsule, and the jeans are the same ones from Summer. 

Three Capris

Tadaa! Here are the capris for the season: 

The pair on the left came from Macys.com. They’re navy with a lighter blue pattern up the sides. The ones in the middle are my Style & Co jeans that were a bit too short, so I rolled them up and called them capris. And then come the kahkis from Spring.  

And there you have them! Pictures of actual outfits are coming soon. Very soon.  

Dressing Up

 My Fall capsule includes two dresses. I don’t wear dresses often, but one of these is casual enough that I may wear it more often than I would. Here they are!

The cobalt one was on clearance at Carson’s. It could be one of those things that can pass for dressy or casual.

I ordered the black and tan colorblock dress months ago online from Macy’s. I’m questioning now whether it was smart to buy a sleeveless dress for Fall, but I have it now, so I’ll make it work.  

Pictures coming soon. 

Fall Shoes

Once again, the lighting is poor, but here are nine pairs of shoes I’ve chosen for my Fall capsule.  Many of these have been in capsules before, but there are a few new ones as well. 

1. These light blue flats are very airy, and won’t work toward the end of fall, when it gets much colder, but I think I’ll be wearing them quite a lot until then. They’ll be good with jeans and pants, and also with some skirt combinations.
2. These brown Worthington uppers made an appearance in my Spring Capsule as well. Again, good with pants and jeans. The photo makes them look a little bit darker than they really are.
3. I bought these cream-colored b.o.c boat shoes back in the Spring, when Carson’s was having a huge comfort shoes sale. I thought they would go with my Summer capsule, but they didn’t; I really shouldn’t have bought them without a plan. Thankfully, they’re going to be great in this capsule.
4. Do these Nikes look familiar? Eventually they’ll be replaced with some new running shoes, but for now I can’t seem to get rid of them. They’re my absolute most comfortable shoes, and they just may show up in my Winter capsule as well.
5. These are the same brown Lower East Side boots I’ve had for a few years now, which were also in my Spring capsule. They’ll be good for pants, jeans, and some skirts and dresses.
6. I bought these navy blue Lifestride pumps at DSW. It was surprising how difficult it was to find a simple pair of navy pumps, but after a long search, I found these. I am concerned that they’re so dark that they almost look black, depending on the lighting, but I do like the detail:   
7.  These Nine West boots were found at the outlet mall. They were not exactly what I was originally looking for, but when I found these I decided that they were better than what I had planned. And they’re great for Fall!
8. Again from my Spring Capsule, these Franco Sarto wedges will be a good addition to this one, at least for the first two months of the season.
9. These J-41 slip-ons have been in my closet for awhile. I call them my fuzzy shoes, and they’re very comfortable and cozy on cool days. Good for fall.

The Big Chill

Ready for the first glimpse of my Fall Capsule? 

Since it’s so chilly, I’m starting with jackets: 

 
The Misty Harbor raincoat was a gift from my father-in-law several years ago. I’ve always loved the vibrance of the blue, and of course, the color fits into my capsule perfectly. I was excited that I was able to find a place for it in this new capsule. It will be great for brightening up those rainy fall days.

I found the leather bomber jacket at the Guess factory store. The coloring in the picture is poor, but it’s a lovely cream color with bright brass buttons and zipper. It’s very warm, and I’m excited to wear it.

That’s it: 2 jackets for Fall! For a list of how many items of each type are in my capsule, take a look at yesterday’s entry.

I have no pictures yet of any of my outfits, because I’m still wearing my summer clothes. It really doesn’t take much time to get my new fall clothes out and pack away the summer things; I just need to prioritize my time, I guess. I hope it’ll be soon.

Fall Shopping

Now that Fall has officially arrived, it’s time for me to change over to my Fall Capsule. First, partially as a reminder to myself, I want to go over the reasons I am now using a thrity-seven piece capsule wardrobe.

Why?

1. It makes choosing what to wear in the mornings much easier and quicker, because I’ve got less to choose from, and what I do have available has been carefully chosen to ensure that I have what is needed to put complete outfits together. 
2. I can wear all of it. There is nothing out of season in sight, and I no longer have my former problem: “I love this skirt, but don’t have any shoes that I can wear with it.“
3. I feel more feminine. No matter how much I like it, I do not allow an item into a capsule if it doesn’t fit well, is stained, torn, or faded, or if I just don’t like how I look in it. Further, my outfits are more “put together,” in less time than before, because nearly everything will work with almost every other item in my closet.
4. I no longer wear the same few things every day. Before my Capsule days, I’d spend an embarassing amount of time looking at all of my clothes, only to end up choosing the same tired clothes I always wore. Now I have more things I like, and I can put them together in different combinations to make completely different outfits. 
5. It’s actually kind of fun. I never thought I’d ever actually find clothes interesting, but here I am.

What? 

The main color I’ve chosen for fall is blue, with blue/green as a minor color. My three neutrals are cream, brown, and denim. I know, denim is not a color, but you get the idea.

This capsule contains thirty-seven items:

• 2 dresses
• 2 coats/jackets
• 9 pairs of shoes
• 15 tops
• 9 bottoms

How?

I started by taking all of my clothes out of my closet and out of the tubs they were packed away in. This was much faster this time than it was the first time I did this, for Spring, because I had far fewer clothes than I did then.

  

After cutting it down to what would actually work for this season, it was time for shopping. I actually did this several weeks ago. My husband suggested getting this done during the Labor Day sales that were going on at an outlet mall in Aurora. Now that it’s over, I am glad I did it. With my husband’s help, I found some great deals, such as a leather bomber jacket for only $60, and a great dress for $7.99. The prices were amazing. So were the crowds, but I’m trying to be positive here.

I almost completed my whole list that weekend. There were just a few things that we couldn’t find, which we ordered online from Macy’s.

So I’m done. I haven’t switched over yet; I’m still wearing my Summer Capsule clothes. I’m hoping to switch over to my Fall wardrobe soon. Hopefully this week, because of how chilly it’s getting now. 

More updates to follow!

A Few More

I consider comfort to be one of the top considerations when I’m choosing what to wear. That’s probably how I got into the rut I was in before I started using a capsule wardrobe. Somehow, though I never realized that being comfortable did not necessarily mean feeling bad about how I looked. 

I’ve learned that I can find truly comfortable clothes without sacrificing too much of the look I want. During the summer I don’t do school, but we do lots of outdoors stuff, errands, and play. I need to be able to move around in the clothes I wear. 

Here are three casual, comfortable outfits that I effortlessly put together from my capsule recently. As I’ve noted before, the reason that it’s become so effortless and easy is that I planned my capsule and purchased my clothing so that all items would look good in just about any combination.

   
    
 

This weekend I had an opportunity to get dressed up. My grandfather was inducted into the Indiana Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and the ceremony and luncheon required a little more than casual and comfortable. I wore my purple dress, white shoes, and some silver jewelry. 

  

Summer Dresses

Little by little, I’m making progress posting what I’ve got in my thirty-seven piece capsule. So far, I’ve posted my shoes, bottoms, and jackets. All I’ve got left are the tops and the dresses. 

That said, here are the two dresses in my Summer 2015 capsule: 

These were both ordered online from Macy’s, and I like them both! The purple one, by American Living, is so vibrantly colored that it’s really fun to wear. The black is one I haven’t worn yet, made by Alfani. 

Both are sleeveless, which is something I normally NEVER choose, but it was difficult to find summer dresses with sleeves which also matched what I wanted for my capsule. I was willing to take a risk, and so far it’s worked out fine. 

Three More

Here are three more outfits put together with pieces from my Summer capsule. The shirt below has metal pieces on the front, and I like that it’s a bit unusual. My three year old likes that they make faint noises when I move around.

 Even after using my Spring capsule in May and June, I’m still not used to wearing skirts on a day to day basis. This denim skirt is very comfortable and I really had no problem wearing it the whole day. 

And another skirt on another day. This one made it a bit difficult when I was attempting to help my son move the trampoline that this morning’s storm blew over our fence, but other than that, it hasn’t been a problem.  

There’s one glaring issue I’ve been noticing in these pictures recently.  However, 

1. I’m not willing to wear nylons in the summer.

2. I am not at all interested in a fake tan. Nothing against those who use it, but I’m not going to.

3. As a mom, I really don’t have time (or the inclination) to lay out in the sun. 

So it is what it is. I’m happy enough to just live with it. 

9 Summer Bottoms

Since my 37-piece summer capsule allows for nine bottoms, it was easy to incorporate the Rule of Three. The nine items split up into three skirts, three shorts, and three pairs of pants. 

First, the pants:

  
I ordered the blue jeans and the capris from Macy’s. I ordered lots of sizes and brands in order to get the right fit. I could have used the jeans I had for my Spring capsule, but I didn’t like the fit; they just looked bulky on me. This Style & Co pair is very good and will work for all future capsules. Until they wear out, that is. The red pants are a great find and I think I’m going to be wearing them a lot.

I found the white jeans for a very good price at TJ Maxx. The white pants from the Spring capsule weren’t truly white, so they wouldn’t work with this capsule.

  I ordered all three pairs of shorts from Macy’s. I had jean shorts in my Spring capsule that were very old and didn’t fit well. For some reason I settled on them when I planned that capsule, but I’m determined to weed out mistakes like that and only accept clothes that fit well and that I feel good wearing.

I’ve had the polka dotted skirt for a long time. It was a gift. It’s very flowy and hits at mid-calf. I found the red and white one at TJ Maxx for a very good price. I haven’t worn it yet, but I think it’ll work well for a casual look. I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to find a denim skirt! I ordered this one from Macy’s in a couple of different sizes, but they didn’t fit. Before returning it, I looked at store after store and there just weren’t any. Anywhere. Are they going out of style? I don’t really worry about that sort of thing, anyway. So I kept the smallest size and took it to a tailor for alterations. It’s so nice to have a good tailor in town. I just got the skirt back a couple of days ago and they did excellent work.  
And there you have it. These are the nine bottoms I have in my closet for July, August, and September. I’m really happy with what I’ve got.