Something I have talked about many times throughout this research project is the idea of investing in good quality clothes that will stand the test of time, which is basically a capsule wardrobe. The capsule wardrobe is the concept taking on fast fashion and has been around for some time. The idea is you have a few pieces, a pair of jeans, a pair of trousers, a few t-shirts, shirts, etc. that all work together and can be worn year-round (within reason). The idea is that you don’t have to waste time trying to form clothes into an outfit because everything has been selected to work together, it is much simpler than the world of new outfits every day that we are being presented with on social media.
The biggest problem I find with a lot of my clothes is that I can only wear them with certain other clothes, which means I hardly wear these pieces which is wasteful, financially, and environmentally.
The capsule wardrobe is a great way to make life easier and reduce your impact on the environment, so let's look at how to do it.
To create a capsule wardrobe you need to figure out what YOU like to wear and what YOU feel comfortable in. This isn’t always easy, and I think it's very tricky to define a personal style, I have often found myself seeing people wear something and loving it but that is because it suits their style and on me, it just doesn’t work. One way to find out what clothes you continually gravitate to is to turn all the hangers in your wardrobe one way, and then once you have worn them put the hanger back the other way, and then at the end of the month you will see what you wear. Obviously, some items are only used at certain times of the year or on certain occasions but if you consider that the hanger trick will give you a good idea of what you’re wearing. Then what you need to do is assess why these items are being worn/not worn and from there you can get an idea of what you are lacking and what a capsule wardrobe might look like for you.
For example, some ‘capsule’ items I have bought are a white linen shirt and black suit trousers. Both of these I could have got cheaper alternatives for that I would have liked but I bought them because they ticked all my boxes. They are good quality, I love the way they fit and I feel confident wearing them, I can wear them in so many different ways and they are timeless styles, which has proven to be true as a year after buying them they are still some of my favourite items in my wardrobe.
This is what you need to do to make a capsule wardrobe work – don’t rush into buying a white t-shirt because you think it will be a good staple, wait to find one you really like, that fits you perfectly and you know you’ll love with loads of different outfits.
A capsule wardrobe doesn’t need to be as dramatic as never buying something fun or not buying new clothes once you have curated your ‘capsule’ but it means that you always have a great collection of clothes and can just add a new piece if you want to. It also helps you to stop and think about your purchases and be more aware of the way you are consuming clothes.
With the rise of fashion rental services, you can now have a small collection of clothing and still wear a standout piece for special occasions without wasting money on something you know you will only wear once.
If this all seems a bit overwhelming you can use apps to help you along. There is a huge selection of apps that allow you to upload the items you own to a virtual wardrobe, making it far easier to visualise what you have and plan out outfits. Many of these apps will track the outfits you wear and suggest outfits for you, they even offer guides on how to shop more sustainably. It's like a real-life version of Cher’s closet in Clueless, which I think we all dreamed of when we were little.
How to create a capsule wardrobe: https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/how-to-capsule-wardrobe/slide17
Free capsule wardrobe apps: https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/capsule-wardrobe-apps
コメント