Capsule Wardrobe, starting pieces

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The green cortlands

startingpiecesfrom top left: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine (similar), ten(orig. from loft), eleven(orig. from Motherhood Maternity), twelve

I’m beginning to gatherย items for my capsule wardrobe. Since we are at the tail end of summer, my plan is to make this a fall/winter wardrobe. Above are all the items I’m going to include (except the shorts, changed my mind on those), but you can imagine there is still plenty of room for more.

While Caroline’s concept is to avoid shopping and have all your items picked out for the 3 months, I may need to bend a bit on that rule depending on how my belly grows. Almost everything shown above should work for the majority of my pregnancy, so I’m hoping to focus on strategic choices that are easy to mix and match!

Goal items to include:ย 

-1 more pair of denim

-1 more pair of non-denim pants

-6-7 more tops

-3-4 pairs of shoes

Since I stay home now, I’ve noticed what I’m drawn to wearing on a daily basis and used that information to help me guide me in picking my wardrobe.

3 “rules” I’m planning on following as I build the wardrobe:

1. No linen. Linen seems to be everywhere. It seems like every shirt I pick up at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx is linen. And you know what? Linen is too high maintenance. I’m not going to take the extra time to hand wash or hang to dry. It’s just not worth it to me right now!

2. Stretch. This is probably an obvious one because I’m pregnant, but even if I weren’t I’d be looking for stretchy/forgiving material. I spend my days picking things up, holding david, sitting on the floor playing, etc. so really structured tops with no “give” don’t get worn much. I find that I miss dressing up a bit because I often did when I worked behind the chair, so whenever I work out of the home, I find myself dressing up a bit because I can.

3. Neutrals or blue’s. Those are my favorite tones to wear, so I’d like to stay within the same “color family” so it’s simple to mix and match.

I’m really excited about this challenge. I’ve already felt limited with my wardrobe as my belly has started to grow, so re-wearing my favorite pieces over and over has actually been pretty nice! It takes the guess work out of what I’m going to wear.

I’ll share my final capsule with you once it’s completed. Next, my intention is to share as many outfit pics as I reasonably can as I wear the items. I hope it helps inspire some creativity within your own wardrobes, whether you have the same items or not AND whether you are pregnant or not.

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Denise M says · 09.05.14

Yes! This is exactly what I needed! Creativity with my outfits! Thanks, Kate!

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Kaitlyn says · 09.05.14

Yay! I’ve been waiting to see some of the items you’ve started collecting. Love them! I’ve been totally inspired to try the capsule wardrobe idea myself. Thanks for sharing, Kate! I always love your posts.

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Elise @ Sunday Charm says · 09.05.14

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! I follow Caroline’s blog and might do something similar, but more of a “shop my closet” type thing instead of purchasing new clothes.

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Julie says · 09.05.14

I love seeing your capsule! I just started my fall capsule on Monday. One thing that you did that I love is you made “rules” for shopping that are personal to you. No use buying something that you know isn’t going to work. One thing I’ve found with this challenge is that you have to be brutally honest with yourself in terms of your style.

xo Julie
julieupstairs.wordpress.com

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Lauren says · 09.05.14

I love being pregnant and dressing my bump so I’m always looking for more inspiration!

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Amanda says · 09.05.14

This is SO helpful. Thank you!

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Theresa @ AMomInTheMaking says · 09.05.14

I love this!! I’ve been trying to create kinda a capsule wardrobe. I’m excited to see your wardrobe grow as your bump does ๐Ÿ™‚

Your pics gave me inspiration! Thank you!!

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Deanna says · 09.05.14

This post is great! I had been toying with the idea of the capsule wardrobe for a while and after seeing your post a few weeks back it inspired me take the leap. It is nice to see what you are planning. Thanks for the update!

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Katherine says · 09.05.14

Love the colors, and your style!! Any chance you would be making up another for inspiration for us not pregnant?

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JNJxn says · 09.05.14

This is such a great idea for pregnancy! I don’t know if I could stick to it on a day-to-day basis, but if we have another child, I think this is a great approach. Thanks, Kate!

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Corena says · 09.05.14

This concept is fantastic! I would love to see the outfits once put together. I need visuals ๐Ÿ™‚
I’d love to try this myself. Thanks for the updates. Can’t wait to see what else you add.

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Michelle says · 09.05.14

Great post! I have been toying with the idea of a capsule wardrobe for awhile, and I love to see one of my favorite bloggers posting about hers. Related to your last post, holy cow your sister looks AMAZING with dark hair!! So super cute!!

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Ashlee says · 09.05.14

Hey you’re not showing up on Feedly (at least for me!) I thought you were still on your break but I hopped over just to check because I missed you. ๐Ÿ™‚ Now I’m off to get caught up on your last couple of posts!

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Miranda says · 09.08.14

Ashlee, same goes for my Feedly too :(.

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Jessi says · 09.05.14

You’ve inspired me to create a capsule wardrobe (non maternity)of my own. Thanks to your blog, I’ve gone through my closet, shopped for some essential pieces, and my hair & makeup look great these days. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments and feel amazing. Thank you Kate! Keep up the wonderful work ๐Ÿ™‚

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Megan says · 09.05.14

Great picks. The Maman Pouls t-shirt is so cute and the jean jacket is a must have staple item. I posted my own capsule wardrobe items on Tuesday and the biggest challenge has been accommodating the still very warm weather.

Megan @ http://www.megintime.com/

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Laura says · 09.05.14

Very cute! I love the idea of a capsule wardrobe and I’m working on mine. I know you wanted neutrals, but you look so pretty with color, so I recommend adding some colorful pieces, as well as colorful scarves and accessories. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Melanie Wynn says · 09.05.14

This is a precious post! David looks so happy! We are the crazy family that likes all of our fruit right before they go bad so we understand the looks! Ha! Lets just say I never have to battle anyone for the bananas I like.

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Melanie Wynn says · 09.05.14

I am going to try and do something like this for my work clothes. I have the hardest time with my work outfits! For awhile I was trying to only buy things I could wear to work and away from work, but I think I have just accepted that isn’t possible!

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Ashleah says · 09.05.14

Why do you keep closing the comments on your posts?

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Tilly says · 09.05.14

Because she can’t handle it when all comments aren’t all positive. Get a thicker skin lady.

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Chris says · 09.05.14

The thick skin needed for the blogosphere/real life is definitely nowhere to be found here.

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Jessica says · 09.05.14

Perhaps it’s due to the on/off technical issues she has been having. But if a pregnant lady DID want to close comments because people can’t be nice, that is her right.

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Tilly says · 09.05.14

Get real Jessica. There is nothing technical about it. And using a pregnant lay excuse is sad.

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Gibson says · 09.05.14

I was inspired by this idea as well and find that we all have to find out own “cheats” to make the concept work for us. I made a “swap” list for weather purposes but you can do the same for new items to fit baby #2!

http://golightlyandco.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-final-capsule-edit.html

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Meagan says · 09.05.14

Great start! Such a fun idea!
-Meg
http://www.smalltownsisters.blogspot.com

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Megan says · 09.05.14

Ooohhh I’m loving it so far!

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mimi says · 09.05.14

Good Luck! I’m doing the challenge as well, but completing as post pregnancy and can work around my changed body and breastfeeding. I ended up only purchasing 5 pieces for my entire pregnancy, and only after I actually grew. A Target jersey maxi dress and a belly band were my go to for endless styling while pregnant and working. The dress is still in my closet daily wear.

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Rebecca says · 09.05.14

It’s so fun to see what others pick for their capsule! I had (without knowing there was a name for it) basically created a capsule wardrobe for my self about 5 years ago. Overall it worked really well for me. Two babies later my body is different and I need to rethink things. I’m having a hard time finding pieces I love again (I really liked what I had before) so it’s nice to have some inspiration.

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Sara says · 09.05.14

I love this! I’m creating a post partum one right now-I love the pieces you’ve chosen-practical but still cute

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Lindsay @ The Newlywed Notebook says · 09.06.14

I just recently heard about this and think it’s such an intriguing concept! Heaven knows my husband would be thrilled if I didn’t go shopping for 3 months. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Can’t wait to see how updates and how it works for you!!

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Caitlin S. says · 09.08.14

I really do love this idea! Especially for maternity because I hated to spend too much on a maternity wardrobe when I knew it was really only for a few months.

Are you planning on adding anything “dressier?” I was just curious because I know sometimes I like to wear a little bit nicer things on the weekend or to church. Maybe a dress that’s pretty versatile?

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Chelsea says · 09.09.14

I did this after I lost the baby weight. I was able to go through my old clothes and only purchased a few things. Now I’m working on my fall one and I was wondering how your merona boots ended up working our for you. All of my shoes are stretched out horribly from the end of my second pregnancy and since I need te get all the basics over again I have be looking for good deals.
I was such a clothes horse but while pregnant I really enjoyed having a few go to outfits. I even applied the same principals to shopping for the kids this fall rather than just purchasing anything I thought was cute. Now my husband has decided he is jealous of how easily I can get dressed and how nice my side of the closet looks so he is doing it for fall!

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Casey Smith says · 09.11.14

I love this idea! You may want to think about adding a pair of stylish leggings or stretchy pants.

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Olya D says · 10.01.14

I keep telling myself I gota do this instead of buying new things & leaving old good ones behind. You gota add a little bit more color in here though for me!

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