Summer 2018 Capsule Wardrobe
a recap
After moving back to Toronto from Sydney, I've enjoyed my back-to-back summer. However, I am really looking forward to some cooler weather and am excited to change up my capsule for the fall season. I've missed layering up with turtlenecks and cozying up in wooly sweaters. This being my first "official" capsule wardrobe, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and insights, along with a few things I've learned about my personal style and clothing habits.
First, a quick summary on my capsule. My summer 2018 capsule consisted of 40 pieces, including tops, bottoms, outwear, and shoes.
A Second Chance
My goals for this first capsule was to get more wear out of a few select items as well as to minimize unnecessary shopping. Prior to organizing and planning this capsule, I went through all my clothing and gave away items, donated, and sold items that weren't getting any wear or were just worn out. However, I hung onto a few pieces I thought I'd give another go at to try to get more wear out of them. These included my converse shoes, my striped culottes, a floral camisole, and a knit t-shirt cardigan. These were items I felt were very good quality and couldn't bring myself to let go of them yet. By doing this, I learned that it was possible to re-love some older items. Particularly with my converse, I got a lot of wear out of them this summer and really enjoyed styling them. However, some pieces, although beautifully made and great quality, I just did not gravitate towards anymore.
I Could Live on Less
Although I lived on a capsule wardrobe, I found that there were still items I barely touched. Simply put, I could live on less. I think the reason why I didn't wear some of the items as much was usually because of comfort, weather, or fit. The more I journey through sustainable living and explore ethical fashion, the more I realize how important it is to find quality pieces that fit well and that I love. It's simple - If I don't feel comfortable in something, I naturally won't gravitate towards it.
Moving Forward
As much as I loved my 40 piece summer capsule wardrobe, I want to experiment this coming fall. I will still call my wardrobe a capsule wardrobe, but I don't believe that living an ethical and sustainable life has to be about hard and fast rules. We're all human and sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes the weather changes drastically and you've got to pull out sweater that wasn't originally in your capsule! I want to give myself a bit of breathing room. Although I'm not following exact rules, my goals for my capsule will stay the same. I still want to wear what I love and continue this journey in defining my personal style. I still want to be a conscious consumer and strive to only bring things into my closet with intention and keeping in mind the sustainability and ethics behind the products. I think blogging about slow fashion and sustainability has really taught me to find a balance, as part of the job allows me to explore new and ethical brands. I am still figuring out how to share all the amazing ethical brands out there without going overboard. I hope you'll stick with me for the ride!
Those are some of my thoughts and lessons learned from my summer 2018 capsule wardrobe. If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you'll share with me your own thoughts about capsule wardrobes below!