We all have experienced the dilemma of standing in front of our wardrobe before class in the morning thinking "I have nothing to wear today!" The truth is you do have something to wear, you probably have a lot you could wear. The problem is you can't decide what to put on because your wardrobe is crowded, messy or full of things you don't wear anymore. Even with a closet full of clothes, you end up wearing the same shirts over and over again!
The point of a capsule wardrobe is to have a specific wardrobe for each season, limited to about 35 to 38 items (although there are no rules, I saw some that were as small as 19 items). The reason for this is to spend less time and money on your clothes. As a college student, this is a cheap and sustainable way to not accumulate unnecessary clothes and helps keep you focused on more important things like getting to class on time. Here are some ways to help you create your own minimalistic closet to make getting ready for the day faster than ever.
- Get rid of everything you don’t wear anymore. A simple method to accomplish this is the 4-pile system. Start by making piles of your clothes. Don’t think about it too much, just go with what your gut tells you. In pile #1 put all the items that you love and couldn’t live without. Next, put all the clothes you want to keep for some reason or another but don't wear often – maybe it’s something you only wear on the holidays or on a special occasion or a really sentimental item – in pile #2. In pile #3 you’ll put items that don’t fit or that you don’t wear anymore. And lastly, in pile #4 put all the clothes that are no longer in good condition and need to be thrown out or recycled. T-shirt quilting, anyone?
- Be smart about what you choose to put in your capsule wardrobe. After you divide up all your clothes, the only items that go back in your closet is everything from pile #1. These are the clothes you love and that you wear every day. What you will find is that many of the articles in pile #2 are simply there because you are having trouble parting with them. Set them aside for a month, or if you don’t wear any of it this might be a good indication that these clothes should be donated or find new homes along with pile #3 and #4. Your capsule wardrobe should be an intentional promotion of the items you wear and value most, remove anything that distracts from the integrity of the wardrobe! I promise that if you get rid of that camp T-shirt from three years ago, there will be no dire consequences.
- Buy only what you really love. This is crucial to keeping a capsule wardrobe. Don’t buy something because it is nice, you just kind of like it, or it looks good on other people. These kinds of pieces get lost because they aren’t what you really love. One of the major benefits of developing a capsule wardrobe is that every piece of clothing you love and is flattering on your body. You have limited space, but that means that each item will be chosen one by one based on your lifestyle. You will never have to worry again whether your outfit goes together because all the items in your closet are awesome and fit your exact style.
- Choose quality over quantity. We are all guilty of buying $5 blouses from Forever 21 and H&M. What a great deal, am I right? But when it comes to staples that you’ll want to keep for years, it is better to choose the best you can find. These clothes will last longer which means less money you spend on buying new clothes in the future – sometimes investing in those expensive jeans will be better long term than buying cheap jeans you have to replace every year.
- Go for flattering not “in fashion.” The core of a capsule wardrobe is that the pieces are neutral and monochromatic – so if you mix them up everything goes with each other and you always look amazing! Most importantly this keeps your wardrobe sustainable. It is better to invest in things you look confident wearing instead of buying what is popular at the time.
