I have a little secret. I’ve been capsule wardrobing (yeah… that’s a word) for a year, but I haven’t really dug through my closet to clean it out. I've just pulled things for my capsule and kept them at the front of my closet, while the back of my closet remained a crazy mess. But the farther I got into this kind of lifestyle, the more I wanted to start rethinking my closet. My entire closet. Recently I got rid of almost half of the items in my closet and that resulted in double the outfits I can make.

 

 

This post was sponsored by Capsules by Cladwell. All opinions and experiences are mine and mine alone.

 

Over the past couple of months I began to notice those pieces in the back of my closet that I hadn’t pulled for my capsule all. year. long. Why on Earth was I hanging on to those things? I needed an intervention. All of the pieces in my closet fit me, but I didn’t really like them all. Some I kept because I spent a good chunk of money on them. Some I kept because they had sentimental value. And others I kept because I had only worn them a handful of times. It was hard to tell what my capsule was lacking because there was just so much stuff in my closet. 

 

This is where Capsules from Cladwell came into play.

 

 

I made my account, and started moving through the steps. The first step is the clean out phase. I went through my entire closet - every single piece - and put them into one of two groups: #1 I wear this and I love it, and #2 I don’t/maybe do. I was absolutely surprised to see the things I put into group #2. For so long, my primary focus in putting together my capsule wardrobe has been, “does it fit me?” and not, “do I like it?” 

 

Finding my personal style has been hard. I have a body type that is somewhat difficult to dress, so finding the right fit has always been my number one priority… but I deserve to let my preferences take priority, too! Separating my closet into 2 groups really helped me hone in on the things that I LIKED, and not just the things that FIT.

 

I had over 110 items in my closet at the beginning of this experiment. About 30 of those were in my current “capsule”, and the rest were just items stuck at the back, unused and, apparently, mostly unloved. I took everything out and after I finished my 2 piles, I ended up keeping just 60 items… Yeah. I got rid of FORTY-FIVE PERCENT of my already pared down closet. 

 

 

The second step Capsules suggests you do is to look at your #1 pile and make notes about the things you like: color, fit, fabric, etc. Looking at my pile #1 items, I discovered that I really like prints, sheer flowy tops, and the colors black, maroon, kelly green, & purple. Seeing it in writing like this really made sense to me and it kind of solidified what I want my “style” to be.

 

Next, you make your color palette with 3 neutral, 3 main, and 3 accent colors based on what is in your closet. I ended up with black, grey, and white as my neutrals, maroon, kelly green, and blue as my main colors, and pink, red, and orange (which I later changed to purple) as my accents. 

 

 

What is so awesome about Capsules is that they really did think of everything, so after I made my color palette, I was prompted to tell them a little about my lifestyle. I inputted things that I liked to wear to work, on date night, and just to lounge around in. You also tell them how often you wear clothes to these places. Putting this information in helps Capsules come up with the perfect number and types of pieces to put in your capsule wardrobe. I believe this is the number one thing that helped me "double the outfits" in my wardrobe.

Lastly, you input the color and types of items in your wardrobe and figure out what items you need in your capsule. This portion was especially helpful to me because I just couldn’t pin point what was missing in my wardrobe. Thankfully now I know that I need a blue tee shirt, black jeans, and a grey tunic to maximize the number of looks in my capsule wardrobe. 

 

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At the end of this experience, I was still reeling from the fact that I gave up almost half of my clothing (for good!), but I felt really great about it. I was left with only pieces that fit (because I had gotten rid of anything that didn’t way back when last year), and also pieces that I LIKED. I can look at every piece in my closet and genuinely tell you I like everything in it. How amazing is that? 

 

 

Out of the 60 pieces I kept, about half are in my current capsule wardrobe… but now I don’t have to push the others to the back of the closet. I can keep them all visible because they don’t distract me from my wardrobe goal. 

 

Even as a “seasoned” capsule wardrober (yes, another “real” word), I am so thankful for resources like Capsules. The easy to understand steps really left nothing to question. If you’ve been on the journey to finding your personal style, I really would recommend that you utilize Capsules. The service is $15 per quarter (just $5/month). Putting together a wardrobe isn’t necessarily  difficult, but putting together a wardrobe that you are absolutely in love with is a lot harder. And even more difficult is finding the TRUE holes that need to be filled in your wardrobe. Capsules takes out all the guess work. 

 

How do you feel about your closet? Click on over to the video to see what Capsules is all about.