Minimalist Wardrobe: My Quest for the Capsule Wardrobe

Are you looking to for a Minimalist Wardrobe?  Creating a capsule wardrobe can have huge benefits for women who are looking to love what they have and pare down their closet

Minimalist Wardrobe

I would define a minimalist wardrobe is having the pieces you need.  And just that.  No extraneous noise in your clothing.

Now, when I think a minimalist wardrobe I think of a homeless person.

But THAT is not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about owning FEWER CLOTHES.

But also owning BETTER clothes!

Imagine walking into your closet and loving every piece you see (and having your closet organized).

You know, sometimes I watch The Real Housewives of blah-blah-blah {insert rich location here}, and those women spend a LARGE amount of time in LARGE closets.

Closets that overwhelm me.  I don’t think I could ever manage that many clothes.

My reality is that I have about 10-15 pieces at the front of my closet that I love and wear frequently.  Then, I have about 1/2 of my closet with items I’m considering wearing more.

But don’t. 🙂

By-the-way — if you’re looking to start some minimizing for your KIDS wardrobe — this post really dives into how many clothes should a child have.

How to be a Minimalist

I think minimalist people have less stuff but really love the items.  They find joy in the items they have — rather than the drudgery of organizing it all.

Frankly, I think a minimalist wardrobe is also a capsule wardrobe

The Plus Size Minimalist Wardrobe

As a sidenote, I am a plus size girl (which is why I love Dia so much).

A plus size minimalist wardrobe will work JUST the same way as a regular girl.

Personally, I think it’s way harder to find plus size clothes that I love vs when I was a “regular” size….

But, I also cherish the clothes I love even more. 🙂

Related Post: Organize your laundry room!

The Minimalist Closet

For me, the key is limiting my # of hangers (these are my favorite hangers).  That way one thing goes in, and one thing goes out.  Plus, by not having clothes CRAMMED in — it makes it so much easier to get things out and also for them to keep looking great!

Capsule Wardrobe:

Definition of a Capsule Wardrobe:

Per Wikipedia: A capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing that don’t go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers, and coats, which can then be augmented with seasonal pieces

The idea of a capsule wardrobe REALLY appeals to me for a few reasons:

1.  I like the idea of LESS.  If you’ve done/looked at my Home Organization course, you know that I really believe that less is more in most areas of your life — your wardrobe being one of them.
2. I like the idea of GREAT, QUALITY pieces of clothing.  Things that wash well, wear well (and frankly, don’t have to be dry cleaned)
3. I like the idea of the majority of my clothes going together.  It makes it easy to match outfits, go on vacation and have a personal sense of style.

My personal style journey has been through a few steps:

1.  I schlepped through life with small kids.  I was overweight and I was punishing myself by not buying clothes that looked OK. {this is a bad idea}
2.  I tried out Dressing Your truth and I dipped my toe into the water of my own personal style.  I realized what I really liked, and didn’t like.
3.  I realized I just could NOT find what I wanted in stores (especially the QUALITY part), so I started with Stitch Fix — where a personal stylist sends me clothes on a schedule.  And finally ended with Dia — who seemed to “get” me better (you can read my Stitch Fix review here and my Dia Review here)

But all the while I want less.

In step #1 I was just buying whatever.  I just put clothes on my body.  Yes, I shopped — but I hadn’t found “me” and I bought far too much hoping to feel good and not having a clue what to buy.

In step #2 I found what I wanted, but I had a hard time finding the quality I wanted.  And I made a few missteps along the way (sometimes feeling more like a clown than a normal person) but I also thrifted a lot of my clothes (so at least the mistakes didn’t cost much).

Step #3 is taking a little long…. and it’s a little more expensive than my usual purchases (but I do love what I’m finding)…  In reality, I think that #3 will help me keep my wardrobe minimalist, once I have it narrowed down (I plan to do Stitch Fix only quarterly).

** The next step I want to take is to try Trunk Club.  I’ve just heard so many things that it’s GREAT for basics, and clothes you just love to wear (because you feel great in them).  Again, pricier — but I am hopeful I just LOVE the items!

What do I want from my minimalist wardrobe?

Ok, so what do I want to ultimately accomplish by having a capsule wardrobe?

1. Feel confident EVERY day.
2. Spend less time picking out clothes, especially for special occasions
3. Easily manage clothes.
4. Maybe ENJOY shopping because I know exactly what I need, and I’m not overwhelmed in stores.

Related post:  How many clothes do kids really need?

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FAQ’s about a Minimalist Wardrobe

How do you START having a minimalist wardrobe?

For me, it started with just getting rid of the stuff I didn’t love.  Also, changing my mindset that it was worth it to have clothes that I didn’t love.  Why have a shirt that I hate to wear around?

Do I have so few clothes, that I NEED that type of item in my closet?

For me, the answer was no — and I do believe that I’d rather have 7 outfits that I feel great in, than 20 that about 18 of them I don’t feel great in.

How many pieces in a minimalist wardrobe?

It’s up to each person.  For me, I use the space in my drawer, as well as my # of hangers to guide how many pieces I have.

You do you.  What do you feel good about?  What number allows you to have a closet that is:

• Letting the clothes breathe
• Allows clothes to be easily put away
• Allows you to rotate the # of outfits so that you feel like you’re not always wearing the same thing

Figure out what that is — and shoot for it. 🙂

How to curate a minimalist wardrobe

There are a few ways to do this:

• Thrift shop — thrift stores often have great items that you can just LOVE — it’s cheaper, but it does take more time to find the items
• Use a fashion subscription service
• Shop stores, find stores whose clothes you already love (I love Talbots, so that’s always a good place for me to start)

Pro Tip: Have a friend who has a great style and would be willing to shop with you — make a date with her!

and finally…

WHY have a minimalist wardrobe?

For me, it boils down to 3 things:

• Easier to put away clothes, because drawers/closets aren’t jammed full
• Feeling great in all the items I own, so it’s easily to pull an outfit together
• Not feeling like I need more clothes because I don’t love what I have

But, I still have some issues narrowing down what I want my capsule to look like.

I am not a fashion girl.  I often am swayed by whomever I shop with.  I don’t have a firm idea of what I want, or frankly what I look good in.

For a long time, I did Dressing Your Truth, but I had a really hard time finding anything I liked that was of quality when I went to the store.

Lately I’ve been doing Dia & Co — you can read all my Dia & Co Reviews and why I like it so much — it’s for women sizes 14 and up — I have also tried Stitch Fix and had some luck there as well (I get the feeling they’re better at non-women’s sizes — so if youre 14 and below — I’d certainly try them out!)

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this post on the minimalist wardrobe clothed in abundance.  This is all about the minimalist wardrobe 2019.  Your minimalist closet list is a small number of clothes that all go together!

If you liked this post, be sure to sign up to see what I liked in my next fashion fix, and check out my other beauty & fashion posts (or, if you’re looking to get organized — check out my 5-word challenge) below that.

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