Transcript Podcast Episode 15: Create a Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe
Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe
Wannabe Minimalist Show Transcript Episode 15
00:00 Welcome to the Wannabe Minimalist Show Episode number 15. I am really excited to talk about this topic today. What topic you ask? Well, if you did not see the title, we are going to discuss how to create a simplified minimalist wardrobe. And don’t worry! It will not be cookie cutter or boring because it will be based on your personal style.
00:23 [music]
00:27 Welcome to the Wannabe Minimalist Show. I’m your host, Deanna Yates and each week on the podcast we will talk about what it really takes to be a minimalist with a family. I believe minimalism is a mindset for how we see stuff, but more importantly, being mindful of the items we let into our lives, homes, and relationships. Let’s do this!
00:55 Welcome back friend! I am thrilled you are joining me today on the Wannabe Minimalist Show. I’m your host, Deanna Yates from Little Green Bow dot com. Today we are talking all about your wardrobe and how to create a minimalist capsule based on your personal style.
01:11 Can I let you in on a little secret? Of course. Again, we're friends, right? I want to let you into my closet and tell you about how my style has changed over the years. Hopefully this will help you determine what works best for you based on what you like and not what others say you should like. Now, I would not say that I am not inherently a fashionista, but that does not mean that I'm not stylish. My style is just more classic and less trendy.
01:40 But growing up I really struggled to find what fit me best as people seem to make me feel like my classic style was boring and it probably didn't help that my older sister was super into fashion, always on trend, and I looked up to her. I mean honestly, she always looked amazing and still to this day really has a great way with clothes. So instead of finding my own style, it really morphed based on where I lived. And I've lived a lot of places, so it has changed a lot.
02:14 I grew up in Southern California and I mean in high school my style was everywhere. I was a cheerleader. So one day a week I had to wear my cheer uniform, but other than that I experimented with grunge ska and dressing like Cher from clueless. I've totally dated myself, but that's true. And I told you it was all over the place. Then I went to college in Texas and I had the classic college slacker style, you know, jeans, baggy sweatshirts, things like that. It probably didn't help that I had the additional college weight on as well. But that's another story from there.
02:51 I've lived in the Midwest, I've done a lot of cardigans florals and that stuff is not bad, but really it wasn't me. Then I lived in the big city Chicago and that's really where I had a lot of fun with my style in my twenties. I dressed up a lot. We went out a lot. We had a really good time living downtown and my style definitely benefited from it. Oh, after that though, we moved to Boulder and, Oh gosh, this was probably my worst fashion phase. I was working, starting a company, a tech startup, and so I dressed like all the guys around me. I wore graphic tees, I wore jeans, I wore street shoes, which aren't always bad, but the style I had was really bad. And honestly Boulder is known as the city with the people that look the best naked, but with the worst style or something like the, the worst dressed, but look the best naked and it really rings true.
03:52 So that was kind of my style slump. Then we moved back to Chicago, picked up a little bit, but really it was when we lived in Europe, about a year ago. And that's where I finally got it together and I became comfortable wearing simple yet timeless looks. Now we're back in California where I have a simple wardrobe and it works for me. It's filled with tons of neutrals, blacks, whites, Carmel, denim and lots of pops of, well I wouldn't say lots, but a few pops of green and pink. So my style doesn't have to work for you though. And that's what's so awesome about it. Everyone's style is personal. It really is what fits you best. But when I look back, I see now that this simplified style has always been my personal style in junior high. At no joke, I wore colored Guess shorts, a black or white tee shirt, white socks pulled up high up to my calves and black vans every day.
04:52 Seriously, every day. I grew up in Southern California, remember so I could get away with that and when it was cold I would just wear a hooded zip-up sweatshirt. Now I will not claim that this was stylish and I look back at those pictures and I giggled on myself a little bit, but it was my own personal fashion. It was what worked for me. I loved it and that is what mattered. It's so funny to me actually that I've tried to fit into so many different molds for so long in my life when all I needed to do was look at if an old photo album and while looking at your past could help you figure out your personal style. If you're struggling there, we're going to start with an even easier trick.
05:35 But before we dive in, let's talk about today's sponsor, which is StitchFix. Now you have probably tried StitchFix or at the very least heard about them, but I want to let you know why I loved them as a minimalist and why you should give them a try. First. I am not a huge fan of shopping, so with StitchFix I rarely have to and secondly it saves me time and finally I am able to stay on trend.
06:02 So how does an online shopping site help me do all of this? Well StitchFix lets me skip the whole hassle of going to a store or heaven forbid the mall and walking around for hours in search of something I need. Have you ever gone to the mall in search of a pair of jeans or a certain kind of sweater and instead walked out with something that just kind of fits the bill but you're not totally in love with it? Yeah, I figured it wasn't just me.
06:30 Instead of wandering aimlessly for hours, StitchFix sends me clothes based on my style and I get to try them on from the comfort of my own home. Now that means I get to try things on with everything else I already own. That right there is amazing. Plus I have found that prices to be reasonable, especially when I factor in my time savings and finally I never have to worry about getting stuck in a style rut. My stylist sends me items that are a bit different sometimes and honestly it's great to get another opinion on things that will look good on me, but I might not have tried them on if I had been shopping by myself, but since I love my minimalist wardrobe, I get to choose how often I get a fix. Sometimes like recently it's a bit more because I have not shopped in so long.
07:18 Now remember I traveled for a year, so I'm still coming off of that and not shopping a lot, but other times I slow down the boxes because I love everything I have. It's totally flexible, so honestly, if you have not tried StitchFix, you totally should and I have a $25 credit for your first fix. If you go to littlegreenbow.com/stitchfix again, that's littlegreenbow.com/stitchfix S. T. I, T, C, H. F. I. X. I'll leave a link in the show notes too so you can find it now. I hope you give it a try to see if it works for you and that $25 credit, we'll get you that first fix for free. Okay?
08:03 All right. Let's get back to how to create a minimalist capsule wardrobe that fits your personal style. Have you ever tried to live with a capsule wardrobe before? If you have, you've probably heard of the project, I'm sorry, the three three three project or the three 33 project.
08:20 That method involves choosing 33 items for your capsule that you change out every three months. Now, this was my first way I was introduced to capsule wardrobes, but having to change out clothing every three months is just too much for me. Even when I lived in the colder climates of Denver, Chicago and Munich, I just don't like separating my things out by season and storing them away. Instead, I like to layer and I have found that the layering approach works very well regardless of the climate I live in. For the colder climates, I just add an additional layer, like a really warm coat when I go outside or you know, layer the tops on top of each other. So if I don't have to separate my clothes into a capsule, what do I do? Well, I use modules, but what is a module? Well, a module is made up of six items of clothing.
09:14 It's two bottoms, three tops, and then one top layer. Now all of the items in a module should be able to mix and match and each module creates 12 outfits. So that's great, right? Six pieces, 12 outfits. But modules get really amazing when you put two of them together and you make sure all of those pieces mix and match. Now when you do this, the magic begins and you can make over 70 outfits from just 24 pieces. Don't believe me. Well, I created a French inspired capsule wardrobe with two modules and it has over 72 outfits styled all based on these 12 pieces. So if you want to check it out, I'll leave a link in the show notes, but you can get it at littlegreenbow.com/frenchcapsule.
10:08 Okay, so let's start putting your capsules together. Today. I will walk you through creating a full wardrobe with two coordinating modules. But remember the possibilities here are endless. So do you work out of the home part time while you can create a module for your office and you'll have 12 outfits from only six pieces, your modules can coordinate or they can be standalone.
10:32 So are you beginning to see how the minimalist mindset of less stuff, but higher quality can pay off for you? Here. You do not need a lot of clothes to be stylish or to have several different outfits. So let's start with your inspiration piece. Okay. I like to start with one item that you absolutely love and that it makes you feel amazing. And this is your inspiration piece. Now this could be a signature top with a great pattern, a bold colored dress, a certain style that works for you, like boho, preppy or vintage, and what ever it is.
11:13 You just need to choose the one piece that you want to form your wardrobe around. Once you have that one piece, everything else will fall into place. Seriously, it's almost like magic. So for the sake of this example, let's say that your inspiration piece is a shirt with a great floral pattern on it. Now this means it also comes with our color palette to choose from using that one inspiration piece. We will work through our module from the bottom up. So each module has two bottoms. So we're combining two modules. Then we need four bottoms. These can be pants, skirts, shorts, or dresses. Since it's February, when I'm recording this, let's use the weather to help us and use two pairs of pants, one skirt and one dress. In the end. I'll recommend a pair of tights to go along with these, but I don't count those as one of our 12 pieces.
12:06 So to break this down, our two pants could probably be a pair of nice dark denim jeans and then a pair of black pants, something that's casual enough. If you're looking for a more casual module or something that can be dressed up as well. If he needs something that's a little dressier than your skirt, depending on your climate, could either be a short skirt, it could be a long skirt. Um, it really depends on you. I actually don't wear skirts very much. So, um, for me this would be a third pair of pants. Um, and then address. I really do think having one dress in your module is a great option and it keeps it very versatile.
12:43 So then once you have your four bottoms, you'll go ahead and pick your six tops because there are three tops in each module. Now, of course we already have our inspiration piece, and for our example, it was a floral top, so that's one of our six. Then I would fill that out with something like a white tee shirt, maybe a black three quarter sleeve shirt, a striped sweater, a chambray button up would be great. And then a shirt that coordinates with the color of our inspiration shirt. Let's say there were yellow flowers in the shirt or red flowers in the shirt, and maybe I'd pick a shirt that also went along with that color pattern.
13:20 Then finally we end with two top layers because each module has one top layer and these pieces need to mix and match with all of the others in order to create the 72 looks. So the top layers that I have found to be very versatile are things like a black blazer or maybe a cardigan in a coordinating color, something that you can put on top of all of the six tops that you've selected on top of your dress, goes with your skirt and goes with the pants you've chosen.
13:48 All right, now for, cold climates. You're going to go ahead and add a heavy coat as a bonus. Now this is not included in the modules, but it's totally necessary. You won't wear it inside and so that's why I do not include it. Okay, so that's it. Those are the 12 pieces and they are the base for your minimal capsule wardrobe.
14:07 In addition to these 12 pieces, you will need shoes and accessories, so a couple of scarves and maybe a few key jewelry pieces, and then back to those colder climates. You'll want to add a pair of thick tights here. So for shoes, I recommend a pair of boots, a pair of street shoes, and a pair of flats. Those three shoes should cover you for almost any and every social situation that you will encounter 99% of the time. Now, scarves can be either decorative or functional based on where you live and how cold it gets, and then your jewelry is up to you.
14:45 Now I know that this wardrobe works. I have lived through an entire year in Europe with only one suitcase. It was a blazing hot in the summer and super cold and wet in the winter and in order for this to take you through the whole year, you can just add a third module of just summer clothes.
15:05 Your two bottoms could be a pair of shorts and a denim skirt. Three tops could be tank tops or short sleeve shirts and your top layer could be a linen button up. Now that is almost identical to what I traveled with for the summer. Adding that to your items above would double your wardrobe again and be versatile all year round. Now if this is getting a little confusing, don't forget that you can see an example of how two coordinating modules work together on my website at littlegreenbow.com/FrenchCapsule.
15:38 Now honestly, the hardest part is choosing your inspiration piece from there. The other 11 items, they come together so easily and then you just have to try it out. So to recap, you will have four bottoms, you will have six tops and you will have two top layers. The trick here is to start with that inspiration piece and then make sure all of the 11 other items coordinate with that piece.
16:09 You can layer the tops with each other, you can layer them with that, the two top layers, and then you will start to get so many outfits out of this. So for example, our first pair of bottoms that we talked about were dark jeans. Then we had our inspiration piece shirt. That right there is one outfit. When you add the black blazer on top of that, that creates outfit number two. You would go ahead and do that. Then for all of the pieces and that taster to get to the 72 looks for your wardrobe. The dress is where it can really start to get interesting because you can layer that into some other pieces. You can wear it standalone. And then sometimes that can get um, really fun and just give you a little bit creativity there. So again, check out my website where I have this all listed out for you.
16:57 It's much easier when you see it. So again, that's littlegreenbow.com/frenchcapsule. And if you try this out, I would love to hear about it. Really! Hop on over to my free Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and share your one inspiration piece for your minimalist capsule wardrobe. I can't wait to hear from you and to help encourage you on your journey toward less stuff, more happiness, and an awesome closet. So jump on over to the Facebook group and let me know about your style. Share it with us. I can't wait to see how you can inspire me and the other members of the group.
17:35 And honestly, living with this capsule wardrobe has made every day easier for me. I open my closet. I love what I see. All of the pieces in my wardrobe fit me. I feel confident when I wear them. And so now that I have lived with a capsule wardrobe and using these modules, I will never go back. It is so amazing and I really hope that you try this. And again, it doesn't have to be a permanent solution for you. Pick out your 12 pieces and try living with them for a week or two weeks or a month and see what you think and then he can always switch them out. I just really encourage you to do it. I think you'll really love how much easier it is to get ready in the morning and how much time it gives you back and just how much mental energy it saves you every day.
18:23 All right, so if you are interested, please jump over to the Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and let me know about how you're trying this in your own life. It's a totally free group and it's one of my favorite ways to connect with everybody listening to this podcast. I want to meet you there and I want to hear about your journey and learning from all of you is one of my favorite things. So I really hope to see you there. Again, it's the Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and I'll be sure to leave a link in the show notes to make it even easier for you to find us.
18:55 And one last thing. If you liked this episode, I would love it if you would subscribe and leave a comment or rating so others can find the show too. It makes my day to hear from you all. And so thank you for those of you who have already subscribed and for those of you who have left me comments, they fill my heart with joy and you guys really are the best. And that wraps up today's episode for how to create a minimalist capsule wardrobe quickly and easily. And I hope to see you again here next week. Cheers!
19:25 [music]
19:29 So this episode might be over, but we don't have to say goodbye just yet. Head over to my website littlegreenbow.com for tons of great resources, freebies, courses, and a link to join my free Wannabe Minimalist group on Facebook. Let's tackle this thing together. And if you love this episode, it would be really helpful if you left a rating and a review so more families can find the show too. You're awesome! Thanks and see you next week.