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/ 23 September 2014 / 4 Comments

STEP 3: STYLE | 5 STEPS TO A CAPSULE WARDROBE

step 3 of 5 steps to a capsule wardrobe

WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?

You know what the third step means - we're halfway through! I'll keep it short and sweet today, and we'll talk a little about style.

*New here? Read about what is a capsule wardrobe and my reasons to start it here.
*Want to try it yourself? Start purging your wardrobe here, and read the first step here.

Style is a tricky thing, it changes all the time! But that's okay, with a capsule wardrobe you can change bits and pieces of it every 3 months. Your style should be appropriate for your lifestyle, obviously. You can't be exactly boho in a corporate lawyer uniform, right? 

Let's do a little exercise. Below are all the style adjectives I could think of (if I missed some, let me know in the comments and I'll add them). I've put together the ones that have a similar meaning, and organised them into dichotomies, more or less. Some of them repeat. 

I'd like you to read them and write down 2-5 that apply to you (your current style). Then read them again and write down 2-5 that you wish applied to you (what you'd like your style to be). You don't have to just focus on one column, you're welcome to pick contradicting styles. It can work!

Ready, set,go!style dichotomy, retro - modern, country - urban, simple, minimal - fancy, boho - preppy

This is my first group: romantic, boho, casual, clean
This is my second group: effortless, chic, minimal, neutral, playful

Now, pick two of each, according to what you want to be/look like this season. I'm picking two and two because my columns are almost equal - 4 in the first, 5 in the second. If yours look, say - 5 in the first and 2 in the second, you should pick three and one. If your style is pretty set and you're happy with it as is, then that's fine! Don't bother with the second column, take your four adjectives and continue working with them :-)

The ones I'm going for this season are underlined. I've got quite a few romantic pieces in my current wardrobe, that I think I have outgrown a little bit. So I'm leaving that behind. I'm also leaving casual out for the benefit of clean. That doesn't mean I'm going to start dressing fancy or anything, just that casual isn't one of the four main aspects for this capsule. Out of the second column I'm going to take effortless and neutral. I've been admiring the effortless look for some time, so I'm making it one of my priorities and let's see how it goes. 

I've always been inspired by neutral style, and I don't wear nearly as much colour as I think I do. Plus matching neutral pieces sounds like less effort than matching colour. (See what I did there?)
To round up, I want my autumn capsule to be: effortless, clean, boho, and neutral. 
What about you?

I am keeping these little adjectives in mind and will be using them for constructing my shopping list {coming in step 5!} I will know to steer clear of frills and too much pink and instead, look out for clean, flattering cuts. I think defining your style helps a lot in really getting an idea of what should be in your capsule. I'd love to hear what you discovered your style to be!

Tomorrow I'm talking about a huge topic - capsule colour palette!

4 comments:

  1. Hey, Kat! Thank you for your ideas and perspective. I have been following Caroline Joy, and love her inspiration, but your approach works so much better for me. You are my capsule wardrobe go-to gal!! I will begin my closet purge next week! Thank you for your visuals-love the charts and how you've calculated your number. I will continue to follow-merci beau coup!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh gosh Kelly, your comment has totally made my day! Thank you!
    I love Caroline's blog and her style but I kind of needed something a bit more in depth for the planning part, and when I couldn't find it, I thought I'd just make my own guide :-)
    Do let me know how you get on with everything!

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  3. A little late to chime in here, but I just discovered your blog. (Just discovered Un-Fancy a couple weeks ago.) I started purging my closet, but got a little stuck. So I, too, love the charts and step by step. I'm actually doing the "homework" as I read and am excited to actually make some progress and get my winter wardrobe set! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Jannie, your comment made me so happy! I keep meaning to design a step by step wardrobe planner of my own - dedicated to this kind of planning "homework". Should really get around to it. Really glad you're finding these posts useful and hope you'll have a great time with your winter wardrobe! (I know I am ;-) ) Let me know if you have any questions, of course. I'm here, on standby :) Have a great day!

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a few words. It always makes my day!

HELLO!

HELLO!

Hi, I'm Kat! A colourful wardrobe advocate and a capsule wardrobe graduate. Need any help finding your personal style and curating your closet? Advice on how to make most of the clothes you have? Or how to pack for an upcoming trip? I'm your girl!
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