SPRING WARDROBE WRAP UP: HEROES + ZEROES

It's officially summer in less than two weeks, which means it's time for a wardrobe switch. Woo!
The end of a capsule wardrobe is like an end of a small era, right? It's an exciting time, because the new season's coming, but also a bit of a quiet time - when we reflect and evaluate. I love analysing my past capsules - that's where I learn most of the important wardrobe (and sometimes life) lessons.
And of course, I better talk about it here on the blog!

I'm dividing my spring wrap up into two posts - this one is, as the picture's probably given away already - about the items I've worn the most and the least and the reasons why. The second post this weekend will be about the actual lessons I've learned and a full on wrap up. So let's dive right in.

My most/least worn items, or wardrobe heroes & zeroes as I began to call them, is the first thing I like to go over at the end of a capsule. It is so helpful to actually sit down and think about (in my case, write about) which pieces of clothing were a hit and which were a miss for that particular season. It is literally an illustration of what I've done well and what I need to improve on for next time, next time being the summer capsule as well as the next year's spring capsule. This picture will become my reference point that I can consult before making clothing decisions in the future. I really recommend doing this with your own wardrobe too, whether it's a capsule wardrobe or not. It will give you a better understanding and a realistic picture of your clothing habits. + it's fun to see what you wear and what you don't - and often there are surprises! (More on that in a little while.)

I've definitely had quite a few wardrobe heroes this spring. I could have easily included my denim dress as well as my troopa boots into the graphic. Those two were on high rotation, closely followed by my favourite LBD. But in the end it's the four items up there that I've worn the most times.

The long camel cardigan: rolled over from winter wardrobe, I'd originally thought it'd be too warm for spring. Boy, was I wrong! I only had two jackets for spring in the end, a leather jacket and a denim jacket, so this thick cardi saved me from cold days. I wore it instead of a coat (and it does look a bit like one), often with a scarf and boots or trainers. It went over all black or dark outfits to lighten them up, as well as over my light tops - I love the combination of camel beige and off white. And, of course, over my dresses, because they look best with open front layers. Now onto the difficult choice of putting or not putting this cardi in the summer capsule - because one season's hero can easily become another season's zero. Wow, that's possibly the cheesiest sentence I've ever written.

The high-waisted jeans: I've been wearing these jeans so much since I got them. The fit just seems to work for me. They're from GAP and I have another pair of black GAP jeans that don't fit nearly as well. (These are the resolution true skinny high-rise jeans and the not as well fitting ones are the legging jeans, if anybody's wondering.) If I'm wearing jeans, these are my first choice.

The jean jacket: Oh yes, an item I'd been pining after for some time will obviously be on the hero list. Instant style points. In fact, I've been so tempted to wear this jacket over most of my outfits and had to stop myself from doing so. The H&M jacket is a much better fit than the Topshop one, speaking from experience, and the colour is just what I wanted.

The trainers: I really wanted a pair of cool fashionable trainers/sneakers and I'm glad I got these. After deciding to give my vans hi-tops a rest for a season, the new balance kicks became my go to. Surprisingly, and I really mean that, it didn't take me a long time to decide on a colour combination (I normally, agonise about this for days). I could easily go for another pair.

That's my four heroes. Three words to describe them: versatile, well-fitting, wearable.
Onto the zeroes, then! (Quick grammar pit stop: I looked up the spelling of the plural of zero. Both "zeros" and "zeroes" are acceptable, the former being a bit more popular.)

The contrast collar top: I love this beautiful top (sidenote: the one pictured is just a similar item, the top I have is a lot prettier). It's been with me for years and I still haven't got bored of it. Like the picture says: a beautiful top that just didn't get worn. I think it's because I needed a break from black tops. I had a lot of them in my winter wardrobe and for spring I wanted my outfits to be brighter. And because I don't like wearing light coloured trousers, it was up to the tops to compensate. I'm definitely not including it in my summer wardrobe, but come autumn, it goes back into the rotation.

The blue knit top: I have a confession to make: this top was a wardrobe filler. I told myself time and again not to include wardrobe fillers, but the truth is, I really just didn't have any other suitable top for spring. It's a nice piece, but there's just something about it that isn't right. Maybe it's too short, I can't figure it out. Anyway, I'm keeping it in my lounge wardrobe for now.

The colourful cardigan: When I put this cardigan in, I knew it wouldn't get a ton of wear. It's really "out there," with loads of pattern and not a 100% fit. And I put it in anyway. Why, you ask? Well, I wanted something playful. Something to cater to funky moods and colourful times. Granted, those times don't come around all that often, but it was nice to have this cardigan to mix things up when they did.

The raglan sweater: This is such a pretty sweater and I loved it as soon as I saw it on Madewell's site last year. It's already a loose cut and I let American sizing baffle me and ended up ordering it in a size too large. + the same thing I said about the collared top applies to it. Great sweater, not for spring. The verdict is: in need of some alterations before it can be worn again.

Three words to describe my zeroes: ill-fitting, not-quite-right, not-for-now.
Just to clarify, the zeroes didn't literally get zero wear, apart from the varsity sweater.

And that.is.it. I hope I haven't exhausted you with my "brief" zero/hero analysis. I just love this topic. What are your spring heroes and zeroes? Or better yet, what do you think you summer heroes will be? In need of some fresh inspiration :)

Have a great rest of the week and I'll see you this weekend with lessons learnt + a big capsule wardrobe update.