Ever tried to make a capsule wardrobe only to get overwhelmed and then give up? Or maybe you’ve successfully designed a capsule wardrobe, but it doesn’t actually work in real life?
Here’s the secret: Instead of trying to fit your style into one strict set of clothes, try building small, focused capsules for each main activity or setting in your week. With a limited set of clothes for specific activities, dressing in the morning is so easy. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Choose Your Color Palette
While many capsules call for black, white, beige, and denim, you don’t have to stay in that classic zone! Choosing a limited number of your favorite neutrals and accent colors—whether “classic” or not—ensures you’ll have lots of mix-and-match options and alway look put together.
Here’s a guideline for roughly how many colors you’ll need:
- 12 pieces: 2 neutrals and 1 accent color
- 24 pieces: 3 neutrals and 2 accent colors
- 36 pieces: 3 neutrals and 3-4 accent colors
Step 2: Determine Which Capsule(s) You Need
A lot of capsules you find online assume that you’re a girl with an office job, often including slacks and button-downs. But what if you’re a stay at home mom, and the business casual look isn’t practical? Or what if you’re only in the office one day a week, so your business wear doesn’t really need to fit in a capsule with all of your casual clothes?
Enter mini capsules: Groups of coordinating clothing items all appropriate for just one aspect of your lifestyle. In this system, you can have multiple capsules, each one for a different part of your life. All the items within one capsule should coordinate, but the items across capsules don’t necessarily have to.
In this blog, we’re including four capsule checklists to get you started.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF
Capsule 1: At-Home Comfort
For days with the kids, light chores, lounging, and quick trips to the park. You want washable, durable items that are cozy and cute-but-not-sloppy.
Core Pieces (10–12):
- 3 comfy tops (neutral, pattern, graphic)
- 2 pull-on pants or joggers
- 1 pair of jeans you can move in
- 1 cardigan or oversized sweatshirt
- 1 comfy dress (tank or t-shirt style)
- 2 pairs of shoes (sneakers, house shoes/slides)
- 2 functional accessories (claw clip, simple tote)
Capsule 2: Work
For office days, meetings, professional errands, church. You’re looking for polished pieces that easily feel put-together.
Core Pieces (10–12):
- 2 trousers or elevated jeans
- 2 blouses or nice tops
- 1 blazer or structured jacket
- 1 midi dress
- 1 nice cardigan
- 2 pairs of shoes (flats, ankle boots or low heels)
- 1 structured bag
- 1 “look put-together fast” accessory (earrings, scarf)
Capsule 3: Out-and-About
For errands, shopping, lunch with a friend, every day cute. These pieces should make you feel relaxed, cool, and coordinated.
Core Pieces (10–12):
- 2 casual dresses or rompers
- 2 relaxed blouses
- 2 stylish but comfy bottoms (wide-leg pants, skort)
- 1 denim jacket or shacket
- 2 pairs of shoes (white sneakers, sandals)
- 1 crossbody bag or belt bag
- 2 accessories (baseball cap, sunglasses)
If you don’t dress differently for different areas of your life but you want more than 12 items to choose from, combine the relevant capsules and delete the checklist items that overlap. That will give you a more versatile capsule that covers more- and less-formal situations, and all the pieces will still coordinate.
Step 3: Evaluate What You Have and Fill In the Gaps
Now it’s time to shop your closet! Lay out the clothes that fit the checklist on your bed, or use a closet tracking app like Whering so you can do the process digitally. Then see what you notice!
Maybe you have every item, but they aren’t in coordinating colors. Or maybe you’re missing one or two items that could make your closet so versatile. In either case—we can help. Download the checklists here.
Shop the Mae collection now, or if you find a boutique item that would fit your capsule perfectly, send us the link and we’ll see if we can get it for a better price for you! Let’s build a better wardrobe together. Use code capsule10 to get 10% off all in-stock and sale items.