I’ve been at it again! Shopping my closet but in a slightly different way than I did with my 365 Days Shop My Closet Challenge (read HERE). This time there’s no devastating reason that’s prompted me to do this unlike my first go around due to an unexpected divorce and spending all my money on shopping to numb out the pain. This time it’s all POSITIVE for savvy reasons. Whew!
I’m doing this “seasonal” version to show you and my clients how to shop smart prior to each season and curate a stylish, wearable capsule collection that will make dressing on a daily basis much easier for you. Sound good? A few of my clients are already doing this and it’s amazing to see what types of outfits they’ve come up with. It’s also great to hear their feedback on how the stress of dressing has been lifted.
We are mid-season into Fall, and although I haven’t blogged about this new challenge until now, I’ve ONLY been wearing items from my fall capsule collection since the beginning of October. I pulled pieces out of my own wardrobe with a few new additions I purchased prior to the season and used a rolling rack to keep the collection all in one space.
Here’s the challenge breakdown:
- Curate a capsule collection of 40-50 items you own and a few NEW pieces you want to add to your seasonal wardrobe. This includes standard clothing (tops, bottoms, dresses), outerwear (jackets, coats) and shoes.
- Excluded from this challenge are accessories (jewelry, belts, scarves, hats, gloves, purses), workout wear, PJ’s, undergarments, socks/stockings, special occasion outfits and travel wear.
- Stake out a side of your closet you want to use or use your whole closet (if you have space to move other pieces that you won’t be using into another part of your living space) or invest in a rolling rack.
- Take 30-45 minutes to go through your closet and pull out pieces you know you’ll wear for sure during that season. Remember each season is 3 months. If you spend more than 45 minutes on this process, you’ll get overwhelmed and exhausted, we don’t want that!
- Don’t count your items until you pull everything you “think” you’ll need. Remember to include shoes and outerwear.
- After pulling your seasonal capsule collection, do a count. Are you between 40-50 pieces? If you’re OVER, a good way to decide what to “keep” is to ask yourself, “Can I create at least three different outfits from this one piece?”
- If you see that you “need” something to make this collection more wearable, that’s the time to make a shopping list. Remember, try to stick between 40-50 pieces, including outerwear and shoes.
- Don’t FORGET that you can get creative with accessories.
- Don’t get hung up on having to create a “new” look everyday for 3 months. That’s great if you want to but you can put some outfits on repeat. I do.
You can start this challenge now even though we are in the middle of Fall. We still have another 1 1/2 months left until the first day of winter on Dec. 22nd.
Thank you, Maria. Great ideas and I will be using them. I really appreciate your thoughtful response to my questions….thanks, again!
Hi doll, thanks for the great questions! I might use a few for my next YouTube video. Your 1st question is about separating Fall from Winter. I wouldn’t pack up all your Fall pieces, keep a few as “transitional” pieces, especially if they’re staple pieces that can be worn with many other things. DO have fun with Winter and add some new items. Think “wintery” like cable knit and cashmere sweaters, long sleeve cotton turtlenecks, heavier fabrics like wools, tweeds – maybe in an interesting shape that’s on trend for the season or pattern. This leads into your 2nd question, I suggest adding a couple of new accessories and 1-3 new pieces of clothing. Hats, scarves, jewelry, bags, etc. For your Winter wardrobe go with a couple of fun trend items for “style” power -OR- statement accessories that have wow factor. Keep your dark denim and white skinny jeans, they’ll be back. All the colored, different fades, waxed, prints, etc. toss. I hope that answers your questions! xo, Maria
Hi doll, thanks for the great questions! I might use a few for my next YouTube video. Your 1st question is about separating Fall from Winter. I wouldn’t pack up all your Fall pieces, keep a few as “transitional” pieces, especially if they’re staple pieces that can be worn with many other things. DO have fun with Winter and add some new items. Think “wintery” like cable knit and cashmere sweaters, long sleeve cotton turtlenecks, heavier fabrics like wools, tweeds – maybe in an interesting shape that’s on trend for the season or pattern. This leads into your 2nd question, I suggest adding a couple of new accessories and 1-3 new pieces of clothing. Hats, scarves, jewelry, bags, etc. For your Winter wardrobe go with a couple of fun trend items for “style” power -OR- statement accessories that have wow factor. Keep your dark denim and white skinny jeans, they’ll be back. All the colored, different fades, waxed, prints, etc. toss. I hope that answers your questions! xo, Maria
I love this article, but I have a couple of questions First, I have a large ‘artinista’ wardrobe that I prune and then refresh with a few new pieces every Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. I noticed that the seasonal Shop-My-Closet is for Fall. I live in Chicago and I have found it easier to keep Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer together due to fluctuating and unpredictable weather patterns. I use color coded, air tight, clear tub systems for storing sweaters and cropped wool jackets. Also, zip-lock freezer bags on stacked hangers for some skirts (my steamer is nearby for releasing wrinkles in clothing). I am not sure how to separate Fall from Winter and I was wondering how you did that? Secondly, I only want to add a few new pieces each season in order to give my much loved pieces more versatility. I use a StyleBook app to keep my wardrobe at my fingertips, but I am trying to figure out how to determine the best pieces for each season and where I would get the most bang-for-my-buck. I want to keep shopping limited, so is it a piece of chunky/architectural jewelry/ (Monies for example), or a pair of killer shoes….a jacket…vest?) I guess I was wondering what type of pieces have more style power? Or, is there a major shift (I noticed skinny jeans have been a bit pushed aside by wide legs)..which is big that I should be looking to update? What should I do with all the skinny jeans?