If you read on my blog on minimalism, you will remember the term “capsule wardrobe“ being mentioned. Head on over there to learn what minimalism is all about if you aren’t familiar; but at the risk of being repetitive, here’s a brief example.

Minimalism is the art of deciding what belongings/people/clothing do not “spark joy“ or serve a purpose in your life, and once you’ve figure that out, you simply remove them, leaving room for only the things in life that bring you joy or serve a purpose. This looks different for everyone, and due to that, you are free to cultivate your own version. At the end, successful minimalism means you are only surrounded by things you love and serve a purpose. Joy = plants, loyal friends, cozy blankets. Useful = spatula, socks, bandaids (I really dug deep there for the most boring items I could). Fun fact, I hate socks and own zero pairs. Canadian winters? Still barefoot.

Getting off track…

Now, what even is a capsule wardrobe? It is a curated wardrobe filled with items of clothing you truly love, and actually wear, that can be interchangeable to mix and match many more outfits. It is a wardrobe filled with items that truly reflect your style and what you are most comfortable wearing.

Deciding your style is the first step. My personal style is very classic, neutral and simple. This made this process much easier as I didn’t have a closet filled with many different styles and colours because I already knew what I liked. Many people however, do not, and often buy what’s trending even if they don’t actually love it or suit it. This isn’t anything to be ashamed of, it’s extremely common.

My suggestion is to go through all your clothing and make 4 piles: items you love, items you don’t love, items that no longer fit, and items you may like but never wear. This will help you narrow down your wardrobe to items that truly reflect you in your real life. You may love a certain fancy dress but if you have only worn it once and can’t foresee an event in the near future to wear it again, it has to go. You may love an item but it no longer fits you; keep clothing for your current size only. Having clothing too small isn’t good for our mental health, it’s proven to make women (and men!) feel badly. It’s absolutely normal that you can’t fit into the jeans you wore when you were 20, or even last year. Bodies change based on our lifestyle and our lifestyles change! Be proud of your body right now. Minimalists do not hang onto items “just in case”; that is how clutter builds up and there is a direct corelation to physical clutter and mental clutter.

You do not need to prefer neutrals like me to create a capsule wardrobe; if your closet is filled with colour and that’s what you love, then keep it. Just take your time and remove any items that don’t reflect you and bring you joy.

I actually began my journey with minimalism with my closet and it was actually the hardest thing to declutter. Trust me, it is a long process and takes a few purges to get the courage to remove everything you don’t need anymore. It’s surprisingly emotional.

After about 4 purges, I had a closet containing only items I loved and were interchangeable, leaving me with many options. I know I’m beating a dead horse here (worst saying ever) but I’m purposely drilling it into your head because it’s really hard to do without some tough love.

The best and most surprising thing about the end result was that despite going from an over flowing closet to a clean, streamlined one, I never once had the feeling of “nothing to wear” that has plagued most women (and men) at some point, if not daily. The reason for this is that when we are presented with too many options, it becomes overwhelming, especially when many of those options didn’t reflect our current lifestyle/size/taste.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with your closet, I urge you to give this a try. I am sure you’ll feel amazing afterwards and truly great about your wardrobe.

I’d love to hear any feedback or tips and tricks you have for purging and curating a personalized wardrobe.

If you got this far, thanks for sticking around. Please share this if you feel it would be of any value to someone else.

Happy purging!

Simply, Jules
simplyjules.ca