The Capsule Wardrobe Concept + My New Post-Baby Body

I have been working my way through all of the old episodes of The Lively Show. I highly recommend it. Yesterday I listened to the episode featuring Caroline Rector of Unfancy - her minimalist fashion blog where she shares her approach to a capsule wardrobe and the resulting outfits. I am so inspired and am definitely going to give the capsule wardrobe concept a try!

Sunglasses|Urban Outfitters // Top|Target (old) // Necklace|Chewbeads // Jeans|American Eagle // Shoes|TOMS

WHAT IS A CAPSULE WARDROBE?

To quote Caroline, "Simple definition? It’s a mini wardrobe made up of really versatile pieces that you totally LOVE to wear. For Unfancy purposes, it’s a 37 piece wardrobe that includes tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, and shoes."

Each capsule wardrobe is for one season; every three months she swaps pieces out for a new seasonal wardrobe.

WHY AM I DOING IT?

I recently had my own accidental capsule wardrobe experience during my pregnancy. I purchased a limited number of maternity pieces because I just couldn't justify spending a bunch of money on pieces I would only wear for six months. In addition, we lived in my husband's parents' basement for several months during our transition from TN to NC and my wardrobe consisted of what I could fit into a couple of suitcases. The combination of these two factors forced me to keep things super simple.

I loved it. I made very intentional purchases knowing that I wouldn't be buying many maternity pieces. Before I bought an item I made sure that I loved it and was pumped to wear it frequently. The resulting small wardrobe made getting dressed so easy and I almost always loved my outfits because they were always comprised of pieces I really really liked.

WHY IT IS GOING TO WORK FOR ME:

I  still have about 20 pounds to go before I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so I still can't wear the majority of items in my closet. This means that I already have a bit of a post-baby capsule wardrobe going on, but have to select my current pieces from among all my pre-baby pieces that I like but are too small for me at the moment. Every once in a while I optimistically attempt to wear a favorite pre-baby piece, and every time I dejectedly hang it back up.  It's not super great for my already delicate body image.

I am going to box up all of the pieces that are too small for me at the moment which will allow me to focus on dressing in a way that flatters my current body.

MY SPRING CAPSULE WARDROBE PLAN OF ATTACK:

I am a little behind on my spring capsule wardrobe (for April - June) since I just decided to do this yesterday but whatevs, I'll make it work.

I'm going to follow Caroline's rules:

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Her criteria:

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And her rule of three for adding variety:

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I really like Caroline's style and it is surprisingly similar to mine - classic neutrals with fun accessories to add interest. I am really digging her spring 2015 capsule wardrobe.

I am so excited about this new approach to my closet! I have been struggling a bit to dress this new post-baby body of mine. This is really going to help me focus on what I can wear versus all the pieces I can't.