It’s officially Fall! ? I have some upcoming travel planned and it inspired me to create a capsule wardrobe specifically for fall! It was so much fun to create and I am excited to share it with you. If you’re not familiar with what a “capsule” wardrobe is – – it is a collection of clothing pieces that are classic and timeless that come together to make several outfits. The best capsule wardrobes can easily adjust to the season, don’t include the latest trends or fads and provide enough options so that it doesn’t become boring.
The capsule wardrobe I’ve created here is far from perfect; however, it has the essentials plus a few things I love. Not only that, but I worked hard to find pieces that were a mix of bargain and investment pieces that are of good quality so they’ll stand the test of time (and wear).
I will note, here, that this post is NOT sponsored and at this time, does not contain any affiliate links. All of these pieces were 100% selected by me and paid for with my own money. All opinions are my own and are always truthful and genuine regardless of sponsorship, referral links and/or affiliation.
My capsule includes 15 pieces: 5 blouses, 4 bottoms, 3 layers and 3 pairs of shoes. With those pieces, that’s over 200+ outfit combinations! (If you’re wondering how I know that – – you simply multiply 5 x 4 x 4 (add 1 “no layer” option) x 3 = 240).
T H E C A P S U L E
Blouses:
- Solid Tee = Perfect Sleeve Boat-Neck Tee in Forest Night from Lane Bryant
- Blouse = Flutter Sleeve Tee in Small Capetown Dot from Lane Bryant
- Sweater = Scallop Hem Tunic Pullover Sweater in Light Heather Gray by Elle from Kohls
- White Button-Down = Girlfriend Shirt in White from Lane Bryant
- Striped Short-Sleeved Sweater = Textured Short Sleeve Sweater in Black with white stripes from Lane Bryant
Bottoms:
- Midi Skirt = Printed Scuba Midi Pencil Skirt in Tropical Print (pattern no longer available) from Lane Bryant
- Color Pants = Power Pockets Allie Sexy Stretch Ankle Pant in Dusty Rose from Lane Bryant
- Black Pants = Allie Sexy Stretch Straight Leg Pant in Black from Lane Bryant
- Jeans = Marissa Skinny Jean (exact style not available) by Warp + Weft from Stitch Fix
Layers:
- Cardigan = Bethanie Jersey Cardigan in Black (color not currently available) by Foxcroft from Trunk Club
- Military Jacket = Green military jacket by Torrid from Thred Up
- Long Coat = Wrap Ruana in Oatmeal Heather from Lane Bryant
Shoes:
- Neutral Flats = Carson loafers in Buff Leather by Kate Spade from Zappos.com
- Sneakers = Avalon athletic shoes in Black Pearlized by Toms from Zappos.com
- Black Heels = Pastoral Suede Wedge by T Tahari from Stitch Fix
WHERE TO START
Step one in creating my capsule wardrobe was to identify the number and type of pieces. In other words, how many blouses and what types did I want in my capsule? I started off simple: deciding on a solid color tee, a pair of jeans, and a white button-down shirt. Given that it was a fall capsule, I knew I would need layers – – so, a black cardigan. Simple.
And I just expanded from there! I researched others’ capsule wardrobes and incorporated what worked for me. For example, many others chose a pair of black high heels. For me, I prefer styles that are easier on my feet so I went for a piece that was already in my closet – – my black suede wedges.
Another thing important to me was incorporating color! I decided that a pair of nice pants could add a pop of color. Pink or rose wasn’t exactly what I was looking for at the time, I simply found it along the way.
SOURCING MY PIECES
The best place to source for your capsule wardrobe is actually YOUR OWN CLOSET! Crazy, but true. Once I identified the building blocks, I went looking for them among what I already owned.
I already shared that I selected my black suede wedges that I owned previously. I also selected my favorite pair of jeans and favorite pair of black dress pants. I also already owned the black cardigan – – several that would fit the bill, if I’m honest. Haha.
Although I did own some of the other items, like the solid color tee, I wanted one that fit well and in a fall color. I also needed a good white button-down shirt. Again, one that fit well that was specifically made for a curvy girl. So, the search was on…
You will note that I chose MANY of my pieces from Lane Bryant! They were the first place that came to mind for my curvy girl figure. And lately, I have been incredibly impressed with Lane Bryant’s brand – – the quality and styles they have been producing recently rival what I have seen even from high end brands. Let’s just say – I am here for it! On top of which, Lane Bryant has run some incredible deals lately which is much welcomed!
You will also note that I utilized a couple of clothing subscription services for my finds (Stitch Fix and Trunk Club by Nordstrom). In my opinion, this is the BEST thing about clothing subscription services – – being able to request a specific item you are on the hunt for and in return, getting a quality piece that fits you! Perfection. I will say, however, that I did not have such a great experience with Trunk Club – – maybe more on my reaction to that in a future post.
I also hit up some of my tried and true favorite online retailers Zappos.com, Kohl’s and Thred Up, an online consignment shop for some of these finds as well.
C R E A T I N G O U T F I T S
As I mentioned above, with just 15 pieces (and taking into consideration that you don’t need a “layer” with every outfit), this capsule started off with 240 outfit combinations. Being the total geek that I am, I started by putting all of the combinations on a Google Sheet (Google’s version of Microsoft Excel) with a column for each category (blouses, bottoms, layers and shoes). I then furiously copied and pasted rows showing every single outfit possibility. I then added columns for ‘Outfit Type’ (casual, business casual, dress-down, etc) and ‘Does it Coordinate?’.
Based on my personal preference, I did eliminate about 24 combinations that I didn’t think worked well with one another. Specifically, I did not care for the ‘Striped Sweater’ or ‘Polka-Dot blouse’ with the ‘Midi skirt’ – – the mix was too busy for me. That left me with 216 usable outfits! For a girl who constantly stares into her closet and says she has “nothing to wear”, that was incredible!
After that, I wanted to further curate a collection of outfits that I thought might benefit someone who would be traveling during the fall months so I whittled it down to 31 outfits that are my favorite. This also happened to coincide nicely with the number of calendar days in October.
So that’s it! My fall capsule wardrobe! I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out my related YouTube video to see all 31 of my favorite outfits from this capsule!
Xoxo,
Y O U R T H O U G H T S
Have you ever tried to create a capsule wardrobe? What are your favorite pieces to include in a capsule? We love hearing your feedback – – and we and our readers may even find a new capsule wardrobe idea – – so please share your thoughts below in the comments!