10 Reasons to Forget the Capsule Wardrobe
Paring down to a personal uniform may be trendy, but what if you want to wear that paisley jacket someday?
Laura Gaskill
April 14, 2017
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
With its tightly edited collection of clothes that all work together, a capsule wardrobe offers a lot to love. But just because capsule wardrobes are the rage now doesn’t make them right for everyone. Here are 10 reasons you may prefer to ignore the trend to pare down, and embrace your whole (hopefully not too) messy wardrobe instead.
1. You have the luxury of space. A tiny closet can be a great motivator to pare back a wardrobe, but if you have a lovely walk-in closet, use it. That doesn’t mean you need to pack it to the gills, but having a host of great wardrobe options neatly arranged is a wonderful luxury that can certainly make getting dressed more of a pleasure.
2. You’re tired of your clothes wearing out so quickly. One little-spoken truth of having a capsule wardrobe is that with fewer clothes, the wear and tear also increase — meaning, clothes in a capsule don’t last as long.
Even if you are generally a fan of paring down, rounding out your wardrobe with a few extra pieces (or even duplicates of your favorites) can help prevent premature wardrobe fatigue.
How to Make Your Clothes Last Longer
Even if you are generally a fan of paring down, rounding out your wardrobe with a few extra pieces (or even duplicates of your favorites) can help prevent premature wardrobe fatigue.
How to Make Your Clothes Last Longer
3. Your work requires completely different clothes than you wear during downtime. When your work requires formal business attire and your preferred weekend wardrobe is more jeans and a T-shirt, it’s natural to have more clothes.
4. You like lots of options. For some folks, the limited choice in a capsule simplifies life and feels freeing. For others, not so much. If you are more of a maximalist than a minimalist at heart, you may feel more comfortable with a range of options to suit your every mood.
4. You like lots of options. For some folks, the limited choice in a capsule simplifies life and feels freeing. For others, not so much. If you are more of a maximalist than a minimalist at heart, you may feel more comfortable with a range of options to suit your every mood.
5. Your weight fluctuates. Whether it’s because of pregnancies and nursing, health issues or just normal changes in your size and shape, if you don’t always fit into the same size clothing, keeping a single capsule wardrobe can seem impossible. Instead of fighting it, why not roll with it? Bring clothes that currently fit front and center, and move the items that you’re not wearing toward the back; repeat as needed.
6. You live in an area with big seasonal changes. From light-as-air sundresses for sticky summer days to heavy winter coats and boots, you probably need more options than a typical capsule wardrobe has if your area gets all four seasons in full effect. You can still have a capsule collection for each season, but bear in mind that during seasonal transitions (for instance, winter to spring), you’ll need to have clothes at the ready to fit the unpredictable weather.
7. Your schedule includes formal events. Formal attire is usually treated as an extra in capsule wardrobes — but what if your work or lifestyle includes lots of fancy events? If you regularly have big nights out, whether for work or play, you may want to allow yourself some capsule wardrobe wiggle room.
8. You are a style chameleon. Some stylish folks love having a signature look that is their “uniform” — while others revel in the chance to try on different style personalities regularly. If you count yourself in the latter camp, living with a capsule wardrobe will probably feel more stifling than simplifying.
8. You are a style chameleon. Some stylish folks love having a signature look that is their “uniform” — while others revel in the chance to try on different style personalities regularly. If you count yourself in the latter camp, living with a capsule wardrobe will probably feel more stifling than simplifying.
9. Fashion is your passion. If keeping up with the latest and greatest in the fashion world is your passion, who’s to tell you to rein it in? Go ahead and indulge your love of great style by regularly tweaking your wardrobe; just be sure to respect the overall limits of your budget and space, and sell less-loved pieces to a consignment shop when you need to make more room.
10. You’re a rebel. Everybody else is doing it, so why should you? If you march to the beat of your own drummer in other areas of life, there’s no reason to stop with your wardrobe.
Tell us: Would you try (or have you tried) a capsule wardrobe? Why or why not? Let us know in the Comments.
Flip side: How to Declutter and Create a Capsule Wardrobe
Tell us: Would you try (or have you tried) a capsule wardrobe? Why or why not? Let us know in the Comments.
Flip side: How to Declutter and Create a Capsule Wardrobe
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I personally like many different styles, colors, even quality of clothing, hats and scarves, shoes, among other things. For years I tried to fit myself into the minimum clothing concept, but it is just too much fun mixing and matching all my styles, colors and types of clothing. I love it! Great article!
This article made me smile at the ironies of life. Until recently I've always had small reach-in closets that had to accommodate leisure and business outfits and accessories for work, in various sizes for weight fluctuations (skinny to chunky and back again constantly, sigh), gowns and cocktail dresses for a lot of very formal events, and clothing to accommodate four extremes of seasons. It hasn't been easy! I tried to manage it by only having enough hangers that would fit on the rod and then always giving away or throwing away something old to make room for something new. Even so, a lot of items were stored in suitcases until needed, but the suitcases also had to be stored in the closet!
Now I've just retired, live in year-round sunshine, and don't wear anything but swimsuits, shorts, tank tops and the occasional lightweight dress. So, guess what.....NOW I have a large, fitted walk-in closet attached to a large dressing room with a vanity and upholstered seating! Oh well, I enjoy looking at the gowns, high-heel shoes, and fancy purses which are finally display beautifully in all that space. But I gave away every piece of business attire except a black suit for funerals and a cream one for weddings. Thinking ahead, LOL.
Nice