So I finally challenged myself to create a capsule that was for the way I really live my life. I've done them before for week-end trips, week-long trips, but never for just day-to-day life. I am so excited about this capsule because once the weather turns I won't spend an hour in front of my closet wondering what to wear every morning.
Creating a capsule is not the easiest thing in the world to do. So why do it? This is what I wrote on Shannon's post and I don't believe there is a better way to sum up the way I feel about it, "Creating a capsule is akin to having the space and time to set your closet up like your favorite store with everything in its place and a place for everything. You can just grab what you like and go". It's SO satisfying!
I wish I could tell you that the creative process itself is satisfying. NOT! The entire process took 6 hours and at times messy and frustrating. My inspiration was a pair of mauve khakis that I love but rarely wear because the color is hard for me to work with. Ultimately I did not use them in this capsule but they did set tone for the tops I picked, which did not change through out the process.
My first mistake was choosing all solid tops. Although the tops were different styles the colors were the same tones as the bottoms -- no pop. This meant I had to work hard accessorizing to make the outfit pop to my satisfaction (I love contrast). So back to the drawing board I went looking for higher-contrast printed tops. I really wanted outfits that didn't rely heavily on accessories because the best capsules seemed to be able to stand on the integrity of how the pieces were mixed and matched. Excessive accessorizing seemed like cheating.
Other than the solid top mishap I had no trouble following Angie's guidelines to create at least 30 different outfits.
I feel so silly saying this but I am so proud that I was able to put together a capsule that is polished enough to go to work (which I am sure will be coming soon!), sassy enough for date night, and casual enough for Saturday errands. I managed to use pieces that I loved but were not being worn enough. It fulfills my goal from January of integrating my "work" wardobe and my "off-duty" wardrobe into a cohesive style that represents my evolving aesthetic in every area of my life. I really believe everyone should do this for themselves at least once.
I've posted a few of my favorites. I had to leave my head and face out of it because my hair and face were a complete mess from my efforts. Plus you really only want to see the outfits ;-)
