Posted on July 19 2023
People are often seen complaining about too many clothes in their wardrobe, albeit none to wear. If you are someone in this vicious cycle of investing in clothes throughout the year, yet having none to wear for a special occasion, a get-together, an outing, or for routine office work, then you have headed to the right place. We are here to discuss the essentials of a capsule wardrobe for summer and give tips to elevate personal style while maintaining sustainability. Our discussion is not limited to the summer season alone, and you can freely use these styling tips across seasons and fashion genres.
Let us get started on this aesthetic journey right away!
What is a capsule wardrobe?
Like many other terms going viral on social media platforms, capsule wardrobe would have lured your attention multiple times. Celebrities and fashion bloggers love to use this term and want everybody to adopt this wardrobe to solve fashion and lifestyle problems in a jiffy.
A capsule wardrobe is a compact wardrobe with multi–functional, classic, and versatile pieces of apparel and limited accessories that look put up seamlessly. The key to creating a capsule wardrobe is to ensure that the clothes can be interchanged, mixed, and matched and help create multiple outfits that can be worn throughout the year. While choosing clothes, for curating a capsule wardrobe, we must ensure we pick timeless styles, material that is not seasonal, and quality that endures the tryst of chemical washes and endless machine tumbles. This wardrobe also helps the world know your personal style and helps save time by not running in circles in the dungeons of not knowing what to wear.
Steps to Create a capsule wardrobe
Your summer fashion staples must reflect your style, suitable colours, comfortable material, and more which we have listed below.
Identifying a personal style and elevating it
The first step is to identify your personal style. The key is to know which styles you feel most comfortable and confident in, which shapes flatter your body type, what resonates with you amongst casual, classic, or eclectic, and your daily lifestyle if it revolves around work, leisure, public interaction, and more.
Choosing the apt colours and materials
Neutral base colours like navy blue, white, black, grey, and beige must be a prominent part of your wardrobe for the summer season and other seasons. These colors blend seamlessly with accent colors, prints, and patterns. Accent colours must compliment your skin undertones ranging from coo (emerald green, sapphire blue, bright pinks, magentas), warm (olive green, burnt orange, ruby red, peachy shades), and neutral (Soft pastels, Rich jewel tones, Warm earthy tones). Opt for organic materials like cotton, wool and silk that are timeless and comfortable across seasons.
The rule of 123 module
The golden rule of dressing per capsule wardrobe says you need 1 outerwear like a jacket, shrug, or coat, two pairs of bottoms like jeans, skirts, and trousers, and 3 sets of top-wears to create 1 capsule. This combination will help you get 12 distinct outfits to match your needs for different occasions and places. As magical as it sounds, it is absolutely tempting for fashion-forwards to create their own capsules. The idea is to pair each set of clothing with the other in unique ways and create 12 outfits with this combination.
Summer essentials for a couture perfect summer capsule wardrobe
Now that we know of the golden rule to use distinct elements of fashion apparel and create unique combinations, here are 8 types of clothings that would seamlessly sync with your summer wardrobe and fit into the outerwear, bottoms, and top-wear categories. A pair of denim in white or blue colour, midi or maxi dresses, a linen shirt, a basic blazer in white, black, or tan colour (in light material for the season), and tank tops or t-shirts depending on your comfort level.
We cannot skip the accessories now, and for that, you can choose from a pair of white sneakers, strappy sandals, flats, or shoes as footwear and a classic or smartwatch, bracelet, sunglasses, and clutch or tote bags.
The above suit a summer wardrobe perfectly, and for other seasons try adding some heavier materials, cardigans, rain boots, etc. to complete the look.
How to work around sustainability
The last part of our discussion is one of the most prominent concerns of the world at large. The world is gearing towards a sustainable environment, carbon neutrality, and a greener existence. Your wardrobe contributes majorly to the world’s carbon footprints. Statistically, fast fashion contributes to about 10% of the global carbon emissions which is an alarming figure and is caused by unsustainable means of textile production, discarding clothes, not using the concept of recycling, and shying away from pre-loved products. By becoming a conscious shopper with a sustainable wardrobe, we can contribute massively towards environmental conservation. Recycling garments( altering a pair of jeans into a small tote bag), repairing them instead of discarding them, and using sustainable materials, as discussed before, are small steps to help sustain the planet.
A simple, profound advice that might help is “wear clothes that make you happy”. Isn't it great to think that way? A minimalist and functional wardrobe with everything you need, is your asset, helps save time and the environment, is artistically created, and looks appealing is not a distant dream anymore. Your clothes take up a considerable part of your life, define your personality, represent you, and can make or mar your appearance, not to mention your pocket. Hope this write-up helps you to organise this small part of your life, and once you stick to this, the rest shall follow!