After my daughter was born, it wasn’t long before I became an accidental stay at home mom. I eventually transitioned into a work from home mom, juggling growing an interior design business with raising a whole new human.

One of the welcome changes to this new lifestyle was no longer having to prioritize my wardrobe. While I still made a point to get up and get dressed on most days, it was nothing like having to get up and go outside every day. Living in NYC, going to work, there was a level of expectation that I no longer had to think about -- no one was checking for me but the other two people in my house. Needless to say, because I was seldom going out, I didn’t invest to much time into shopping for “outside clothes” until I needed to go outside.

Fast forward nearly four years, and what was a welcome reprieve became a new source of anxiety…

what the hell do I wear to work?!

When I decided to put down entrepreneurship and “go back to work” I was hit with the sad reality of my wardrobe. I will say that because this was shortly after doing a massive purge, I was very aware of what I did and did not have in my closet. I’d done a few small shopping hauls for specific occasions so I knew exactly how everything fit and what they could be paired with, but there were still a lot of holes to plug in if I wanted a complete wardrobe for going to work multiple times a week.

Enter my wardrobe capsule.

While I’d heard the term tossed around a few times, and was intrigued, I’d never really put any thought into creating one for myself...till now. I didn’t want to fund a brand new wardrobe that I’d toss and replace again. I didn’t want to buy things on a whim. I didn’t want to replace the things that I clearly kept for a reason. I just wanted a complete assortment. Also mindful of changes my body would be going through, I knew I had to be intentional and creating a capsule would be the best way to go about that.

Take Inventory

As I said, I had a pretty clear idea of what was in my closet because I had gone through a period of just wanting to see less stuff in the house. I went through the entire house, pulling out things to sell, donate, and/or trash. After taking out and trying on my entire wardrobe, I listed items on Poshmark, brought things to the Good Will, and tossed what just needed to be tossed (which thankfully wasn’t very much). In doing this, I had a very clear inventory of what I owned (and what I wish I owned).

Pare Down

Although I had already done a massive purging, I went back in for another pare down because that purge was to create space — there was no thought of wardrobe building at that point. Going back in to pare things down was with the explicit intent of getting my closet down to what I knew would align with my new lifestyle as a working mom, now working outside of the home. Regardless of where I’d be working, I knew what I would be wearing and I needed the foundation for this transition to be super solid.

Window Shop

While you might think this is my favorite part (because I do love shopping) this was actually the hardest part for me because I wouldn’t actually be shopping so it required a lot of restraint. This part was so that I could get a clear understanding of what was out there for me so that I could make sound decisions on what to buy over time and slowly integrate em into the capsule I’d be building. This wasn’t about finding all the neutrals or a bunch of expensive “investment” pieces — as nice as it sounds, none of that is me. I just wanted to create something that would eliminate that “I have nothing to wear” angst while staring at a very full closet.

Create Looks

Now, this is my favorite part because this is where I would start to make wardrobe combinations. Using all the items I window shopped and stored in my wishlists, I started to create the combinations I’d envisioned with those items — why do I want that top/pant/sweater/shoe in the first place? I created “mood boards” for the look combinations I was visualizing so I could also see how the colors looked together because what my pare down also revealed was that I had a bit of color threading going on with very specific hues.

I created two mood boards — one for work and one for everyday, aka those rare occasions I would be out but not for work.

I included pieces I owned to see how they paired up with the pieces I wanted to buy, as well as the prices of those items so I could plan a budget. Although a very bare bones simulation, I quickly realized that I actually owned quite a few pieces (hello inventory!) that would more than do the job of the pieces I wanted to buy (I clearly of a type). Before I knew it, I’d built my capsule with everything that was already in my closet.

So much of what I had previously found on the interwebs talked about capsules as though they were synonymous with minimalism and/or devoid of color.

While I’m not the most colorfully dressed person or a “maximalist” I wanted to created a capsule that was the perfect in between sweet spot for me. And I did! There’s a clear pattern in my capsule, but there’s also room for me to incorporate those one off fun pieces I own and/or transition from season to season. I’m not stuck with any one color palette or set of rules. And best yet -- I didn’t have to buy anything in addition to what I’d already started purchasing.

More Inspiration

Tops

Bottoms

Footwear

Extras

While I wasn’t completely sure if I’d done this “right” I do know that I’d done it right for me because since going back to work, I find myself less and less hating my closet and wondering “what the hell am I going to wear?!” Admittedly, I have the good fortune of being able to dress business casual for work, versus a more formal corporate environment, but I also have zero desire to be in a formal corporate environment, so there’s that. With the exception of a few clearly season-specific pieces, I actually cycle through everything in my close, and it feels great.