Winter Capsule Wardrobe
I did enjoy November's capsule wardrobe but found it too limited for my taste overall. I've decided though to try to work with a capsule wardrobe for December, January, February. This time I'm using more pieces although I'll be somewhat limited because some things won't be suitable for everyday. I've incorporated heavier pieces as well as lighter layering pieces.
You'll see I limited myself with colors, sticking to a palette of pretty much grey, white, and teal. I've included cardigans as well. What I am not showing is my heavier wool jackets (heathered grey and bright red) and my winter coat (navy) nor my cotton knit tank tops which I use more in winter than I do in summer. In our climate they are necessary as a layering piece. I have a variety of colors but will lean heavily upon the obvious white/grey/black ones for the most part.
I haven't actually pieced outfits together just yet and I realize it's nearly impossible to tell what I have when they are lying flat on the bed as they are but I will show you outfits as I wear them and put them together with accessories.
I have five pairs of shoes to use.
1 pair of grey suede Merona pointed toe flats from Target. I've had them two years and for a very flat shoe they are incredibly comfortable.
1 pair of Anne Taylor sport pewter colored pointed toe slingbacks. This is the pair I'd forgotten in my closet. I've had them since last fall and I've never worn them!
A pair of round toed glitter decorated black ballet flats from Walmart last winter.
1 pair of black ankle boots. These are very comfortable shoes to wear as well though I'd like to get a gel insole to go in them.
It may seem I have not much color in this capsule but I have purses besides that black one above to add a bit of color.
The red purse was given to me from Katie's wardrobe last year. I have my tapestry vintage Spilene I ordered last fall which I love. It's got that beautiful teal as well as olives and reds and blues in the pattern.
And a pewter shoulder bag which is in the photo below with my scarves.
Lots of scarves/shawls on hand, including that cozy plaid one I bought at Target in the early fall.
Well you can almost glimpse that bag to the right there...
You see that here is an abundance of color. There are four neck scarves, 1 larger scarf (white with grey vines and pink flowers) and 2 shawls: a teal/green/royal mix and a pale grey with pink, deep magenta and soft spring green pattern.
Now for the clothing itself.
The colors of my pants are much darker than the photo. Oddly, I had great lighting in the bedroom this morning, but the phone camera just won't give the color the real depth they have.
Jeans: black and blue.
Those blue jeans are dark wash and you see they come up looking right faded here, and the black ones appear more charcoal. These are much darker in person. The same lighting played havoc with my three pairs of pants.
Both pairs of jeans are from my November capsule wardrobe. The black jeans were given to me from Katie's closet and the dark wash jeans were from Cato last winter.
Pants: Deep charcoal gray, black, dark navy.
Left to right: black dress pants (thicker than the average these days), Ponte knit grey wide leg trousers, and a navy knit pants made with jeans detail and seaming.
I'll likely use the navy jean detail pants as often as I wear my jeans. The other two pairs are for dressier and really cold weather wear.
I've never worn the black pants. They must be trimmed and hemmed. The grey ponte knit were wonderfully warm to wear last winter. The navy knit pants were worn often over the past two years. All pants are from Cato.
I chose a variety of tops this time, all within a limited color pallette.
White: 1 tailored blouse bought at Cato last winter.
1 white t-shirt. I think this was a thrift store find this year. The t-shirt I might replace if I can find a heavier knit as this one is so thin. Perfect when it's 90-100F outdoors. Not so much for cold weather! For that matter the white blouse is thin as well but heavier than the t-shirt. However I can easily wear a white tank under both.
A variety of long sleeved pullover tops:
I have a teal cotton sateen blouse with an openwork design one the long sleeves. Bought at Cato last fall.
A stripe pullover with three quarter sleeves that has black stripes and a black and teal green pattern between the stripes. A thrift store find this fall.
A deep evergreen colored long sleeved top. Another thrift store find this fall.
And the print silky knit top that has teal, black, rust and white in the print. Bought at Cato last fall.
I have a few sweaters in this wardrobe. These light weight cardigans to go over the blouses and pullovers.
A black and white with stripe detail. I believe I bought this one last winter at Cato.
A heathered grey and black cowl neck
A light grey cable knit crew sweater. Both the cowl neck and this one were thrift store finds this year.
These sweaters I will wear over a tank top, though two of them will also look nice over my tailored white blouse.
And this variety of cardigans:
The chenille grey which I know I bought off a clearance rack late last winter at Cato.
And the teal cardigan, also a Cato purchase, last fall. I often tie this one in front as it has those long tails either side. I've seen an idea in a catalog I want to try with this one which involves buttons and button holes at the hem and then you can cross the sweater over your body, buttoning the tails and giving yourself more options for styling/wear.
And there you have it. That's the clothes I plan to wear these next three months. As I said, I'll try to post outfits as I put them together likely showing them in one of my weekly posts. Now to decide what I'll wear tomorrow. Hmmmm...
(C) Terri Cheney