Oh boy, this is a good one! Many clients I had as a stylist consistently told me “I have a closet full of clothes, and nothing to wear!” And, while that may be true, and I made a good living off of helping women see the clothes in their closet, pair down and create outfits that were already there, I realized that too many options is not a good thing. This is the point of this post Capsule Collections.

“The purpose behind a capsule wardrobe is to maintain a collection of essential and classic pieces in your closet that can be mixed and matched over time. It is a practice of personalizing your wardrobe with items you love and that fit your lifestyle but on a scale of 30-40 pieces.” = Dressember

Let’s break that down a bit more:

Maintain a collection of essential and ‘classic’ pieces – this is different for everyone. There are a lot of variables: Weather, Work, Style, Body Changes, and Life Changes. Each of these variables depends on each individual. You will see time and time again that essential pieces are as follows: jeans, a white button-up shirt, a striped shirt, white t-shirts, chose muted ‘basic’ colors to build off of, the LBD (little black dress), a coat (camel colored is ALWAYS mentioned), a pair of flats, heels and boots and a knee length skirt.

Now for the classic pieces. A Little Black Dress, Basic Cardigan, Loafers. All-White Sneakers, A Perfect Black Blazer. Black slacks, Chambray shirt, denim jacket.

Never mind the argument that we will ALL look the same with these lists, that’s not where I am going with this post.

The concept of a capsule collection is really fantastic, but it needs to be tailored to you! (See what I did there?) If you are a rising mid-20-year-old your closet may be wildly different from a 40-year-old working mom of 3. I can go on and on about this and take a very deep jump down the rabbit hole, however, I am going to keep the core message here: THRIFT A CAPSULE COLLECTION. Pick a few essential and classic pieces for the wildly fascinating YOU you are and add a few wow! or whoa! pieces and mix and match those pieces until you’re bored and then wash them and put them back into Thrifting Circulation! Brilliant.

Personally, I go through my closet a few times a year and thoughtfully, if not strategically, consider each piece I own. I recently left the corporate world for a new adventure and didn’t see a need to keep about 85% of my couture high-end labeled pieces. Wrapped that bag up and to TheRealReal it goes! Plus, their ROI rates are fantastic.

I like a capsule collection in theory. I have a lot of what is described as ‘essential’ and limited to the ‘classics’.  But this is great, for me, because there is freedom, creativity, and flexibility to thrift! I will get a little funky top or fun purse that can rotate in and then out when I am ready to change it up.

Point is Capsule Collection or not, thrifting is the safe way to create/recreate, develop, explore and experiment with a NEW TO YOU style.

p.s. I don’t own an LBD, black slacks or blazer, cardigans, or chambray shirt. I am not sure I would ever fit in as essential or classic.