Capsule wardrobe has totally changed the way I organize my clothes! Did you just ask how?

It's a very interesting concept which, in my opinion, requires a little bit of planning and creativity. Though, it will take a bit of your time, once you get the hang of it, it is actually fun and requires minimal time to plan. Basically having a few essential items that are versatile all year round, then mixing and matching them with those items is all you need! Be it casual, formal, party or even events; ideally mixing and matching these versatile pieces with tops or bottoms creates new looks.

At work, I'm always asked what’s the size of my wardrobe because I'm always wearing something different. They couldn’t hide their surprise when I told them how small it was as I live in a one-bedroom apartment with hardly any wardrobe space. You see, mixing and matching is the key! I can’t stress enough on how important this part of the whole process is to make this work.

They say it is always impossible until it is done. I for one can totally relate to that. Moving from owning a walk-in wardrobe back home to my current wardrobe has taught me a lot. For a five-day holiday, I used to pack like I would be away for a month! I am sure many of you would smile in agreement of what I am talking about. Well, no doubt we shared the same experience once!

There was a time I was assigned for a work project overseas. I really wanted to pack my whole wardrobe, though I knew how impossible it was. My zeal to appear refreshed as well as anew all the time I would be away, made me discover the art of capsule wardrobe. I realised there was no need for so many black skirts and black pants. To be honest, I did have duplicates. However, the imagination of how I was going to dress with just few clothes gave room for my creativity to bloom. Then, spending time mixing and matching them to create different looks was interesting and engaging.

All it took was less than thirty clothing items, and I could create so many looks by just mixing and matching them. With my formal and casual clothes, I kept a few neutral-toned bottoms that consisted of pants and skirts. They were then mixed and matched with tops and layers to create different looks. My tops and layering pieces had prints on them. This helped with the mix and match while adding some colour to a bland base.

The bright side of this is I could use them for all seasons, since most of them were versatile pieces. This also means shopping takes a while; there will be no need running in a store to get an unnecessary item. The icing on the cake is I don’t need to break a bank to shop and look stylish.

For traditional clothes which were sarees and salwar suits, not only did they cost a lot, but are mostly used once. I remember once standing in front on my mom’s wardrobe asking her how come most of them were only used once and there were some I haven’t seen her use. She explained that she got a new one for every event or function she attended. Not only was I shocked, I also couldn’t understand why that would be. Then she explained further that the reason was that different materials were needed to suit different seasons or events.

She had a collection. Since most of them were not going to be used, I asked if I could have some of them. Having a good tailor was handy as I went to him with a mission. He managed to design long skirts and crop tops from my mom’s sarees which were six meters long. On top of salvaging and reusing them, I was also able to dabble into designing. It did give me so much more depth on what works for my body and what it took to design clothes.

Capsule wardrobe changes the way you dress and plan. You will not hear yourself standing in front of your clothes saying, “I’ve got nothing to wear”. It gets you to be creative as well. If you are feeling inspired and really would love to start applying this concept, I have got a few tips for you:

Start off by doing a wardrobe detox. Identify your duplicates, pieces you haven’t used in a long time, outdated and doesn’t fit – get rid of them.
Sort them out every season. This creates an opportunity to create a new set of mix and match and to see if you require adding or reducing your current collection.
Rotate them with your versatile pieces.
Invest in some good accessories.

This helps you curate a well-edited wardrobe.

Having been approached by many, I have started working with people to help them organize and build their capsule wardrobe. Having an Instagram account also allows me to connect with some other people whom I work with virtually.

Capsule Wardrobe

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