How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe

clothes lined up on a rack in black and white

We are always getting questions about capsule wardrobes and as stylists this is truly at the core of what we do for our clients. So we decided to share all the details and secrets for creating a functional wardrobe that makes you excited to get dressed in the mornings!

What is a capsule wardrobe?

A capsule wardrobe is a set of complementary items that make up a closet. The items are typically in a color scheme and style that complement each other and many of the items can be worn together or mixed and matched to create endless variations of outfits. Another way to think of a capsule wardrobe is a set of “uniforms” as we like to call them. For example, one of your uniforms for Fall could be black jeans, a neutral sweater, boots, and a great coat. We think a common misconception is that a capsule wardrobe is boring. Not true! Where it gets fun is that you may have several winter coats, pairs of boots, and pants that you can mix and match to create endless versions of your “uniform".”

We’re giving you all the details below on how we do this for our clients. If you want a hands on experience for us to work our magic in your own closet, you can click the button below to book a closet styling session.

Closet styling by poema

Benefits to having a Capsule wardrobe

There are so many benefits to having a capsule wardrobe…

It’s easier to get dressed in the morning.

When you have set outfit formulas, it’s super easy to pick out what to wear. You can just throw and go, when most of the items in your wardrobe can be worn together.

You’ll save money.

When you’ve identified your style, colors, and priorities, it will make shopping so much easier and less tempting to buy a ton of random items.

Free up space in your closet.

By having a capsule wardrobe, you’ll free up space in your closet. If you can’t style multiple outfits with an item (for your core wardrobe) it’s not worth buying! No more holding on to jeans that don’t flatter or fit. Ideally, everything in your closet will make you excited to get dressed, flatter your body, and complement your skin tone.

Dress according to your personal style.

Think of a capsule wardrobe like a workout plan. It’s really hard to go to the gym without a plan. You end up wandering around and trying random machines that you don’t even know how to work. We follow the Madeline Moves workouts and she always says, “Random workouts lead to random results.” The same is true for your personal style and purchasing habits. Random purchases lead to a random style. If you’re interested in a tangible way to showcase your personal style, a capsule wardrobe is key.

Hire a personal stylist!

We’re going to give you the rundown below on how to purge your closet and create a capsule wardrobe yourself, but hiring a stylist can help you get through these steps quickly and with expert advice. Sometimes it just helps to have someone else guide you and help you purge your closet, pinpoint you style, sell your old things, and source new ones. All of what we can do for you! You can explore all of our styling services below.

Styling by Poema

Get inspired

Our ‘Shades of Blue’ Pinterest board. We have these for other colors, too!

The first thing you’ll want to do if you’re not working with a stylist is get inspired! This will help you with the next step where you’re going to sort through your closet and decide what to keep and what to donate or sell. Our favorite way to get inspired is Pinterest. We’ve been obsessed for years, like since eighth grade. It’s so easy to create a visual of things that inspire you. If you need help getting started, we have boards created by season and color. You can browse our Fall | Winter inspiration here and our Spring | Summer inspiration here. We recommend pinning images of celebrities, outfits, colors, textures, and vibes that you love. You’ll start to see a ‘vibe’ forming as you keep pinning. Just pin what your eye is drawn to and you’ll start to see a visual representation of your personal style come together.

Find your colors

Another important aspect of a capsule wardrobe or any styling service that we offer is color. You’ve probably seen those color theory TikToks, but in case you haven’t we’ll share an example below using a celebrity! Here you can see that gold undertones warm up Jennifer Lopez’s skin and make her glow. This silver dress makes her skin look ashy and dry. Something we know isn’t actually true because…it’s JLo.

You’ll want to hold up different colors to your skin to see what washes you out and what flatters. A typical rule of thumb is that if you have more warm, olive undertones, you should stick with an earth toned color palette. If you have more pinky, cool undertones, you should stick with primary and saturated colors. Some pastels will look good on you, too! We think black, white, and most neutrals flatter all skin tones.

Identify your body type

Another important thing to do if you haven’t already is identify your body type. There are certain necklines, cuts of jeans, dresses, and pants that look best on your body type. During our styling sessions we go into this in detail with our clients if they want us to. We always tell our clients that this has nothing to do with how much you weigh. This is simply your God-given bone structure.

Your style statement

Look back at your Pinterest board and think of three words that capture the vibe of your board. Having these words in mind while shopping will also help you evaluate each item to make smarter shopping decisions. We’ve listed some below to help you get started:

Simple | Maximalist

Chic | Elegant

Understated | Bold

Colorful | Neutral

Bohemian | Modern

Sleek | Frilly

Feminine | Masculine

Shed the dead weight

Now it’s time to get rid of the items in your closet that you don’t need. You can use the list below to help you decide if you should keep a given item!

Have you worn it in the last year?
Is it comfortable?
Does it still fit?
Do you get excited when you think about wearing it?
Is it still in good condition?

If you answered ‘no’ to any of the above questions, it’s time to part with the item. For our clients, we either donate or sell their items. The way we decide whether we’ll donate or sell is based on the condition and brand of the item. What we call ‘mid-tier designer’ items typically sell well on Poshmark (you can check out our Poshmark closet here!). Examples of these brands would be Aje, Farm Rio, MOTHER, Veronica Beard, lululemon, Alo, and Cult Gaia.

Use your guidelines to shop

Now it’s time for the fun part! You can shop for new wardrobe additions using the style, colors, vision, and body type you identified above. The whole premise of a capsule wardrobe is buying things that you can wear together with your existing items. Think about the colors and style you defined earlier. Is the item you’re thinking of going to fit in well with your existing items? Can you think of at least 3 ways to wear it with what’s already in your closet?

Keep a wishlist

Keeping a wishlist of items that we want has reduced our impulse buys so much! We keep everything from a dream designer purse to a new lip gloss we want to try. A lot of times we’ll go back to it when it’s time for Christmas or a birthday and think, “Oh my gosh. Why did I want that!” Sometimes you just need to think on things for a while and then you realize you might not actually want it as much as you thought you did in the moment. On the other hand, some items sit there for years and you can’t get them out of your head. Those are the items you want to go for!

When to invest & The Poema Style Philosophy

We recommend investing in the core wardrobe. Jeans, coats, and purses are all worth investing in because they last a long time and hold their value well. We’ll list out capsule wardrobe checklists below for Fall | Winter and Spring | Summer — you can go high or low depending on how much you’ll wear the item, but our rule of thumb is that if it’s something you’ll have for years, a black turtleneck for example, it’s worth spending a bit more for it to be amazing quality. A pair or MOTHER jeans you could have for three years and then sell for a good price because it’s a quality brand, the styles don’t change often, and their clothes hold value. Same with designer purses. What’s not worth investing in would be a crazy trendy top that you’ll only wear once. Any ‘trendy’ items we recommend are typically more affordable. Of course there are exceptions to all of this! Some fast fashion brands have great affordable basics that will last forever, and sometimes you just fall in love with a pricey item and have to have it.

Capsule Wardrobe Example

**LINKS:** WHITE BLOUSE | JEAN SHORTS | WHITE JEAN SHORTS | WHITE JEANS | LIGHT WASH JEANS | BLACK DRESS | WHITE DRESS | LEATHER SHORTS | CHAIN EARRINGS | BUTTERFLY EARRINGS | SUNGLASSES | BRONZE TOP | CARDIGAN | SWIMSUIT | METALLIC PURSE | HEELS | GOLD SANDALS | GOLDEN GOOSE

**LINKS:** CHAIN EARRINGS | STAR EARRINGS | BLACK TURTLENECK | CREAM TURTLENECK | BOMBER JACKET | LEATHER PANTS | JEANS | CHEETAH BELT | SWEATER DRESS | BOUCLE SHORTS | SILK TOP | SILVER HEELS | LONG COAT | BLACK BOOTIES | CREAM BOOTIES | SNEAKERS | BLACK PURSE

We styled eight Fall | Winter outfits only using the items in the example wardrobe above. It was so easy! When the style and colors of each item complement each other, you can create endless outfit variations.