Wardrobe Architect Weeks 9 and 10: the Travel Capsule
A seasonal wardrobe can feel like a joke in San Francisco, when you're just as likely to battle a damp, biting wind in July as you are in December. Warm summer afternoons turn wicked by 4pm, when the fog rolls in and the wool jackets come out. I don't mind – I'm one of those poor suckers who fell in love with this city – but it can make planning a Spring/ Summer capsule wardrobe a little complicated.
So yes, I am finally getting around to the remaining projects in Coletterie's Wardrobe Architect series. Weeks 9 and 10 focused on creating a Spring/ Summer capsule wardrobe.
The steps to a capsule wardrobe are simple:
My Travel Capsule
Instead of trying to create a wardrobe that would be appropriate for a San Francisco summer - which would necessarily include tights, scarves, and sweaters - I focused on creating one for travel. Although we haven't decided exactly where we want to go yet, Jon and I are hoping to sneak off to a warmer climate in late August (either central America or central Europe - we'll see). The idea of spending all day in a sleeveless dress makes me giddy, and it made planning this capsule a lot more fun.
After all the work I and many others did to define our core style, favorite shapes, silhouettes, color palette, and print preferences, choosing the 6 silhouettes above was a breeze. Although my actual Spring/ Summer (travel) capsule wardrobe will be a bit more expansive, I think these are generally the shapes and colors I'll feel great traipsing around in this season.
For the palette, I narrowed down my choices to 5 neutrals and 5 statement colors. Navy, tropical blues, pinks, and corals paired with creams and camels will play just as well in Paris and they might in Mexico City:
Next, I'll be off to spring clean my closet and see which pieces I can incorporate into the capsule. Then, let the making begin!
The steps to a capsule wardrobe are simple:
- Choose one to six silhouettes for the season.
- Create a color palette.
- Break down your silhouettes and colors into a list of pieces.
- Organize what to make, what to buy, and what you already own.
My Travel Capsule
Instead of trying to create a wardrobe that would be appropriate for a San Francisco summer - which would necessarily include tights, scarves, and sweaters - I focused on creating one for travel. Although we haven't decided exactly where we want to go yet, Jon and I are hoping to sneak off to a warmer climate in late August (either central America or central Europe - we'll see). The idea of spending all day in a sleeveless dress makes me giddy, and it made planning this capsule a lot more fun.
After all the work I and many others did to define our core style, favorite shapes, silhouettes, color palette, and print preferences, choosing the 6 silhouettes above was a breeze. Although my actual Spring/ Summer (travel) capsule wardrobe will be a bit more expansive, I think these are generally the shapes and colors I'll feel great traipsing around in this season.
For the palette, I narrowed down my choices to 5 neutrals and 5 statement colors. Navy, tropical blues, pinks, and corals paired with creams and camels will play just as well in Paris and they might in Mexico City:
Next, I'll be off to spring clean my closet and see which pieces I can incorporate into the capsule. Then, let the making begin!
Colette Violet Revisited
As excited as I was about my inaugural sewing project, I find that I rarely wear the resulting Colette Violet blouse. I think it's partly because a bright white blouse is hard to pair on its own without looking too much like a uniform, and because a pan collar can look pretty juvenile without the right styling (seriously, I have got to get away from that beret). So I decided to revive this shirt with some more sophisticated elements: my J. Crew No.2 Pencil skirt in poppy, a navy blue sweater vest (thrifted), and my trusty Paolo leather flats.
Also, if you ever find that your necklace is too short to fit around that collared shirt, simply safety pin the ends underneath the collar. Viola!
