Fall and Winter Capsule Wardrobe Mid Season Review

Fall Winter Capsule Wardrobe Mid Season Review

White T-shirt | V-Neck T-shirt** | Blouse** | Pullover** | Light Blouse** | Kimono**
Dolman Sweater** | Animal Print Cardigan** | Open Front Cardigan** | Casual Blazer**
Poncho | Distressed Denim | Kimono Jacket** | Mid Denim | Dark Denim | Grey Tee**
Baseball Tee | Black Denim* | Long Sweater** | Black Tank** | Band Tee** | Black Tee**
Black Sweater | Oversized Blazer** | Dressy Blazer | Leather Jacket** | Shift Dress
Fitted Dress** | Wrap Dress** | Black Pants | Leather Pants | Rainboots
Moto Boots* | ConverseSlip-ons | Flats** | Booties**
* I replaced these boots back in March with a pair of Frye boots I found on sale.
** A lot of these items are older and no longer available. I have linked to similar items in this case, they are marked with **. 

I haven’t posted a lot about my fall/winter capsule in a while because it kind of just is. Clothes you wear every day without a ton of thought behind it so I haven’t sat and did a review of how well the items I chose are working out, or how often I wear them. I sat down this weekend to go through and think about it and found that there are several pieces that I haven’t even wore yet. In hindsight I probably should not have included three dresses into a wardrobe for a city that has crazy temperature and weather changes. I haven’t even worn one since the middle of September so it is obviously a lesson that will be brought forth to future wardrobes.

When you live in this part of the country the only season that is dramatically different from the rest is summer. Fall, winter and spring all seem to blend in to one another and can mimic the same weather as the other seasons on any given day. For example, it is almost the end of January. Typically at this time of year we have a pile of snow to deal with and currently we have none, barely a dusting. It is supposed to rain on Tuesday which is completely bizarre. I just started wearing my winter parka within the last two weeks, (which is also weird)  before that I was fine with a leather jacket with a sweater underneath. I hope that doesn’t mean that summer will be atrociously hot because I’m not sure how well I will handle that.

This is the breakdown of what is working and what is not in this capsule. Based on the above collage you can see the items I wear in constant rotation, they are marked by a check mark. The items with the X, I have worn only once or not at all this season and probably could have been omitted. The items not marked by anything I wear only occasionally. This season I also had to replace my moto boots because the insole was falling out, but I found a pair of Frye Engineer for a ridiculously good deal. I also have to replace the black t-shirt soon since there is a large hole in it and if I wear it without something layered over it is very obvious. The leather pants I want to wear but they were a little small when I bought them. I kept them as “goal” pants with the intention to work out more and fit into them. We all know how well that works out though.

I have decided that this year I am going to invest a little more money in to buying a lot more new pieces. Every year/season I get maybe 3-5 new items but I find that I have had many of the same pieces in rotation for the last several years and they are getting worn looking. Stay tuned for the new pieces coming in to play soon.

Do you find that you buy pieces per season or throughout the year as you see things that you like? When you buy something to do get rid of something to keep your wardrobe balanced?  

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Sara

Sara is the founder and creative behind livelovesara. A George Brown College Fashion Styling Graduate, she provides advice on finding your personal style regardless of age and budget. She is always on the hunt for the perfect wardrobe piece and is a vintage and thrifting enthusiast who can't wait to share her newest finds. She is also trying to learn French.

8 Comments

  1. It’s always good to check in and see where you are with your wardrobe. I’m working on putting together my first capsule wardrobe and started documenting my journey, as well. 🙂
    It’s a process!

    http://Www.catonthemoon.xyz

    -Caitlyn

    • I totally agree. It’s easy to get stuck in the day to day routine without much thought as to what you are grabbing. Sometimes it’s quicker just to wear something you know works than put thought into some new combination so you end up with the same pieces in constant rotation.

  2. Hi there Sara,

    This is a great article, it’s always helpful to learn what works and what doesn’t with someone else’s wardrobe. A few years ago I was able to completely replace my very old wardrobe. I took the time to determine a capsule version and then build on it from there. I have found that the basics stay pretty much the same: boyfriend, skinny, and flare jeans plus maxi and knee-length denim skirts. Moto jacket, ’90s style combat and ankle boots, engineer boots. The rest changes out depending upon the season, trends that I like, budget. My business is virtual, so I rarely need to break out any of the work-related pieces I have. Lately I’ve been pruning even my pared down wardrobe once a month, giving those items a new life via a favorite local charity. Since I created the original capsule wardrobe, it’s been gratifying to learn that I chose well. I’m so much happier with what I wear and my overall style. I’d just like to upgrade my moto jacket and main handbag.

    Thanks so much for sharing all of your wardrobe posts and travel recommendations.

    Cheers,

    Ardith

    • We sound like we have similar tastes Ardith. I too am on the hunt for the leather moto jacket that is the “one” and a new handbag is always on my mind. I find myself more and more going back to the carefree way that I used to dress in college. Not necessarily the same styles but a more “I don’t give a f**k what people think” type choices. I’m not super girly, and have always been more of a black and leather jacket person. I find myself slowly gravitating back in that direction. Your comment has inspired me to write a post about this change I am seeing so thank you. I am currently hunting for a pair of boyfriend jeans and I am having limited success right now.

      Sara

      • OMG, Sara, we are wardrobe twins! You voiced my philosophy exactly. As for those boyfriend jeans, I bought mine at Target and Gap. I love the fit of each and every one of them, even thought the styles are all a bit different from one another. I bought them a couple of years ago though. I just checked both sites for new versions. The only one I found at Target I kind of liked is this one @ . Gap versions that might be fun @ ,

        Cheers, Ardith

        • Every Target in Canada closed in 2015. It literally broke my heart. There was a huge one a 5 minute walk from my condo and the girls an I have a moment of silence every time we walk past it’s closed doors. I just had a revelation when I checked out your link though, they now ship to Canada. Probably trying to make amends for disappointing the country with their over ambitious plans that didn’t pan out 😉 I will have to go to Gap. They are also really close and I will hit it next time I am at the mall. Thank you!

  3. I’ve been following your blog for a little while and I’m loving the thoughtfulness you show about your capsule wardrobe – I’m two months into my first capsule experiment, also based on Caroline’s Un-Fancy blog, so I was so thrilled to find someone who’s still blogging about their experiences! Sadly, I am not patient enough to take such beautiful pictures of all of my clothes.

    Your post really struck a cord with me – I also went through the same process, about two weeks ago, of checking how much of my ‘restricted’ wardrobe I was actually wearing and found the same – that there are several pieces I’m just not wearing even though I could. Who thought that 37 things might actually be MORE than I would really wear in three months, right?! What helped me was almost ‘forcing’ myself to wear them – like. “oh I haven’t worn this skirt for ages, what could I do with it to make it weather-proof?”. There was a wealth of untapped creativity there!

    Anyway – love the blog, it’s awesome. Thank you!

    • Thanks! I think part of the reason I don’t wear everything is that I am a SAHM so the need to dress up daily is very small. If I worked out of the home then I am sure i would a) use more pieces and b) I would have a lot different choices than I currently included. But I guess this just goes to show that you build it based on your lifestyle so anyone can make it work if they want to. I think I probably could have got away with around 25 pieces or maybe even less. I do the occasional force myself to be creative thing but sometimes when I am hurrying out the door and the kids are taking forever to get dressed I ended up just grabbing a tried and true outfit out of frustration. They key to taking photos of clothes is that you can usually find a stock photo online of them if you search. Saves the pain of the slow process of photographing everything individually.

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