A Starter Work Capsule Wardrobe

Starter Work Capsule Wardrobe via livelovesara

White T-shirt • & Other Stories | Striped Shirt • & Other Stories | Black Silk Blouse • & Other Stories | Green Long Sleeve • Mango | Floral Print Top • Mango | Pink Sweater • & Other Stories | Classic White Blouse • & Other Stories | Black Sweater • Mango | White Sweater • & Other Stories | Grey Cardigan • & Other Stories | Blazer • H&M | Dress Pants • & Other Stories | Grey Slacks • Topshop | Wide Leg Pants • H&M | Skirt • & Other Stories | Dress • Mango | Trench Coat • & Other Stories | Leopard Scarf • Nordstrom | Black Floral Scarf • Echo | Skinny Scarf • Nordstrom | Leopard Belt • Ann Taylor | Black Purse • Cynthia Rowley | Boots • & Other Stories | Leopard Flats • Ann Taylor | Black. Flats • Jeffrey Campbell | Brown Purse • Madewell |

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When it comes to work, capsule wardrobes are your friend. It helps you to have a nice, curated collection of work appropriate pieces that streamline everything and makes getting ready for work easy.  When you are coming out of school and starting your first job one of the top things that come to mind are “what am I going to wear”, and the next is “how am I going to afford it?” Because let’s be honest, most of us who are starting our careers don’t have a lot of money to be spending on a brand new work wardrobe. This is why a while back I made a blog post titled A Simple Teacher Capsule Wardrobe Built from Your Closet in Steps. In that post I laid out 5 steps that would help you to build a work wardrobe out of many pieces that you already own. These steps don’t just apply to teacher wardrobe which can lean on the more casual side of business casual work attire but will also work for any new job.

Building a work wardrobe doesn’t have to be expensive because what you are doing is integrating as many pieces as you can from what you already own and then filling in any holes as inexpensively as you can (until you can afford more expensive if you wish to).

My personal wardrobe is quite casual and even I could put together a basic work wardrobe using the above suggested pieces as a guide. Off the top of my head I have 12 out of 16 pieces of the above clothing. I also have all of the scarves, accessories, and shoes that would work as well. That means if I wanted to copy the above list to perfection I would only really need 4 pieces which isn’t bad in the grand scheme of things, especially if you look at sales or second-hand stores.

To show you the variety you can get from a wardrobe of this size I put together 30 outfits below that could be worn. There are so many other combinations that could be made as well so you could easily go over a whole month without repeating an outfit. This list also will easily transition through the seasons without much alterations. If you noticed I stuck to a basic neutral palette of black, white, and grey, and then sprinkled in some colour with pink, green, and a camel trench. I played up the neutral with adding some leopard accessories and a ballet flat (leopard is a neutral) to add some cohesiveness.

Every once and a while I like to redo previous wardrobes because styles and trends change constantly. There is also the issue of many of the pieces I list sell out and people ask me for updated versions.

I hope this helps you to realize that you can start a new job with a great look without breaking the bank. 30 Outfit options are below. Have a great weekend!  

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Starter Work Capsule Outfit Options 1-15 via livelovesara

 

Starter Work Capsule Outfit Options 16-30 via livelovesara

 

White T-shirt • & Other Stories | Striped Shirt • & Other Stories | Black Silk Blouse • & Other Stories | Green Long Sleeve • Mango | Floral Print Top • Mango | Pink Sweater • & Other Stories | Classic White Blouse • & Other Stories | Black Sweater • Mango | White Sweater • & Other Stories | Grey Cardigan • & Other Stories | Blazer • H&M | Dress Pants • & Other Stories | Grey Slacks • Topshop | Wide Leg Pants • H&M | Skirt • & Other Stories | Dress • Mango | Trench Coat • & Other Stories | Leopard Scarf • Nordstrom | Black Floral Scarf • Echo | Skinny Scarf • Nordstrom | Leopard Belt • Ann Taylor | Black Purse • Cynthia Rowley | Boots • & Other Stories | Leopard Flats • Ann Taylor | Black. Flats • Jeffrey Campbell | Brown Purse • Madewell |

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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.

4 Comments

  1. i was doing some online shopping/browsing and came across this. cute, right? i’m totally the type to buy something if it has a personal meaning.

    • Omg I love it. Thanks so much for showing me! She would lose her mind (in a good way) if I wore a shirt with her name.

  2. Hi there! I absolutely love this post. As a fellow Toronto lady who is starting a new job tomorrow, I’ve been using this as a guide for weeks to get new pieces for my new role. Can you recommend any substitutes for the long sleeve (I had seen this at Loft, but there are none in my size: and for the print top (also found this, but it doesn’t quite do the job: I also haven’t been able to find a perfect blush ruffle sweater, but I’m working on it!

    Again thanks for your lovely post and for giving me an inspiring wardrobe to work with!
    xo Katrina

    • First off congratulations on the job! Secondly, I know it took me a while to respond and I am sure your probably have found replacements for these pieces already but I was just scanning loft and came across this one here which is 50% off with the code THANKFUL right now with all sizes available. I’ll comment again if I come across replacements for the other two pieces. I hope the new job is going well.

      Sara

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