A Year Long Capsule Wardrobe for Moms

A Mom Capsule Wardrobe

Do you need some help downsizing your wardrobe. Are you a stay at home mom who is looking to have a stylish, casual, and easy to wear wardrobe that is and looks effortless? Check out my Year long capsule wardrobe for stay at home moms | Mom style | #capsulewardrobe #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #capslook #minimalliving #sustainableliving #lessismore #styleblogger #slowliving #minimaliststyle #motherhood #wearyourcloset

Row 1 – Camisole | White T-shirt | Grey T-shirt | Band Tee | Striped Shirt 
Row 2 – Kimono Shirt | Silk Blouse | Print Blouse | Sweatshirt | Colour Sweater |
Row 3 – Turtleneck | Cashmere Sweater | V-neck Sweater | Oversized Sweater | Cardigan 
Row 4 – Blazer | Casual Denim | Dark Denim | Wide Leg Denim | Grey Denim
Row 5 – Trousers | Joggers | Skirt | Sundress | T-shirt Dress | Denim Jacket
Row 6 | Moto Jacket | Trench | Winter Coat | Check Scarf | Floral Scarf | Brown Hat | Knit Beanie | Belt
Row 7 – Black Purse | Brown Purse | Summer Bag | Sandals | Flats
Row 8 – Oxfords | Sneakers | Converse | Booties | Winter Boots


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In early 2011 I purged my closet BIG TIME. To the point that several awesome pieces fell victim to what I now refer to as “The Great Purge”.

It was shortly after I had given birth to Merle and I realized that I wore the same few pieces over and over during my entire pregnancy due to lack of finances and I managed to survive.

Not just survive, but it forced me to expand my creativity where I didn’t really use it before and to develop a pregnancy capsule wardrobe before I even knew what that was.

There was a time that whenever I felt uninspired and couldn’t find something to wear from the piles of things I had already owned,  I would have just bought something new.

I worked in a mall at that time so it was dangerously easy for me to scratch that shopping itch and emotionally shop whenever I felt like it.

This led to an immense amount of clothing that were worn once or not even at all.

After I had Merle I had mild postpartum (which was definitely the wrong time to any make big decisions), but I felt that to declutter my life I should probably start with my closet.

I slowly began to reshape my thinking process for fewer pieces worn in many different ways. 

I grabbed those clear garbage bags and just started tossing things in and it felt great.

Anything that I hadn’t worn for the last year was gone.

Which in hindsight was where I made my mistake since that previous year I spent most of it being pregnant and unable to fit in to most of my clothes. But the change started then.

This was around the time that I started experimenting with trying to put together packing light lists (I originally made these and published them to Polyvore).

My mind shifted and I realized that I could, in fact, do more with less and it became a goal of mine to have a perfectly streamlined wardrobe that worked for my tastes and lifestyle.

Luckily at this point I was over the “I need to start dress like what I think a mom should dress like” mindset that I had after having my first child.

This time around I was figuring out what style felt the most like me and started filling in those wardrobe holes as I could.

Finances were extremely tight during this point in my life, so I started to perfect my thrifting skills.

It was around the same time that I started to hear about capsule wardrobes more and more and this caught my interest. 

I began to research and after a lot of practice and fine-tuning I managed to put together my first capsule wardrobe in May 2015.

At that time I thought that it had to be a seasonal capsule. I wasn’t until I was well in the next season that I realized I was bringing over the same clothes (minus a few pieces) and just wearing them differently. 

Autumn and spring season here are very short, and the transition to winter from autumn, and to summer from spring is relatively quick.

It made more sense for me to figure out how I could expand on the seasonal capsule to make a year-long capsule wardrobe instead. 

The short seasons tied with a complete lack of storage space to put seasonal pieces made the decision easy, and in came my year-long capsule wardrobe.

I stuck with the same general pieces for a couple of years with maybe adding or subtracting a couple of items each season, and this concept worked for me for that time.

I later decided that I didn’t need to stick to a particular number of items anymore.

I had learned over those years to think hard before I bought.

Impulse shopping was nearly abolished and I trusted myself not to fall down that hole again so I broadened my wardrobe by allowing myself to make purchases when it was something that I knew reflected me and my style in the way that I wanted it to. 

Capsule wardrobes are wonderful tools in helping you to reset your mindset on shopping and force you to broaden your creativity to make the most of what you have. 

Everybody’s lifestyle and personal style are different so you will never find an example of a capsule wardrobe that will check each one of your boxes.

But there are so many that are a good starting point to help you go through your wardrobe and narrow it down to what makes sense for you.

I have a 5 step process for building a teacher capsule wardrobe that breaks everything down into simple steps.

I used this same concept for building my personal capsule wardrobe, so it may be a good resource if you don’t know where to start.

Today I have a capsule wardrobe for a stay at home mom. Someone who will be running around after 3 small children, and wants to look effortlessly put together while doing so.

This particular mom’s style preference is eclectic, with some boho.

She doesn’t wear a lot of black, a doesn’t have need for formal wear.

Truthfully I never included formal wear in my capsules because it was something that was worn so infrequently that it just made sense to have something in the back of my closet for when I need it.

I also do not include loungewear, exercise clothes, or pyjamas.

These pieces serve a different purpose and should be kept separate.

This capsule does not incorporate formal work type clothing in this because she can wear what she wants to work, so there isn’t a need for it.

I would say that this wardrobe would work very well as a Stay at home mom capsule wardrobe, and should easily transition through each season.

I will put together a bunch of outfit options from these pieces in another post.


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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. Love this post, so helpful! I recently got a promotion (yesterday!) and was just thinking I need a wardrobe makeover. I would love to see a similar post, a year long capsule wardrobe for working in an office setting (8-5 job in Texas). Please!!

  2. Have been following you for a while but this was the first day I checked out your blog. Seriously – you read my SAHM mind!!! Thank you!

    • I’ so glad to hear that! It’s so easy to lose sense of what your style is when you are a SAHM. I always tell my kids that I’m a mind reader….maybe I am šŸ˜‰

  3. Hey Sara! I love your blog! I am thinking of combining this capsule with the work ones so that I would end up with something that works for workdays at the office and easy weekends at home with my toddler.. did you ever post the outfit options for this anywhere??

    • Ugh. I didn’t I don’t know how I ended up missing that during that time šŸ™ On a positive note I have a Stay at Home spring (maybe spring/summer) capsule coming up next week.

      Sara

      • I like your style! Sort of vintage boho feel bit practical, not all sundresses. But i was wondering if this is an example, or close to your capsule? Minus the sweaters, there are only 8 shirts and 1 sundress. Is this REALLY enough for a year????

        • This is an example based on how my wardrobe is put together. Where you live, your lifestyle, and preferences will change what you need in your own wardrobe. Itā€™s cold for 6-7 months out of the year here. That combined with me not really wearing dresses that often lets me alternate between 2-3 dresses easily. Itā€™s been really hot this summer and Iā€™ve only worn a dresses maybe 5 times. Iā€™m more of a jeans and trousers person. But if you enjoy dresses then definitely add in a couple more that are different styles. You can easily layer over under them to carry them through seasons. Skirts are also a great option because you will have tons of variety by switching up the tops. šŸ™‚ this is by no means a definitive how-to guide. Itā€™s more to show you how you can make a smaller number of pieces go a long way. Swapping things out to fit your style preferences is how you will make it your own. I hope this helps.

          Best,
          Sara This is an example based on my wardrobe. Where you live, your lifestyle, and preferences will change what you need in your wardrobe. Itā€™s cold for 6-7 months out of the year here. That combined with me not really wearing dresses that often lets me alternate between 2-3 dresses easily. Itā€™s been really hot this summer and Iā€™ve only worn a dresses maybe 5 times. Iā€™m more of a jeans and trousers person. But if you enjoy dresses then definitely add in a couple more that are different styles. You can easily layer over under them to carry them through seasons. Skirts are also a great option because you will have tons of variety by switching up the tops. šŸ™‚ this is by no means a definitive how-to guide. Itā€™s more to show you how you can make a smaller number of pieces go a long way. Swapping things out to fit your style preferences is how you will make it your own. I hope this helps.

          Best,
          Sara

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