A 12 Piece Spring Capsule Wardrobe: How to Break Out of Your Neutral Comfort Zone

If you want a full colourful capsule wardrobe, this post isn’t it. That will come later.

This post is for those of you who gravitate to neutral colours and are looking to change that.

It may be because neutrals are your comfort zone, maybe it’s the simplicity and ease.

Some people like to neutrals because they are scared of standing out, others do so because they don’t know how to begin adding colour, so they just don’t bother trying.

I am going to talk about the steps we can take to add colour when we want something more than neutrals, but much less than dopamine dressing.

There is a whole world in between wearing only neutrals and only colours and that is what we are going to discuss today.

What are No-Colour Colours?

Have you ever heard of no-colours colours? Not the neutrals we all know and love, these are the next level up from neutrals.

They are a grouping of colours that are not traditional neutrals. They have some colour, but they often have grey-brown undertones, and we tend to use the word “ish” to describe them.

Blue-ish, green-ish, purple-ish, you get the idea?

They work really well in the building of colour in a wardrobe, and because of their undertones they go with anything like a neutral so you can add a bold or intense colour via shoe or accessory and it all flows really well.

This is a concept that Tibi founder Amy Smilovic talks about a lot.

She has a great colour wheel to describe this concept of no-colour colours. It consists of 4 wheels.

The centre wheel is just black, the next ring (ring 2) are the real neutrals that we know like white, grey, tan etc., ring 3 are the no-colour colours, and ring 4 are the intense colours.

Ring 4 is the intense and heavily saturated colours that bring a strong contrast to the no-colour colours.

The skill comes in learning how to build these colours.

People often exist in very distinct wardrobe areas.

You have those who live in strictly black and white because they have been told that all-black or all-white wardrobes are the key to sophistication wardrobe-wise.

I will say that I did really enjoy Valentino’s Le Noir all-black collection for F/W 2024. Black is an important part of any wardrobe.

But back to the black and white wardrobe person, it can be very uniform-like, unless you are of course Moira Rose.

The other type of person is the opposite of the aforementioned people. They choose all the colours, oftentimes in a way to overcorrect and avoid being the B&W wardrobe person.

Both of these work for some, but most of us need something more functioning for us.

Your wardrobe is like a visual form of communication so we want to figure out what message we want to be putting out there.

Often these wardrobes can make you feel basic, overwhelmed, or uninspired, and because of your colour choices, you will get stuck out of habit.

We don’t just want to randomly add bright pieces to try to lift your wardrobe. We want to build a collection that gives us the right vibe for us.

This usually means being able to build a variety of vibes within one wardrobe so we don’t get stuck in a uniform rut.

We want style and we want range.

Sometimes bright colours work, and sometimes they don’t depending on the vibe you are going for.

Maybe adding red tights, or tying a bright blue sweater over your shoulders is the key that is missing to your vibe.

Maybe it is removing it.

This is where people start to run into problems.

Breaking out of your neutral rut doesn’t mean adding all the colours.

It doesn’t need to be quite that extreme, so you don’t need to be scared of the change.

There are a plethora of colours in the world, and there will be a collection that will be perfect for you.

It is like cooking. There is never one way to cook something, there are hundreds of variations by combining different ingredients.

This is how you need to think of your closet. The core of your closet will probably consist of black and other neutrals and they make a substantial wardrobe base.

We then are going to start sprinkling in different variations and levels of colours, the strongest of those colours will be like the final icing on the cake.

We build from the bottom up, not from the top down. The key is to have a solid foundational wardrobe and then slowly build your capsule from there.

You also need to determine if you want colour, not just convince yourself that you need colour. Which is where the no-colour colours come in.

Because with them we can still build a huge range of different wardrobe vibes.

We achieve these vibes by playing with proportions, layering, tucking, combining textures, etc.

The no-colour colours are going to bridge the gap between our neutrals and our bright colours. It is such a simple concept, but one many don’t see because we are trained to think that adding colour to our wardrobe means COLOUR.

Something bold, bright, and intense.

When in reality these no-colour colours are easier to wear, and are going to open up a whole range of different wardrobe vibes.

These bring down the intensity of the bright colours you may add and will breathe new life into your wardrobe.

It is like a puzzle and playing around until the pieces slide together easily. You can’t force them, otherwise it looks awkward and contrived.

We want the outcome to be that we still look like “ourselves”.

Many of you have realized that the challenges you face with your wardrobe, or when shopping, aren’t due to a lack of options.

Instead, they stem from the complex task of unlearning certain ingrained notions, recognizing your own identity, and finding ways to express that identity visually through your personal style.

It’s clear that being confined to specific stereotypes can be extremely limiting.

It stifles creativity and your capacity to present yourself in a way that feels true to you, without worrying about being perceived as disorganized or inconsistent even if you’re the only one making those judgments.

So with practice comes your confidence, and with confidence, you learn the joy of wardrobe experimentation.

You might also like:
A 12 Piece Romantic Spring Capsule Wardrobe
A 12 Piece Trendy Spring Capsule Wardrobe
A 12 Piece Starter Spring Capsule Wardrobe
A 12 Piece Preppy Spring Capsule Wardrobe
A 12 Piece Minimalist Spring Capsule Wardrobe
A 15 Piece Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Inspired Spring Capsule Wardrobe

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