It’s springtime! The sun in shining! The birds are chirping! … And it’s cold one day and hot the next where I live! Here in northern Vermont it was warm and sunny yesterday, and it’s snowing today. Haha. My husband and I made the mistake of switching out our capsule wardrobes a bit earlier than initially planned because we were packing for a trip to California in late March. All was well and good until we got back to Vermont in early April and it was 20 degrees F outside. Ouch.

Even though the temperature is wildly fluctuating, most of the items in my spring capsule are starting to get some use. My husband and I loosely follow the Project 333 capsule rules and we count clothing, shoes, accessories and outerwear but do not count pajamas, lounge wear or workout gear. The actual number of pieces isn’t as important to me. I’m just trying to be as minimal and practical as possible. I think my winter capsule was actually around 30 pieces, and my husband’s was right around 33/34.

For Spring, I have 32 items in the rotation. This doesn’t include my socks/underwear/bras, tank tops that are just for layering and never worn on their own, pajamas or workout gear. I have pared down those items considerably in the last few years, though. I don’t have many duplicates. Many items listed below were also in my winter capsule. If you’re curious about which pieces are staying through the seasons, let me know and I’ll go through and mark those items in some way.

Here’s a list of everything in my closet (though not all of it is pictured.) I tried to keep a mix of items that I could layer for cold days but also be nice and comfortable on warmer days. I like reading about specific capsule lists, so I thought I’d throw mine in the mix. I’d love to know what you think – Should I keep sharing details about my minimalist wardrobe or is it too much? Shout out in the comments below!

I work remotely – from home some days and sometimes from a local coffee shop – and I’m running around after my 17 month old daughter the rest of the time. I started working remotely in 2013 and that changed my outlook on my wardrobe a lot. I do like getting dressed in “real clothes” everyday, though. It might seem silly to switch from a pair of pajama pants to a pair of black leggings and call it being dressed, but for me it makes me feel awake and ready to tackle the day. I know a lot of people take advantage of working from home and stay in loungewear 24/7 but that just doesn’t work for me. One thing I’ve realized about myself during this journey to minimalism and exploring capsule wardrobes is that it helped me stay true to myself while still being practical. I’m less aspirational in my clothing now (bye bye all the blazers and high heels I was holding on to from corporate life,) but I also have way less loungewear than I used to because I just didn’t like it or wear it that often.

The colors I gravitate towards in my wardrobe and in the rest of my life (seriously, my home is also these colors!) are: black, white, gray, olive/army green, navy and pops of warmer tones like pink and orange. This season I only have a slight “pop” of color in a magenta scarf and a pair of light pink pants.

Continue reading “My Spring 2016 Capsule Wardrobe”