A capsule wardrobe is a minimalist approach to daily fashion. It’s centered around a relatively small amount of pieces that go with every other piece in your closet, so you can easily combine them to a large variety of different outfits. Depending on the area your based it might make sense to differentiate by season (e.g. Spring, Fall, Summer, Winter; or Summer & Winter stuff), just to have less items in plain sight and make choosing easier. Obviously you won’t need thick wool coats in the Summer months, or even in fall, depending how reliable the weather is. If living in central Europe you might need everything all year round, since it’s pretty common to have 0°C or below, when leaving from work and then +14°C when going for lunch break.
But enough from my rambling, if you are interested more interested in the origin of the topic you can check out the sites below.
Courtney Carver’s project 333
Brett McKay’s take on how to build an interchangeable wardrobe
Now that we know a bit about what it is, why would we want one?
If you are somewhat like me, you grew up without any guidance on how to dress as an adult or any rites of passage. At first your parents decided what to wear, than later on you just bought what was worn down below repair, had a cool print or color or felt comfortable wearing, athleisure anyone?
It was never necessary to second guess outfits, since all the others basically wear the same stuff, fashionable jeans, either on the skinny or baggy side, mainly depending on year & taste in music or hobbies, and t-short or sweaters, depending on outside temperature.
This way you did fit in great with the crowd all the way through school and colleague/ university and if you never chose a career in law, sales, insurance or banking, where at least some resemblance of a dress code for adults is still present today, chances are pretty high you still dress like you always have been.
But first impressions matter, be it dating, interviews, presentations or even getting a table in a fancy restaurants. Most of the time first impressions even matter more than competence or character. After all humans tend to be pretty judgmental, be it conscious or unconsciously.
So dressing well and fitting for the occasion, really is a low hanging fruit to grab, to past the screening and move on to grounds where who you are and what you bring to the table really matter.
Feel better
Having a individual, smart casual style will help you feel better, not only when being complimented on what you wear from others, but intrinsically as well.
On the one hand, it’s about accumulating small wins and purpose, so if you already chose a great outfit for the day, you will be inclined to build on that, working on the project that’s meaningful, standing up for yourself, or maybe start talking to the girl you are interested in.
On the other hand you will almost naturally be mimicking your heroes from the movies. What have all the James Bonds of the past and present, most of the characters Jason Statham portrays any Guy Ritchie film and the figures in the Ocean’s tribology in common? A very classic choice in clothes. So be aggressive, bold, daring and self-confident. Fake it till you make it, kind of.
Perform better
Feeling great in your own skin, will incline you to perform better. After all most of your life is a performance. When you are giving a presentation at work, you are playing a role, be it the role of an engineer, a consultant, a project manager or an accountant. How you tell your story, how other see you is even more important than the information that you want to convey. Don’t get me wrong, you have to be competent in your field and the information you prepared does matter. But thinking of buying a house, who would you trust more, the expert dressed in suit & tie, or the one dressed in distressed jeans, worn out sneakers topping it of with a classic meme-like t-shirt?Same goes for your private life as well, staying at the buying a house idea, to whom would the bank preferably lend money to? The guy that took the time dressing in a suit or at least wearing a blazer/ sportscoat with a good fitting chino, or the guy who looks like he just rolled out of bed after a long night of binge drinking? How would score a job interview first? Qualification, wealth & character being the same, my guess would the first described person.
Re-establish separation between professional & personal life
Another benefit of creating your own personal style might be to increase distance between work life and private life. Latest since the pandemic those two lifes, everyone of us has to juggle, blurred more and more together. Mobile phones and notebooks from the company, some kind of split between office days and working from home; constant pings and notifications.
If you have established a designated style for work and one for you private endeavors, it will be easier for your mind to switch of work-mode and decompress. Keeping your struggles from work from overlapping into your free time, where you should regenerate and cultivate the relationships with the persons, who are dearest to you. And the other way as well, keeping the struggles at from leaping into work and hindering you from performing well and advancing your career and work relationships.
Save time and money along the way
And lastly, you will be able to save a lot of money along the way. Draft a list for all the items, that should be part of your capsule wardrobe. Buy only those items on the list, buy only the things that are a clear yes, that you love wearing and that impact your mood and self-confidence positively.
Once you have everything, it’s mainly about maintaining, sure you can add a piece that really sparks joy or some accessories that you love, but the mainstays will stay the same and only seldomly need replacing. So you will be free of following the latest fashion trends, magazine advertisements and shopping sprees grabbing pieces randomly that look cool, but won’t fit together once you stand in front of your wardrobe in the morning and realize, that you have nothing to wear.
Sebastian Strobl 
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