Fall Capsule Wardrobe Lookbook 2016

I'm beginning my second year of capsule wardrobes with another Fall Capsule Wardrobe!  Come along and take a look at a couple outfits pulled from this season's capsule - from casual to business to date night!

Watch here or on YouTube, and don't forget to subscribe to my channel!

Want more?

See my full Fall Capsule here, along with a recap of my first year of capsules!

Or, watch my YouTube video where I walk you through my process of building a capsule and talk about each piece included this time around.

Until next time,

Fall Capsule Wardrobe 2016 + One Year Capsule Update!

I can’t believe I’ve completed a full year of capsule wardrobes!  This year has been so eye-opening and life-changing - I honestly can’t believe I ever handled my closet any other way.  I’m excited to share all about my fall capsule wardrobe for this year and to chat with you about my experience doing capsule wardrobes for a whole year!

On Monday I posted a video talking through my process of building a capsule and talking about each piece I included through this time around and why I chose it!  Watch it here or on YouTube for a more in depth look at my method!

Here’s a list of each piece I included and where you can buy it (whether it be the exact piece or something similar!)

TOPS (22)

1. White Flowy Cami (Aritzia) 
2. White V Neck Muscle Tee (Aritzia)
3. White Button Down With Pockets (Zara)
4. White Button Down (Zara)
5. Beige Trench Coat (Forever 21)
6. Long Line Grey Cardigan (Forever 21)
7. Knit Cropped Tank (Brandy Melville)
8. Oversized Denim Shirt (Zara)
9. Grey Lace Up Tank (Urban Outfitters)
10. Deep V Crop Grey (Aritzia)
11. Grey Pocket Tee (Aritzia)
12. Dark Grey Tee (Aritzia)
13. Black Lace Up Tank (Urban Outfitters)
14. Black Cami (Aritzia)
15. Deep V Crop Black (Aritzia)
16. Black Sleeveless High Neck Blouse (Aritzia)
17. Black Sleeveless V Neck Blouse (Aritzia)
18. V Neck Black Tee (Urban Outfitters)
19. Black Pocket Tee (Aritzia)
20. Black Long Sleeve Top (Aritzia)
21. Black Henley (Urban Outfitters)
22. Black V Neck Pullover (Aritzia)

BOTTOMS (9)

1. High Waisted Denim Shorts (Urban Outfitters)
2. Low Rise Distressed Jeans (Hollister)
3. Black Dress Shorts (Club Monaco)
4. High Waisted Black Jean Shorts (Lulu's)
5. High Waisted Blue Jeans (Urban Outfitters)
6. Black Skinny Jeans (American Eagle)
7. Cropped Dress Pants (Zara)
8. Black Zipper Leggings (Zara)
9. Dress Pants Yoga Pants (Betabrand)

DRESSES (2)

1. Black Deep V Dress (Lulu's)
2. Black Jumpsuit (Lulu's)

OUTERWEAR (3)

1. Black Blazer (Zara)
2. Black Vegan Leather Moto Jacket (Lulu's)
3. Black Coat (Aritzia)

SHOES (7)

1. Vegan Doc Martens (Doc Martens)
2. Vegan Leather Black and Nude Pumps (Call It Spring)
3. Dotted Apollo Sneakers (Native Shoes)
4. Vegan Leather Oxfords (Aldo)
5. Black High Top Chucks (Converse)
6. Two-Tone Flats (Melissa)

You may have noticed that I surpassed my usual maximum limit of 40 items this time around… don’t worry, it’s not a mistake!  After the difficulty I had last year trying to put together a wardrobe that could carry me from almost 30 degree weather in September all the way to snow and freezing temperatures in November, I decided to give myself a couple extra items to improve my chances of being covered no matter the circumstance.

As you can see, my neutral wardrobe is here to stay for another season.  Until I began my capsule wardrobe project I didn’t realize how wonderful it would be to remove colour from my closet!  I was always a big fan of all black outfits and neutrals, but it wasn’t all I wore by any means.  The freedom and satisfaction I feel while rocking a colour-less outfit is so worth it that I pretty much have no colourful pieces left!

Don’t forget to watch my YouTube video to get more details on each piece and why I chose them as well as my lookbook video!

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A Recap Of My Full Year Of Capsules

As you may recall, this past year I've had four capsules:

Fall Capsule Wardrobe

Winter Capsule Wardrobe

Cruise Capsule Wardrobe (+ Cruise Capsule Lookbook)

Summer Capsule Wardrobe (+ Summer Capsule Lookbook)

The verdict?

I would say my capsule project has turned out to be a roaring success!

I was pretty wary of the whole thing at the beginning, to be fully honest.  I didn’t think I would be able to stop shopping constantly, or be happy wearing the same pieces and outfits over and over.  But I have, and I am!  I feel as though such a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, as dramatic as that sounds.

I spoke about this briefly in my One Year Of Minimalism Update video, but I was a serious shopaholic for several years.  Shopping gave me a rush that helped me forget my problems and combat my developing depression.  The idea of removing my self-prescribed antidepressant from my life was terrifying.  But I honestly feel that taking that shot of endorphins away has allowed me to look deeper and to begin to work through my problems, rather than run away from them.

Capsules have cut my morning routine in half.  I don't spend time walking from the closet to the dresser, trying to decide what to wear.  I check the weather, grab some bottoms, grab a top, and go.  Everything is on the same small rack, easy to find and organized.

I feel like my style is more consistent and I feel more put together no matter how recently I rolled out of bed.  Which is definitely a bonus considering how much I love to sleep!

I have realized through the capsule process that the vast majority of my wardrobe no longer fits my style, and have donated far more pieces than I ever would have thought possible a year ago.  I've even sold some pieces, making some extra cash on the side!

Planning and doing a small amount of shopping for each new capsule has become something I really look forward to.  I find myself barely going into shops, and when I do I can easily stick to window shopping rather than giving in and buying things.  (This is a seriously big deal for me!)

I have saved hundreds of dollars that I surely would have spent on pointless clothing pieces had I not been doing capsule wardrobes.  With a wedding to pay for, this was so important!

So many people are curious about my capsules and want to learn more.  I often get asked whether or not I'll go back to the standard way of dressing.  

The answer?  

I really can't see why I would ever want to.

Capsule wardrobes were my gateway drug for minimalism, and baby I ain't ever going back!

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Have you tried capsules yet?  If not, what are you waiting for!

Use these to get started...

How To Build A Capsule Wardrobe (blog post)

Free Downloadable Capsule Planning Worksheet

How I Plan My Capsule Wardrobes (video)

Until next time,

Winter Capsule Wardrobe

Winter is here and that means it's finally time to reveal my second capsule wardrobe!  I had a lot of fun with my Fall Capsule and loved putting together this wardrobe, armed with months of capsule experience.  (Learn how to build a capsule wardrobe here!)  Some of my choices last time just didn't get worn, so I'm hoping to make wiser picks in my Winter Capsule that can handle the range of weather conditions and temperatures that Toronto winters throw at us Torontonians!

First things first, I promised I would review my first ever capsule wardrobe experience!

F A L L   C A P S U L E   W A R D R O B E   R E C A P

T H E   G O O D.

• I LOVED the capsule wardrobe experience and never want to go back to the standard closet explosion of earlier years!
• The neutrals meant that almost every item went with everything else, which made getting ready so much faster!
• I loved the minimal and neutral style I curated for myself.
• I really enjoyed the challenge to create different combinations from the same pieces for the 3 months.  Go check out my instagram to see what I put together!
• This experience made me realize that I can downsize my wardrobe even more than I did during my KonMari minimizing spree, which is super exciting for a clothing hoarder like me!
• The majority of my clothes were super comfortable which was AWESOME.

T H E   B A D.

• My tall black boots broke the first time I tried to wear them.  Yeah.
• I barely wore the dressier items I included - the two white button downs and the deep v neck long sleeve tops in black and white.  My day to day and work environments are very casual and I had barely any opportunities to dress up, other than auditions.  Since audition wear isn't included in my capsule I just didn't need these items!
• The dress pants, track pants, and green jeans I included are cropped and it was often too cold to wear them, despite wanting to.

T H E   U G L Y.

• I definitely didn't include enough clothing for cold weather - it got VERY cold in December and I had to go outside of my capsule to keep warm enough with more layers and heavier sweaters.  This is a tough problem in Toronto where fall weather goes from summer heat to winter chill on a day to day basis.  I hope next year I can find a better balance!

And now time for my winter capsule wardrobe reveal...

Once again I'm sticking to an almost entirely neutral palette.  I considered including a plaid shirt again,  but finally decided against it.  Only time will tell if I regret that decision!  

I did a lot of thinking and planning around layering options, since the temperature in Toronto ranges quite a bit.  I also work in a store that can go from freezing to boiling to freezing again within any give day, so I need to be able to take off and put on layers easily!  I'm hoping that I have enough of each layering category to keep me going until the end of March, I actually increased the number of tops in my capsule from 18 to 27(!) so hopefully I've covered all of the bases!

I'm also excited about my new vegan coat (see my unboxing video here) as it's black (surprise surprise), super warm, and very comfortable!  20 points to HoodLamb for making an awesome winter jacket.  I plan on doing a detailed review after I've had a bit longer with it!

Just like last time, I'll share where I bought everything if you're interested in picking up a couple of the pieces.   Once again, a little disclaimer.  As I am an ethical vegan, I do not endorse purchasing any items made from or by animals.  A couple of these pieces I purchased before my transition to veganism, and are therefore not in line with my current beliefs.  If you are interested in my take on wearing products made from or by animals as a vegan, and why I continue to wear some of my old pieces, check out the post HERE.  I won't be linking to items containing animal products but will instead link to a similar item made with vegan materials.  I hope you understand and respect why I am choosing to do this!  Also, some of the items were given to me or I purchased long enough ago that they are no longer available.  In those cases I will link to something similar, or the same item in a different colour!

Alright, here we go!

TOPS (27)

1. white cami - similar
2. white flowy cami - aritzia
3. white tank - similar
4. white tee - aritzia
5. white v neck tee - urban outfitters
6. beige deep scoop cami - similar
7. taupe waffle long sleeve - aritzia
8. deer baseball tee - similar
9. heavy patterned cardigan - similar
10. grey cropped tank - brandy melville
11. grey tank top - hollister
12. grey tee - aritzia
13. grey v neck long sleeve - similar
14. grey hooded cardigan - similar
15. grey & black baseball tee - aritzia
16. dark grey tee - aritzia
17. beatles tank - similar
18. black cropped cami - similar
19. black cami - similar
20. black tee - aritzia
21. black deep v neck tee - similar
22. black henley - similar
23. black long sleeve top - aritzia
24. black v neck long sleeve - aritzia
25. black cardigan - similar
26. black pullover sweater - similar
27. black chunky pullover sweater - similar

BOTTOMS (8)

1. black skinny jeans - american eagle
2. black zippered leggings - zara 
3. black leggings - urban outfitters
4. black vegan leather pants - similar
5. grey high waisted leggings - similar
6. high waisted blue jeans - urban outfitters
7. blue ripped jeans - similar
8. blue jeans - anthropologie

DRESSES (1)

1. grey sweater dress - aritzia

OUTERWEAR (1)

1. black parka - hoodlamb

SHOES (3)

1. vegan doc martens - doc martens
2. short black cowboy boots - similar
3. black winter boots - nice shoes

That's it!  I'm excited to see how this capsule holds up over the next 3 months.  I will be committing to no new purchases until mid May or so, when I will be planning my spring capsule!  Check out my Style and Capsule Pinterest boards to see what I'm loving for spring as I begin looking for inspiration!

I hope you've enjoyed reading my recap and seeing my new picks for winter 2016!  I've been considering filming videos to go along with my capsule wardrobe posts, whether sit down chat style or showing the clothes on my body as more of a look book.  Let me know if you'd watch and which you'd like better!  If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know in the comments and I hope you'll consider giving capsule wardrobes a try!

Until next time,

Are you doing a capsule wardrobe this winter?  Leave your link below so that we can check out your picks!

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