My Fall Capsule Wardrobe 2019 🍁🍂

Another season, another capsule!!!
The concept is the same as it has been for the past years, but a few things are changing and evolving.  This is why I like to share these wardrobe posts.  

For this fall capsule I decided to limit the color scheme to the following colors:

WHITE
CREAMS

BLACK

GREY

NAVY and BLUE DENIM.

But my feature colors of the fall capsule are tones of LIGHT BROWN.  Butterscotch, cognac and dusty rose pinks... 

... and a bit of teal green.  
Let me explain how I got to those color choices.

I really, really wanted this season's color to be a deep forest emerald that you see in the square above, but sadly I don't even have enough pieces of this color to make even one cohesive outfit.  

After some initial disappointment, I looked again at the clothes in my off season box and I saw how many light brown tones I had.  

I realized I have never tried to build outfits with this color.  Well, here we go!

There is time to revisit the emerald green idea.  Maybe I could keep my eye out for pretty emerald pieces 😃

I'm limiting myself to this color range because I had great success with this concept in my summer capsule wardrobe that was mainly focused on WHITE.  Lots of it.  
That whole capsule was pretty much stripped of all color and to my delight, wearing white dresses and outfits all summer long became my signature look.

If you followed my capsule process for any length of time, then you will no doubt know about my struggle to incorporate white into my life and the even bigger struggle to get white into my wardrobe.  I've written about it before in most of my capsule posts.  The short of it is that I'm always drawn to white and light aesthetics, but I just can't seem to create this airy look in my own life.

I don't know the reason why, or the psychology behind this, but this year I set out to change that.  To give myself a bit of a shove, I challenged myself to add something white each month:  I could buy, thrift, create, paint, sew... the method doesn't matter.  I have a list going to keep myself accountable and I'm doing well so far.

The summer capsule is a good example of that because it proved that my forced efforts are working.  I had so many white items to make them the standout 'color' of the season.

But, with the white 'canvas' building, I'm at a point where I like to add contrasting colors one at a time.  But again, this will be a process that requires time, intentionality and lots of patience.

S L O W   /   G R A D U A L   S T Y L E   J O U R N E Y

4   S T E P S   T O   F I N D   M Y   S T Y L E

Okay, let's talk about all the little steps and changes that build the capsule I made this season.  What really help this current capsule is last years' resolve to creating outfits when I get dressed instead of just throwing on clothes I like.  What a concept 🙈

It takes time.  
It's a process that requires a lot of patience and it's ongoing.  I did not magically figure things out overnight when I build my first capsule a few years ago.  It's a style evolutions that happened in micro habits.

For me (and this might be different for you) it took year to figure out what clothes I like through capsule dressing before I started thinking about using these items to create an outfit.  Just last year I was struggling with it, but then I made a few changes that made things easier.

1) I started to ACCESSORIZE.

In fall of 2018, I added a few minimal everyday pieces of gold jewelry and scarves that helped create a layered, interesting look.  Accessories I learned were great to pull and outfit together and add a finishing touch. 

2) I added MATCHING pieces.

During the winter and spring capsules, I added belts that matched my gold jewelry and the color shoes I like to wear: A brown, a black and a white belt with gold buckle.  Again, I surprised myself with how much matched accessories helped me look more intentional.  The clothes I wore now created a look instead of just being weather appropriate attire.

All these changes in the past year made it now possible to consider editing outfits with color.

3) I thought about what GROOMING adds to an outfit. 

For myself, I strongly believe keeping things natural is best.  I have not painted my nails in years and I'm happy how much prettier and healthier my fingernails look now that I no longer have to fuss with nail polish. I also don't color or highlight my hair and I'm not attempting anything wild with makeup.  

A few years ago I figured out with minimal assortment of products I need to get ready.  I suffer from food allergies and asthma, both of which make me break out on my face and neck.  So a sensible morning routine helps my mental well being, but also my overall look.

This past year, I wondered if one's hairstyle is actually part of one's outfit.  I never considered it before.  
My hair is fine and curly and often gives me a great deal of trouble.  So this year I'm learning how to dutch braid my hair.  This practical hairstyle is interesting because it's not commonly worn and it suites the style of clothes I like to wear.  
After a few hours I can take out the braids.  They have somehow tamed my locks so I can enjoy wearing it down.

4) I started STEAMING to look less rumpled. 

For this fall capsule, I invested into a hand held steamer and since I have noticed this extra bit wrinkle taming makes every outfit look a lot nicer and in turn it makes me a whole lot less rumpled.  Now I wish I would have gotten the steamer ages ago.  Much of an outfit is in the presentation: making sure the clothes are in good condition, clean, without fuzzies, hair and... yes,...  without excessive wrinkles.  
As this wrinkle management is new to my capsule dressing this season, I will report back if I kept up with it and if steaming my clothes improved my capsule 🤷‍♀️

But now, let's have a look at the 33 pieces I selected for my fall capsule:

(new items are marked with a * and second hand pieces with **.)

J A C K E T S   (5)
- tan peacoat
- grey blazer
- white fleece jacket
- jean jacket

- black cardigan

S H O R T   S L E E V E   T O P S   (5)

- white flared tank blouse
- white embroidered tank blouse
- brown printed blouse
- Yellowstone graphic t-shirt
- blue/white striped t-shirt

L O N G   S L E E V E   T O P S   (6)
- black v-neck sweater
- light pink sweater
- cream braided sweater
- black silk blouse 
- white button down

- black crochet blouse

D R E S S E S  (5)

- cream flower maxi dress

- navy blue pleated dress
- navy blue mini dress
- white/brown striped bow dress
- emerald green shift dress**

B O T T O M S   (7)

- blue romper* (a gift)
- white jeans

- blue jeans

- black cropped chinos**

- leopard print silk skirt**
- denim mini skirt*

- light denim Bermuda shorts*

S H O E S   (7)
- white keds (had to be replaced with a thrifted tan pair after a few weeks)
- tan/pinkish flats

- black heeled slides

- cream heeled booties 

- brown block heel sandals
- brown riding boots

A C C E S S O R I E S   
Starting with this season, I decided that I no longer like to count the accessories I use as individual items that count towards the 33 items in my seasonal capsule.  But since my selection is still pretty minimal, I still like to list my choices for future reference and for my readers that might take my capsule as an outline for their own capsule 😃.

- everyday jewelry
- sunglasses 
- black, white and brown belts
- emerald green handbag
- white scarf
- felt hat

Thanks for having a look at my new capsule!

  ♡ Nina