The Minimalist Wardrobe: A Simple Guide to Get Started
Fewer, better, worn well, made to last - these are a few of our fundamental principles that we stand for when designing and establishing a minimalist wardrobe. Creating a capsule closet is the process of taking a hard look at key elements in your closet, your style, and your lifestyle, and extrapolating how you can blend all of these things together with your clothing.
More is not always better and it’s well documented that we’re still combating the fast fashion industry standards of selling items that only get worn a few times before breaking down completely. Those are not the kind of clothes you can create a capsule wardrobe with.
For some, this means taking a minimalist approach and choosing a specific number of items, for others it might just be taking the time to analyze your personal style and then clearing out a few rogue pieces that don’t make the cut. It will be different for each person but this will be a helpful guide on getting started and why creating a solid capsule wardrobe is important.
What is a Minimalist Wardrobe?
A minimalist wardrobe is exactly what it sounds like. Minimalist in quantity, but maximized in quality. It’s the practice of having less and gaining more - in this case with clothing - but the principles can apply to many areas of your life too.
Your closet should act as a capsule for the clothing that you bring into your life and hold onto. Compact, carefully put together and holding only the most important elements inside. Elements that have multiple options for styling and that are long-lasting in their quality.
Don’t just take it from us either. Listen to what our customers say about their journey in creating a more curated wardrobe that will connect all aspects of their life together:
“I am in the process of creating a minimalist wardrobe that is a bit more of a uniform… I feel like it will take me from home (being a mama) to the office perfectly. I hate having two wardrobes, one for work and one for home. This helps bridge my two worlds.”
When it comes to designing your capsule wardrobe from the ground up, we’ll be taking a look at functionality, versatility, and your own lifestyle choices to bridge the gap between all of the clothes in your closet and how those clothes play a part in your day-to-day life.
Elements of A Capsule Wardrobe
Though there is some debate about the wardrobe basics - the bare essentials for a highly curated closet - one thing goes without contention.
Bringing your wardrobe down to the most essential, most important, most useful, and highest-quality pieces has so many more benefits than just cleaning out your closet.
By embarking on the journey to a more carefully crafted wardrobe, you are:
Investing in the highest-quality pieces you have - giving them even more longevity.
- Cutting waste and excess from your closet that’s taking up closet space and mental real estate.
- Making a conscious effort to understand your own personal style and finding out what the best you looks like.
- Starting a chain reaction of improving the Cost Per Wear of each item in your closet that will become some of your wardrobe staples.
- Establishing a connection between the different parts of your life and seemingly separate parts of your wardrobe and how those two things no longer need to be disconnected.
Elements of A Capsule Wardrobe
Though there is some debate about the wardrobe basics - the bare essentials for a highly curated closet - one thing goes without contention.
Bringing your wardrobe down to the most essential, most important, most useful, and highest-quality pieces has so many more benefits than just cleaning out your closet.
By embarking on the journey to a more carefully crafted wardrobe, you are:
Investing in the highest-quality pieces you have - giving them even more longevity.
- Cutting waste and excess from your closet that’s taking up closet space and mental real estate.
- Making a conscious effort to understand your own personal style and finding out what the best you looks like.
- Starting a chain reaction of improving the Cost Per Wear of each item in your closet that will become some of your wardrobe staples.
- Establishing a connection between the different parts of your life and seemingly separate parts of your wardrobe and how those two things no longer need to be disconnected.
In our opinion, there are eight key areas of interest in creating a capsule wardrobe that’s designed specifically for you. We like to start with a top-down approach, analyzing each part of the wardrobe, and go all the way down to your accessories.
- Tops
- Bottoms
- Layers
- Outerwear
- Luxury
- Multi-Functional Pieces
- Shoes
- Accessories
In addition to these categories of your wardrobe, we also tend to lean toward the rule of three: one casual, one statement, one in between. Let’s break this down further to really kickstart our guide to helping you craft the perfect capsule closet.
Tops
High-quality button-ups, tees you can dress up or down, something durable for work and play - you get the idea. Choosing comfortable, flattering styles and body-honoring silhouettes is crucial. Our Flannels, Box Tops, and Classic 101 Button-ups are some customer favorites that they love to live in.
Bottoms
Thank goodness fashion is moving in the direction of comfort and function! Choosing bottoms - jeans, slacks, chinos, etc - should be solely focused on comfort, function, and versatility. Choose chinos that can be worn to work or out for a romantic evening. Choose jeans that work hard and feel good on your body.
Layers
Sweaters, cardigans, pullovers - long-lasting, high quality, neutral tones that go with nearly anything. A style that can be casual or dressed up. Our varying styles of Knitwear are relaxed and carry you to different parts of your life with ease. From boxy pullovers and sweaters to buttery soft tees and turtlenecks - these pieces can be worn around the park with the kids paired with leggings and sneakers, or tucked into your slacks and jeans for a polished look at the office.
Tops
High-quality button-ups, tees you can dress up or down, something durable for work and play - you get the idea. Choosing comfortable, flattering styles and body-honoring silhouettes is crucial. Our Flannels, Box Tops, and Classic 101 Button-ups are some customer favorites that they love to live in.
Bottoms
Thank goodness fashion is moving in the direction of comfort and function! Choosing bottoms - jeans, slacks, chinos, etc - should be solely focused on comfort, function, and versatility. Choose chinos that can be worn to work or out for a romantic evening. Choose jeans that work hard and feel good on your body.
Layers
Sweaters, cardigans, pullovers - long-lasting, high quality, neutral tones that go with nearly anything. A style that can be casual or dressed up. Our varying styles of Knitwear are relaxed and carry you to different parts of your life with ease. From boxy pullovers and sweaters to buttery soft tees and turtlenecks - these pieces can be worn around the park with the kids paired with leggings and sneakers, or tucked into your slacks and jeans for a polished look at the office.
Outerwear
Chore coats, trench coats, bomber jackets, and more. Something life proof - easy to wear, layer, dress up or down that can keep up with you and your busy lifestyle. While there isn’t necessarily one jacket that does it all, choosing a few key pieces will pull everything together for all seasons.
Luxury
We need to have the option to dress up and down depending on the occasion. Dresses and skirts are the perfect hybrids that work for nearly any situation when chosen wisely. The perfect dress can be styled up with statement jewelry and heels or more casually worn to a kid’s birthday party with a belt and sneakers. Find a dress that does it all - or gets pretty close to it. The same goes for skirts in choosing something that can be worn seemingly an unlimited number of ways. Get creative!
Multi-Functional Pieces
Jumpsuits, coveralls, overalls, rompers - some for work and play that can be dressed up or down too. Choose something flattering, yet functional - jumpsuits you can wear in the garden and wear to date night. Wear them on the beach with sandals or to the office for meetings. These multi-functional and highly versatile items will become the swiss army knives of your closet. They are there when you need them and become a piece you find yourself coming back to time after time.
Shoes + Accessories
Adding the final touches to the capsule wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without taking into account shoes and accessories. In this day and age, comfort is king - especially when it comes to shoes. Sure, you can splurge on that one pair of shoes that you won’t wear as often but that you plan to keep forever. But also invest in a pair or two that help pull together the seemingly separate parts of your wardrobe and will look and feel great for a long time. It could even become your own personal shoe capsule! Then choose accessories that go with just about anything - choose something that won’t break down and can be styled easily with the rest of your outfit.
Multi-Functional Pieces
Jumpsuits, coveralls, overalls, rompers - some for work and play that can be dressed up or down too. Choose something flattering, yet functional - jumpsuits you can wear in the garden and wear to date night. Wear them on the beach with sandals or to the office for meetings. These multi-functional and highly versatile items will become the swiss army knives of your closet. They are there when you need them and become a piece you find yourself coming back to time after time.
Shoes + Accessories
Adding the final touches to the capsule wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without taking into account shoes and accessories. In this day and age, comfort is king - especially when it comes to shoes. Sure, you can splurge on that one pair of shoes that you won’t wear as often but that you plan to keep forever. But also invest in a pair or two that help pull together the seemingly separate parts of your wardrobe and will look and feel great for a long time. It could even become your own personal shoe capsule! Then choose accessories that go with just about anything - choose something that won’t break down and can be styled easily with the rest of your outfit.
Making the Most from a Minimalist Wardrobe
Less is more, fewer is better - and not just in your clothing. But it can certainly start there.
Fewer clothes mean less of almost everything! Getting dressed becomes easier. You make fewer choices; have fewer stressors; spend time on fewer decisions. You also create less waste and less financial burden too. But with less of these things, there’s so much more you gain. Most importantly, practicing curating a minimalist wardrobe helps you avoid fast fashion - something we can all get behind.
Think of your closet as a true capsule, a limited space for only the items you truly love, and those that have the ability to love you back for a long time. If you’re not totally in love with it - the fit, style, color, material - it’s probably not worth keeping. We always seem to convince ourselves that we “might wear it” and then it sticks around the closet - taking up space and collecting dust. To wrap this up, here are our five rules of thumb that help analyze whether certain items stay or go.
1. Be Selective with Your Choices
Be selective with items that truly make you happy and fit your personal style. Be choosey in keeping items that can play well in many areas of your life - work, mom duties, nights out, and more. When you choose the best pieces, you’ll find that your closet is less about how many pieces you have, and more about what those clothes mean to you.
2. Choose High-Quality, Durable Items
There’s no room in a minimalist wardrobe for items that won’t make it for the long haul. Choose items that are going to last you years (not months) and will feel better with time. Items you’d hate to live without and are worth patching, fixing, and sewing to make them last just a bit longer.
1. Be Selective with Your Choices
Be selective with items that truly make you happy and fit your personal style. Be choosey in keeping items that can play well in many areas of your life - work, mom duties, nights out, and more. When you choose the best pieces, you’ll find that your closet is less about how many pieces you have, and more about what those clothes mean to you.
2. Choose High-Quality, Durable Items
There’s no room in a minimalist wardrobe for items that won’t make it for the long haul. Choose items that are going to last you years (not months) and will feel better with time. Items you’d hate to live without and are worth patching, fixing, and sewing to make them last just a bit longer.
3. View Each Item as an Investment
When it comes to clothing that will last and continue to look and feel great, those items are not just purchases, they’re investments. Start to view each item in your closet as an investment into a larger vault of clothing that will save you much more than just money in the long run.
4. Think Long-Term: Timelessness, Not Trends
Everyone’s personal style is different, and when you take the time to analyze your individual style and hone in your closet to match, you’ll start to see how crucial it is to choose pieces that will outlast the trends. These are your wardrobe staples, the foundational pieces that you can work with each time you go to your closet.
5. Approach Your Closet Holistically
Don’t think of your closet as a whole bunch of individual pieces - think of it as one unit - pieces to a larger puzzle, if you will. The curated items you’ll keep should work together, blend well, build off one another, and be items you find yourself drawn to time and time again.
3. View Each Item as an Investment
When it comes to clothing that will last and continue to look and feel great, those items are not just purchases, they’re investments. Start to view each item in your closet as an investment into a larger vault of clothing that will save you much more than just money in the long run.
4. Think Long-Term: Timelessness, Not Trends
Everyone’s personal style is different, and when you take the time to analyze your individual style and hone in your closet to match, you’ll start to see how crucial it is to choose pieces that will outlast the trends. These are your wardrobe staples, the foundational pieces that you can work with each time you go to your closet.
5. Approach Your Closet Holistically
Don’t think of your closet as a whole bunch of individual pieces - think of it as one unit - pieces to a larger puzzle, if you will. The curated items you’ll keep should work together, blend well, build off one another, and be items you find yourself drawn to time and time again.
Starting Your Minimalist Wardrobe Today
Starting with a few of these basic guidelines will help determine if or when you might be ready to start diving into curating your perfect minimalist wardrobe. A great place to start is by participating in clothing challenges like this 10x10 Challenge. It gets you started on the right foot in choosing just 10 pieces and working with only those pieces for 10 days. It helps test your creativity and makes thinking about your wardrobe more intentional.
To learn more, we’d encourage you to check out these examples of capsule closets and minimalist wardrobes you’ll be swooning over and follow their journey.
And keep in mind, creating and maintaining a minimalist wardrobe isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. We hope you’ll test new bounds and meet inspiring people by joining in the conversation and joining the challenges! Follow these hashtags to stay up to date on new challenges and new inspiring ways to create and invest in your capsule wardrobe.
If you're looking for a minimalist wardrobe that's versatile and timeless, Tradlands has got you covered. Our simple guide offers practical tips on how to create a functional wardrobe that reflects your personal style. With our high-quality, ethically made pieces, you can curate a wardrobe that will last for years to come. From classic sweaters to relaxed dresses, our collection has everything you need to build a minimalist wardrobe that works for you. Shop now and simplify your style with Tradlands.