Project 333: Fall 2015

This past weekend, I decided to do another wardrobe purge and start another Project 333 capsule wardrobe. The idea behind Project 333 is to pick 33 pieces that make up your wardrobe and wear just those pieces for 3 months. Not included are workout gear, underwear and sentimental jewelry that you wear every day like a wedding ring. I also opted not to include any jewelry because I don't wear much jewelry so it's not as big of an issue for me as clothing is. The rest of your clothes gets boxed up to be revisited after three months.



The first thing I did was to unbox all of my old clothes and pile it all on my bed. After not having it for three months, would I be ready to let go of some stuff? Yes! I also had a better idea of what kinds of pieces I needed more of and which kinds I could have had less of. I really did a great job of building a great mix and match 40s wardrobe in my summer capsule but I really missed having the option to have a more relaxed casual look.

I'm really realizing that my ideal of having a 100% authentic vintage look every single day is not really what I need or want. So I'm going to mix it up a bit and do some vintage with a twist looks. And I'll revisit it all again in three months if I want to swing more towards authentic vintage. The great thing about fashion is that it's not meant to be static.

So here are my 33 things for October, November and December. (I'm starting a few days early because that's when I had the time to come up with it.)

1-8: I have 8 tops three of which carried over from my summer capsule.

9-14: And here are six skirts-three old and three new. The two center ones are going to get refashioned in to pleated rather than gathered skirts and I'm going to take a bit of the fullness out because crazy 50s volume is not great to wear on an everyday basis.

15-19: I've got two sweaters which are the same two from my summer collection. I have added two new jackets. Jackets just say fall to me and even though it's no where near chilly enough to wear them outside right now, where I work is very air conditioned and I'm hoping it will cool off nicely by December. I've been watching a lot of capsule wardrobe videos on youtube and looking at wardrobes on pinterest and I've noticed that a lot of them include scarves, even in the summer. So I've decided to include on in mine even though I don't really wear them except for warmth. If it doesn't work out, it'll be bye bye scarves.

 20-24: Four dresses and my 1930s beach pjs because I love them. I decided to include one Christmas dress because I adore Christmas. :D

25-28: These two dresses I love but don't quite fit right. So they will be refashioned into skirts. And I have one pair of jeans and my Freddies capris.

29-33: Four pairs of shoes and one purse. I'm not sure this purse will make it all the way to December but if I switch it out for one later I'll be ok with it. I'm still in the mood for this summery purse right now.

So I'll definitely have a different look from my summer wardrobe. I can tell I'm more into a 50s look but with a modern twist. So yay for spicing things up!

What are you excited about wearing this fall?

Thoughts on Living with a Capsule Wardrobe

I shared two 1940s capsule wardrobes back in May-one spring/summer and one fall/winter- in order to show you how a small, carefully curated wardrobe can really be versatile. I've been living with in my own small 40s capsule wardrobe and I thought I'd share what it's like.

First, a few notes. I haven't been living in just this capsule wardrobe. I've still been wearing other things, but probably 80-90% of the time, it's been the capsule wardrobe. I've also added a few pieces including a green skirt, a printed blouse and a black blouse. So now the new count is 1 dress, 1 suit, 1 extra skirt, and 4 blouses. I've not even tried to stay with in the capsule wardrobe accessories list but I have gobs of accessories so that's not really an issue.

One thing that is super awesome about having a capsule wardrobe is knowing you have an arsenal of comfortable outfits that look good on you. I don't get that "my closet is exploding but I still have nothing to wear" feeling since I know the things I do have are going to work for my life. Getting dressed in the morning is super easy.

This simplicity has caused me to simplify my hair routine as well. I've been wearing pretty much the same style everyday I wear the 1940s capsule wardrobe unless I have some place special to go. My make up routine has always been pretty simple so it fits in quite well with my new simpler style.

No one has noticed (or at least not commented) on the fact that my wardrobe has been less varied. Really, I don't think the average person would notice. I do worry about keeping enough variety for the blog, but I have to remember that you all don't see what I wear everyday so I can still keep things fresh.

Some of the downsides are that I still don't feel like I have enough pieces to really make it work. I only have two skirts and I usually spill something on one of them at least once a week. And then I'm down to one skirt. I'd also really like a day dress since my current dress is not good for day to day wear.

I'd also like to add a few more work appropriate pieces. I have things I can wear to work but I do want to make sure I can still look professional enough so that's where I'll be focusing on next.