Ah, closet staple pieces. Growing up, I was that little girl who never wore the same outfit twice … rest in peace Lord & Taylor. Nothing and everything was a closet staple. My mother, who’s never really been “into” fashion, but loved being in the stores purchasing things that caught her eye, kept me in all the latest pieces that popped up into Lord & Taylor or, her personal favorite, United Colors of Benneton. I could have easily been a Benneton kid with the rotation of their items that appeared in my closet and I had every color of Keds imaginable because they fit so well with everything. On the off chance they didn’t, I had Mary Janes.
My Wardrobe Origins
As I got older and started purchasing my own clothes, I didn’t buy to the extent that I didn’t duplicate outfits, but I did have enough that sometimes I’d have a midday wardrobe change in college because … priorities. After I had my kids, I dropped down to a 00/0 (pregnancy-related hyperthyroidism was to thank and it lasted for over a decade) and even though nothing fit me anymore, I stopped buying for me (mom guilt) and started buying for them. When I went back to Corporate America in 2014, I hit up H&M for stylish, yet affordable, pieces to add to my wardrobe that didn’t make me feel like I was depriving my children of something and I started feeling like a closet grownup … then, I gained weight.
Growing Out of My Clothes
I gained 40 pounds to be exact, jumping from a 115 to my current 155 and even though most of it is in my ginormous breast, there’s still enough in other places that no amount of leg bends, jumping jacks, or lying down and pulling was going to get me into my bottoms. My closet turned into a mashup of things I had to buy in order to be presentable for work and things my heart just wouldn’t let me get rid of because I was “going to make it back down to that size one day, damn-it!” Let me just say, I’ve been trying to make it back down to that size since 2015.
Starting Over with Building a Capsule Wardrobe
At this point, I definitely wouldn’t consider the items in my closet to be a “wardrobe” by any sense of the word and have started to piece together a capsule wardrobe of quality, interchangeable pieces that will take me throughout the year. Because I want to be able to easily add my pieces together, or with some trendy items from Rent the Runway, I’m sticking to a neutral palette of blacks, browns, whites, and greys.
I created a list of items I want in my wardrobe along with brands I love that I feel are flattering to my body. With that done, I’ve been scouting out local and online consignment shops, along with the Goodwill Outlet, where I actually scored a beautiful Hermes scarf to my excitement and surprise. I’m always fine paying a bit more for new on items it’s harder for me to grow out of, so I did check out the recent Nordstrom sale and purchased a couple of winter coats and shoes to mark off of the list.
Did you spend time building a capsule wardrobe or do you prefer to have many items to choose from in your closet? If you do have a capsule, did you do a mixture of thrifted and sale pieces or do you prefer to buy all of your clothes new?
