#RtHCapsuleWardrobe Daily Outfits so far...

I wanted to do a first impressions of the whole capsule wardrobe thing now that we're already 20 days in(20.. man that has gone fast!!) 

It's going to be a honest post of what I've liked and disliked and if there's anything I'd change going forward.

So, Capsule Wardrobe

The Good

I am LOVING it.

I never, ever, ever thought i'd be the person saying that, honestly, I am the person who struggles to pack for a holiday as I hate restricting my possibilities and also like having a grand choice to choose from.

But, having a carefully curated selection makes this process so much easier.

Everyday I wake up, check the weather forecast, go to my vastly downsized wardrobe and decide within a few minutes what I would like to wear.

This is unheard of for the compulsive over-thinker that I am.

It has changed my morning, and I know that sounds dramatic, but for a person who would stare longing into her wardrobe each morning then bemoan "I have nothing to wear" each day, this is a vast improvement on my quality of life (ok, extreme much?!)

So yes, to say i am enjoying it would be an understatement.

No my outfits aren't ground-breaking, but then I am happy, so I think that needs to be what i go with right now. Happy, uncomplicated outfits.

Another plus point is less laundry, like loads less. When I had my hundreds to choose from, i would often shove something in the laundry basket and choose something else, this would end up with lots and lots of washing for muggins here to do. not to mention the ironing and then putting away of said clothes.

There is no longer piles of clothes everywhere in my house, It's much easier to keep control of my clothes and that is truly satisfying. if something is clean at the end of the day i hang it back up and don't chuck it on a pile, as a renowned messy person this is major steps forward on the whole tidy-grown-up front. 

My capsule is 45 pieces (see it in full here) and as it was my first I was definitely cautious of giving things up and scared of limiting myself, but having started i can now see the pieces i don't wear that much and the ones i do, I think I could get the number down closer to 38 next time.

Last noteworthy good point: I have spent so much less. We are finishing up the month having saved money, which i would normally have spent. This is definitely a good drive for me, and the husband is happy too!

The Bad

Not much bad to report really, I'm that happy with it. But if I were to be picky I think I would mention that Spring in the Uk is a hard time to do this, we're barely hitting double figures temperature wise and that can be frustrating as I don't have a lot of jumpers in my capsule, but it is making me get a little creative, and having put an extensive amount of jackets in to my capsule, i can at least have variation there.

I didn't include a hooded coat, and so far I haven't used one, but if needs must I will grab my parker which I keep in the car as a just in-case and dog walks.

The other noteworthy bad point is wear and tear.

Obviously I am wearing my clothes a lot more than previously. With 3 main pairs of jeans (skinny ripped jeans, boyfriend jeans and black jeans) being on constant rotation they are getting a battering on the wear and tear front. 

Its worth noting here none of the jeans were bought new for the capsule and had been worn many times prior, so wear and tear hasn't totally been in the past 20 days, but i guess its just more noticeable now as I'm wearing them much more often.

My ripped skinny jeans are looking a little worse for wear on the rippage front, a bit scraggly and the rips are getting a bit out of control.

The black jeans have a hole where there isn't supposed to be a hole, which we'll just call "distressing".

Lastly, I wish i had included a couple more pops of colour. Particularly a little bit of yellow and some more pattern possibly.

 The Changes

If I were to make any changes going forward, there are definitely pieces I would exchange.
Its also worth noting that i did change my trench coat within the first week as i actually had a split in the lining of my other, and i knew from the beginning it was something i would need. I bought a new one with a credit note I had and am super happy with my purchase.

Also it's a good idea to buy good quality denim that you know will last you well. if denim is intergral to your being, like it is for me, then perhaps shelling out a little more on better quality could benefit the capsule.

I included a pleated skirt that I bought for less than a tenner in the sales, but really, I don't like it. I put it in as it seemed like a good idea and I had seen similar in other peoples capsules, but if i'm being honest with myself, it doesn't look right on me and doesn't fit well either. I will donate it to a friend or charity shop, but I would definitely like to replace it with a different skirt that is more me, and would open up more remixing options with the rest of the capsule.
I'm thinking about doing a limited exchange half way through (1st may) if the weather requires as Spring is so tricky.The exchange will be maybe 3 item switches and I'm thinking that could be a pair of sandals that i already own, and maybe a skirt option.
Who knows I may go until June 1st without a single switch as I am definitely happy overall with the capsule. But I'm going to leave the option on the table as feeling constrained isn't a happy experience and i want this to be something i continue with.

I think its safe to say that so far this is something I am super happy I am doing, I shall keep you posted in May on any other outfits and findings.

Just to note I am doing 1st April-1st June as a Meteorological season makes more sense in regards to clothes for me season wise. My summer season will change over on June 1st.

Thanks so much for following along, if you have any questions do drop me a comment below or ask me on twitter or IG!

The Start of My First Capsule Wardrobe: Spring 2016

Ok, so this is something I have been mentally toing and froing with for some time.
I've gotten to the point in my little life where i have found a simple style that I like.
I tend to shop the same styles, occasionally adding in key trends here and there.
But even though I have found my style and simplified, I still shop profusely when i don't have the need for anything.
Why?
Well in the land of Rachel, shopping is a national pass time. I love to shop.
Just like when I entered in to both my 100 days no spend I am once again at the realisation that i literally do not need more clothes. And yet i still find myself shopping.
Having simplified my style a lot over the years, I am finally happy with a lot of the things in my wardrobe and find myself reaching for the same familiar pieces over the fast-fashionable, or uncomfy/ill-fitting pieces.
Basically my wardrobe was a whole big mess.
Some of the stuff I love, some I don't.
I've been researching capsule wardrobes per season (as opposed to the whole year).
The thought of having a carefully curated small(er) selection of clothes that you love to choose from everyday, rather than a shit-ton of pieces that are mostly mediocre at best, appeals to me greatly.
So I got to researching. I had been following Caroline's blog Un-fancy for the past year or so and  have read it in depth and studied the form of how she always looked great for such a small wardrobe. It honestly fascinated me.
I started pinning inspiration like this and this and started to mentally compile my own Spring Capsule.
I felt excited about this new approach to clothes, like really excited.

So I actually set to it and pulled EVERYTHING out of my wardrobe.
At which point I realised that I had WAY to much stuff. Ridiculous amounts.
I pulled out 103 coat hangers worth of hanging stuff, 35+ pairs of jeans (of which I regularly wear maybe 7 of them), 12 skirts, and then copious amounts of non-hung stuff that was shoved in to the shelf space (I actually counted 17 striped tops.. 17!! Who needs 17 striped tops ffs!)
And for your pleasure and my embarrassment here is what it looked like:

Oh the shame!
In my defence (only slightly mind) it is also the winter/spring switch over, which does mean all the bulky knitwear out. But still, bloody ridonkulous amounts of stuff.
I can see stuff there that i haven't worn in over a year, and i can also see a couple of favourites.
But the main point is, there's way too much of it.
I work from home, some days nobody bar my son or husband see's me (sometimes just Neo as Salvatore works away). I do not need this amount of clothing.

The thing with blogging is you end up with this feeling of always needing a new outfit for a new blog post, or even something new to mix in with old.
It came to the point where I thought, I love you guys (blog readers i really do, you are amazing my friend), but who am I shopping for? Not that I'm blaming you here, no no, it's all my own doing.
The need for a different outfit everyday like I'm freakin' Victoria Beckham for crying out loud, was getting absurd.
Social media with its #ootd made me feel like I should be posting a completely different outfit everyday and never the same thing twice, 'cos that's not worth doing right? Its not worth showing as you've already seen it.
But thats real life. Who doesn't repeat outfits?! I mean unless you are VB or of similar celeb status, but really, wearing an outfit again and again is totally normal and something I am re-programming myself to realise, actually good.
It means I am getting my monies worth out of what I do buy.
It means my style is cemented and not fleeting, and I get to wear pieces daily that i love.
That's not a bad thing surely?

Enter the capsule wardrobe

So the common number for a capsule I found when doing research is 38 including shoes (but not accessories or bags)

But in all the Spring edits and capsules, none of them included coats for such diverse weather like we have here in the UK at this time of year.
Spring here means one minute frost and Baltic temperatures, one minute it's a heat-wave.
April-May can be horrendous or glorious. There is just no way of knowing. And when planning a wardrobe around those factors, well it makes it increasingly difficult.
So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say if I need a coat, I will allow myself to wear one of my coats, because pneumonia for a simpler way of life seems a little counter-productive.
But one things for sure, I wont be buying another coat (there's just one exception there which i will get on to).

For the past week I've been trialling my capsule to see where there are holes, what I'm happy with and what I'm not. It currently stands at 42 pieces and in all honesty I think I could do with maybe 3 more to feel totally comfy, everyday for the foreseeable. There's been mornings when there has been blind panic that i haven't got a certain item. But also knowing where to draw the line is important, because otherwise you end up with a wardrobe like I had previously, which totally defeats the object.
So 45? What do we think? Down from literally hundreds. I know it's slightly more than some (less than others) but the main thing is i guess to work with pieces that you are comfortable with. And this is my comfy.
I don't want to be stressed thinking i wish i would have kept in that extra couple of items because i was just sticking to a majority rule.
Also as its still so chilly here right now, I can see me needing to take some of the thicker pieces out as they won't be appropriate in May (she says with trepidation).

Also no spending on more clothes for the foreseeable.
So far I have only bought 2 things for the capsule*, everything else are pieces I already owned and loved. So definite £££ saved.
But there are a couple of pieces I would like to replace, firstly my black jeans are on their last legs (ha), and my trench coat which was second hand is a little snug and could do with replacing.
So if I buy anything that will be it, I may just see how it goes... but if I see the perfect replacements that fit like a glove and I feel they will be investments, then I may buy them. I don't want this to be a gruelling task like the 100 day no spend, I want it to be a re-conditioning, and a happy easy experience.

( One of the multiple lists i made adding and taking out pieces and working out what goes with what.
And my super pleasing 42 piece wardrobe. It has honestly NEVER looked like this. I open it every morning with sheer delight)


Tomorrow I shall disclose my complete capsule!  
Eeeeee!
I'm excited!

Have you ever done a capsule wardrobe?
If not, would you ever consider?

* which I also bagged on the Shopbop Friends and family sale, its 25% off everything I believe with the code INTHEFAM.
Shall be going through my whole capsule tomorrow but I managed to bag a Zoe Karssesn sweater and a pair of Levi white jeans which is exactly what I wanted in my capsule (and within the 42 pieces.. I had already included them).
Definitely worth having a look as there's some bloody good savings to be had.

Ps. Also selling lots of new pieces on ebay here, uploading more today too.