Capsule Wardrobe

Over Christmas, I solicited opinions about my blog and how to improve it.

'More cakes,' said Cormac and Gillian.  'More clothes,' said LTLS and LTBS.  

I was thinking about the clothes thing and while I'm a little bit shy of posting photos of my outfits, I decided that if I could combine my love of clothes with some scientific research into packing, I would really be doing the world a service.  Alors, a new feature: the capsule wardrobe.  This is my holy grail, my quest.  I hate packing - probably because I've never mastered the art and no matter what I do, I still arrive at my destination with a suitcase full of clothes that looked like the cat slept on them.

For my five days in Auckland last week, I decided to try the following equation:

1 dress + 1 skirt + 1 trousers + 2 blouses + 2 cardigans + 1 jersey top + 3 pairs of shoes = wardrobe heaven?

I like Mighty Girl's idea that you should have sleepwear that can double as daywear at a pinch and so I took the very brave step of investing in a pair of leggings (I have leggings issues, but I wanted to try something new.)  

The first day I wore the dress, my yellow sandals and a blue cardigan - no photos because I could barely focus my eyes when I got up, let alone take pictures.

That evening I tried this out:

Day 2 was beige/gold Reiss skirt and printed blouse.  

I like the skirt/blouse combination (and check out my hair - my little sister gave me hairdo instruction over Christmas), but can't decide if the wrinkled look is good or just wrinkled.  (The skirt fabric is a cotton/linen weave so prone to creasing.)

Day 3 was my tribute to Ava Gardner in Mogambo (LTLS and I watched over Christmas, so cool).  I like this one:

Day 4 was an experiment in lines and folds - overall I think it worked although still some wrinkle anxiety - and probably my favourite hair of the week:

 

Day 5 was trousers, printed blouse, blue cardigan and brogues ... on the fence about this one.  I had to catch a four hour flight and I am paranoid about being cold on planes, hence shoes (and stockings even) but I think there was a touch of leprechaun about my lower half, not really a good look for a grown woman.  More optimistically, a touch of Land Girl.  I'd let you decide, but again, no photos.  You'll just have to use your imagination.

So did the experiment work?  It was definitely a step in the right direction.  Having the skirt and trousers in a similar shade helped the mix-and-match and I compensated for the beige with some bright reds and yellows.  I probably had one pair of shoes to many (and also a trenchcoat I never wore) but the forecast was for rain, so better to be safe than sorry.  The hero item was probably the yellow sandals; they are FABULOUS, they make every outfit look better.

Next time: fewer things that need ironing, more jewellery.  And I'm still not sure about the leggings.