It's official, minimal living is all the rage and I am fully on-board. From Marie Kondo's incredibly popular "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" (if you haven't read it yet, you must!), to capsule dressing, I have adopted this lifestyle whole heartedly and can honestly say it has changed my life.
Before I jump into why I choose a streamlined wardrobe and a quick overview of my new fall 2015 additions, I must say that I have always been a minimalist of sorts. Long before this trend spread like wild fire through the blog, insta and pinterest-spheres, I favored cleared shelves and counters over much else. That said, I never realized how much I could still declutter and organize my home and wardrobe until I read Marie's book, watched every one of Jennifer L. Scott's "Ten-Item Wardrobe" videos, and also read her delightful and informative book.
So, why have I chosen streamlined, capsule dressing? My interest in the concept was first piqued when I started to pack for Paris last year. I knew I didn't want to overpack and after countless hours on Pinterest, the endless pins and tips all seemed to point to a simple solution - the "10 Piece French Wardbrobe." After reading a few blogs and seeing the endless possibilities capsule dressing provided, I decided to give it a go for my trip and see what happened. Needless to say, I WAS HOOKED.
After carefully planning the few items I would bring, I traveled to Paris with no more than a small carry-on and never once wished I had more clothes. In fact, I found myself dreading the return to my overflowing closet and vowed to fully adopt capsule dressing the moment I got back to New York. Almost immediately upon returning to my apartment, I cleared out my closet save for only a few key pieces, and have never looked back.
Now for the fun stuff. In this post, I will include links (when available because some of my items were thrifted) and pictures of the new core items that make up my streamlined "capsule" wardrobe. Also, I want to call out that this list only consists of my basics - pants, skirts, jeans, sweaters, shirts (not t-shirts) - and not my accessories, overcoats or shoes - though I have only a few and haven't made any additions to either category yet this season. I also want to acknowledge that I have chosen to opt out of any specific capsule, minimal wardrobe model (Project 333, 10 Piece French Wardrobe etc). Instead, I have aimed to simply streamline my closet and only make a few carefully planned additions at the start of each new season - fall, winter, spring and summer. Lastly, I will of course style each of these items over the course of the fall to show you just how versatile a small clothing collection can be - with the right accessories and shoes. Without further ado, here we go!
The Perfect Skinny Jeans
Cream and Navy Fisherman Sweater
I love fisherman sweaters so much and they are definitely a fall/winter wardrobe staple for me! My old fisherman sweater was a little worse for wear this year so I purchased two new ones from LL Bean and couldn't be happier with them.
Black Cashmere Cardigan
I adore this J.Crew cashmere cardigan. It goes with everything and is the perfect weight to carry me through fall, winter and spring.
This is the incredibly comfortable and flattering LOFT skirt I mentioned here. Stay tuned for an outfit featuring this skirt soon!.
As you can see, my additions this season are simple, streamlined and versatile and I have already worn them a ton and it's only the start of the season! Be sure to check back in for picture posts where I style my new additions with existing core items and accessories for looks that keep on giving.
Until next time, happy minimizing!
