It’s that time of year again…that glorious time of year when I plan my fall capsule wardrobe. Allow me to play my broken record and say that fall is my ABSOLUTE favorite time of the year to plan outfits. It’s cold enough for layers, but not so cold that you need ALL the layers.

Say “no” to capsule wardrobe rules

I don’t have a strict protocol for planning my capsule wardrobe. In the past, I have done capsules that have contained a certain number of items, like a 10×10 challenge and Project 333, but I no longer adhere to a strict number of items. I like to add in the items that I’m excited to wear and see what I end up with. The number is usually less than 40, but I also don’t include shoes, jackets or accessories in my capsule wardrobe.

Too many rules can make a capsule wardrobe feel restrictive which, from experience, I have found to be a recipe for failure. I simply enjoy having a smaller selection to choose from, without seeing season inappropriate items.

I don’t actually store out of season clothing away. All of my clothing hangs in my closet or rests on shelves or in a dresser. My capsule wardrobe is contained on a wooden clothing rack, which has been moved to my bedroom. It used to reside in our library which I had converted into a dressing room. But I didn’t like my clothing to be so far away from the bedroom so I’ve now moved it all back in there.

In addition to not having a set number for items, I also don’t have a set color palette. I like to see how it all comes together in the end. I know that there is a lot of guidance out there to pin items on Pinterest to get an idea of what you want to include but for me personally, my style doesn’t change that much and the majority of the items that I’ll be including are ones that were in last year’s capsule wardrobe.

It feels like a waste of time to make a mood board, unless you are in the process of changing up your style, or have some holes in your wardrobe that you want to fill. Then I think getting ideas from Pinterest is a great idea.

And as far as not having a set color palette, I also don’t adhere to only having neutral items in my capsule wardrobe. While I agree that having only neutrals is beneficial for wardrobe cohesion, I think it’s also important to not force something. As someone who enjoys neutral clothing, even I get bored without color. And the lack of color in the majority of capsule wardrobes is one of the main reasons that people don’t try it.

I also won’t be intentionally adding to my wardrobe at the start of the season. In the past, I have made a list of items to look for to fill holes in my wardrobe. For example, I really wanted a boxy charcoal blazer. But since I have found the item (earlier this summer), there’s nothing that I “need” in order for my capsule to feel complete.

This is what works for me. If you are new to creating a capsule wardrobe and you’re not sure where to start, check out this helpful post on how to build your first capsule wardrobe. It’s a little more structured and it’s the method that I used to start and to gain experience in capsule wardrobing.

Steps for Building my Colorful Fall Capsule Wardrobe

Step 1: Choosing the items that I love.

I think the success of a capsule wardrobe rests solely on how excited you are to wear the items in it.

If you choose items based on what you “think” should be in a capsule wardrobe, you’re much less likely to enjoy the process. But if you choose items that you’re excited to wear every day, you’ll find the capsule wardrobe process to be life changing.

It doesn’t matter if you choose items that don’t go together during this step. We’ll take care of that issue in step 2.

For me, I’ve been dying to wear my blazers again. I’ve actually added 2 “new” ones since last fall. A charcoal grey wool one that I found in a local consignment shop earlier this summer and a red floral silk one that I purchased from Page of Air. I’ve already worn the floral one…it’s fairly lightweight since it’s silk so I was able to wear it on a low 70 degree day.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the items that I’m super excited to wear this fall. I think you’ll recognize most of them!

Step 2: Add in filler items.

Now comes the time to add in the items that will complete your capsule wardrobe and make it more cohesive. I tend to stick with more neutral colors here and more solid pieces, as opposed to patterned pieces.

The few patterned pieces that I have added (a brown/ivory gingham dress and a navy/tan floral dress) are still neutrals and go with the majority of things in my wardrobe.

I’ve also added a lot more tops and bottoms here. Step 1 had a lot of third layers (vests and blazers). I felt like I needed some tops and bottoms to pair them with.

Step 3: Sit with the pieces for a week.

I start dressing exclusively from my fall capsule wardrobe on September 21st.

By pulling the pieces for my capsule wardrobe a week in advance, I have time to assess if these are the items that I actually want to wear for the next 3 months. I keep my capsule wardrobe in a visible location (currently right outside of my closet door) and I have to pass it quite a bit during the day.

Occasionally, I’ll have a flick through the items and make a few mental outfits, especially if there’s something new in there.

My lifestyle is pretty casual so I want mostly casual pieces that I know I’ll actually wear. But I also want to be able to dress up without going outside of my capsule if needed.

For the initial selection, I have 37 items in total. I feel pretty good about this selection and I don’t anticipate many switches or additions.

Check back next week to see if I make any changes and the official breakdown of items that I end up including.

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Have you put together your fall capsule wardrobe yet? Will you be doing it this week?