Spring Style with A Colorful Capsule Wardrobe #2

This is the second installment in my Spring Style with a Capsule Wardrobe series. It’s a way for me to round up all of the outfits that I’ve been wearing from my spring capsule wardrobe of 31 items. Check out this post for week 1.

Earth Day is on April 22. One of my goals with my slower wardrobe this year was to reduce my clothing consumption and to hopefully encourage others to look at how much they consume as well. There is no perfect solution but there are definitely things that we can all do to lessen our impact on the earth.

I focus so much on clothes because that is the one area that I have consistently consumed the most, at every stage of my life. The impact of my shopping choices weren’t something that I considered six years ago when I began looking at my consumption habits. But since then, I have tried to do a little better every year.

I don’t think it’s realistic to never buy another item of clothing, nor do I want to do that. But I think it’s important to want less. I always think back to my grandmother’s time and the value that was placed on clothing. A few items, a few times a year, perfectly tailored and made from beautiful, natural fabrics. In 1960, there were only 1760 tons of textiles generated. That number had increased to 17,030 tons in 2018. (source: EAP)

We’ve gotten so used to following trends, buying clothes that are made from cheap materials and the normalcy of constantly adding items to our wardrobes. And while this has been great for big corporations, it has been horrible for the planet. Since 1960, the number of textiles that have been sent to the landfill has increased by 6.6 times, from 1,710 tons to 11,300 tons (source: EPA). And this is just in the US which has only 4.25% of the world’s population. (source: worldometer)

Sometimes I see no way back and that discourages me. But then I remember that change takes time and that things always change. And I see people consuming less and making intentional decisions when it comes to their wardrobes. The more of us who can do this whole “consuming less” thing, as imperfectly as we may do it, the more likely that positive change will occur.

So I’ll just chug along here in my little corner of the internet, rewearing the same things, making stuff and trying my best. Thanks for being here with me.

This week’s outfits

And in the spirit of rewearing things, here is some spring style inspiration from my spring capsule. All of these are items that I have owned for a long time, or ones that I have made myself (some from secondhand fabrics).

If you’re interested in a specific item, check out this post or leave a comment below.

Monday – Spring Style is Color

It was extremely warm on Monday so I took this opportunity to wear my recently made dress with a pair of chunky sandals. Obviously there wasn’t enough color in the dress (I kid) so I added a bright green purse.

Spring style is color! A white woman with blond wavy hair is standing in front of a light colored wall and wearing a colorful midi dress of green, blue and brown. She had a green crossbody bag across her chest and is wearing brown chunky sandals with thick straps.

Some days I feel like wearing a lot of color and some days I just want a pop of color. I’d recommend a couple of colorful accessories for those kinds of days or if you like to keep to a neutral wardrobe.

Tuesday – It’s Flowy

Tuesday was another warm day so I had to go with another dress that I’ve made and the chunky sandals with a colorful purse. I was apparently keeping to a similar outfit formula as Monday.

Spring style is a loose, flowy dress. A white woman with blond wavy hair is in motion in front of a light colored wall. She is wearing a long dress that is brown and white checkered with brown chunky sandals and is holding a purple crossbody bag in her right hand.

This was the second dress that I had ever made. It’s the same pattern as the dress I wore on Monday but I kept the length of this one longer. I’m debating shortening it by a few inches…just above my ankle. What do you think?

Wednesday – Spring Style is Versatile

It was too good to be true. The cold weather came back with a vengeance on Wednesday. Spring style can be all over the place with the weather so I threw on a pair of pants, a chore coat and some sneakers. I tried wearing the chore coat as a shirt without something underneath and I liked it.

Spring style is versatile. A white woman with blond wavy hair is standing in front of a light colored wall and wearing an olive green coat buttoned all the way to the to with the bottom buttons left undone. She is wearing it with a pair of black and white pattered pants and black platform sneakers with a thick white sole.

One of the most important thing for me is that my clothes are versatile. I like that this coat looks good opened over a top or dress but that I can also wear it as a shirt. When you add something to your wardrobe, always think about whether an item is versatile or not.

Same outfit but the woman is looking to her right and has her left hand in her pocket.

Thursday – And Fun

If you caught yesterday’s post, or follow me on Instagram, then you know that I wore my vintage quilt coat that I recently completed. And if you didn’t catch it, you can find it here.

Friday – Spring Style is Cozy

It was a little warmer today, so I pulled out some old favorites that I’ve had for a while. This cardigan was one of the first slow fashion purchases that I ever made. The dress is a vintage piece that I found on Etsy. The suede boots are ones that I thrifted locally. I love that this outfit shows my progression with fashion after I quit fast fashion.

Spring style is cozy. A white woman with blond wavy hair is standing in front of a light colored wall and wearing a cream colored chunky cardigan open over a navy floral midi dress with cream buttons up the front. She is wearing brown heeled boots.

I’ve owned all of these items for 2 years. The dress is the newest and the first time I ever wore it was with these exact items. When an outfit works, why not repeat it?!?