Things have been a little quiet over here. February is always a hard month for me because it gets so cold here. Like bitterly cold. I always struggle with motivation and creativity but throw in a pandemic and kids that are online schooling and it’s a whole new ballgame. I’m really happy that I put together a winter capsule wardrobe as it reduced the amount of decisions that I had to make when it came to getting dressed and actually gave me the motivation to get dressed some days!
The cold snap is finally over and there are signs of spring (mostly melting snow at this point) which has me feeling a little more motivated and a lot more inspired to create.
And now that we’re into March, it also means that I’m in the last month of my winter capsule wardrobe. I’ve really enjoyed this winter capsule. I think it’s the first time that I haven’t traded out items for other items. I did end up making 2 items to add which brought my total number of items up to 31.
I think the reason that I’ve been successful this time around is the result of a few things:
- I’ve done a large number of capsules, both long and short, both with a lot of items and with only a few, so I’ve gotten pretty good at selecting items that go well together.
- I gave myself permission to add up to 6 items if I made them myself. I only added 2 but it was nice to have those wild card spaces.
- I’m at a place where I love most of my clothing. When I put on an outfit, I genuinely feel good because I’ve spent the last few years identifying what I really like to wear and getting rid of the things that don’t make me feel great.
With the small selection of items that make up my winter capsule wardrobe, I’ve been able to come up with a lot of different combinations. Some have been fine, but some have felt really great. I thought it would be fun to share them here as styling inspiration for the last few weeks of cooler weather here in the northern hemisphere (it felt so good to write those few words).
The Best 10 Winter Capsule Wardrobe Outfits
I really had a hard time just limiting this post to 10 outfits. I really liked most of my outfits from this winter capsule. You can check out the ones that didn’t quite make the cut over on my Instagram account (@uncomplicatedspaces).
In no particular order, here are my 10 best outfits from my winter capsule wardrobe, with some pretty lame titles 😉
Outfit 1: Plaid is rad
This outfit was so cozy! One of my favorite ways to layer in the winter is to wear a sweater over a dress. And a colorful plaid feels fun but like it’s not too wild and crazy for my fairly neutral wardrobe.
I paired my flannel dress that I made with a secondhand wool sweater that a friend grabbed from her sister’s closet cleanout a few years ago.
The most sustainable piece of clothing is the one you already own but the second most sustainable piece is from someone else’s closet.
Merchant & Mills Ellis dress pattern + plaid flannel from Joann’s
Secondhand J Crew sweater (fall 2019)
Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots (June 2019)
Outfit 2: Style rules, schmile rules
I have been loving wearing brown and black together this winter. A long time ago, I remember reading or hearing that you couldn’t wear brown and black together. And you know what, I let that silly little “rule” stop me from wearing this color combination for years!
I feel like I really messed out on some great outfits over the years but I’ve definitely been trying to remedy that this winter.
What style rule do you think is ridiculous? Let me know in the comments.
vintage wool sweater (fall 2020) – read about how I removed the strong mothball smell here
secondhand Eileen Fisher pants via Eileen Fisher Renew (gifted fall 2019)
secondhand Paloma Barcelo boots via The Real Real (December 2020)
Outfit 3: Latte love it
This is the second winter for these pants and I love them just as much this year as I did last year. They have been a definite favorite to wear.
Here are 2 instances in which I wore the same combination and just changed up the boots or added a blazer. I also added a fun scarf to the neutral outfit.
I am a big fan of outfit repeating. Unless you’re purchasing a lot of stuff, it’s bound to happen a lot. And of course, there are always going to be tried and true outfit combos that we love and want to wear over and over. It’s important to normalize that, especially in our consumerist society where we are constantly being advertised to and told that we need more stuff to have a better life.
vintage wool blazer (fall 2020)
secondhand Eileen Fisher cashmere sweater via Eileen Fisher Renew (gifted fall 2019)
secondhand Eileen Fisher pants via Eileen Fisher Renew (gifted fall 2019)
Tradlands bandana (gifted fall 2020) – check out 10 ways to style a bandana here
thrifted Free People suede boots (spring 2019)
Huma Blanco leopard print booties (gifted fall 2019)
Outfit 4: The squiggly wiggly
Perhaps the most fun outfit that I wore this winter. I mean, a squiggle print just screams fun, doesn’t it?!? I made this Closet Core Patterns Cielo top out of this fun fabric that I purchased from Blackbird Fabrics. I decided to wear it over this long white dress and pair the combo with black platform boots and I loved it!
Since I wore this in the dead of winter, I wore a pair of leggings underneath the dress to keep warm.
Closet Core Patterns Cielo top pattern + squiggle print fabric from Blackbird Fabrics
secondhand Lara Krude dress via The Real Real (December 2020)
secondhand Paloma Barcelo boots via The Real Real (December 2020)
Outfit 5: Blue skies ahead
I spent a lot of time (and money) in 2020 experimenting with color. Some of those experiments were big fails but some were winners. I discovered that I really enjoy wearing blue, as well as greens and deeper pink colors.
I also really enjoy colorful outfits that are monochrome.
I have worn this combination of items quite a few times (ahem, proud outfit repeater, remember) and I’m happy every time that I do.
Notice a theme amongst my favorite outfits? It’s another sweater over dress look!
thrifted Everlane sweater (February 2020)
secondhand Mansur Gavriel dress via the Real Real (spring 2020)
Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots (June 2019)
Botkier handbag (fall 2019)
Outfit 6: When in doubt, wear black
This is the outfit that I turn to when I want to feel classy and put together but don’t want to think about it.
This dress is perfect for my winter capsule because it’s really warm with it’s full length, long arms and mock neck. I can wear a pair of knee high socks and I’m good to go without having to add leggings (which is good because when I’ve tried to do that in the past, they would get caught up on the dress fabric and bunch).
I really like to add a belt to this dress. I like the shape that it adds to the overall look. To head out, I added a wool jacket that my family gave me for Christmas. I haven’t had a chance to wear this jacket much because it has been mostly too cold for anything short waisted so I really enjoyed it with this dress.
vintage LL Bean dress (2019)
Gap belt (v. old)
secondhand Rochas wool jacket via The Real Real (2020)
Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots (June 2019)
Ozma of California neck tie as headband (2018)
Outfit 7: Spring is in the air
For years I wanted to learn to sew my own clothes. I couldn’t think of a more sustainable way to add new items to my wardrobe than to buy my own fabric and create something beautiful. And the pandemic was definitely the push that I needed to learn.
Fast forward to this year and my pledge to really slow down my wardrobe, I decided that in addition to only being able to add items that I make, the items have to be made from secondhand fabrics. Which is how this dress came to be made…from a vintage bed spread!
I found this secondhand bed spread at a local antique shop in early February. It appears to have been handmade and there is no fabric tag but I’m pretty sure it’s cotton. The material is not tightly woven and it was in really good shape (no stains with only a few hooks in the material).
After thinking about it for a while, I decided that it would be great as a dress, and in particular, this style of dress that I’ve made 2 times before. I upped the quality of this dress by French seeming the entire thing. See more details here.
m7969 pattern + vintage bedspread
Hansel from Basel trouser socks
Outfit 8: How to look/not look like a crayon
But in the best possible way I think 😉
Coming back around to this brown/black combo…told you I was really into it this winter. Also coming back to this sweater over dress combo that I was into.
These 2 outfits were worn on different days so I’m cheating a little by claiming them as the same outfit…they even have different boots.
secondhand Co. dress via The Real Real (2021 – my last clothing purchase before my no buy year)
Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots (June 2019)
Margot backpack (v. old)
vintage wool sweater (fall 2020)
secondhand Paloma Barcelo boots via The Real Real (December 2020)
Outfit 9: Flower Power
I felt so fancy in this outfit…but also, very practical with the pants layered underneath. I get asked about layering pants under dresses and if it’s comfortable. The answer is a resounding yes! But you want to make sure that the fabrics of each items work well together.
Most of my dresses are pretty loose so this isn’t usually an issue. This dress is cut a little closer so I chose these pants that have a nice drape on their own and whose texture is smooth so there would be no chance of the 2 getting caught on each other. Also, this dress is silk so I didn’t have to worry about that really happening.
secondhand Burberry Brit dress via The Real Real (2019)
American Eagle belt (v. old)
thrifted Free People suede boots (2019)
Outfit 10: Tried and true
This last outfit is one that I keep falling back on again and again. I wear it more than any other combo during the fall and winter. All of the items are ones that I’ve had for a long time. They are all comfortable and I always feel really great when I wear it.
The jumpsuit is silk so when its really cold, I wear a pair of leggings underneath.
Eileen Fisher wool coat (gifted 2019)
Eileen Fisher Cashmere sweater (purchased 2019)
Elizabeth Suzann silk Mara jumpsuit (2018)
Ozma of California neck tie (2018)
Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots (June 2019)
Botkier handbag (fall 2019)
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk down outfit memory lane with me.
Which outfit from my winter capsule was your favorite?
Until next time,
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