Summary of January's capsule wardrobe

This is a summary of my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe. 

What I worked with - 

• Rather, what I didn't have to work with - my StyleBook App =(
• Clothes that I was debating whether or not to keep or let go
• Items I wanted to wear a few more times before taking them to the dry cleaners

(As this is my first try,  I didn't try to constrain myself too much by limiting my shoes, accessories, and outerwear.)

What I discovered - 

For work I frequently present offers and meet with clients - I didn't realize that I tend to choose an item in black or white until I found myself with nothing to wear in my capsule and there was nothing I felt comfortable with. I added my recently purchased white tunic from the GAP. For each capsule moving forward, I will make sure to include more black and white items. 

I didn't include enough casual/weekend clothing and ended up adding a simple gray J Crew sweatshirt - at first I tried to just use what I had but mentally it just made me feel like I was at work. Moving forward I will make sure to add a few more casual/weekend only items. 

I can easily get away with one pair of jeans for the entire month but I did miss my broken-in GAP jeans - I will just wear these whenever I want and not count that as part of my capsules since it has a tear in it and can't be used for work or dressier occasions.  

I didn't include enough tops that could be worn on their own - most of the items I used this month, I wore with a sweater or cardigan. I added a jewel toned sleeveless top that I had worn on New Years Eve into the mix.

These are the outfits that I was able to make from my January capsule wardrobe: 

(Since I don't have my StyleBook App with me, you'll have to bear with me with these horrible outfit photos)

I did discover a few outfits from this capsule that look REALLY good. I unfortunately don't have my app so can't show you the complete look but I have highlighted them in green squares. I will added them to my app in a couple of weeks when I visit my husband and will post these at a later date.

February will be interesting as I will have two small capsules - work and my trip. Looking forward to it! =) And I can't wait to see my husband again! This is the longest time we've been apart.  

Rocky Mountain Soap Company - a step towards my lifestyle goal for healthier skin!

A major lifestyle goal I am trying to achieve is to take better care of my skin. All my life I have lived with extremely dry skin and eczema, and a few years ago, experienced the worst eczema outbreak I have ever had, lasting a year and even landing me in emergency a couple of times. 

My skin is under control again, and thankfully do not have any scarring, but that experience really scared the s*it out of me. I was miserable, my self-esteem took a hit, I had open wounds that would not heal, it was ugly and uncomfortable. After I recovered, I REALLY wanted to make an effort to keep my skin healthy - I switched to products made for sensitive skin and tried to keep my skin hydrated as much as possible by drinking water, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, and constantly moisturizing. The products I used worked well, but I was also wanting to lead a healthier and 'cleaner' lifestyle, thus began my search for toxin free products, and especially those that were easily accessible - locally available, and not insanely expensive. 

Enter, the Rocky Mountain Soap Company - this little boutique store opened near my work in Downtown Vancouver near the end of 2014. They have a full range of items such as soaps, lip balms, deodorant, and body butters. I was most curious and impressed by their deodorant and body butters (especially their body butters as I loooooved their packaging - such easy application!). I tested their body butter in store and it left my skin very soft and lasted quite a long time without feeling greasy; their scents were lovely but not too over-powering. My favourite is the apricot.

I purchased the Apricot Body Butter, Hand Butter (Avocado), un-scented Body Butter (specifically for dry skin), Lemongrass deodorant, and was gifted an Apricot hand-cream during their promotion (buy $35 of product before tax and receive a free hand cream). 

I'm extremely excited to start with these products =) Best of all, they're made in Canada, and I love their saying - "Tested on owners, not animals".  

Splurge! - Burberry Brit "Blackwell" coat in camel

One of my wardrobe and minimalism goals is to get my coat and jacket numbers down to approximately 10. I currently have almost triple that, and have been slowly wearing them through, letting them go, upgrading them, and not replacing any styles that I don't consider to be a staple in my wardrobe. 

I am aiming for 10 really classic and high-quality coats that are diverse, and want them to last me many many years - I found THIS beauty over the weekend during a team retreat to Bellevue, WA where a Nordstrom was attached to our hotel. 

I love the neutral color and warmth, but most importantly, I love that it looks like a casual coat but can be worn in a professional setting due to its clean lines. I currently don't even have a casual wool coat (that fits me) and this will do double-duty in my work and weekend wardrobe. 

I am already wearing her!

Lifestyle changes I'm striving for

In school we used to be asked to write down some yearly resolutions and that idea just stuck with me for much of my adult life. Unfortunately, I never achieved any of them =( Last year, I really wanted to work on making solid and steady changes in my life that I could maintain so I focused on my lifestyle changes, rather than resolutions. 

I started an excel spreadsheet of all the things I wanted to do and it expanded into other lists like 'things I don't need', or 'things I want to only have X amount of', etc. and by writing each and every little thing (some were as little as owning 3 perfumes at any given time), it really helped me to focus on my goals.

I won't bore you with all the little details, but some major ones are:

• to travel more - I have a list of places and will have begun to find ways to fly for free, cut down on travel expenses, and also start a travel fund
• feeling beautiful every day - and I just mean feeling beautiful to myself so that I can focus more on the goals I want to achieve that day than be distracted by how I look; this aligns with perfecting my wardrobe
• taking better care of my skin - I've lived all my life with eczema and had a terrible our break a few years ago that just killed my self esteem; I have already begun to discard or use up products that may not be the best for me and replaced them with fragrant free items, or skin friendly products. This also means drinking a lot of water and avoiding or decreasing some foods that may not be good for me
• eating healthier - I have stopped saying I want to lose weight, because I know that the healthier I eat, the weight loss will follow, and I want to get into a better habit of eating smaller portions and putting more nutrients in me. I have begun to juice so that I can get more veggies and frutis in me that I otherwise would not.
• feel physically strong - this is a big one because I don't think skinny is what I want. I want to be fit, which I think is a big difference. Last year I began boxing again and loving it and can feel some changes already. 
• try to spread more joy to people each day - I sent out Christmas cards this last holiday and that may seen standard to some people, it's a new thing for me. I'm starting small =)

Each time I achieve something, or began something that would help me achieve this change, I update it in my excel sheet for motivation. It helps me a lot and I can't wait to see when more things begin to have an accomplished date next to them. 

There are many more but I think these may be ones that a lot of people share so it would be great to get your support and make sure I'm staying focused =) I'd love to hear some of your changes and how your working towards them!

Side note: I dropped off my bag of donations on the weekend, with the help of my cousin, re-fashioned a t-shirt into a tote bag, and decided to give my Gucci money clip to my best guy bff (I bought it back in my univ days for clubbing and only used it a few times).

Mid-month update for January capsule wardrobe

I hope everyone has been having a fantastic January! - January is always an exciting time for me as I can hit the re-start button, and pursue new goals with a new energy; that's the first week - then it always seems to drag on a bit and I can't wait for February to arrive haha.

I have however been staying true to my capsule wardrobe and now that we are mid-month, just wanted to let you all know how I'm doing at my first attempt at a capsule.

As mentioned before, I will not be including outerwear, shoes, bags or accessories, or pieces for layering in my capsules - I may try that as I get better with capsules, but for now, I'm baby-steppin' it.

As you can see, I've already decided to donate one sweater, and have added 2 pieces to the capsule. I've also noted in red squares, which items I have still yet to wear. (You'll have to bare with me on the horrible photos for a few months - I don't have my StyleBook App with me, and am working off a screen shot I had my husband send me).

The sweater I donated was something I originally purchased because I loved the style and it was something I had wanted to try. It was a great price so I didn't mind if it was 2 sizes too big and decided to shrink it in the dryer - I figured no matter how it turned out, I would be fine with it given the style of the sweater and how versatile the look was supposed to be. I did shrink it, I did wear it, and I did enjoy it for a while but now have decided that it's a bit too chunky for my liking; I can't really wear it under any coats, or without a coat (even with layering) given the seasons where I live (I'm becoming a wuss, and get cold quite easily).

The two pieces I added were items that I purchased in December. I added the white tunic because I realized that when I present offers or go for 'serious' meetings, I like to wear a solid item of black or white - I didn't realize this before until I found myself without either, one morning and was quite adamant about not making any substitutions. New Lesson! - I will be making sure to have a few black and white pieces in my future capsules. The plaid shirt I just added for a casual Friday because I miss my husband and he just loves plaid, so I was channeling his wardrobe haha. Plus, this one is thicker and pretty cozy.

Side note: On Wednesday, I purchased 3 pairs of tights to replace my old ones. 

Holy cow I used a belt!

Today's post is rather exciting for me because it's the first time I made a conscious decision to use a belt to spruce up an outfit - how is this different from when I used belts before? Well, when I used a belt before, I knew it worked with the outfit and it just made sense to wear a belt. This time, I thought my outfit looked rather drab and decided that the belt would make it better, and it did! And through Pinterest inspirations, decided to belt the sweater as well.

Voila!

(The fact that I'm actually posting a photo of myself, goes to show how exciting this is for me haha).

I only own three belts haha and this is the only one I own that can be worn at my waist. For those interested, it's a Michael Kors reversible belt and fits twice around the waist.

Side note: my shoes are sneakers and they do match my belt - I would normally save sneakers for weekends but since today will be an in-office day for me, I thought, why not? If I do have an unexpected meeting with a client, I have a number of shoes to change into at the office hehe.

A look back at my 2014 wardrobe resolutions

Last year I participated in a thread on thePurseForum about our 2014 wardrobe resolutions and the thread originator posed these questions to us - these were my answers and I wanted to share with you what I have achieved since then (updates in red). 

one: Write a short review of your style and the progress you made in 2013. How did your style, lifestyle and aesthetic preferences evolve?

In 2013 I took a really good look at my lifestyle and wardrobe, taking into account that I spend 4 days a week in professional attire, my closet consisted of too many neutrals but I still could not pull an outfit together; outside of work, I dressed like a university student holed up in a library cramming for finals (not a pretty sight).

To start my cleanse, I purged everything that didn't fit, items that looked and fit only so-so, poor materials, things that were very worn or faded, and got rid of accessories I know I would never use (i.e., fashion jewelry and trendy belts - not that I had that much to start with, but still, had to get rid of them). 

For work, I determined that sheath dresses worked really well for my body-type and it's SO easy to just throw on one item, rather than having to think about a top and bottom. For winter and fall I purchased a few more and implemented colors. For spring and summer I purchased more colorful pencil skirts and sleeveless tops and explored patterns. Realized that as much as I loved a dress shirt, I could never find one that fit just right, so I've given up for now. Now that I've implemented color and patterns, getting dressed seems so much easier. Also got a few pairs of dress pants on sale that filled in some staple pieces that were missing. 

For casual wear - I almost got rid of anything I couldn't pass off as business casual, save for a few hoodies, and pretty much left it at that. I didn't add more to my closet and am sticking to plain t-shirts, jeans, and my patterned sleeveless tops for now until I can figure out exactly what I'm going for. 

In 2014, my purchases seemed to focus on tops and bottoms that could all be worn on Fridays at the office and also weekends - immediately, my weekend wear improved ten-fold and I no longer wear hoodies as part of an outfit (unless I'm wearing them as part of an actual outfit involving a puffer vest) and reserve them for lounging around the house or quick errands. I also wear jeans a lot less and only purchased one pair to replace a few I let go of and now have 6 pairs of great variety in regular rotation - black, dark blue, red, gray, white, and a standard blue jean for the easy days. In spring and summer I have mostly replaced jeans with khakis.

You will note that I stated I had given up on the dress shirt but managed to find a perfect fitting one for me at the GAP - hurray! 

two: Write about one or two paragraphs about your style and wardrobe plans for 2014. Which aspects about your style and your wardrobe do you want to improve, why and how?

I'm pretty happy with my work wardrobe and am looking to decide on a few more items to let go, but that will be dependent on weight change in the new few months. For casual wear, I plan to continue to use what I have until it wears out and then I will begin to reinvest in that part of my lifestyle. I would like to continue to pare down my closet, especially my shoes, but my biggest goal is to make my accessories visible so I can try to implement them more into my outfits, and in turn, decide whether I should keep them or not. 

Since finding dress shirts that fit me, I feel that my work wardrobe is complete - I can finally put together looks that I loved but couldn't complete. As for my weekend wardrobe, I am achieving the 'preppie' look that I so love but just couldn't do until now. Now I am slowly wearing out what remaining hoodies I own as loungewear for the home and will unlikely be buying any more. I am slowly losing weight so I still have on hand the items that I'm on the fence about that were weight dependent - I'm hoping I will need them in a few months.

three: Express your five most important goals in a short, motivating sentence each and then start sketching out how you want to achieve or implement them. 

Sort of similar to #2 but I have started to track my clothing in addition to my bags, wallets, and shoes, and i'm hoping that will give me a better perspective on where my money goes when it comes to my clothes and what items give me more value, whether cost per wear, or how it holds up.

I did dutifully track my purchases in 2014 and can tell you the exact breakdown of my 43 wardrobe additions (bags not included). 

• 5 dress shirts (all from GAP)
• 2 button-up tunics (Jcrew and GAP)
• 2 cardigans (all from Banana Republic)
• 2 dresses (Banana Republic and Target)
• 1 headband (J Crew)
• 3 coats/jackets (Banana Republic and Burberry)
• 1 pair of jeans (GAP)
• 4 pairs of khakis (all from the GAP)
• 2 straight legged trousers (all from the GAP)
• 1 sleeveless top (Banana Republic)
• 1 sweatshirt (J Crew)
• 6 sweaters (Banana Republic and Olive Moon)
• 2 watches (all Seiko)
• 1 T-shirt (Pleione)
• 1 skirt (GAP)
• 1 pair of khaki shorts (DKNY)
• 3 articles of active wear (all Nike)
• 5 pairs of shoes (Zara, Cole Haan, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Denim & Supply)

All these items (with the exception of what I bought at the end of December have been worn regularly and throughout the year and have all become my wardrobe staples. Their cost per wear is ridiculously low, and some have even paid themselves off because I got them at such great prices (for me, for something to have paid itself off, its cost per wear is $1 or less). 

January's capsule wardrobe

This is my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe and the choices for January's capsule were unfortunately not too well thought out because my husband is away, and my Stylebook App is on his phone, so I had to quickly throw something together before he left. 

For my capsules I will not include shoes or outerwear (the weather here is too unstable for that), bags or jewelry (taking baby steps), or staple items for layering like tank tops and t-shirts.

My capsule this month comprises of items that I am debating on letting go, items that I want to get in a few more wears before it has to go to the dry cleaners, and brighter colored pieces. This capsule may not go well (haha) but we'll see what happens.

Wardrobe goals for 2015

I learned and achieved a lot in 2014 for my wardrobe and think that I'm at a point where I can begin to introduce capsule wardrobes to further simplify yet enhance my style/wardrobe. 

I donated or sold a majority of items I don't need, no longer fit (except for a few pieces I'm getting closer to), don't look good on me, or don't wear any more - there are a few pieces that I'm still undecided on or have not had a chance to list for sale, but I expect that my wardrobe numbers will be going down again this year. 

I have filled in some wardrobe gaps, including the ever-difficult for me - knee high boots, and feel I now have all the essential pieces that I have been working towards to give me a 'complete' wardrobe. 

Summary of 2014:

• purchased 11 bags, received 1 backpack as a gift; sold 3 bags, donated 2 bags.
• received 1 wallet for my birthday, purchased 1 wallet and 2 pouches; sold 1 wallet, donated 1 wallet.
• achieved my goal to only have 10 wallets (not including a travel wallet, and one wallet that I am semi-retiring but holding onto because it was a gift from my husband).
• received 1 watch as a gift, purchased 2 watches; sold 1 watch.
• bought 5 pairs of shoes, incorporated 2 pairs of shoes from my early days into my current wardrobe; donated 8 pairs of shoes.
• Purchased 43 items for my wardrobe (not including the bags), all of which have been worn regularly and include 4 investment pieces (2 coats and 2 watches). 
• not including my 4 investment pieces or bags, total purchases totaled less than $1,000
• purchased something every month of the year except for November when I made a conscious decision not to buy anything.

My goals for 2015 are to:

• continue to downsize the number of shoes I have - I purged a lot this year but there are still some that I can let go of. Also, I won't be replacing a number of them when they wear through.
• continue to work on using the things I love and not worry about them getting ruined.
• build a capsule wardrobe for each month - unlike some capsule wardrobe challenges, I'm not limiting the number of items I will use but I will make sure the amount is reasonable.
• continue to shop out of my bag and wallet collection and implement a one-in, one-out rule.  
• rotate through all my wallets throughout the year.
• use jewelry more to accessorize my daily outfits.
• continue to purge, re-fine, and down-size my wardrobe.
• budget $1,000 for wardrobe purchases (not including investment pieces that may replace current wardrobe staples).
• downsize the number of jackets and coats
• use the bags I weren't able to use in 2014 - if I don't use them again in 2015, consider letting them go.
• have some purchase-free months

2015 Wishlist and "needs":

• leopard calf-hair bag or clutch
• find and stock up on good quality tights
• black wedge ankle boots
• a gray leather bag 
• gray wool winter coat
• leopard print, calf-hair belt
• gray jeans to replace my current pair - they are beginning to look in need of replacing and since they are a major staple in my wardrobe, I want to start looking early to find the 'perfect' pair
• navy sheath dress

Happy New Year! and 2015's debut bag and SLG combination

Happy New Year to everyone! 

Thanks for all the support you have shown me in 2014 when I started my journey. I'm really hoping to continue on my path towards minimalism and staying focused on my goals. Blogging about it has really made me accountable and more aware of my wardrobe and lifestyle choices, and I look forward to sharing my ups and downs with you. In fact, I have enjoyed blogging so much that I'm getting a bit distracted from work, so I will be posting only on Tuesdays and Fridays (with the exception of this post =)). 

As the new year begins, it's time for a fresh start so I'm starting with an overhaul of my bag and its contents. 

One of my resolutions is to continue to use and assess the bags I currently have and decide what to do with some of the bags I didn't use in 2014. 

I'm going to start the year off with a saffiano leather Kate Spade Wellesly Elena tote that I purchased at the outlets for the purpose of a polished, professional look. I have used it in previous years but did not take it out in 2014. 

I very much like its structured shape and how well it holds itself up on its own, as well as its organized interior - all great for meetings when I have to bring pitch books and need to reach into my bag to easily grab things I need. However, her pluses are also her minuses - because she is so structured, there is no give and it means that I cannot pack her too full and for someone who takes transit to work on a regular basis, this is a slight problem; added, I have to leave enough room for pitch books so this really leaves me with one side of the bag for 'personal' items. This is a bag that I have been debating whether to keep or let go - her structured, professional look and indestructible material make her a keeper but her lack of space keeps me thinking... 

For my wallet, I have chosen this coated canvas Coach Poppy zippered wallet - this was a 'because I love you' gift from my then-bf, now husband, and she has seen much use. 

I have semi-retired her as she is beginning to show signs of wear (although not bad for a 5 year old wallet) but since my husband will be away for 2 months, I have decided to bring her out while he is gone so I something from him to carry with me every day =) This wallet actually made me realize how much I like zippered wallets and with this bag I'm carrying, knowing that everything in my wallet will be secured and compact, is much appreciated! 

For those of you who do not use a key holder, I highly recommend it. My keys used to be loose until my brand new LV Epi Sarah fell victim to a cluster of key marks - ever since then, I have been using a key holder. I have 2 key holders and for 2015, I will be switching into a brown leather Fossil keyholder, given to me by a friend and fellow co-worker during my university days in Toronto. 

I can actually fit a substantial amount of keys, plus lipbalm, eyedrops, and perfume; also great for bobby pins, hair ties, and loose change. 

For make-up and random first-aid bits and pieces, I'm going simple and just using a Bodyshop pouch - simple, light and spacious. For those extra VIP cards and coupons of the sorts, I'm using my Coach made for factory keyholder that I was using last year for my keys. 

These will all fit nicely into one side of the bag, with enough room for an umbrella, leaving me with the other half free for my pitch books, pencil case, and calculator. I have learned to leave the middle zippered section empty, or for small amounts of paper as it bulges and makes it hard for me to access my stuff on the sides.