Welcome to the inside of my wardrobes! It’s been a long time coming to share my capsule wardrobe journey because I’ve been experimenting with them for years. After first discovering them on Unfancy, I’ve been a bit of a sponge with information on them. That’s why I wanted to share my next one with you all. Let’s have a look at my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe then, shall we?
MY GOALS
Before I dive right into my spring capsule, I thought I’d share a few goals I have during spring. They’re all wardrobe-related as I wanted to reflect on where I am right now with my clothes. Equally, I want to look ahead to what I want my dream wardrobe to look like too.
Get dressed every weekday
It might seem an odd goal to set but I have to get out of the habit of sticking on some joggers and calling it an outfit. I’ve got a handful of jersey joggers that are nice enough to leave the house in but I never wear them. Whilst I won’t work from home in jeans, it doesn’t mean I can’t look smart and feel comfortable at the same time.
Accessorise more
I used to be obsessed with accessories but in recent years, I wear my Fitbit, a backpack and that’s about it. I have tonnes of jewellery that rarely gets worn so I’d like to experiment more with it. I’ve also not worn proper make-up looks since the pandemic began so I want to get back into making a bit more of an effort. My make-up collection is also pretty big so it’s time to start using it up!
Sort through my outerwear
I have quite a large collection of jackets and coats yet I wear the same handful. The problem is that they’re dotted all over the house so I just grab the ones closest to the door. I’m constantly editing my regular wardrobe but because my outerwear is out of sight, I neglect it. This spring, I want to go through my collection, declutter and possibly add a couple of lighter jackets.
Sort through my summer clothing
I’m sure I have some pieces tucked away somewhere but my summer wardrobe is limited. I’ll be going through it towards the end of spring so I can spot any gaps and have time to find new items. I normally try to shop out of season but that normally only applies to buying autumn/winter clothing because that’s more my style of dressing!
Upgrade my base layers
To prolong the life of my sweatshirts, I have a small selection of base layer T-shirts. It means I can wear each sweater a couple of times before it needs washing because there’s an extra layer. However, I need to upgrade a couple of pieces for better quality ones that will see me through the entire year.
Update Stylebook daily
I paid for the Stylebook app at the start of 2022 but haven’t quite got around to uploading my full wardrobe. I’ve got every T-shirt on there and a few other pieces but nothing else. The plan is to get everything uploaded and keep updating it with my daily outfits.
Limit my purchases
I did a lot of shopping in January but haven’t bought as much since. I’m hoping to continue this throughout spring. However, I have budgeted for my trip to London in April so I’m hoping to find a few pieces whilst I’m there. I usually shop online but I do prefer to shop in-store. It’s one of the few places that I actually enjoy shopping because most shops where I live are pretty limited. I have also budgeted for a new rucksack because I want something that’s nicer than a sports backpack. I’ve got my eye on one so that will be a bigger purchase for me during this capsule.
MY PLANNING
Capsule wardrobes don’t just happen overnight, they require planning. I like to block out some undistracted time to plan and then another block for the wardrobe set-up. I’ve been using this capsule since 21st March so I’m nearly two weeks in so far. Here are some thoughts I’ve had during planning for my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe.
Process
Despite having a lean closet, I still like to take everything out and go over each item. Sometimes, I’ll know that I want to get rid of something. Sometimes, I’ll put it to one side as a maybe. That’s what I call wardrobe purgatory. Those pieces that you either wear sparingly or aren’t 100% you want to get rid of just yet.
For my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe, I started by selecting pieces that I didn’t need or want to wear in spring. That included darker colours, knitted jumpers, thicker long-sleeved tops, high boots and items that I’ve fallen out of love with. I also moved some older T-shirts into my loungewear drawer as whilst they’re still favourites of mine, they’ve seen better days.
That sort-out left me with the bulk of my spring capsule. I edited a little further after trying on a couple of items and then settled on 37 items. For the time being, I’ve had to leave my out-of-season clothes hanging in my other wardrobe as I’m weighing up storage options!
Style
My style is very casual because I’m at home 95% of the time. I work from home in my spare bedroom and am still restricting how often I leave the house. Everything needs to be comfortable because I’m at my desk every day. It also needs to mix and match, which is why I go for neutral bottom half items.
That’s also why I don’t include dressier pieces but do include items that can be dressed up and down. You’ll see that I don’t have any dresses or heels because I no longer feel comfortable in them. I have a couple of dressy tops that I pair with jeans and boots or flats. That’s my staple outfit for meals out or a night at the theatre.
Colour
I’ve always struggled with spring style because I wear so many dark clothes. I feel like I need to wear lighter colours but don’t want to stray too far from what I’m comfortable with. I used to feel like I had to wear stuff I didn’t really like, like pastels and florals. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised I can wear whatever I want to as I’m dressing for myself.
This spring, I really want to experiment with a bit of colour. That might be adding some prints and patterns to my wardrobe too. I’m sure I’ll still be wearing lots of darks and neutrals but I should lighten up a bit for spring. I have zero summer clothing too so spring is the perfect time to see which colours are for me.
Weather
It might seem ridiculous but you need to make your capsule work for where you live. Spring weather in the UK can be anything from glorious sunshine to hideous downpours. I tend not to cater to the most extreme weather in my capsules so my waterproof coats and winter boots won’t be included. I only ever wear them when it’s raining so it seems silly to include them if I won’t wear them often.
Lifestyle
My lifestyle is pretty much that of a hermit/homebody. As I said earlier, I’m still not leaving the house too much other than for walks around the village. However, between now and mid-June, I have multiple theatre trips, three day trips around Yorkshire and a couple of longer stays in the UK. That means I need to have a bunch of outfits that I can dress up easily as a night at the theatre involves a meal out beforehand too. Travel in the UK requires comfortable footwear that I can walk around in all day and a practical bag to carry everything. I’ll be taking a suitcase on my two longer trips but I’ll try not to overpack!
Exclusions
For my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe, I’ve decided against including jackets, coats and shoes as I look to pare down my collections. I want to try out as many of them as I can before deciding which to get rid of. Other exclusions include bags, belts, jewellery, loungewear/weekend wear, base layers and pyjamas.
MY SPRING 2022 CAPSULE WARDROBE
Short-sleeved tops
Black studded top (Bonmarche) | Black & white striped knit top (Gap) | Pink longline T-shirt (Matalan) | Blue & white striped longline T-shirt (Matalan) | White striped slogan T-shirt (M&S – similar) | Light blue Grey’s Anatomy T-shirt (COSMICwear) | Dark teal Taylor Swift T-shirt (Kelham Print) | Navy slogan T-shirt (M&S – similar) | Light pink slogan T-shirt (Kelham Print) | Pink musicals T-shirt (ThatStageyCouple) | Tan slogan T-shirt (Kelham Print) | Grey sunflower T-shirt (Kelham Print) | Black slogan T-shirt (Kelham Print) | Black & white floral T-shirt (M&S) | Navy & pink floral T-shirt (M&S) | Khaki & black heart print T-shirt (M&S – similar)
Long-sleeved tops
Tan & navy striped top (Fat Face – similar) | Red & black polka dot top (M&S) | Pink, white & red striped top (Joules) | Pink & white striped top (Fat Face) | Teal & pink striped top (Fat Face) | Blue & white striped top (Fat Face) | White & blue striped waffle top (M&S)
Sweatshirts
Nude & navy striped sweatshirt (M&S) | Beige slogan sweatshirt (Kelham Print) | Pink slogan sweatshirt (Kelham Print) | Pink textured sweatshirt (Matalan) | Dark grey V-neck sweatshirt (Gap – similar) | Light pink half-zip sweatshirt (M&S) | Lilac half-zip sweatshirt (M&S) | Grey half-zip sweatshirt (M&S)
Bottoms
Black textured joggers (H&M) | Black jogger jeans (Matalan) | Indigo jogger jeans (Matalan) | Mid-wash relaxed skinny jeans (Next) | Grey relaxed skinny jeans (M&S) | Black boyfriend jeans (Next)
WHAT’S NEXT?
Now my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe is completely set up, here are a few thoughts I had whilst compiling it all together. I’ll be living in this capsule until about the 19th of June!
Wishlist
As you can see, this capsule is a bit light on bottom half pieces. For me, it’s always a struggle to find ones that fit properly. Currently, my wishlist includes some new jogger trousers, a pair of chinos as well as skinny jeans. However, I do have a few items in wardrobe purgatory that I’m still deciding whether to keep or not. I’ll look first at these items before purchasing anything new.
I’d also like to add at least one more dressy top at some point. I’ve no idea what colour, style or pattern I’m looking for so I’m hoping I’ll just know when I see ‘the one’.
As I said earlier, my big splurge coming up will be bags. There’s an amazing deal for a rucksack and you get a free small cross-body bag too. I think I’d also like to buy a regular handbag from the company too.
Purchases
During January, I made quite a few purchases as it was my birthday. Usually, I’d include how many items were new and which were from storage. However, I’m not going to feature that this time. I’m still tracking my purchases but that’s for my records only!
I also know that my summer wardrobe will need a lot of work so I expect there will be lots of new purchases for the next one. For now, I’d rather just use what I have! There are plenty of pieces in here that I’ve barely worn so if I don’t force myself to wear them now, they will be decluttered.
Guidelines
I’m not going to be particularly strict about my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe so if there’s an item not included, I will wear it if I want to. I’ll be tracking the wear count of each item, especially if I add new pieces or take items from storage. I’m sure I’ll need to add cold-weather pieces at some point, like my winter boots or a waterproof coat, so that’s why I do fluid capsules. Obviously, the goal is to stick to these pieces as much as possible but it’s okay to stray if your lifestyle changes or if the weather demands it!
Final thoughts
It’s quite a large capsule for spring because of the varying weather. As you can see, there are a lot of short-sleeved tops in there. Some of them will probably be moved to my loungewear collection after a few months. There’s a big selection of slogan T-shirts, which reflect my personality. However, my style sometimes feels a bit teenagery so I think I need to find some tops that are more adult.
This spring 2022 capsule wardrobe is all about finding my style again, now I work from home permanently. It needs to be practical and comfortable but I also want it to feel stylish and dressy when I need it to be! Thanks for reading this bulky blog post but if you’re anything like me, you love a good nosey into how other people build their seasonal capsules too.
