My autumn capsule wardrobe

Autumn colours

I do love the idea of a capsule wardrobe and have blogged on numerous occasions about the advantages of creating one. I've talked about the 10 item wardrobe, which is great for holidays but - if I'm being totally honest! - a bit limiting for me otherwise. I've also followed Project 333 for just over four years and find that a lot easier to stick to, as you are allowed 33 items to cover 3 months, though I have to admit that I do bend the rules slightly.

I bought an e-book recently: The French Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe, which falls in between the above two capsules as it suggests a total of 26, consisting of 22 items of clothing and 4 pairs of shoes, to cover you for 3 months.  The French Minimalist Capsule is built around neutrals of black, white, ivory, grey, denim and camel. In my case black and white are too harsh and cool for my colouring, which is on the warm side. My neutrals therefore are brown, camel, beige, olive and navy.

Being a rule breaker, plus having to work with my current wardrobe items, I have included a few other colours in the selection below, however they will still blend with my neutrals and hopefully be equally versatile . I have also allowed myself 24 items of clothing for this autumn capsule. In the e-book, the capsule consists of 9 tops, 6 bottoms (including skirts), 5 outer layers, 2 dresses and 4 pairs of shoes. I have chosen 12 everyday tops, plus 1 dressy top (as there aren't any dresses in my capsule), 5 bottoms (but no skirts) and 6 outer layers, which includes a trench-coat.  I'm hoping that I won't need the trench-coat for a while here in Spain, but it proved invaluable on my recent trip to London for my son's wedding! 

    

The items shown above are definitely autumnal and reflect the colours in the photo at the top. With twelve tops and five bottoms to mix and match there is plenty of variety in my wardrobe, plus there are four cardigans to ring the changes. Accessories also have an important role to play in making my outfits more interesting.

The blue jacket below doesn't really fall into the warm category, however I've worn it over my orange top and it also goes well with brown and camel, especially with the right coloured accessories. It adds a touch of colour to my wardrobe, which is why it will be part of my capsule. Finally, my dark navy jeans and breton top are both classics and as such deserve a place in any French inspired capsule wardrobe.

My French Minimalist wardrobe consists of 24 items, without including shoes and accessories. If I want to extend it to an Autumn 33, as part of Project 333, that gives me another nine items that I can add in. Keep it quiet, but I am going to London next week, so I may very well make a few purchases there to complete my autumn capsule wardrobe!

PS Update: I've just read that brown is one of autumn's It colours - so for once I'm going to be on trend!