Adding to my capsule wardrobe

The last few posts have been about the importance of choosing the right accessories for your wardrobe, taking personality, colour, shape, size and contrast into consideration . It is now time to add more items of clothing to my basic capsule wardrobe using the same criteria. For any new readers, my dominant colour characteristic is warm and my secondary is soft. I have dark hair and pale skin so I also need some contrast in my outfits. I have chosen neutrals of brown, sand and stone, however I love to add a dash of colour.

The pictures below show some of the tops and bottoms in my capsule wardrobe, with a couple of cardigans. Did I mention that I am vertically challenged, being only 5' and half an inch tall? My favourite outfits often feature a column of colour to make me appear taller and - even more important! - slimmer. The sand cardigan and trousers are really flattering when worn with a contrasting top, and I also love the brown cardigan and jeggings in the last picture for the same reason.

The following picture shows some of my latest purchases, which will blend beautifully with my existing capsule, as well as working well together. These tops will be perfect for early spring with my brown jeggings and sand trousers - as well as with the linen trousers and cotton skirt shown below, once it becomes a bit warmer.

Did you spot the gold trainers by the way? I love them, as they fit my casual chic style perfectly! The accent colours are red, orange and green, in keeping with the accents in my original capsule. This capsule was created for me by Maria from Looking Stylish, who has the knack of finding the perfect pieces to add to my wardrobe. You will find lots of good advice on her website, as well as examples of different capsule wardrobes.

Finally, how many outfits can I create from the clothes in my expanded capsule wardrobe? There are eleven tops and four bottoms, which gives me enough options to cover six weeks without repeating an outfit. However there are also four cardigans to add in, not forgetting my all important accessories, so that shows how versatile a capsule wardrobe can be. No reason to be bored with what may, at first glance, appear to be a limited wardrobe. This capsule is for spring, so I'll be using it in my Spring 33, which I will be writing about soon.

Accessories for your capsule wardrobe: shape, size and contrast

My previous posts on accessories have covered what I consider to be the main criteria when choosing accessories for your capsule wardrobe: colour and personality. However, as I hinted last time, there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration.

If your face and your features are rounded and you choose accessories with straight, sharp lines, they might not flatter you. I'm fairly lucky in this respect as I have combination features, however I'm still better wearing necklaces, for example, that are a mixture of round and sharp shapes and handbags that aren't totally square or round. The one shown below has straight edges, so isn't ideal.

I'm petite, so large handbags tend to dominate me. If you're taller than me, or big-boned, you will probably look better if you choose larger accessories rather than delicate pieces. You can also choose bigger, bolder patterns, which would overwhelm me and other smaller women. In the photo below I'm carrying a large bag that doesn't particularly flatter me, however sometimes you have to be practical - and this bag is ideal when travelling as I can put so much into it!

In the photo above I am wearing both dark and light neutrals (with a touch of turquoise, as I love colourful accessories). This combination is flattering on me, as I have high value contrast, though low colour contrast. Just look at my pale skin and my dark hair and you can see what I mean. If your personal contrast is medium, you should be looking for medium contrast in what you wear. If I was wearing dark trousers with this top, I would need lighter accessories to provide the right contrast. What I need to avoid of course is high colour contrast, which is why neutral colours are the best choice for me, even though I can't resist a dash of colour in my accessories!

Now you can take a look at the accessories in your wardrobe with a more critical eye. Are they a flattering shape and size for you? Do they add the right contrast when worn with the items in your capsule wardrobe? If you're buying new accessories, these factors should be kept in mind, as well as making sure they suit your colouring and your personality.

If you want to find out more about accessories, you might want to join Sylvia of 40+ Style's latest course, which I'm finding really helpful. This may not be my last post on accessories because I'm learning so much more about accessories from the course, however the next post will be about adding more items of clothing to your capsule wardrobe. I've been shopping for clothes in London, looking forward to spring and summer, so I will share my latest purchases with you.