Creating my Summer Capsule Wardrobe

Here it is! I've been sorting out my wardrobe now that summer has arrived and you can see the main items of clothing below. The basic pieces are in olive, soft white, navy and light caramel although my accent colours as you can see below are coral and red. I do love a splash of colour, as my regular readers know, and especially in the summer months. The new trousers on the right below are currently in the dry cleaners being shortened - even though I bought them in short rather than regular. Don't ask!

Basic summer capsule pieces

New linen trousers

It's now officially summer. I know that many of us enjoy going on holiday at this time of the year however, although things have improved slightly due to the rollout of the Covid vaccination programme, some of us will only be having staycations. I would still recommend having a clear out and creating a summer capsule wardrobe though, if only to make life simpler.

There are numerous videos on YouTube, blogs on the internet and even books written about the benefits of having a capsule wardrobe. Many of them dictate exactly what you need to include in this capsule, but what if you never wear little black dresses and don't fancy a white button-down shirt? Exactly!

My advice is to consider all of the following factors when designing your capsule and make it completely your own, not somebody else's vision of what is right.

Lifestyle. Do you still go out to work and, if so, is there a dress code in your workplace? You don't want numerous pairs of jeans if you only wear them at the weekend. Are you a stay-at-home mother or grandmother? Then you probably want casual clothes that don't crease or stain easily when small hands clutch at you.

Style personality. Are you a classic, romantic, dramatic or natural? These are some of the words used to describe your style personality. If you're not sure, look on Pinterest for celebrities whose style you feel drawn to, or pull out items from your wardrobe that you love wearing or that friends have commented on, saying how much they suit you. Capsule wardrobes are often based on the classic style, but if you're a dramatic you'd soon become bored with it. Your clothes should reflect your style personality and your individuality.

Body shape. This is something that I always have to consider, as I'm a rectangle (bordering on an apple at the moment!) and I'm also short, being a fraction over 5' tall. You may notice that there is a bohemian type green and white blouse in my wardrobe. It's not the ideal shape for me, but it's lovely and loose - and more importantly cool! - so that's why I've added it in. I'll wear it with straight-legged white trousers or possibly the green skirt, to keep my silhouette as narrow as possible. Did I mention that rules are there to be broken? If in doubt though, choose clothes that enhance your body shape rather than hiding it. If you are curvy, with a waist, then why not show it off?

Colour. I've saved the best to last. You may have discovered the ideal capsule wardrobe for you through researching the various options, but if it includes lots of black and white and those colours don't flatter you, then please adapt it to include your best colours. I've included several neutrals in my capsule as they are versatile colours and tend not to date, but I know that I'd start becoming bored if that's all I had. You may of course be different, especially if you're a classic or natural. It's often a matter of mood as well. There are some days where I'm happy to wear just navy and white and not stand out. Other days, I need that red or coral to make me feel happy and confident.

Did I mention de-cluttering? That's my next important task, now that I've created my summer capsule wardrobe. As I bought a couple of new pieces, I need to remember my one in - one out rule.

If you want any more inspiration, I highly recommend taking a look at The Vivienne Files for some lovely colour combinations and you can even include 33 pieces (Project 333) if my capsule is too limited for you!

New Year. New beginnings. New hope.

2020 was a year that none of us will forget, although sadly it was a year that many people would like to forget, for obvious reasons. I'm fortunate in having a few happy memories of 2020, such as being able to spend some time with my family in London in August and meet my new granddaughter Edie in real life, after only seeing her in Zoom calls . I hope that you also have some happy memories.

We have already started a new year, which I believe should be a year of hope after everything we have experienced recently. I am hoping that we will receive our vaccines sooner rather than later and eventually return to a "normal" life. I am also hoping that I will then be able to travel again and ideally be in London to celebrate Edie's first birthday. 

I must admit that I have given up on New Year's Resolutions, though I do think a new year is a good opportunity to start new challenges. I have missed writing my blog posts, but it never seemed to be the right time to do so. This is the beginning of my new determination to continue with my blog, so please suggest any topics that you would like me to write about. 

I joined a new gym last year, where I've been going to Tai Chi, Yoga and Zumba classes - all with health and safety measures in place. I will continue going whenever possible as I believe these classes help me mentally as well as physically. I have also started experimenting more in the kitchen during lockdown and have become a fan of Dr Rupy Aujla's healthy eating recipes, which you can find on The Doctor's Kitchen website. Trust me, as well as being healthy, his recipes are absolutely delicious!

I'm also beginning to declutter my home, which will include every room and not just the contents of my overflowing wardrobe. I will be following the principles of Project 333, which I first heard about on one of my favourite blogs The Vivienne Files. I've just bought Courtney's new book about Project 333, so that will help to motivate me. For those of you who don't know, the idea behind Project 333 is to limit your wardrobe to 33 pieces of clothing to last you for the following 3 months. 

My final hope is that 2021 proves to be a happy and healthy year for all of us. 

Giving Thanks. Staying Optimistic.

 First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! As a British woman living in Spain it isn't a significant date for me however, in the strange times that we're living in, I welcome any opportunity to be thankful for the good things in our lives. Family. Friends. Having a roof over my head and food on my table too - things that we so often take for granted. 

I've been very quiet on my blog in recent months, for many reasons. Clearly the coronavirus pandemic has affected me in several ways and I've found it difficult to stay optimistic at times. No doubt many of you have felt the same. I also have to confess that I've been lethargic, putting things off until tomorrow, after all we're still going to be in lockdown tomorrow aren't we? So it can wait. This is partly the reason why I haven't been writing any posts and that is why I decided to write something for Thanksgiving, as I know tomorrow will then be too late so I have to write it NOW!

Another task that I've been putting off is sorting out my Autumn capsule. Regular readers will know that I usually create a capsule wardrobe of 33 items for each season, à la Courtney of Be More With Less. I'm also a huge fan of The Vivienne Files for inspirational capsules: click on the link to the right to find out Janice's latest ideas. So it's over 2 months since Autumn began and where is my Autumn capsule? It's nowhere to be seen and I'll soon have to start thinking about my Winter capsule!

I hadn't totally forgotten about the idea of limiting the clothes in my wardrobe, as I took part in a mini challenge with some friends and created the capsule below, which consists of 20 items of clothing. For our challenge, we had to make 20 different outfits over the following 20 days. I thought that I could use the capsule as a starting point for my 33 item capsule, however as it's now decidedly cooler, not many pieces of clothing will be warm enough!

Recently I've noticed several emails in my inbox with the words Black Friday, which is another incentive for sorting out my wardrobe before I'm tempted to make further (unnecessary!) purchases. The idea is to see what I have, discard anything that's past its best-by date and then identify any gaps in my wardrobe. If there are any gaps, I should make careful choices when filling them. Is my new purchase going to go with several other items in my wardrobe? Are the colour and style ones that suit me? How sustainable is the item that I'm about to purchase? 

The forecast for tomorrow is 100% chance of rain, so I'm going to be optimistic and say that it will be the perfect opportunity for me to go through my clothes and pack away anything that I won't be wearing until Spring. I will recycle any clothes that I'm not going to wear again for whatever reason and I will create my 33 item capsule. So now that I've made that positive statement - watch this space!

Capsule wardrobe - spring and summer

I planned my spring capsule a long while ago, when I was taking part in a capsule wardrobe challenge. At the time my thinking was that I could try it out at home, with the idea that I would then use it as a travel capsule if it proved to be versatile. As you know, the idea of travelling anywhere at the moment is just a dream. I have flights to London booked for August, but sadly it seems highly unlikely that I will be going then, especially if the UK is still making people go into quarantine for 14 days! However many of the pieces shown below will be in my lockdown wardrobe for the next few months, although I'm hoping that I won't need to wear my favourite red trench-coat.

The idea behind this capsule was to build it around some neutrals such as navy and beige, with an accent colour that, not surprisingly, I decided would be red. I have lots of red accessories in my wardrobe as well as individual items of clothing like the red blouse in the second photo. Yellow was the accent colour suggested for the challenge and so I included the printed top and skirt, which I am wearing together as a "dress" in the photo below, although I can wear them separately as well. I have a yellow handbag as you can see, plus a couple of printed scarves with yellow in them.

After several unusually wet and chilly weeks here in Spain, it looks as if the sun has returned to brighten up our days. My navy jeans and other heavyweight bottoms will be going into storage for several months. as will all of my jumpers and most of my cardigans. I will be expanding the capsule to provide me with plenty of options for summer as well as spring, though I plan to stick to the principles of Project 333 (33 items for the next 3 months).  Click on the link I've given you if you wish to find out more.

What else have I been up to recently? I took part in a mini-challenge with some friends in a Facebook group. I'll show you the results in my next post, coming soon!

My Autumn 33 piece capsule wardrobe

At long last temperatures are dropping, especially early in the morning and late at night when I'm out walking my dog Lisa, so it's now time to pack away my summer clothes and bring back my warmer autumn pieces. I have taken the opportunity to recycle some clothes that were past their best and I've purchased a couple of new tops, making sure that they will work with existing items of clothing. As in previous years, I have followed the guidelines of Project 333 though I don't include shoes and accessories in my 33 pieces. The idea behind Project 333 is to select 33 items to cover the next 3 months and ideally your shoes and accessories should be included, however I bend the rules slightly!

 

 

Since I first started blogging about Project 333 my wardrobe has seen a few changes, mainly influenced by my search for the colours and styles that suit me best as I become older. Navy has now replaced black as my dark neutral and I have added warmer neutrals such as brown and camel, which are more flattering for my warm colouring. I do love colourful accents though, as you no doubt will have realised, looking at the photos above! I usually wear trousers during the day time, as that suits my casual lifestyle, but I have included the lovely patterned skirt that I bought in Paris in May for any special occasions.

The cardigans and jackets shown above are also neutral and will help to create a column of colour with the trousers and jeans. The good thing about creating a column of colour, for someone who is vertically challenged and not as slim as she used to be (that is me!) is it gives the illusion that you are taller and slimmer. Finally, I have two trench-coats to wear during the autumn months: my favourite short red trench-coat and a longer copper one. Don't be deceived by my photos, the red trench is definitely shorter than the copper one!

These are the pieces that I will mix and match to create various outfits and, if my maths is correct, it should be possible to wear something different every day over the next 3 months. If, like me, you are someone who tends to always wear the same combinations, Project 333 challenges you to create new outfits. I know that some of you have joined me in the past and I hope that more of you will feel inspired to join me this autumn. Please let us know in the comments below if you're going to participate and, if so, how you are getting on.

My travel capsule

The photos below show the travel capsule for my recent trip to see family and friends in the UK. I was away from home for nearly two weeks, however I didn't want to carry a large suitcase as I find it tricky travelling into central London from Gatwick airport with heavy luggage. I ended up with three bags: a small cabin-sized case, a foldable canvas bag (which fits neatly on top of the case) and a rucksack. 

On the way to London there were two bottles of my local Jumilla wine in my case to share with my hosts, while on the way back I had some purchases from a shopping expedition in central London to fill the gap in my case. Well, that's my excuse!

The first two photos show what I packed for my trip. My neutrals were beige and navy with accents of red, orange, olive and turquoise. These colours will be the basis of my autumn capsule wardrobe.

       

I wore navy trousers, my favourite blue Desigual top and a comfortable pair of navy trainers for travelling, and carried my short red trenchcoat in case it was cold when I arrived. My new purchases, which are for my Autumn capsule, were a striped top (no surprise there!), a pair of copper slim leg cotton trousers and a pair of ballerina shoes to replace a pair that have seen better days. 

 

All of these worked well with the clothes that I had packed for my trip, so I am confident that they will fit into my existing wardrobe. As summer seems to be on its way out here in Spain, where they've had horrendous weather while I've been enjoying the sunshine in London, I will soon be organising my Autumn capsule. As in previous years, this will be inspired by Project 333 and will consist of 33 items of clothing that I will wear for the next 3 months. 

My Autumn 33 piece wardrobe

I know that we're well into autumn, and winter is fast approaching, but isn't the old saying "Better late than never"? This is my Autumn 33 piece capsule wardrobe, which is in the spirit of Project 333, though I confess that I don't follow it to the letter. The idea behind Project 333 is to have a capsule wardrobe of 33 items or less to last you for 3 months. Many people include accessories, however I restrict myself to items of clothing. You may recognise the first 8 items, as they are the pieces that I chose for the 10 x 10 challenge.

My regular readers know how much I love colour, though I am trying to include more neutrals in my wardrobe as I know that will make it more versatile. As well as the brown trousers and navy jeans shown above, I have included bottoms in camel, dark grey, burgundy and another navy pair. There's a navy cardigan, a bronze belted cardigan, a brown tweed jacket plus a navy and grey striped jacket. My outerwear consists of a short burgundy jacket, a longer beige puffer jacket and a navy wool coat. I do hope that you're suitably impressed!

Did somebody mention that there's a red skirt shown below with a matching top? Well spotted! In my defence, we are approaching the party season, so I have added those two pieces as they can be worn together or separately and are ideal for Christmas time.

My accents colours are shades of red, orange, green and blue. If my outfit of the day is one of the navy striped tops with the navy cardigan and bottoms, I'll probably add my red bag or other red accessories to brighten it up.

I am also trying to include as many of my Autumn palette colours as possible, although I'm not going to throw out every piece of clothing that I possess that is in a "wrong" colour!

Let's finish with the mathematics. In my Autumn 33 piece wardrobe there are seven bottoms if you include the skirt, though it will probably only be worn for parties. I have seventeen tops and I may very well wear the red top shown beside the skirt with a pair of  trousers in the daytime. If I multiply 7 by 17 it will give me a total of 119 possible combinations, which is more than enough to give me a different outfit each day during the next three months. 

However some of the combinations won't really look that good, so I worked out how many of them were outfits I would actually wear and the figure was eighty, which I think is still pretty impressive. I haven't even mentioned adding one of the two jackets or two cardigans. Let's not forget the outerwear, which I'm already wearing now that it's becoming colder in Spain and will definitely need when I'm in the UK.

Talking about mathematics, I do know that I'm only showing 32 pieces of clothing here and it is proof that you don't need a huge wardrobe to create lots of different outfits, but I reserve the right to add a final piece when I go to London next month to spend Christmas with my family! 

Of the pieces shown above, only six items have been added since last year, and they have replaced clothing that has been taken to the recycling bins. "Be more with less" is the name of Courtney's website where you'll find out about Project 333. I think it's a motto that we should all adopt. What do you think? 

PS Exciting news: I am taking part in the UK Blog Awards for the first time! If you'd like to vote for me (pretty please!) click on the following link. I'm under the category Fashion, and I'd love it if you clicked on my heart!  https://blogawardsuk.co.uk/vote-entry-categories/ 

10 x 10 challenge - part two

The second part of the challenge was (dare I say it?) a bit more challenging, as on days seven to ten I had to wear tops that I had already worn, but ensure that the outfits were completely different. I made sure that I wore different bottoms with each top, but also used accessories to change my look.

On day six I wore my new cardigan (which can be belted or worn loose as in the photo below), which is already proving its worth now that temperatures are dropping.

Day 6 outfit

Day 7 outfit

Day 8 outfit

For the second half of the challenge I pulled out a few scarves from my collection and wore those rather than necklaces to change the look of my outfits. I also swapped my red bag for a bright blue one, which I carried on the days I wore my navy jeans. If you're creating a capsule wardrobe for a holiday, these are good ways to add more variety to your looks without paying excess baggage fees!

Day 9 outfit

Day 10 outfit

Having survived the 10 x 10 challenge, limiting myself to ten items of clothing over the last ten days, I'm now looking forward to Project 333 and expanding my Autumn wardrobe to thirty three pieces! Did any of you take part in this challenge, or are you all waiting for Project 333?

10 x 10 Challenge - part one

I'm half-way through the challenge and so far it's been pretty easy. After all I have six tops and two pairs of trousers to choose from, with two jackets to keep me warm when walking into town. I'm also able to choose shoes and accessories to suit each outfit. I know that the real challenge will come on day seven when I have to wear the tops with a different pair of trousers. I did face a small challenge on day four, when it was bitterly cold and pouring with rain and I realised that neither jacket was warm enough to go out in. Reader, I had to cheat slightly and wear a trench-coat over my jacket!

Day one

Day two

On reflection, day one's outfit was a bit monochromatic for me and would have been better with a brighter necklace or scarf. I did take my red bag though when I went out, which brightened it up. I carried my Monet bag (bought in the shop in Giverny) on day two, which toned with the trousers.

Day three

Day four

Here I am wearing my favourite stripes on day three. This time I remembered to grab my red bag before taking the photo. On day four I was wearing this warm top however, as I said, I still needed my cardigan jacket with the trench-coat on top. It's not always sunny in Spain!

Day five

On day five I added a scarf, which blended with my top and jeans. plus a splash of red. I think I will have to hide this red bag before I start the next five days - that way I can ensure that at least three outfits will have changed! Tomorrow is a holiday in Spain, so I will have time to plan my five outfits for the rest of the challenge.

Autumn 10 x 10 Challenge

I'm working on my capsule wardrobe for Autumn (a.k.a. Fall in some countries!) and hope to reveal my Autumn 33 capsule soon. In the meantime I spotted a new 10 x 10 Challenge and thought it would be the ideal starting point. The idea is to choose 10 items of clothing to wear over the next 10 days, combining them in a variety of ways so that you create 10 different outfits. Click on the link above for more inspiration from Leanne of Classy Yet Trendy. If this challenge proves successful, I will add to the ten pieces to form a complete capsule of 33 pieces to wear over the next 3 months, as part of Project 333.

The easiest way to do this challenge is to pick mainly neutrals for the ten items, but I've never been one to choose the easy way and I do love colour, as regular readers will testify! Before selecting my pieces I checked the weather forecast for the next week and to my dismay saw that temperatures are due to fall (sorry - just had to use that pun), so I have chosen warmer clothing than I've been wearing recently.

The good news is that accessories don't have to be included in your ten items, so I have several scarves and wraps on stand-by as well as a variety of shoes, bags and jewellery.

Why don't you choose your ten pieces and join me in the challenge? It's Saturday today, so a good day to start. If you decide to join in, please let me know and tell us all how you get on with the challenge.

New Year's Resolutions - why not?

New Year's Resolutions 

Number 1 ----------? 😊

Number 2 ----------? 😊

Do you believe in making New Year's Resolutions? Are you successful in keeping them? If you've read my previous post, you will know that I prefer having a "Word of the Year" to making resolutions that are - more often than not - doomed to failure. I think one of the reasons for this is that many people either decide to give up something that they enjoy (they stop smoking, give up drinking wine) or set themselves impossible targets (go to the gym 7 times a week). As soon as they slip up, they then give up.

Having said that, I do have a few aims this year, the first one being to blog on a more regular basis. I enjoy writing and love it when readers leave comments, so it shouldn't be too difficult for me. Any suggestions for new topics are always welcome, for times when I lack inspiration.

I also aim to keep up my fitness programme, which again will be easy. I love dancing and catchy music, so my dance exercise classes are great fun rather than a chore. I have a very good Pilates teacher too, so will continue with my Pilates classes.  If your New Year's Resolution is to be fitter, choosing forms of exercise that appeal to you means you are more likely to be successful.

Having mentioned giving up wine (which I can't do, as I live in a Spanish town renowned for its red wine, so I need to support the local economy!) I am going to keep an eye on my overall eating and drinking habits, as my aim is to be as healthy as possible. This doesn't involve trying to diet, but means making healthy choices especially when we dine out. At home it is easier to eat healthily as we can select fresh fish (I don't eat meat), fruit and vegetables in our local shops and markets, and add herbs and spices for flavouring. I do enjoy a glass of red wine with my dinner, but I have been reliably informed that wine in moderation is good for my health! Did I mention chocolate? At home we seldom have desserts, as we usually have fruit at lunch-time, however I have a small piece of dark chocolate after my dinner, for medicinal purposes! Eating out is harder, especially when they have tempting desserts, but I don't believe that an occasional treat does us any harm.

Since starting this blog, I have investigated numerous colour and style resources, which I have shared with you all. My aim has been to learn how to create outfits that flatter me and that I enjoy wearing, which is my aim for this year too. For women over 60 (and especially for those of us who are now over 70!), it becomes more important to choose outfits in colours and styles that flatter us, but many of us are unsure what our best colours and shapes are, as our bodies have changed and our colouring has faded over the years. I can still remember my shocking pink top and purple mini-skirt that (says she modestly) I looked great in when I was in my early twenties. Fifty years later, although I still love bright colours and my favourite bag is bright blue, I choose more muted colours to wear next to my face. As for mini-skirts, as I'm short and my legs are one of my best features (says she modestly again), I do wear skirts on or just above my knees, but not minis, as I don't want to hear the words mutton and lamb being muttered in my presence. Now that I'm retired I tend to wear more casual outfits, such as my "uniform" tops and trousers, preferably in flattering shapes and colours.

Wearing a mini maternity smock when I was 23!

More suitable for a 60+ woman!

This year I will continue to share my journey as I try to become more stylish and especially as I seek to refine my capsule wardrobe. My aim is to restrict my purchases this year to a maximum of 5 pieces per season à la The Vivienne Files. The idea is to build a basic capsule wardrobe that will easily mix and match, then each season you will buy 5 new pieces to update your look, ensuring that they will work with your basic capsule. The new pieces could be a top, cardigan, blouse, scarf and bag, as an example. It's a good opportunity to choose one or two on trend pieces as well as replacing any items that are past their best. If you click on the above link to The Vivienne Files, you will see a great example of how this works. To help you in your own style journey, I have added links to some of my favourite blogs. If you have further recommendations, please let me know.

My final aim, in keeping with my "Word of the Year", is to show more gratitude this year: after all, I have so much to be grateful for.

Building a capsule wardrobe

There are many bloggers, writers in fashion magazines and successful authors extolling the virtues of a capsule wardrobe -  especially if you aspire to be as chic as French women! I've been one of them, talking about the Ten-Item Wardrobe, Project 333 and other capsule wardrobe plans, but how do you start building one? Why should you do so?

Ideally a capsule wardrobe should ensure that you always have an outfit to wear without having to spend hours thinking about it! This means building a wardrobe around colours that suit you and go well together, so that nearly every top will go with every bottom, creating dozens of flattering outfits.  One way to start a capsule is to choose a scarf in colours that appeal to you and also flatter you, then use the colours as a basis for your wardrobe. Below is my Colour Elements scarf in Earth colours, with a selection of tops in colours that will blend with my scarf.

                                                    

Most of the tops in my wardrobe are colourful, so ideally the bottoms should be neutral or in colours that go well with the tops. I know that I need some contrast in my outfits too, so I would probably choose lighter trousers (like the camel pair) to wear with darker tops, and vice versa.

Being vertically challenged (i.e. short!), I often opt for a column of colour, which in theory will make me look taller and slimmer. You can see below that three out of my four cardigans will match bottoms to create that (hopefully) slimming effect!

                                     

Looking at the scarf again, I can see that there is some red in it too. Regular readers will know how much I love red, so I do have lots of red accessories that would work with the above capsule, especially when wearing neutrals or dark colours. I also have some red clothes that will be added in to the basic capsule, as shown below.

Since I bought a red trench-coat from good old Marks & Spencer in the summer, I've had numerous compliments whenever I wear it. Red clearly has an important role to play in my wardrobe!

My M&S trench coat

My complete capsule includes ten tops and five bottoms, which will give me fifty different outfits, though clearly some combinations will work better than others. With four cardigans to choose from, plus accessories, the possible combinations are endless.

So here is my recipe for creating your capsule wardrobe: first of all choose colours that you love and colours that flatter you (preferably the same colours!) and make sure that these are colours that go well with each other. It is important to add in neutrals if you haven't included them already: it is worth spending more money on these as they shouldn't date, especially if you choose classic styles.

Talking about style, it is important to create a capsule wardrobe that suits your lifestyle, your personality and that flatters your figure as well as your colouring. That is why my capsule wardrobe consists of mainly casual clothes as I no longer work in an office, plus my style is casual, colourful chic. I'm short and rectangular in shape, so loose (but not baggy) or ruched tops over slim bottoms suit me.  You may of course look better in cool colours, be tall and slim, work in a corporate environment and love bohemian styles, so your capsule wardrobe will be totally different to mine. As a footnote, if your personal style isn't really suitable for your workplace, you may need to create two different capsules: one for work and one for play.