No Repeat November - shopping my wardrobe

I do love a challenge, so I have decided to take part in No Repeat November: read more about it here. In theory I shouldn't have too many problems in wearing a different outfit each day of the month.  I have already created my capsule wardrobe for Autumn and most tops go with most bottoms in my wardrobe. To make it slightly easier, you can wear the same garments more than once, but something in the outfit must be different, even if it's just a different scarf or necklace.

The above photos show my new purchases: three tops, a cardigan and a pair of trousers. Clearly the three tops worn with the cardigan and trousers will give me different outfits for three days, however I could also wear them with my brown jeggings or navy jeans on other days, so now I have enough outfits for nine days. What if I wore my olive cardigan instead of the sand one, or my navy cardigan, or perhaps the brown hoodie on more casual days? I've now created a month's worth of different outfits, without wearing any of the other eight tops currently hanging up in my wardrobe. Don't forget that I can change my accessories too to change the look even more. Thirty different outfits? It really shouldn't be a problem.

I have a very good reason for wanting to take part in this challenge, as I'm taking part in a different challenge at the same time - not to buy any new clothes or accessories in November. This could prove even more challenging than not wearing the same outfit twice in the month! I'm hoping that creating different outfits each day will distract me from the tempting offers arriving in my inbox every morning. Wish me luck! Even better, why don't you join me in one or both of the challenges?

Creating outfits from my capsule wardrobe.

I've been so excited with my new purchases that I've been grateful for the cooler weather here in Spain, as it has meant I could wear some of them over the last few days. I loved the fact that when Maria of Looking Stylish created the capsule wardrobe for me, she took my existing wardrobe neutrals into consideration to make my new clothes more versatile.

 

Of course I can't afford to throw away half of my wardrobe, so my Autumn capsule includes several older items of clothing as well as my new purchases. In photo one, I am wearing my new Gold top with a pair of chocolate jeggings and I'm using one of my many scarves to link the two.  Photo two shows my new sand cardigan and trousers with a brown Kettlewell top and a splash of turquoise to liven up the neutrals.

The third photo illustrates how I can jazz up navy jeans and a navy and white striped top with a silk gold scarf that I bought in Greenwich market when I was staying in London. Next is my new olive top with the sand trousers, however I could also have worn it with my chocolate jeggings. Finally, I wore my chocolate lace top with the sand trousers and gold accessories.

I hope that this post demonstrates how you can mix and match both new and older items of clothing to create different outfits. In the photos above I am wearing five new pieces and four old ones, plus an old scarf and my newest purchase. Even if you aren't able to buy any new clothes, you can still create different outfits by mixing and matching existing clothes in new ways. I think one of the reasons why so many women become bored with their wardrobes is that they fall into the trap of always wearing the same combinations of tops and bottoms. Why don't you try out some new outfits over the weekend?

Autumn capsule wardrobe for Project 333

I have now been taking part in Project 333 for three years. The idea behind Project 333 is to limit yourself to a wardrobe of 33 items of clothing and accessories for each season to cover the following 3 months, hence the 333. I have to admit that I bend the rules a bit and don't include any accessories in my 33, however I still find it a challenging exercise. Over the years I have discovered that what helps to combat any boredom is to build a capsule wardrobe with clothes that will mix and match,  so you can create lots of different outfits even though your wardrobe is smaller.

As a member of the Looking Stylish Style Club, I have had some good advice from Maria and the other members. I now know the most flattering neutrals in my existing wardrobe so I can build on those, although realistically I also have to work with the clothes that I already have until I can afford to replace them.

 

I included the above photos in my previous posts: first my main neutral of brown then my new purchases of a sand cardigan and trousers, followed by my secondary neutral of navy and finally accents of teal and coral. All of these go well together - allowing me to create several different outfits - and I love both teal and coral, so it is a bonus that they are good colours for me.

The first photo above shows the three tops that I bought in London last week. Several people thought that I suited olive, so I have included my olive cardigan and a top as shown in the second photo, with two items below them that are on my shopping list. If I succeed in buying all of these items, they will definitely enhance my basic wardrobe, blending with both brown and navy.

These three accessories will be a good addition to my wardrobe, as they will go with most of the items shown above as well as many of the ones below. I have shown a few of my other accessories in some of these photos, however I do have many other scarves, shoes, bags and pieces of jewellery to ring the changes. Now you know why I exclude my accessories!

So far I have 24 items of clothing in my capsule, which would have been a total of 31 if I had included the accessories in these photos. I am adding the next four tops on the basis that they are colourful (yay!) and will go with some of the trousers shown above. Finally, a grey pair of trousers that I'm not quite ready to discard, a red knitted jacket and two jackets that will look fine worn with both the grey trousers and navy jeans, even though they aren't in my most flattering colours. That leaves me with one more item, which - with several social occasions coming up over the next three months as well as Christmas - is likely to be a dress.

My Autumn capsule wardrobe therefore consists of five pairs of trousers, seventeen tops, nine jackets or cardigans, a navy mac and a dress. Mixing and matching all of these should give me enough options to wear a different outfit every day over the next three months. Do you have a capsule wardrobe? What are your main neutrals and accents?

Neutrals for my capsule wardrobe: navy

Many of us have accumulated a lot of clothes over the years and some, like me, find it difficult to throw any of them away. Since I started doing Project 333, I have tried to work on a "one in, one out" basis.  I have also, from time to time, tried to be ruthless and have a good clear out. I'm getting there, albeit slowly!

The beauty of having a capsule wardrobe is that - in theory - everything in your wardrobe will go with everything else, enabling you to create lots of different outfits. When you make any new purchases, you should only do so if you are confident that they will go with several other items in your wardrobe. By having a well thought out, flexible capsule wardrobe, you should find that you don't get bored, even if there are fewer clothes in it, as creating new outfits will become easier.

As I already have a lot of navy items in my wardrobe, I can't afford to discard them all in favour of brown. Like most women I have a pair of navy jeans, plus a selection of navy tops and cardigans, a navy trench-coat and navy accessories. I have shown a few of them below, which will be in my autumn/winter wardrobe.

Maria was aware of this when she created my new wardrobe capsule so chose colours that would blend with navy as well as with my brown items of clothing. The following clothes are the ones that I hope to purchase in London, and I'm sure you will agree that they will look as good with the navy items above as with the brown items in my previous post.

Navy can be almost as harsh as black, so I will be wearing pops of colour to brighten it up, especially near the face. The scarf show below will be ideal, and fortunately I already have a good selection of scarves in all the colours of the rainbow.

Although I chose brown as my main neutral, I discovered that olive green also flatters me. Luckily olive will work with the other colours, so I can include it in my autumn/winter wardrobe. Coral and teal will also blend nicely with my navy clothes, adding to their flexibility.

Adding in the navy tops and my navy jeans means that I now have eleven tops and three bottoms in this capsule, which gives enough options to wear a different outfit each day of the month. Don't forget that, as it gets cooler, I may add another layer, which gives me even more variety - plus those all important accessories.

In my next post I will put it all together to create my Autumn 33. For those of you who are wondering about the references to Project 333 and Autumn 33, don't worry: I will explain it all in the following post.

Neutrals for my capsule wardrobe: brown

Having looked critically at the photos in my last post, and having  asked for feedback (many thanks to all of you who left comments), the consensus is that brown is the most flattering neutral for building my capsule wardrobe. I already have a couple of brown tops and the pair of chocolate jeans shown below,  plus two pairs of brown shoes and a brown bag.

If you look back to my earlier posts it is obvious that I love colour, so will using brown for my basics limit me in any way? I don't think so, as I can use different colour accents for tops and accessories as shown in the following photos. I often receive compliments when I wear coral and teal is a universally flattering colour, so these are definitely going to be part of my autumn/winter wardrobe. I can wear them with navy basics too, which I will show in my next post.

I'm going to London in less than two weeks and have a shopping list, thanks to Maria of Looking Stylish. As I also have to fit in meeting friends and family (which obviously is more important than buying new clothes!) I have decided which items will be top of my list. I know that all of the items Maria has selected for me will blend well with both my brown basics and my navy ones, giving me a flexible capsule wardrobe.

As I'm a petite H-shape, outfits that make me look taller and slimmer not surprisingly tend to be my favourites. You can see a brown hoodie and brown trousers in the top photo, plus a sand cardigan and trousers in the photo just above on the left: both of these will help to create a column of colour, which has the desired effect. If it's too warm to wear a cardigan, I can wear a scarf or necklace to match my bottoms to create a similar illusion.

There are eight tops and two bottoms in my capsule. Simple multiplication shows that this will give me sixteen different outfits, however that is without counting cardigans and jackets, plus using accessories to ring the changes. 

Time permitting, I also hope to purchase the following accessories, which will help to complete my new capsule wardrobe.

Maria suggested a few more items of clothing that I hope to buy on-line if I run out of time - and money! - when I'm in London. I'm thinking that if I don't purchase them now, they would be ideal as Christmas presents to complete my capsule. I just have to hope that Santa is reading my blog. 

Building my capsule wardrobe - which neutrals?

Although we are fortunate enough to still be enjoying good weather in Spain, I have started thinking about creating my capsule wardrobe for autumn (fall to my American friends!) and winter. A forthcoming trip to London next month is adding to my sense of urgency, as I should be able to buy a few clothes in petite sizes there to include in the capsule.

A quick glance at my existing wardrobe shows that I have three neutrals from last year that could form the basis of a capsule wardrobe: navy, grey and brown. I also have a few items in olive green that could be used as a neutral. I'm phasing out any black items as I realise they no longer flatter my colouring.

I've been following Project 333 for a long time now and, although I do bend the rules a bit, I try to adhere to a 33 piece capsule wardrobe for each season of the year. My Autumn 33 therefore is due to start at the beginning of October. My initial reaction to Project 333 was "Wow! 333 items of clothing!", however the idea is to restrict yourself to 33 items to cover 3 months, which for some of us is quite a challenge.

I have learnt that having a good number of neutrals in my wardrobe will give me greater flexibility than my original rainbow-coloured wardrobe did. If I choose the right accent colours and neutrals, in theory every top should go with every bottom in my capsule.

Now I'd like your help! Below I show pictures of myself wearing the different neutrals and I'd be interested in hearing which one(s) you think flatter me the most. First up is navy.

 

What I've discovered is that navy on its own is a bit dark for me, though the lighting makes these navy items look slightly darker than they are in real life. I definitely need some contrast and I think the red is probably the best contrast in the outfits above.  Next up is grey, with three (not 40) different shades of grey.

 


I also have grey trousers, however I'm looking here for the effect each neutral has when it's close to my face. The last photo is charcoal grey so may look like black.

I don't have many olive clothes, but I'm wondering if the top and cardigan in the following photos are flattering on me and whether I should consider making it one of my key neutrals.

 


The last photo above is a combination of brown top and olive trousers, which neatly takes me to the final option, which is of course brown. When I was younger brown featured in my wardrobe on a regular basis but then it went slightly out of favour when I was told I was a Jewel Winter, with no browns in my swatch.  I've re-introduced it recently, so do you think it should make my short-list of neutrals?

There are different shades of brown in the photos above so you may feel that one shade is more flattering on me than the others.

If you are unsure which neutrals look best on you, you might like to try a similar exercise. Take some photos of yourself wearing different neutrals then look at them carefully to discover which colours flatter you the most. Studying the above photos, I think two of the neutrals suit me more than the others. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are though to see if we agree!

Tonal vs Seasonal Analysis

I recently discovered a new website "Looking Stylish", which has some great advice for those of us trying to build a coherent capsule wardrobe based around our best colours. What interested me in particular was that Maria uses tonal analysis rather than the usual seasonal colour analysis, which ties in with the 7 Steps to Style system used by Imogen. Of course colour is only one of the 7 steps, as explained in my previous posts. Using Imogen's system I am an Enigmatic, which is a combination of deep, smoky and warm: you can see my swatch in the photo below.

Maria told me that my dominant colour characteristic is warm and my secondary is soft. She said that the colour of the top in the picture below is perfect for me: it just so happens that it blends well with the colours in my swatch as well as being warm and soft.....!

The closest match to my dominant colour characteristics is Autumn in the seasonal analysis system but, like any attempts to pigeon-hole human beings, it's not always accurate and not all Autumn colours look good on me. I think this is always going to be a problem when undertaking any type of colour analysis. How can you divide individuals' colouring into four, twelve, sixteen or any other arbitrary number of groups? We are a lot more complex than these systems would suggest.

Going back to the aim of building a capsule wardrobe, and starting with some colours that already reside in my current wardrobe, my neutrals for autumn and winter are going to be navy and brown., with accents of coral (see above photo), aqua, teal and spice red. Of course I can't afford to buy an entirely new wardrobe but, as items need replacing, these will be the colours that replace them.

You may be interested in checking out the following post on Looking Stylish: Capsule Wardrobe Essentials. When you visit this page you can also sign up for Maria's Friday Bulletin and you can download your free colour guide if you're not sure what your colour dominant is.

Do let me know what your colour dominant is and whether you prefer this way of deciding your best colours to the traditional seasonal colour analysis. Having read many of Maria's blog posts, and looked at various capsule wardrobes for those of us with warm colouring, I for one am finding it very helpful.

If you decide to join the Looking Stylish Style Club like I did, you will not only have access to even more helpful information, but you will also receive a monthly magazine and can join the friendly and helpful Style Club facebook group. I hope to see you there!