Old school capsule wardrobe theory was sustainability on a clothes rack: a minimal number of quality, functional pieces that you love and can wear year-round, reducing the resources, time, and space otherwise spent on sourcing and storing your wardrobe.
The capsule wardrobe is all about shaking off the consumerist zombie within and getting back to spending time actually living, rather than shopping (or thinking about shopping). Unfortunately, this idea seems to have evolved, even mutated, since its gain in popularity over the last two years.
The capsule as a mask for continued consumption
Whereas traditionally a ‘capsulist’ (yep, just go with it) would only replace items from their wardrobe when they were worn beyond repair, now you are encouraged to add on-trend garments to your wardrobe every season.
In fact, some lifestyle writers specifically define the capsule wardrobe as a small collection of clothes that changes every season. Another writer suggests that, rather than editing the clothes you don’t wear out of your capsule, you store them elsewhere—on the off chance you do wish to wear them at some yet-to-be-determined point in the future.
Now, call me crazy, but this is the exact opposite of what the capsule is meant to do: reduce the space your wardrobe takes up and create a minimal, functional, and trans-seasonal collection of clothing.
If you follow these new ‘rules’ for your capsule wardrobe, you are not ‘capsuling.’ I would suggest, in fact, that you are simply ‘wardrobing.’ Much like you probably always have done.
The capsule as a vehicle for trend slavery
The very purpose of trends is to distract you from your own style, to cloud your judgement so you can’t figure out exactly what it is you do like. Trends ensure that you will, sooner rather than later, wonder what you were thinking when you bought them. All so you can rush out and buy them again.
When you buy ‘on trend,’ you’re buying for everyone but yourself: for the fast fashion industry that demands you buy a new wardrobe every three months or less; for everyone around you who wants to look like everyone around them; for the magazines and Instagram accounts dictating what your wants should be, all through a Clarendon filter.
The idea behind the capsule is to create a wardrobe irrespective of the latest trends, a wardrobe that honours you and your style. The capsule wardrobe in its traditional sense is a sneaky way of subverting the ever-changing nature of ‘fashion,’ a direct push-back against trends, if you will.
So whilst the original capsule wardrobe is a more sustainable way of consuming fashion, its current appropriation by the fast fashion industry and its agents is not. This new faux capsule wardrobe trend encourages ongoing consumption of the latest fashion fads, while inexplicably prescribing a narrow, minimalist take on ‘personal’ style.
All the articles I found in researching this piece gave the impression that a pared down wardrobe made up of denim and neutral coloured garments is the only way to successfully ‘capsule’ a wardrobe. And in focusing so much on trying to recreate this trend in their own wardrobes, people aren’t holding true to their own values and style.
A capsule wardrobe should balance sustainability and style
If you are a ‘capsulist’ because you understand the multi-aspect benefits it brings, kudos to you. However, if you’re ‘capsuling’ and updating your capsule every three months to reflect the latest trends, not only are you doing it wrong, but that level of counter intuitiveness is how black holes happen (probably) with you and all your neutral coloured base layers lining up to get sucked into oblivion.
None of this is to say that I don’t think the capsule wardrobe has any value to today’s ethical and sustainable fashion consumer. I think it does, if done right.
In fact, I’d like to see us in the ethical fashion sphere, reclaim the capsule wardrobe on the journey to curbing our consumerist urges, and appreciating and caring for the clothing we have. If this is a pretty sexy idea to you to, here are a couple of pointers to get started.
1. Take it slow in the beginning.
Creating a true capsule wardrobe is a slow, steady, and thoughtful process. It requires a commitment to the underlying principles of sustainability, quality rather than quantity, and style over fashion.
When you purchase an item for your capsule, you are not just purchasing for today, tomorrow, or next month. You are purchasing for the life of that garment. And if you buy well, that life should be a long, well loved one. So take your time curating your pieces. It won’t happen overnight.
2. Know yourself before making a commitment.
Each piece in a real capsule wardrobe satisfies a need and is not trend-based. You choose pieces selectively, based on fit, how they look on you, even how they make you feel—not how they look on the 14-year-old model wearing them on Instagram.
For instance, once you find the style of jeans that suits you, you know that this is the style you will be choosing when you need to replace them (because you’ve worn them out, not because the SS17 trend has a new pattern of rips that you just have to have).
3. Be yourself and the right one will come to you.
A capsule wardrobe is not about diluting your own style to fit a homogenous normcore aesthetic. If you love loud, bold patterns, then your capsule will reflect that.
Remember, your capsule will probably not look like the clothes rack photos on Pinterest. And that’s okay. As long as you apply the above principles—committing to each garment for the life of it—you are doing it right.
4. You can never have too many lovers.
Think less about the number of garments you have; rather, focus on curating a collection of garments you love and that you wear.
You may have a dress you love but only have occasion to wear once or twice a year. That’s okay. As long as it keeps fulfilling a need, and you continue to love and wear it irrespective of trends, it is still a valuable part of your capsule.
And really, who wouldn’t long for a closet full of favourites, of pieces of clothing that evoke fond memories and great stories?
Recommending reading:
- 32 Thought-Provoking Quotes About Ethical, Sustainable and Fast Fashion
- It’s A New Season, Let’s Shop: How Brands Encourage a Throwaway Culture
- Get Educated With These Free Sustainable Fashion and Ethical Business Online Courses
- Has Globalisation Ruined the Fashion Industry?
- The Sustainable Fashion Blueprint Report 2018: Industry Overview and Business Opportunities
To learn more about how the fast fashion industry has impacted people and planet, we also recommend you grab the book Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went From Sunday Best to Fast Fashion.
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