What made the cut?

The Process: OK you guys, this took forever to put together but a lot of you wanted to see my 28 piece collection, so here it is!  You’ll notice the majority of the pieces are neutral colours. This is on purpose! I stuck to a colour palette of black, white, blue, pink, grey and yellow. While it might seem boring at first, everything goes together so easily so that I can pair just about anything together and really leverage my wardrobe choices.

Packing for our trip to Montreal was so easy because I knew that whatever I grabbed would go together in multiple combinations. About half of my capsule is last seasons clothing, luckily as I unpacked my spring storage bin, many items were things I still liked (another benefit of sticking with neutral basics). It was pretty hard to find the right links for all of the products (I did my best to match up the items with what is in my closet, but goodness, it was a challenge!). My clothing is entirely sourced from local indie boutiques (I will list links to these gorgeous shops below), along with a couple of wonderful second-hand finds from ELLA APP (hello Christian Louboutins!).

If the thought of having only 28 items in your closet terrifies you, I will add that a capsule wardrobe has no rules, you do what you need to do to make it work for you! Many people do capsules of 40 pieces, give or take a few (which is A LOT!), and I believe that this will vary depending on the season. Also, I should add that spring in Saint John is still on the rather chilly side, so I may be able to trade in some sweaters and long sleeves for camisoles and t-shirts, and pants for skirts and crops in the coming months. Also, my capsule wardrobe does not include outerwear (raincoat and boots), swimwear, workout clothes or jewelry accessories. So this 28 items collection is primarily daytime (work and weekend) attire. Lastly, you might have noticed that there are no white pants. I also did this on purpose, I can’t seem to keep from dumping my coffee and every other food item on them and also let’s be real, I am a mom of a 5-year-old boy, so I’m benching the white pants this season.

Investment pieces: My actual handbag is a Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM in Monogram and I really, really love it, however, I swapped it out for a very similar Matt and Nat vegan tote which is much more affordable (available at ELLA THE SHOP), as well as my Miz Mooz sandals are an investment (bought both pairs new this season from Urban Shoe Myth), but having comfortable feet is super important to me these days.

So far I have lived in: My Steve Madden slides from last season and my black skinny jeans with t-shirts and sweaters. I LOVE sweaters because I very much dislike being cold (and my husband and I definitely have different temperature standards) and bonus: if you find the right sweater, you don’t have to wear a bra like my fancy ruffled one from LORDON. #garmentofliberty! Speaking of garments of liberty, my floral midi from In Pursuit Truck has pockets which makes me crazy happy, and my heart sunnies from Heartbreak Boutique have hardly left my face!

I ended up with: 1 tank, 2 tees, 4 long sleeves (spring can be chilly in Saint John), 1 Cardi, 1 Jacket, 3 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, 2 skirts, 1 jumpsuit, 2 dresses, 3 sandals. 1 pair of sneakers, 2 heels, and 1 kimono for a grand total of 28 pieces! I forgot to mention that my rubber boots and raincoat arent included here either.

So there it is, my very first capsule wardrobe all laid out for y’all to see how it came together! I hope this was super helpful! So, what are your favorite pieces? Did anything surprise you? Think you could join the “capsule wardrobe” bandwagon?

I think you should!

Let me help you get started with my free download, quick start guide below!

Here is a summary of what clothing items came from where:

In Pursuit Truck: Mustard floral midi dress with pockets, blue striped jumpsuit

Heartbreak Boutique: Baseball tee, heart-shaped sunnies

Lordon: Grey Ruffled Sweatshirt, tie-dyed maxi (last season collection)

Ella The Shop: Black distressed skinnies, Matt and Nat Tote and Leopard Sunnies, Melow Black Crop Top, Z Supply Basic Tee, Melow Maxi Cardi, Dex Floral Kimono, Dex Jean Jacket, Melow Pencil Skirt, Dex Maxi front button skirt (also available in plus size at InPursuit Truck), Pink Martini Pink Peplum

Urban Shoe Myth: Steve Madden Slides (last season collection), Mix Mooz Sandals in Black and Nude, TKEES flip flops

A Mano Pop Up: Patterned Black Culotte, Black fitted bodysuit