Do we really need another article on the Internet about organizing your closet into a capsule wardrobe?
Not happening here. This post is my argument against a capsule wardrobe!
Capsule wardrobe
Have you been reading articles and watching YouTube videos about capsule wardrobes?
This is about reducing your wardrobe down to the bare minimum. Maybe 20 or 30 pieces of clothes.
OK maybe that works for some people. The ones who live in a climate that stays pretty much the same year-round like Hawaii or Florida.
A capsule wardrobe might work well for a person who doesn’t have a job outside the home.
If you don’t have hobbies that need different items of clothing, a capsule wardrobe might work well for you.
However, if you’re a real person who lives somewhere with cold winters and hot summers, has a job with a dress code, hobbies or a lifestyle that requires different clothes for each activity, a capsule wardrobe doesn’t work.
So forget about trying to live up to the ideals of a minimalist capsule wardrobe! It doesn’t work for real women who have jobs and other activities going on in their lives.
My climate
I live in the Greater Vancouver Area, British Columbia, Canada. It’s a temperature climate. If you’re watching the weather on your TV evening news in the states – whatever it’s doing in Seattle, it’s probably doing the same thing where I live. We might not have freezing temperatures and snow all winter long, but it does get cold and we’ll probably have snow a few times between November and March. In the summer, we can get into a heat wave with temperatures around 30C or higher (over 90 degrees).
So right away, I know the clothes I wear in the summer months aren’t suitable for the winter or I’ll be freezing my ass off!
We get a lot of rain around here. It might not rain all day long, but chances are good between October and April we’ll see rain daily. Unless the temperature is freezing or below, then the precipitation will be in the form of snow and that’ll suck!
Let’s get back to the rain. We need rain gear to stay dry. Most of us have two or three raincoats. That’s so when one coat is soaking wet and we have to go outside again, we have a dry coat.
Who wants to put on a dripping wet, cold rain coat and go back outside? Brrr!
Barn life
I have dogs and a horse. It’s not something I go around bragging about, but I can get dirty and covered in animal hair in the blink of an eye. I’m a blue jeans kind of girl. But, the jeans I wear around the farm aren’t the same jeans I wear at work on blue jeans Friday or for going out. I have what I call my grubbies for the farm. The jeans I wear year round, though I’ll wear shorts to the farm on hot summer days if I’m not planning to ride. Likewise, the shirts I wear at the farm aren’t the ones I’ll wear at work. The things I wear to the farm are clothes that aren’t a big deal if they get dirty or torn.
Here’s another thing I need – a barn coat. Right now I have one barn coat that the zipper pull has fallen off and it’s good for grubbies. It’s still somewhat waterproof. A few months ago I ditched my fleece-lined, equestrian raincoat, bought at Greenhawk years ago. It really wasn’t waterproof anymore because it was torn. Unfortunately, this nice coat is no longer sold there. Or anywhere else I could find!
I bought a replacement fleece-lined waterproof jacket from another equestrian supplier, Apple Saddlery. It’s so nice, and new, and clean – I hate to wear it to the farm! Planning ahead, I bought a large size so I can wear a couple of sweaters beneath it on really cold days.
OK, so I think you all see the picture. I need a grubbies wardrobe to wear at the barn and more grubbies to handle days when it’s hot, cold, and raining.
Just an aside here. Many of my barn clothes didn’t start off life that way. When my nicer clothes get older or torn, and no longer appropriate for work or daily life, they continue to serve me well at the farm. I don’t wear my clothes hard, so sometimes they last for years.
Other hobbies
Do I have anything else going on in my life?
Let’s see. You already know that I have dogs and a horse – that means I have no other life! Ha ha!
I have a ski jacket and ski pants in case I plan to hit the slopes, which I haven’t done since before I got divorced. My skis and ski boots are somewhere in the back of my storage room.
I ride a Suzuki Burgman so I need safety gear. I have two jackets, one for summer riding and the other for colder weather and rain. My safety pants are more for cold weather. I do have a summer pair of pants, but I’m planning to toss them. They’re torn and they’re too big on me, and they’re a size small so that sucks! Ironically for a few years they were really tight on me and I couldn’t fasten them properly. Oh yes. One of the joys of weight loss and a healthier lifestyle!
I have a mountain bike and bike shorts that I’ll wear in the warmer months. One pair. Which means they hit the wash after a ride. So far I haven’t bought a cycling shirt. Frugal me, when a regular T-shirt works just fine for biking.
Work
Right now I’m not working. But when I am, offices have different dress codes. I’ve been lucky the past few years that the jobs I’ve had are blue jeans type places. Wear a nice top, and I’m good to go.
However, I doubt I’ll continue to be that lucky. Most offices are business casual. That means nice pants, skirts, and dresses, and capris are probably OK in the summer. A nice shirt or sweater to complete the look. Times five work days.
When going for interviews, I always ask on the phone about the dress code. I don’t want to show up over or under dressed. There’s nothing worse than showing up in a dress and heels and finding out it’s a blue jeans type place.
So I’m reluctant to give up any of my work clothes, and that’s a big reason why real women can’t have capsule wardrobes!
Imelda Marcos syndrome?
I don’t consider myself a shoe lover. For summer shoes, I have a pair of white sandals and a pair of black sandals. I’ve had them for many years!
I go through sneakers faster. Check it out. The running shoes cowgirl!
I have a nice, clean pair of sneakers that I wear for going out, shopping, visiting, maybe even work if sneakers are allowed. It usually takes about 6 months for sneakers to start getting dirty or tattered and then they’ll be downgraded to barn attire. Once they hit the one year mark they’re probably destined for the trash bin.
I have a pair of Roper Horsehoes that I bought in 2001 when the deadbeat thought I should be riding horses wearing a shoe with a bit of a heel. They are so comfortable, but after nearly 20 years I’m going to have ditch them. Check out the hole!
I did buy a new pair of Roper Horsehoes a year ago when Lammle’s had their boot sale last fall. I bought a black pair, but I don’t really like this pair as much as the original brown pair. The Ropers are decent for wearing in the rain. You might have already figured out my older pair aren’t so watertight anymore!
I checked my closet to see if I have any shoes suitable for work or job interviews when it’s not sandals weather. I have one pair of black pumps. They’ve been keeping those sandals company in my closet for years!
I have three pairs of cowboy boots, and I wear my Justin Gypsy boots occasionally when horseback riding. And more frequently for riding the Burgman.
I have two pairs of Ariat Fatbaby boots that are suitable for work or going out.
Cowboy boots have become my new go to instead of dress shoes!
My footwear has to be comfortable, waterproof is a bonus, and good for walking dogs or working around the barn.
No capsule wardrobe here!
As you can see, it’s really hard for an active person to have a capsule wardrobe. We need multiple outfits for daily living, and even more outfits depending on the season and if it’s raining.
There’s no shame in not having a capsule wardrobe.
If you’re cramming your closet full of clothes that you don’t wear, I have an upcoming post talking about that too. Something I know about all too well …
Not everyone has a walk in closet. If you’re like me, and have limited closet space and need clothes to cover different activities and different seasons, get friendly with boxes, tote bins, or suitcases. Rotate clothes in and out of the closet.
My argument against capsule wardrobes comes down to clothes needed for different seasons suitable for work and other activities.
When it comes to downsizing for a capsule wardrobe, I can’t do it!
And if I can’t do it, you can’t, too!
