No More Capsules
PARTICIPATING IN A CAPSULE WARDROBE CHALLENGE FELT LIKE I WAS TRYING OT PROVE SOMETHING TO MYSELF ABOUT HOW SUSTAINABLE I TRULY WAS. I WAS MISGUIDED IN TRYING TO PUT LIMITS ON WHAT I ALREADY HAD RATHER THAN NUDGING MYSELF TOWARDS BETTER CHOICES FOR THE FUTURE.
ROMI SHORTS by STUDIO NICHOLSON, VINTAGE WOOLRICH SHIRT from VIVANT VINTAGE
Around this time last year, I would have been prepping and photographing something called a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a curated selection of clothing that one wears for a set amount of time. It could be a whole season or for even just a week. If you’re an active participant in the slow fashion movement on instagram, you might be familiar with it. You might even have a spring capsule ready to go yourself. I do not and will not ever again.
Boston’s turbulent winter weather kept me from having a winter capsule after going through a summer and fall round last year. In that time, I discovered that I enjoyed the capsule far less than I had convinced myself I did. While a capsule wardrobe was actually what led me down the path of sustainable fashion in the first place, it not longer was meshing with my beliefs and lifestyle.
My attitudes towards my wardrobe have matured since that first capsule wardrobe challenge I participated in over a year ago. I definitely don’t want to keep doing something I don’t enjoy doing just because “it’s what slow fashion bloggers do”. Far before i came to this decision, I decided that my initial minimalistic approach felt restrictive, even suffocating at times. I consistently fretted over how many pieces of clothing I had, how many I felt like I was ‘allowed’ to have, and what investment pieces I was still missing. It felt a bit obsessive and so I decided to curb that mindset. As of late, I’ve opted to instead ask myself just two questions while I’m shopping:
If I buy this, will I wear it more than once? twice? ten times?
What does this add to my wardrobe?
Those two simple questions have helped everything feel more natural and compassionate than it used to feel. This year, I’m looking to take that compassion even further and stop myself from restricting what I can wear in a month, a week, or even a season. My main goal with what I do is to create a wardrobe I enjoy wearing that does right by the earth and the people who made it.
If what I’m doing doesn’t meet those criteria, then I want to reevaluate. A capsule, personally, took away that joy away for the month because I would be restricted to a certain rack of clothes. Instead, I want to focus on building a whole wardrobe where I wear everything. While I might not wear something all that frequently one month, It might become next month’s frequent feature.
My previous capsule wardrobes, upon reflection, were performative. Does it make me more sustainable because i can create outfits from just one rack of clothes for a month? Honestly, I’m not sure but my gut answer is no. Sustainability (or minimalism for that matter) does not seek to put limits on how much you have. Instead, it cultivates intention around bringing new things into your personal space. Instead of focusing on a number, I want to invest all of that energy into discovering new brands, learning more about alternative materials, and relishing in the joy of adding a new piece to my wardrobe that brings something new and exciting. I always come back to this but I often think about my Olderbrother shirt. Did i need a new shirt? Probably not. Do I wear it all the time? Yes, because I love it and I can’t get over the fact that it’s mushroom dyed.
Does a capsule wardrobe prove that I’m able to have a life where I only wear 30 pieces? Also no. There would be times where I would need to dive into the rest of my closet because there was an unexpected cold snap or an unseasonably balmy afternoon. It’s impossible to know what’s going to work for the next 30 days of your life unless you live in a climate where the weather is consistent.
Participating in a capsule wardrobe challenge felt like I was trying to prove something to myself about how sustainable I truly was. It felt like it was trying to put restrictions and limits on what I already had rather than guiding me towards better choices for the future. At the end of the challenge, I would feel exhausted, anticipating the day when I could be free from this single rack of clothing. At the end of this spring, I hope instead to feel like I lived my life with a wardrobe that supports it.