The capsule wardrobe movement is a way to bring back sanity in the face of fast fashion and other crazy fashion trends. It’s the new uniform.

While many people are still caught up in that fashion buying gerbil wheel of always shopping for clothes and buying into the fashion industry’s marketing ploy of trends–what’s in and what’s out–others of us are into a more minimalist statement: enter the capsule wardrobe. Many fabulous and famous people have taken up the capsule wardrobe concept; mainly because it frees up so much more time and energy for living one’s life and doing things that matter and have a purpose. Think Steve Jobs.

The idea of the capsule wardrobe is to give up the fickle trends of the fashion world and the constant work of being on trend, and instead, focus more on actually living your life. Instead of building your wardrobe one frenzied purchase after another, you work to pare down your wardrobe to the truly classic and versatile pieces you need. The goal is to minimize, not super size your wardrobe, but to do so in a purposeful and smart way. Don’t worry; the goal is not to get rid of style but to make it truly effortless.

Key Benefits of the Capsule Wardrobe Movement

• Less Stress – One argument for eschewing fast fashion and taking up the capsule movement is it can help reduce your stress. It’s so much easier to get ready for work when everything in your wardrobe goes with everything else!
• Less Judgement – Let’s face it, the fashion world is filled with judgment. Focus on presenting yourself, not your outfit, to the world. It will change how others view you and allow you to judge others less as well.
• More Time – With a commitment to the capsule movement there is definitely less time spent on shopping, trying on clothes, and figuring out what you are going to wear.
• Less Stuff – Another boon is less waste and strain on the environment. Shopping for clothes based on trends leads to wasted resources and human rights violations. Stop the cycle.
• More Money – By paring down to essential pieces, there is an opportunity to save some big moolah. Of course, you could translate that into more luxe essentials, but that’s entirely up to you!

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Girl in Trench Coat Image via Shutterstock

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Sometimes less really is more, especially when it comes to our wardrobes. In fact, some professional women and bloggers have made a lifestyle choice opting for a permanently clean closet in exchange for a minimalist wardrobe consisting of their most significant separates. And with Shop Drop 2016 underway this January, now is the perfect time to explore the concept of sparse, more sustainable style.    

If the idea of minimalist living intrigues you, but the thought of jumping headfirst into the stereotypical austere existence consisting of less than 5 pairs of shoes – gasp! – frightens you, then you’re actually the perfect candidate for taking the Shop Drop pledge and partake in 30 full days of retail restraint. This means, rather than ditch the majority of clothing you already own, simply agree not to add to your current collection, aside from consigned, thrifted, or swapped fashion, for one month, beginning in January 2016.

The Shop Drop challenge is being hosted by Rachel Sarnoff over at Mommy Greenest, and is sponsored by the largest online consignment and thrift store thredUP, with the intent of this public project aimed at breaking the fast fashion cycle. Sarnoff’s blog has some interesting facts regarding the impact our retail habits and clothing have on the environment that are worth sharing:

• The average American woman spends $60 on clothes and trashes six pounds of textile waste each month.
• If the 160 million women in America took the 30-day shop drop pause, nearly one BILLION pounds of landfill waste could be saved.
• If 1,000 women sign up (the Shop Drop pledgee goal) for the challenge, then 6,000 pounds of textile waste, on average, would be saved.

So, if thrifting for clothes and accessories more often, or simply deciding to shop and own less altogether sound like some techniques you’d like to use in order to whittle down your wardrobe, then it’s important to know what steps you can take to accomplish your goals. Although the Shop Drop challenge is a great place to start, we’ve got some other suggestions on how to get started with minimalism for a more streamlined, sustainable wardrobe that’s still big on style.

Below, we have highlighted several conscious fashion tips from popular minimalist living blog Into Mind, combining her invaluable advice with a few suggestions from us. This little list should undoubtedly provide you with some useful advice on how to begin approaching the lifestyle.

• Into Mind states that a wardrobe is not minimalist because of a smaller size, neutral palette, or lack of patterns or details, but because it follows the key of idea of minimalism, which goes like this: purge everything that doesn’t make you happy or enrich your life, and make room for the things that do.
• Rather than cram your closet full of purchases made on a whim or a bunch of bargain buys (like fast fashion) that you only sorta kinda like, really take the time to think about what works best for your lifestyle, your body type, and your personal style. We say: make sure you’re spending your cash on something worthy – a piece that won’t find its way into the trash after a few weeks of wear.
• Into Mind emphatically states that a minimalist wardrobe shouldn’t be misconstrued based on the idea that it’s supposed to be tiny, and that the number of pieces you actually own are up to you, but should adhere to a quality over quantity notion.
• Start the sorting process by isolating all of your favorite pieces (the ones you wear again and again) and create another pile for the things you haven’t worn in a long time. Then, figure out the differences between these two piles (color, fit, style, etc.) so you can determine why you wear some more than others in order to avoid making the same buying mistakes in the future.
• Check out Into Mind’s excellent guide on how to build the perfect wardrobe utilizing the site’s ten basic principles, like selectivity, definition, authenticity, etc., that are too practical (and awesome) to ignore.

Consider testing the waters of a minimalist wardrobe by challenging yourself to Shop Drop 2016’s goal of 30 consecutive days’ worth of retail restraint. This will definitely help you get a feel for the less-is-more-lifestyle, allowing you to slowly ease into the concept rather than jumping in feet first.

What do you think about the Shop Drop challenge? Could you thrive on a minimalist wardrobe, or just survive? Do you think this lifestyle helps or hinders your creativity? Let us know what you think on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

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If your closet’s overflowing with items you never wear, here’s the 411 on creating the capsule wardrobe of your dreams.

When I open my overstuffed closet to try and find something to wear, it makes me feel like a country song. Why does fashion have to be so complicated? Oh, wait: It doesn’t! There’s this minimal-yet-stylish concept called a capsule wardrobe that’s making a splash, and it takes all the muss and fuss out of getting dressed in the morning. The secret? Cutting the crap of course.

Here’s all you need to know about capsule wardrobes—and how to create a killer one of your very own:

1. What is this capsule wardrobe you speak of?

A capsule wardrobe is essentially a streamlined collection of garments based on your own personal style—usually consisting of anywhere from 10 to 37 items, depending on how daring you are. These pieces are timeless, versatile, built to last, and some can be transitioned from season to season. They can be easily mixed and matched to create oodles of outfit choices for your fine self.

2. What are the benefits of a capsule wardrobe?

Honing in on your personal style will save you time, money and energy that you can put toward the things that really matter to you (and I’m assuming spending half the day scowling in front of the mirror isn’t one of them). Plus, you’ll never hear yourself whine about having nothing to wear ever again. Like, ever.

3. What are the steps involved in creating a capsule wardrobe?

STEP ONE:
Pick a number, any number: Based on your lifestyle, estimate the magic number of pieces you’ll need for your capsule wardrobe and try to stick within that range. Once you have your pieces pared down, this will become the (rough) number you carry with you from season to season.

Items to include in your capsule collection: Tops, bottoms, shoes, dresses and outerwear. Don’t include things like workout clothes, accessories, socks and undies, pyjamas, or anything that’s super duper formal.

STEP TWO:
Take everything out of your closet (and I mean everything). Lay out all your pieces so you can clearly see everything you own.

STEP THREE:
Organize your pieces into four piles: Yes, No, Maybe, Seasonal.

Yes items are the items you’re madly in love with. They’re perfect for your bod and your lifestyle. You feel like Beyoncé wearing them. On a scale of one to 10, they’re a 75. These items go back in your closet pronto.

No items get donated, swapped, given to a friend or sold to fund the blanks you may need to fill in your capsule wardrobe.

Maybe items are the ones that don’t feel quite right yet you’re afraid to get rid of them. Simply set these aside or store them for later (but do not put them back in your closet). Give yourself a deadline—for example, if you don’t wear or even look at your maybe pile by the end of the season, you’ll sell or donate them.

Seasonal items are also items you love, but don’t fit the season you’re currently creating a capsule wardrobe for. Store these items until the season they’re meant for, such as winter coats and sweaters.

STEP FOUR:
Live with your current capsule wardrobe for a little while to get a sense of what might be missing from it, then shop for those pieces.

STEP FIVE:
Allow your capsule wardrobe to evolve. As you go along, tweak it as you see fit until it’s just right. (In other words, by the time you’re done, make sure every item on a scale of one to 10 is a 75.)

4. How do I update my capsule wardrobe at the end of the season?

Transfer any items that can be used the following season too, and take any pieces out of storage you’ve saved for the upcoming season. Again, wear your updated capsule wardrobe for a while and see if there are any blanks that need to be filled, or duds you need to swap out with something different.

You’ll do this for every season until you have a capsule wardrobe for each one. And when a season comes back around, for every new item you want to add, get rid of one.

The trick to the entire process is to go with your gut. There are so many rules attached to what women “should” and “shouldn’t” have in their closets that we’ve lost sight of our own personal style. This process will help you create your own rules—and look amazing to boot.

And if you’re worried about getting lost or overwhelmed during the process, don’t fret: Caroline Rector of Unfancy is the grand poobah of the capsule wardrobe, and you can go here to score her incredibly wonderful (and incredibly free) wardrobe planner.

Are you considering putting together a capsule wardrobe—or have you already taken the plunge?

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The Six Items Challenge is a fashion fast to oppose fast fashion – are you in?

I used to be quite the Tasmanian devil when it came to fashion, but after a while it became exhausting (and expensive). Once I realized how many pieces of clothing I owned that still had the tags attached, oodles of icky feelings bubbled to the surface. (My mind’s purposely suppressed the number so I don’t feel compelled to bathe with a toaster.)

All kidding aside, the average American buys about 70 pieces of new clothing each year. (That’s 20 billion garments annually.) We’ve become obsessed with quantity over quality – “I have to have one in every color!” – and have become so focused on what’s on trend each season that many of us have lost our sense of individuality when it comes to our duds.

The Six Items Challenge is a UK-based campaign by Labour Behind the Label that challenges participants to only wear six articles of clothing for six weeks – the goal is to raise awareness of the dangers of fast fashion and give us the chance to recalibrate our relationship with the garment industry.

Because there’s no U.S. branch of the initiative, Sarah Mazzone, blogger at Made In USA Challenge is taking action by spearheading a local campaign – and formally participating in it herself.

Directly from her campaign page:

Americans have become dependent on the “fast fashion industry”. Cheap, disposable clothing readily available in everyday shops has created a pattern of increased consumption and waste. While the demand for the latest trends has grown exponentially, creating wealth for large clothing brands, the wages of the garment workers actually making these products remain stagnant. Struggling to feed our need for an endless influx of new apparel, garment workers are subject to dangerous labor conditions, often ending in tragedy.

The official challenge runs from March 5 – April 17, 2014.

For the next six weeks, you’re challenged to wear only your designated six pieces of clothing. There are certain items that are unlimited: Underwear, socks, shoes, pajamas, accessories and coats. The idea is to become more mindful of what you wear, how you wear it, and gain a sense of independence from fast fashion.

To learn more, visit Sarah’s blog.

To sign up, visit her campaign page.

Will you be putting your fashion foot forward?

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Industry innovator Natalia Allen takes a minimalist approach to designing her eponymous line, which is robot made, sustainable and completely original.

For every busy woman wrestling with the paradox of an overstuffed closet and yet still “nothing to wear,” a capsule wardrobe of essential items that fit and flatter is the style equivalent of Shangri-La.

As the founder of Design Futurist, a design consultancy that has created innovative and sustainable textiles and clothing lines for brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, designer Natalia Allen’s ultimate quest was to find design solutions to environmental challenges. Defined by her core philosophies of modernity, luxury, sustainability and function, her latest venture, an eponymous capsule collection, tackles this most elusive of conundrums: How does one narrow down a closet to create a dream wardrobe?

Natalia Allen 

Natalia’s solution?  One modern, lightweight dress in a high-performance stretch fiber designed for every shape and as Allen describes, “made seamlessly and sustainably by a robot in the USA.”

We caught up with Natalia recently to take a look at the collection, hear what she thinks about the future of fashion and find out a little more about those robots…

Rowena Ritchie: You received Parsons’ prestigious Designer of the Year award when you graduated, was chosen by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and Fast Company named your consultancy one of the country’s 100 Most Creative Small Businesses. Clearly you’re inspired by what you do; what keeps you passionate about the fashion business?

Natalia Allen: I think design can be a beautiful process; I love its combination of art and science. I enjoy bringing a concept to life in a manner that is both intelligent and aesthetic. I’m curious by nature, so I love the constant discovery.

RR: Tell me, what was behind the decision to launch such a minimalist collection?

NA: I started with the question: “Are clothes modern?” I had a vision for oneness, wholeness and continuity by making the designs seamlessly. My goal was to design one dress that can be worn in a thousand ways, which I think is the perfect approach to dressing for modern women’s lives.

RR: What was most important part of trying to create sustainable clothing?

NA: We are a design company, first and foremost. We believe that great design is sustainable at its core. We focus on making beautiful products in a beautiful way. Our philosophy is to design the process, product and experience.

RR: I read this from stylist Anna Schiffel, “As a stylist I see so much fashion that I get fed up with it, and I just want to return to classics, like Levi’s 501s.” Do you think we’ve reached a point of saturation with fashion and that maybe people are ready for a simpler sense of dressing?

NA: In my opinion, fashion is no longer one directional. The industry is far too global and diverse. That said, I do think many women have busy lives, therefore their time is very valuable. As a result, they are interested in timeless, impeccably made and attractive pieces – rather than the fast-turning trend items.

RR: You describe the line as being made “seamlessly by a robot.” Can you tell us more about this and how the production of your line is different from others?

NA: We use robots to make our dresses, seamlessly. The robots are programmed by skilled technicians. They save a significant amount of textile waste, energy and fuel because they consolidate the manufacturing process into fewer steps. The robots also make it possible for me to manufacture high quality clothing close to home. Our factory looks a bit like a lab as opposed to a sweatshop, and we like that.

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