Capsule Wardrobe for Eco-minimalism?

Bag of clothes I donated to Goodwill on January 17!

Capsule wardrobes have become a recent trend in minimalism. What does this mean? A capsule wardrobe is where you downsize your entire wardrobe down to anywhere from 20-40 pieces. This can look different for everyone but the overall goal is to have a wardrobe full of staple pieces that are versatile and clothes you want to wear all the time. Check out this article on how to create a capsule wardrobe. 

I honestly never thought I would be able to pair down my wardrobe that much, because who doesn't love some variety in their clothing? But since COVID hit and we have locked in our home for the greater part of the last year I realize how few of my clothes I was actually wearing day to day.

Part of this was due to the fact that I did have a whole "work wardrobe" that I just wasn't touching, and part of it was because I gravitate towards the same several pieces in my closet. This really piqued my interest in trying to start a capsule wardrobe. That and the fact that where I work doesn't have a dress code, so jeans and a top are perfectly acceptable work-wear when we do head back into the office. 

Here's where the problem lies for me: I live in Philadelphia where we experience all four seasons, I also don't want to be buying a whole new set of clothes every season of the year and then getting rid of all the clothes I just bought. This also just doesn't mesh well with being zero-waste, since we're supposed to be limiting how much we are consuming. So I decided I would come up with a compromise where I could still emulate the capsule wardrobe but without being wasteful.

This is what I came up with: every season I will donate/sell any clothing that I do not wear/reach for regularly. Also, anything that doesn't fit or is uncomfortable will immediately go. I also won't run to replace anything and see if I am fine with the amount of clothes I have after getting rid of what I am not wearing. Hopefully this will leave me with my most loved and worn pieces and then as needed I can always add a few more staples in if I find I don't have enough. 

One huge piece of this too is to not buy anything on impulse. Rather, if I decide I need a few more items to round out my wardrobe I'll have to sit and think through exactly what I'm looking for. That way when I go to the thrift store I'll have a specific list of wants that I won't stray from. I find most of the clothes that I own that I don't wear are clothes I bought on impulse because they looked cute, but I didn't think through where I would wear them or if they went with the other clothes I already owned -- hence leaving them untouched.

Even though it's still only January I decided to do my first "purge" of the winter with a bag of clothes I just haven't found myself wearing at all since it became cold a few months ago. Some pieces no longer fit me and therefore I didn't need anymore either. 

Overall, my hope is that that I will end up with a minimalistic wardrobe of core pieces I wear regularly and only need to shop for clothing a few times a year. It's one small step towards being more eco-friendly and minimalistic but I do think it will make a difference.