A Primer on Capsule Wardrobes

Madhur Dutta
Jun 21, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jun 8

A quick primer on capsule wardrobes, including some pros and cons

As some of you might have noticed, besides poetry and music (or possibly more than that) - I also share my style journey as part of my creative work. It all started when I took a pause from constant fashion purchases and made a shift to a more sustainable approach to style.

The initial years were spent building an understanding of my style sensibilities - what I liked and felt confident wearing vs what I did not. I spent a couple of years not buying any clothes, focusing on what I already had. One way I worked with the clothes I already owned was by making capsules using them. Overall, the idea was to avoid going on a shopping spree with sustainable brands and instead focus on giving love and a fair chance to the clothes I had.

Slowly, as I built a good understanding of my style sensibilities and my wardrobe, I began buying sustainable + high quality items again. As I did this, I felt the need to come up with a series focused around style, but one that did not require me or you to buy new things. My time in my rural hometown had resulted in an appreciation for seasonal living. So I came up with the idea to do seasonal capsules and thus Styled Through The Seasons was born.

For the uninitiated, a capsule wardrobe is a smaller selection of clothing and accessories from your wardrobe. Each capsule for the Styled Through The Season series has consisted a selection of 33 items from my wardrobe (30 originally). The capsule can be themed or random, as mentioned earlier mine revolve around the seasons where I live.

Having done these capsules for a few seasons now, I feel like I am well versed with the pros and cons of committing to a capsule wardrobe.

Easily the top among many pros, is that a capsule wardrobe can help you build a deeper understanding of your wardrobe (and your sense of style) without going on a shopping spree. Rather than keeping up with external trends and constantly buying new clothes, a capsule wardrobe can help identify clothes already in your wardrobe that you naturally gravitate toward and feel confident in. Another benefit is that the minimalist in me appreciates working with a limited set of options and this makes getting dressed simpler (and thus fun) for me. This is really coming in handy in the current scheme of things where I am prioritizing my non-creative work and music. Having a capsule wardrobe means I have more time to give to my work on a daily basis that I would otherwise be spending on deciding what to wear. A benefit that might be lost on most is that sticking to a capsule wardrobe will drastically reduce the time and energy you spend on clothing upkeep. Since I do all my housekeeping myself, this really makes life easy for me.

Honestly, I haven't found many cons to a capsule wardrobe. But one that definitely cropped up is the challenge a capsule wardrobe presents in impromptu situations. For instance, you are invited for a wedding but have no appropriate picks. My solution has been to have 3 out of the 33 picks be wildcard options - where I don't initially pick something and allow myself to do so later if I need to.

Pros

1. Can help build a deeper understanding of your wardrobe

2. Makes getting dressed simple and fun!

3. Simplifies clothing upkeep

Cons

1. Can be challenging/limiting in impromptu situations

Looks from the 2025 Summer Capsule