If you love colors, but having trouble figuring out how to create a cohesive wardrobe plan with colorful pieces so that you can create cohesive outfit ideas, then this most would be a great starting point for you.
Or if you have a lot of colored pieces in your closet and really having a tough time coming up with a cohesive style with them, you can also find great tips in this post.
I have been curating my summer closet starting spring of 2021 with colors, and figured out a happy medium where I have a balance between colors and neutral colors. And I wanted to share that with you, so you won’t feel as frustrated with your closet as I used to a couple of years ago. Instead you will enjoy each and every piece completely and maximize the wear out of every piece.
What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
There is a lot of confusion in the fashion industry about this. And I was also confused, so I did some digging to find out what exactly is a capsule wardrobe and what are the benefits of building one in the first place.
The primary purpose of a capsule wardrobe is to come up with a cohesive guide to wearing all of the pieces you have put together so you can create outfits using the items in the capsule which will help minimize the urge to constantly shop for pieces.
This is actually the best way to build a sustainable wardrobe that is timeless and you will love for years. And not only that, when you have a great foundation of the capsule wardrobe, you can easily add pieces or remove and come up with new outfits.
What a Capsule wardrobe is NOT?
- It is not at all just basic pieces (A common misconception out there)
- It is not restrictive. I think even I would hate it, if someone told me to not shop and add something cute to my closet.
- It is not just boring neutral colors. (I know everyone tells that).
So, now that we have cleared it all. Let’s see how we can create a cohesive capsule wardrobe with colors this summer.
Pick The Colors for your Capsule Wardrobe
Please don’t go crazy! Last year when I started to curate my wardrobe, the biggest mistake that I made was adding too many colors.
My primary color for summer last year was pink, but I could not resist other colors and ended up creating a mesh mash of them. If you are color lover like myself, you probably relate to my situation.
So, this year, when I started shopping for spring and summer pieces, rather than restricting myself with just 1 color, I decided to pick two colors. You can either pick the colors that you already have a lot of pieces of which will save you a lot of shopping trips, but if you don’t have a lot of pieces in any color, then my suggestion is to stick to 2 colors only.
Checkout the step by step guide to how I build the colorful capsule wardrobe below.
SOMETHING YOU MIGHT LIKE
This will help you to still enjoy wearing a variety of colors, but at the same time you don’t have a rainbow of pieces and really no cohesiveness to one another.
When picking colors, go for the colors that will work together.
This is really critical to building outfits with colors that look great together and you can also wear these colors with other pieces. I decided to go for Yellow and Blue. While Yellow is a really bright color, blue can be more subtle and add a softer yet colored touch to any outfit without being too loud. Though there are shades of blue that I also love are more vibrant.
More importantly, I can also create outfits with the two colors together which maximizes my wardrobe even more. There are a lot of other colors that I already own in my closet which will go very well with both these colors, which means, I don’t have to give up on some of the other colors that I love in my closet.
If you are like me and love yellow, I shared what other colors will look good with yellow. Check it out if you want to pick yellow as one of your capsule wardrobe color palette.
Something Related
How to Pick Your Colored Pieces
You cannot just have a closet full of colored pieces. Though it is possible in todays fashion industry where you can find all of the pieces of your outfit in a color.
I tried that as well, but it just did not workout. I ended up restricting my styling choices. And feeling a bit overwhelmed. Plus, you also want to incorporate some neutral colors so that you can incorporate basic pieces like jeans, shorts, jackets that you will wear everyday which you already own.
A Capsule wardrobe does not mean you have to start from scratch. You can pick up the basic pieces that you already own in your closet to come up with new outfits.
Neutrals to Pick:
- Bottoms – Jeans, Pants, Shorts should be in neutral colors complimenting colorful pieces.
- Outerwear – This is optional, but if you own basic colors, like white or denim jackets or trench coats, I highly recommend incorporating them as well. This will make your colorful outfits more practical and your wardrobe versatile that you can continue loving the next year as well.
- Footwear – You definitely need to have neutral footwear. Adding some cohesive colors would not be bad, but they should not be the only footwear you should be wearing.
Colored Pieces To Pick:
- Tops – This is the best starting point and the easiest way to add colors to your wardrobe is by adding colorful tops. And with summer, its really easy and so fun.
- Dresses – Summers are all about dresses and this is a great way to add a colorful dress or more if you are planning to shop for them. You can also create special occasion outfits with dresses.
- Blazers – They have come a long way and will summer linen blazers, they look fantastic and you don’t need a lot of them. Just one piece can add a pop of color to any outfit that you are wearing.
- Jackets – Similarly, jackets specially with the new shirt jackets, you can incorporate color to your neutral look with just one of them.
You Can Mix Prints As Well
Often times you hear when building a capsule wardrobe to stay away from prints. But my friend, you absolutely can specially when you are adding colors to your wardrobe. Its actually easier to mix prints when you are pairing colors.
I started choosing prints that have the specific colors in them. This way I can wear the prints and still mix and match with other pieces in my closet and come up with a cohesive look with everything looking like they below with each other.
When you are choosing prints there are two ways you can look at the color of the prints or the garment. Either your prints are the colors you are trying to add your capsule wardrobe.
The dress that I picked up from Anthropologie was ecru in color but had blue and yellow batik prints. This way, I am wearing the same colors as the ones in my colored capsule wardrobe, but still enjoying prints.
I also had a blue dress from last year that fitted perfectly because the base was blue and it had white flowers. This way, every pieces works perfectly with each other and also with your neutral pieces.
Accessories To Pick
This is absolutely optional, but if you have the budget for it, I would recommend going for some fun accessories in the colors that you are building your capsule wardrobe with.
This way even if you decide to wear neutral colors, you can easily add a pop of color with these accessories. Since in summer, its a bit harder to add a lot of accessories as scarves or other layers, I usually choose, bags and shoes.
These are really easy ways of incorporating colors. Now, there are a few tips in terms of whether you want to invest or find budget alternatives.
If you know for sure that you will love a color for longer than a year, you should absolutely invest in an accessory that you can bring back everywhere. This way you create your own signature style.
If you think you are experimenting with a color, I always recommend buying budget pieces that you won’t regret letting go if you don’t love the next year.
Colors that Work Together
I will be creating another blog post where I will show the exact pieces to add to create a colored capsule wardrobe with Yellow & Blue. But I also want to share some other color combinations that will work together and you can create your colored capsule wardrobe around.
- Yellow & Green
- Yellow & Pink
- Lilac & Blue
- Lilac & Brown
- Pink & Blue
- Pink & Purple
- Green & Orange
- Orange & Brown
- Red & Sage
Hope this post inspires you to wear more color for summer, in fact build a capsule wardrobe that can maximize your wardrobe, but at the same time enjoy wearing every single outfit in it.
