Capsule Wardrobe – Silhouettes, Colors and Fabric Choices

I have finished the planning of my capsule wardrobe for fall/winter and already started with the first project. More of that later. First, I decided on silhouettes for casual and office outfits. Do you know polyvore? I did not. But this is a really fun tool perfect for this purpose. I came up with two silhouettes for the casual wardrobe and with four silhouettes for office outfis.

 Casual:

Office outfits:

The shoes are not always what I had in mind, but I did not find something better. Next I decided on the colors and diveded them into three categories: neutrals, near neutrals and statement colors (As you see I did not put too much effort in creating a perfect designed picture, but it is sufficient for my purpose):

For the beginning I chose one causal and two office outfits and reduced the color palette:

                         

I might change my plans during the process. For example, I found it quite challenging to decide the colors for the office outfit with the flared skirt and do not yet know how this will work out. However, I can always refer back to this guideline.

Now starts the fun part: fabric and pattern choices! As many of you, I have a big fabric stash, and I will, of course, use fabrics from my stash, if they fit into my wardrobe plans. However, I have decided not to use fabrics because I just have them sitting in my stash. I will not be happy with my new garments (and won’t wear them) if I do not like the fabric. This means I will have to buy some new fabrics (ok, that is not really a burden). I will also take my time and buy/use only fabrics, that are good quality and fit in my plan regarding color/pattern/fabric content. No compromises here! I have started with the casual outfit. For the shirt pattern I will use a self-drafted pattern. For the pants I will use the Anima pants from Papercut Patterns. Here are swatches for the long-sleeved shirts:

First I thought the cardigan would be an item I would buy. But then I had the crazy idea of knitting it by myself. I am usually no knitter. The last item I knitted was a scarf and I needed half a year until it was completed. Nevertheless, I searched for a knitting pattern and found a quite easy one and the next day I was shopping yarn. I found a beautiful, cozy yarn, Merino Air from Lana Grossa. Now I am sitting in my small garden at 30 °C knitting a woolen cardigan!