Planning your 333: Launder and Select
Hey friends! Here’s the final post of the series on planning your capsule wardrobe. If you are just joining the conversation, you can catch up here:
- What is a 333 and what did it teach me?
- Part One: Gather, Sort and Whittle
- Part Two: Study and Sketch
That leads us to today! Launder and Select.
Step 6: Launder
Clean all your whittled down clothes so they are ready to sort out. I love clean clothes!
Here’s my sweet little helper.
Also, on your selection day, wear one outfit you will wear this fall that you feel good about. If you are in sweats and a baggy t-shirt, it’s harder to be choosy because anything is better than the frump you have on. As when I go shopping, I wear clothes that fit well and make me feel good so I have some sort of comparison. If what I think about choosing for my 33 doesn’t measure up, it makes it easier to reject items.
Step 7: Select
Time to 33 it!
First, clear out everything from your closet. I keep top row of my closet for keeps and put rejects or maybes on the bottom row. You could do the same as piles on the floor or your bed.
Then work with your written list as a guideline and physically move key pieces to your cleared out spot in the closet.
[Example: I start with no-brainers. I know I will need my good fleece and my warm boots. Boom. That’s 2 items down. 31 to go.]
Try to think broadly. What items will mix and match better than others? Think about how the colors and shapes will look and layer together.
Some sweaters look cute solo, but you will find they don’t pair well with most of your tops or dresses or long-sleeved shirts simply because of the way it hangs on your waistline or how the sleeves are too tight to wear layers underneath. Those are things to consider.
Consider the adjectives you picked out. Does the item in question bring you joy, make you feel good, and fit the adjectives in your personal style list?
Here’s a wonderful Parisian capsule by Paris to Go with only 10 basics. I loved it!
Consider your color palette. Some people are really into minimal color. Basic black or tan.
In fact, most 33 capsules I have seen online have loads of black. They start with just the basic 4 in your base color (ex: black pants, black top, black skirt/dress, black sweater). Then they go from there. If that sounds like your style, or if you think in linear step by step fashion, Vivienne breaks it down nicely here.
Personally, I need more patterns and color. And I’m a “Intuitive Feeling Perceiving” type so I work this way by touching each item and feeling it out. I start with items I know for sure I need according to weather and events like winter boots and coat. After that, I begin by adding my fun colorful stuff.
I started with what was easy. I know I will need my down vest, down layer coat, fleece, 2 warm layering sweaters, 2 jeans, 1 black slacks, 1 khakis and a few cute tops I like.
I start with a few accent pieces and then add basics that coordinate color-wise and layer well shape-wise. All my colorful pieces share a color scheme… they almost all have a pop of teal, some mustard and some plum. That made it easy for me to add in a teal cover-up sweater and plum fleece-lined pants as my “basics” even though they aren’t black (in photo above). They still go with nearly everything in my capsule wardrobe! Ba-da-bing.
Then I just keep adding and swapping.
5 bottoms… I swapped the jeans that didn’t really fit for snow pants.
7 long-sleeved tops…
8 sweaters, wraps, and warmer layers…
Boots, flats, accessories…
Once you have your 33, put the rest in a box. I didn’t this time and it messed me up! : ) So just do it. (Swoosh!)
If there are some items you still aren’t sure you might want, keep them in a “maybe” stash. A tip that Courtney Carver of Project 333 shares is to give yourself a week of trying it out and swapping items. I am soooo glad I did that this time around because I ended up swapping out some my “maybe” stash for keeps.
Just try it out for a week and see what you think! You will likely surprise yourself with how darn cute you could look with stuff you already had! : )
Up next: Step 8: Reflect + a bonus for yours truly… how to cheat.
love,d