Fall 2022 Capsule Wardrobe

Last year I wrote a blog and recorded a YouTube video on my autumn/fall capsule wardrobe 2021 for the way we live now. Well, since that blog our lives have changed again, and we are now in hybrid mode, working from the office as well as at home, or if not working, then going out more, socialising, watching live events and doing more with the family. So what kind of wardrobe do we need for this new way of living?

If like me you are an over 60 woman who loves clothes but still finds it difficult to get dressed in the morning, I’ve created a capsule wardrobe template which I have found invaluable. It’s helped me to create outfits from what I already have, identify gaps that I might like to fill with new clothes or accessories, and create a fall capsule wardrobe 2022 which suits the way I now live. You can watch the video on this to follow along with the template.

For my own capsule wardrobe checklist, I first decided what I thought would be the clothes I would need for my lifestyle, and divided them into four categories:

Working/Staying at Home
Working in the Office
Day or Night Out
Date Night

The first category, Working or Staying at Home, is, let’s face it, mainly going to consist of leggings and a top! After all, although there may be a working from home dress code, no one is going to see your bottom half. If you are not working, or looking after someone at home, children, partner, parent, or doing chores, crafting or other home-based activities you want to be comfortable and able to move around in the home with ease. If you are working, you want to be able to sit at a desk comfortably, but also be able to pop out to the shops without looking like you’ve just got out of bed!

So make a list of what you think you’ll need. You can see what I need by downloading my template, but in a nutshell, it’s mainly leggings, base layers to keep me warm, and a variety of jumpers (sweaters) and cardigans.

The second category of clothes I need in my capsule wardrobe are for Working in the Office. For this category I’ve dusted off some clothes I wore up until early 2020, pre-pandemic, and identified some gaps that I needed to fill. I also relegated a couple of dresses to the back of the closet, possibly to be decluttered, as they just didn’t look and feel right – they were hangovers from 2018 when I wore fitted dresses on repeat and having become so used to wearing loose clothes during lockdown, I’ve found it difficult to go back to anything too fitted.

The third category I’ve called Day or Night Out. These are clothes that are an elevated version of the first category, so the tops might be similar but the bottoms will be more jeans based. They might be appropriate for a day’s shopping, or a night at the cinema or pub.

And the final category is Date Night. These are clothes, or outfits, which you would wear to go for dinner with your partner, or your friends, to a smart restaurant or to a special occasion.

However, given we are talking here about a capsule wardrobe list, with the emphasis on the capsule, many of the clothes in my list can play dual or triple roles and cross over from one category to another.

You will see from my capsule wardrobe list that I have rather a lot of knitwear! But we’re talking about an autumn/fall capsule wardrobe, where for us in the Northern Hemisphere, it gets pretty chilly and if, like me, you feel the cold, you will want to keep warm at all times, particularly as we need to be mindful of our precious energy supplies.

Now once you’ve identified what categories suit your lifestyle, you can look at what you currently have in your wardrobe, see how it will work for you and identify any gaps. This is what I did, and I found I needed the following:

A couple of Merino Wool Jumpers (sweaters)

Ideal for wearing over trousers for Working In the Office and could also be worn for Working At Home over leggings or for a Day or Night Out.

A pair of trousers

For Working in the Office – I ended up buying two – which I can also wear for a Date Night.

A shacket

Well, it’s not really a shacket, it’s more of a light jacket, but its’s ideal for popping to the shops on a Work at Home day and can also be work on a Day or Night Out.

Accessories

And finally, a belt and a small cross body bag.

Now the one item of clothing I struggle with is footwear. I have my trusty Dune Evoke Chunky Sole Sock Trainer and I bought myself this diamante version which I love but I’ve realised is a bit over the top for a lot out outfits, and because I have narrow ankles I can’t wear court type shoes such as ballet flats because my heels come out of the shoes when I walk. So boots are best for me, because they support my ankles, with a low heel so I can walk safely on our uneven pavements. But stylish, comfy boots are hard to find. I tried a pair of Vivaia’s recently, but they had a hard seam running up the back which I found uncomfortable so I had to send them back. However, I am coveting a different pair so I might bite the bullet and buy them. In the meantime, I will make do with what I have, namely the pairs of Dunes and some black boots from Jigsaw bought back in 2019.

So do let me know how you put together your fall capsule wardrobe. Do you have a capsule wardrobe checklist? And let me know too how you get on with my capsule wardrobe template.

Before you toddle off, I’d be super grateful if you’d subscribe to my monthly newsletter – see below – it’s’ not just a rehash of what’s in the blog – there’ll be plenty more useful intel on things that interest me, and hopefully you!

Take care,

Dez

xoxo