She wears high heels, I wear sneakers

Spring 2025 Capsule Wardrobe

Every quarter I like to pull a smaller capsule wardrobe from my unnecessarily large collection. I have a clothing rack that lives outside my closet and I put about 40-45 items on it plus 5 pairs of shoes per season and that’s the first place I look to make outfits.

This helps me wear things I love and don’t wear enough, try some things I’m not sure about, and create cute coordinated outfits more easily instead of staring overwhelmed at my entire closet.

I used to buy curated capsule wardrobe ideas from online style gurus. They choose pieces from what’s currently available in stores so it helps with staying current, but you can also substitute in the same types of pieces you already have, like a graphic sweatshirt or straight leg blue jeans. And then they give you a ton of outfits to make with those 30-40 pieces. Since I have a sizeable wardrobe, I didn’t have to buy much and it was fun to recombine existing items into new outfits.

But at the end of last year, I realized that my preferred style is a LOT more “home-comfy” than most capsule wardrobe guides, which lean more nice to business casual. I could wear athleisure most of the time and be happy. I almost never wear shoes that aren’t sneakers. I’m better off curating my own capsules for the season.

I usually start with a color palette, and I searched online for Spring 2025 color palette and also got some guidance from the Everyday Style School podcast (it’s so good!). Apparently pastel colors are in for spring (groundbreaking!).

Here’s my spring capsule color palette (plus white). I usually choose 3 neutrals + 3 colors. This time I also wanted to include the few items I have that are black and white gingham patterned per trends. I also choose most of the colors by 1) those that fit my True Winter color analysis and 2) colors I already have in my wardrobe.

A buttery pale yellow is apparently an ‘in’ color this season but unless it’s icy pale and almost green, it looks terrible on me. I also don’t own any yellow items. So I skipped it entirely.

As you know I’m trying not to buy clothes this year. But there were a few pieces ‘missing’ for me that would work with multiple outfits, so I did a little shopping. I purchased a light blue cotton gauze button up shirt I can wear over tank tops and tees as a top layer that won’t be too hot in the summer. I’ve wanted one for a few years and found it at Nordstrom for $45.

The second was a pair of black and white gingham pants. I gave away an ill-fitting pair a few years ago but they were so cute. This time I ordered a pair from Etsy. Not sure if they’ll be exactly what I want, but they’ll be cute as lounge pants anyway!

Part of the fun is going through my wardrobe and finding pieces that will match the weather and color scheme for the next three months. I start with 8-10 per category (tops, bottoms, jackets/overshirts, dresses) and then adjust to add more tops or fewer in another category if I can’t find items that “fit the brief”. The other fun part is marking the items in my Notion database (nerd alert) for Spring 2025 so I can quickly find my capsule items and track cost per wear.

Here’s what I’ve got in my capsule:

I pulled out some belts so I actually wear them. In the first week of wearing these clothes I have already dropped SIX pairs of pants in the giveaway pile (not pictured above). They just didn’t fit well anymore or were uncomfortable, and I have enough “backups” that I don’t need them. Turns out I can make do with a lot fewer pants than I thought!

The other thing I discovered? Thanks to perimenopause (the gift that keeps on giving), my actual body SHAPE has changed. I don’t like wearing leggings as pants anymore unless I’m wearing a dress or long cardigan/shirtdress over it. I like the fit of a slightly looser pant, even for athleisure. (Currently obsessed with the Senita Studio Skin Joggers y’all - they’re a super weird legging/jogger hybrid that just GETS ME and I wear a size L so they are very generously sized.)

Putting together this capsule invigorated my clothing sense of joy and got me excited about getting dressed again. I think just seeing items that had been packed away for winter made them feel new and fresh again, even though most of these items are 2-5 years old.

Anyway, thanks for indulging another “superficial things” post that brings me joy.