photo via my Instagram feed — I’m @caroline_joy
(Psssst…t-minus 2 days til I share my fall capsule wardrobe!)
Q:
Dear Caroline,
I was wondering how your transition from season to season looks? Do you literally switch everything over in one day or do you let pieces trickle in and out over time, depending on the weather?
-Hallie
A:
Dear Hallie,
Awesome question! Here’s what my transition really looks like:
1. I don’t do a hard cut. Meaning, I take my time with the transition. As one reader put it — “The weather doesn’t switch in one day. Why should my wardrobe?”
2. About two weeks before the fall season starts, I start moving my fall clothes into my closet. From that point on, I start a slow transition, moving fall pieces in + summer pieces out. Then about a week or two after the fall season starts, the transition is complete and my closet is all fall.
3. But I always like to keep a minimal number of clothes hanging in my closet — I function better that way because I feel more creative when I’m working with limited options and little to no visual clutter. And for some strange subconscious reason, I tend to wear summer pieces with summer pieces and fall pieces with fall pieces — I don’t mix the two very often. Just a preference.
Remember this is all about creative problem-solving + embracing your style, your way.
xo
I truly enjoy your blog. Discovered a few weeks ago! It’s very focused and this capsule collection premise is something we should all strive to embrace. I’m a Stay At Home Mom with two kids under 6 and have whittled my wardrobe down a bit too for my more casual lifestyle. I do not like fancy but also like clothing so a capsule collection is right up my alley! I wonder why we shop for the thrill or deal only to retire many pieces to charitable orgs. It’s a waste of time and money. Keep up your fabulous blog – I will keep reading :)
Hello fellow mama – your description sounds like me – 2 kids under 6, mostly at home, but I do like to look nice :D I am really excited about my fall capsule wardobe which consists of the first nice new clothes I’ve bought in 5 years or so! (Everything else was either maternity, or Target/Old Navy bought-in-a-pinch.)
This week’s posts are all so great. I have loved reading your reflections on your summer capsule and I am eagerly anticipating Friday’s reveal of your next capsule!!!
I really need to figure out how to transition into fall a bit better. The moment it’s officially fall I feel like sometimes I switch my wardrobe out the same day even though it’s still very much summer where I live. I just get so excited for fall dressing!
Really really enjoy your work with the blog! I’ve been following it since you got recommended by one of my faves http://into-mind.com … This one changed my relationship with clothing and yours was the perfect complement to start creating capsule wardrobes…I’ve given away bags and bags of clutter…and it felt wonderful! Then I started with the capsules…and I recommend to every one of my friends…so much easier and stress free approach and we get to play a bit of the personal shopper in a mission type of role…exciting! Looking forward to your revelation on Friday :)
Loving this week’s series on wrapping up summer and transitioning to fall! It’s really helpful to see which pieces worked/ didn’t work and why. Can’t wait to see the new capsule!
By the way, I’m working with my very first capsule (started September 1st) and so far I’m loving it. Thanks for being such a great inspiration!
What a great question! Thanks for sharing this with us, your wardrobe capsule posts are my BIBLE.
I’ve been reading your blog for months now but haven’t yet sent a comment. This blog has been genious and I love it. I’ve tried this capsule wardrope thing in my own closet and it really works. Thank you for a great blog! Regards from Finland (in North Europe)
You make such great points. I love coming to your site everyday to see what bit of closet wisdom you have to share. In recent months, I’ve been successful at taking out huge (HUGE!) chunks of unworn clothing that was just hanging in my closet, and either sold them on Ebay or donated them. But I know there is more to do because I still struggle to dress in the morning. (Too many options? Too many items I care less about obscuring the items I love? Because of the summer/fall transition weather? Because I’m not listening to what I WANT to wear vs. what I think I should?) My closet is still cluttered, and I know I could be more ruthless. Anyway, I’m at least aware of the problem and working on it. Your site is a very helpful guide!
This blog is just so dang great. I discovered it last week and you hooked me from the get-go. It has TRULY given me much to think about regarding the way I approach my wardrobe. Which has led me to think about how I am consuming/over-spending in other areas of my life. And this approach is just so beautiful to me. You’ve managed to convict me (you might prefer the word inspire but the truth is I am convicted!!) but in a way that has created excitement and challenge. So, thank you!! And keep it up!
I find it extremely difficult to actually transition between seasons because the weather in the Bay Area is so unpredictable. I need to have my shorts, tanks, sweaters, leggings and jackets within reach — always. That said, I love being a voyeur on your style journey.
xx Abby a geek tragedy
I just ran into your blog and absolutely love the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe! Def trying it out this season. Love all your outfits and can’t wait to see your fall capsule xx
You’ve got some lovely clothes on your clothes rail! I love the tradition from Summer to Autumn :) x
http://rachelcoco.blogspot.co.uk
Seeing that you quoted me just made my day :) I’m so glad I found your blog and a community of people who care enough about this to discuss it. I just pulled out all my fall clothing and it’s a little bitter-sweet. I’m so excited to wear the clothes but they don’t exactly fit since I just had a baby 3 days ago. Hopefully my belly shrinks enough to wear the clothes soon, because I really don’t want to have to go out and buy a bunch of in-between-sizes clothes, and I’m kind of sick of my maternity clothes.
I live in Portland, Oregon and in a normal year, it would be cold and rainy by now. Since I’ve just done my capsule organizing for the first time, I kept a handful of summer items out for the transition. I picked one pair of pants, 5 short sleeve tops, and one pair of sandals that coordinate with my fall capsule. I should have left out one pair of shorts (lol) but opted to wear a skirt instead on a recently warm day. Once the weather changes, these will get put away for my summer capsule. Just having fewer things to choose from has been great.
SO excited to have found you! A dear friend recommended your blog as I am currently purging the majority of my wardrobe. I’m commenting on this post because I live in Denver, CO where it is currently 28 degrees and scheduled to be 65 on Saturday (it will be!). I don’t cycle my wardrobe because I wear sandals in winter and boots in July, can you recommend a process for someone like me who lives in a climate that requires all 4 capsules year round? If you’ve already written a post on this, just a link to it would be most appreciated!
I also had some troubles putting together my spring capsule, since I didn’t know quite what to expect from the weather (in Belgium). Will it be warm enough in May-June to wear shorts? How many sundresses will I need? So I started with around 30 items in March, leaving some space for 7 more summery-items to be added when the weather got better (which was only in May). To me this was a very useful way to make transition easier, and I could postpone my decision-making process to the moment when it became actually relevant. And maybe next year it will go even easier :)