It’s time for a week of wrap ups! First up — my most worn pieces from my summer wardrobe.
For my day to day life of working at home + running errands, I found myself reaching for these comfy staples over and over again.
Lessons learned?
ONE
I gravitate towards loose fitting graphic tees, like the Paris tee and Boheme D’Ete tee.
So I need to keep this in mind when planning my fall wardrobe. They are ridiculously comfortable + the graphic part adds effortless style and interest + I don’t have to think too hard about it.
For example:
Did I shave my underarms? Who cares — sleeves!
Did I eat one taco too many at lunch? Um … yes … but also — is there such a thing as one taco too many? No. But either way I don’t have to worry about, you know, a food baby or whatever.
TWO
The white shirt tucked into jean shorts is my new signature.
I always felt chic + comfy in this combo paired with birks and a couple of worn-in gold bangles from Madewell. Wore a version of this outfit at least once a week.
Can’t wait to translate it into a fall look!
THREE
Good fabric is worth paying for.
My grey Madewell tank top up there is pure magic. It doesn’t wrinkle!
Let me say that again: it doesn’t wrinkle.
I recently traveled to Seattle and packed, among other things, this grey tank and a white shirt from a store that shall remain nameless.
When I pulled them out of my suitcase my white shirt was a wrinkled disaster — basically unusable for the trip.
Meanwhile, my grey tank came out and practically smiled at me like a cute baby chimpanzee. It was magically wrinkle free.
Now I get why fabric matters. Good fabric = your clothes are so easy to live with + travel with + wear.
FOUR
There’s no reason to be afraid of flowy shorts.
They are actually awesome + crazy versatile.
That is all.
What did you learn this summer season? Any exciting style breakthroughs to share?!
xo
Clothes in wrinkle free fabrics are the only ones that get to live in my closet! :-)
I refuse to spend money on something that need to be ironed because it won’t be packed when travelling.
Lazy? Maybe. But there are SO many other much more exciting things I’d rather spend my precious time on!!! :-)
Yes on the flowy shirts! I am busty and short-waisted and thought I’d just look pregnant in looser tees, but instead I look comfortable and stylish with the right accessories. My favourite pieces were my tees, too.
I’m built the same way and thought the same thing, but somehow, flowy shirts work for us! Flowy tanks and Tees are my favorites!
Absolutely. I just picked out 2 basic tops like that with maybe a bit more structure/ formality for Fall from JCrew (short and busty as well!). They are kind of my “grown up t- shirts”. One is actually a grey sweatshirt with flowers on it. My two most worn tops were even plainer, cotton tops in summer. Loose is good.
I’m also a big fan of loose fitting tops. They’re so versatile and easy! And the more wrinkle-free items in your wardrobe, the better. I do a lot of traveling for work, so good quality, wrinkle-free material is my favourite. Can’t wait to see what items you’ll incorporate into your fall wardrobe! I posted my fall capsule wardrobe up on my blog today!
Kris | http://www.love-loft-life.com
OOh I love this review article – lesson learned for me to try this myself…think about what I’ve loved wearing and project it onto Fall.
#1 off the top of my head: button-downs into slim bottoms – tried again thanks to this blog. Feels like a core me, a me that I remember being/feeling like in more confident eras…much more than the knits that I’ve been so loyal to/stuck in for all these years of post-baby blub / schlubbiness.
Will think about #2. Something about maxidresses, I think. For when slim bottoms feel not that great.
I love loose flowy tops as for the exact same reason – they hide everything! But at the same time, tucked into things they look really cool as well.
I really need to learn to invest in pieces – I’d love to get a shirt that doesn’t wrinkle!
x
Love this round-up! This is such a thoughtful way to think about your wardrobe, capsule or not…look at the pieces that get the most wear and analyze WHY. What fabric is that Madewell tank? It sounds perfect, wrinkles are annoying!
Yes please, what fabric is the tank made from?
Here it is (and on sale!): https://www.madewell.com/madewell_category/TEESANDMORE/tanks/PRDOVR~A3169/99103334696/ENE~1+2+218+22+4294967294+216+205~~~0~15~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~draft%20tank/A3169.jsp?isFromSearch=true
I have this similar tank from Target and it travels very well! I wear it at least once a week :)
http://www.target.com/p/junior-s-racerback-tank/-/A-15026640#prodSlot=medium_1_25&term=gray+tank
I’m with you on the loose fitting tees! I’ve embraced them this summer as well :)
I’ve learned that there’s no reason to be afraid of maxidresses! I consider myself to be a bit of a tomboy, so that was an interesting discovery.
In terms of my signature, it is a flowy top or sweater with skinny jeans which I sometimes accessorize with a scarf or a hat and/or red lipstick.
The loose fitting shirt has been mind blowing for me. My staple outfit was always a kind of fitted tank with jeans or shorts – boring but cute – especially pre-kids. I continued wearing those tanks after kids but never felt quite right. I was always tugging or sucking in or conscious of my stomach. I always thought wearing something loose would be less flattering, because I’m petite, but I find that I look nice in loose fitting tops and my god, they’re SO MUCH MORE comfortable.
I’ve come to accept that I’m not a heels girl. I included one pair in my summer capsule and only wore them once. I much prefer cool slip-ons and sneakers, and that’s ok! I do like wearing ankle boots in the fall, but they have a chunky heel and aren’t very tall. High, stiletto heels just seem to make me feel uncomfortable.
I would like to hear more about fabric choice (and care)!
Great post :) I have been wondering about this.
Can you do a post about how to choose the ‘proper’ fit? I guess this is different for everyone, but I like how your is loose but not ‘baggy’. Do you go up a size? Get your regular size in a shirt meant to be looser? I seem to be either ‘I got this in a bigger size’ or ‘I don’t know how to dress myself’. I have a problem with this cause I used to be bigger so my clothing view is askew.
I don’t even know if this is worth a post lol
Hi Tania!
Awesome question! I rarely size up, because if something is designed to fit “fitted” and I size up it’s just going to look like a shirt that doesn’t fit. I know because I used to make this mistake all the time — but I thought I looked cool. Live and learn, right? :) So instead, I just look for items that are designed to fit loose. How can I tell if it was designed to fit loose? I look at how the model is wearing it online. :)
xo
Caroline
I am an Austinite too so I love reading your blog! Your post today made me laugh because we Austinites LOVE our Tacos, don’t we???!
I am so thankful for you and this blog and for no longer buying clothes on a whim and always making sure I really love something before making it a part of my wardrobe.
Do you mind sharing what size you got in the made well tanktop?
Also, I love the fabric but was curious did you hand wash it? I actually hand wash some of my shirts from their using a salad spinner and am happy with the results but prefer to just toss in the washer if possible. Just seeing how it kept its shape!
Hi Christina!
The grey tank is XS + I actually didn’t hand wash it — just tossed it in the washer with everything else (but I kept it out of the dryer). It kept it’s shape great! :)
xo Caroline
I haven’t even done my capsule a month yet and I already know there are pieces I should have left out and pieces that are missing. So i guess month 1 will be a trial run and then October through December will be for reals.
The first go is always a little rough — I left so much stuff out of my first capsule! But it was good for me to live with those “mistakes” because it taught me so much. :) The second season was so much better!
xo
Caroline
Hi Caroline –
I love your blog and am learning so much about personal style. I have a somewhat personal question, but figured what the hey since you shared that tidbit about sweating in your track shorts…
One of my biggest struggles in dressing for the summer is the inevitable sweat. Living in DC, I walk most places and in the intense summer humidity, I am almost always drowning in a puddle of sweat. Sorry for the gross visual… As a result, I usually just end up wearing some top I don’t really care about so I don’t have to worry about ruining it, or I’ll wear dark colors that won’t show sweat marks as much. It definitely puts a cramp in my style, and I haven’t figured out a way to wear the pieces I love without ruining them with stains or walking around with wet spots (under-boob sweat is my nemesis).
Any advice you have would be much appreciated!