Moving back in with your parents after living in your own space for over a decade probably doesn’t feature on most people’s summer bucket lists. But this year it was on mine.

In my case it was temporary – a gap between the end of my rental tenancy and completing on a house. And much as I love my parents, the return to home comforts did little to alleviate the misery of boxing up my home and its contents for an indefinite stay in a decidedly grotty storage unit while I returned to my childhood bedroom.

But it did give me time to run an experiment I’d been curious to try – the capsule wardrobe. I’d long admired Pinterest boards and Instagram accounts claiming you could transform your life by whittling your wardrobe down to a finite collection of versatile pieces.

I was going to be sharing a small wardrobe and chest of drawers with my husband, so space was going to be at a premium.

Ever trying to make the best of bad situations, I decided 2022 was going to be the year of the capsule. 

Setting It Up

And so, to the selection process. There were a few things to bear in mind. 

I didn’t know how long it was going to be before my full wardrobe would escape captivity, so I needed to be prepared for both the predicted scorching summer and a potentially cold English winter. And deviation wasn’t going to be easy – the storage unit was a 2-hour drive away, not ideal for last minute panics. 

I work from home, and therefore didn’t have to worry very much about dress codes or uniforms – though I had a wedding and a couple of other smart events to factor in, as well as a few days in France. 

A quick bit of browsing suggested picking anywhere between 20 and 100 items of clothing for the capsule.

Given I needed to cope with changes of season, but would have relatively limited storage space, I went for 50 – including coats, scarves and a hat, but excluding shoes, bags, undies and pyjamas. 

Next, I picked a base colour. I have a thing about not mixing navy and black, and knowing that my sensible autumn and winter coats were both blue, I went for navy. 

I picked things which were timeless (like jeans, striped tops, neutral bottoms and jumpers) and could be layered (thicker and thinner jumpers and cardigans, t-shirts and vest tops, skirts that would work with and without tights) or would work in several situations (e.g. dresses which I could take on holiday or wear to a wedding).

I mostly went for things I knew I would reach for on a “I have five minutes to get dressed and no time to plan” day (my favourite jumper, comfiest jeans, and did I mention striped tops?) but ensured there were a few lesser-worn pieces so I wouldn’t get bored. 

I did it all in one go, and it took about an hour. I put everything on the bed so I could see how the colours worked. I kept a hanger for each item, and made sure it all fitted in one suitcase. 

After a bit of wrangling and trade-offs between categories, the final setup looked like this 

What I Loved Less

I felt stuck in a rut at times.

I think this was probably the shift from a fairly large amount of choice to a limited range in a short space of time – and in less-than-ideal circumstances.

But there were days when I would ordinarily have taken time to put together an outfit that felt just right when I instead had to settle for a combination I’d worn recently. Which shouldn’t have been a problem – knowing how much harm fast fashion does to the planet and to people, none of us should ever feel bad about re-wearing outfits – but it was a jolt compared to my usual approach. 

I definitely hadn’t prepared for such a hot summer. I ended up wearing the same three tops and two pairs of shorts on rotation for about two weeks.

With retrospect, I could have given more thought to fabric composition so that more of my clothes could transition from summer into autumn, favouring cottons over synthetic blends. 

There was a lot of washing. And ironing. And emergency stain treatment.

All less than ideal given my poor parents’ washing production line was no longer used to having three teenaged girls in the house. Now that energy costs have gone up, I would be mindful of balancing the size of the capsule with the cost of running a tumble drier. 

What I Loved

I saw a new side to my clothes. Having to pair things up in new ways was refreshing and made me braver with my outfit choices, even though a lot of the things I’d packed were old favourites. I especially loved integrating clothes I would usually only wear on special occasions (smart trousers and dresses) into day-to-day wear. 

I rediscovered the power of accessories. I took a small collection of jewellery favourites with me, and really enjoyed pairing familiar outfits with statement earrings and layered necklaces to add a new twist. 

Getting ready was really quick. No more choice paralysis. I could see everything I owned at a glance because it all fit in the wardrobe. 

Iwas reminded to value my clothes. It’s probably a dreadful cliché but spending some time living with less did make me realise how much I have already. It’s striking that I haven’t been clothes shopping at all since.

In fact, I haven’t even wanted to. Instead, I’m really enjoying finding new ways to wear old pieces, and I’ve been feeling more enthusiastic about donating things I don’t wear to charity shops and clothing banks.

On balance, I’m not quite ready to transition to a capsule wardrobe full time just yet. But I definitely have a renewed appreciation for my clothes, and a new bravery about pairing them up. I’m feeling good about spending less money on clothes and appreciating the contents of my drawers.

And next time I have to live out of a suitcase in my childhood bedroom, I’ll be ready. 

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