Hey my buddies!  Let’s keep up the convo about capsule wardrobes! 🙌🏻
(If you have no idea what a capsule wardrobe is or how the heckfire to begin one,
click [HERE] for the Cotton Stem Capsule Series…so easy and fun!!  And [HERE} are the first set of Capsule FAQ’s!)

Below are the answers to your capsule questions based on my personal experience of capsuling for four or five years now, and if you have any more questions, leave them below in the comments section!

1.  How do I do a capsule wardrobe if I need two separate types of outfits, for example I work in an office during the day and come home to kids at night and weekends?

Totally feel ya on this.  My best advice is to do two types of capsules: one for work and one for home.  I work from home and still have two separate capsules.  For mommin’ and just being comfy, I have my Momiform Capsule (more on that soon….eeeekk!!), and then I have an “I want to look put together and like a real human lady today” capsule with cute outfits, polished looks, etc.  Both fit different parts of my lifestyle, and it was just way too hard to try and cram all lifestyles into one capsule.  Some might be able to do so, but I wasn’t.  Don’t feel like you’re “cheating” if you create a second capsule–it’s not about rules!  It’s about a lifestyle change for the better.  🙌🏻 

2.  Are you allowed to shop AT ALL during the capsule?!?!  What if something gets stained or ruined?  What if you just wanna??  

This question right here is what kept me from trying capsules when I first became interested.  How in the world was I supposed to go months and months without ever shopping???  I love shopping!  😂  But listen: something had to give.  Standing in a stuffed-to-the-brim closet each day, totally overwhelmed and STILL unable to get ready even with a closet full of clothes was the low point.  I’d legit stand in my closet CRAM PACKED with trendy, do-I-even-like-this? pieces and whine and complain to myself that I “had nothing to wear.”  😳😬  In the words of the great philosopher Jimmy Fallon, ew.  Big ew.  But what was it going to take to make a change that would stick?

I’ll tell you what…it’s the shopping.  The online shopping during kiddo nap time, the new shirt that just happened to jump into my cart each and every time I went to Target for groceries, the suck-you-in “sales” that tricked me into thinking I was doing a GOOD thing by buying more than I need….but ON SALE, so it was okay.  🙄  I know y’all feel me.  And I don’t think being on a capsule wardrobe plan means NEVER bending the rules a little bit, either.  If you’re on vacation and want to grab a shirt to commemorate, or maybe you have an item that totally busted/ripped/got stained during the capsule and needs to be replaced, or, you know what….one cheat day.  GASP!!!!  I know, guys.  I’ve cheated before.  Still do.  Probably always will.  But…

It’s so so so much more about a total lifestyle change than it is a rigid boot camp with hard and fast guidelines.  I tried it the later way at first, and I burned out fast.  For me, a capsule wardrobe lifestyle means a greater awareness of my shopping and spending habits, a commitment to simplify in real and tangible ways, and it’s about finding joy and happiness in what I already own, instead of looking for more and more and more.  Not gonna lie…I’ve cheated a few times here and there, but I don’t think that’s the point.  Overall, my lifestyle regarding spending, shopping and possessions in general has altered SO MUCH over the last 4-5 years of capsuling, and I think THAT is what matters.  Don’t get so hung up on the rules that you lose the joy of the whole thing, the fun, the challenge.  Just my opinion.  😉

3.  What about trendy items that I love and want to include in my capsule this season…but then they might be way out of style by the time this season cycles back around?  Include or skip?  What about including an event-specific item that you’ll only wear once or twice, like a NYE dress?

Okay, just bear in mind that you are talking to a pretty basic dresser here, guys.  😂  “Basic” meaning I’m not really into too many trends just for trend’s sake.  If I love something based on how it fits me and my lifestyle and my look AND it happens to be trendy, then boom.  But…I get what you’re saying.  Here’s what I try and do: keep a capsule base of pretty basic, goes-with-anything items, and then spice things up each capsule shop time with a couple of on-trend pieces to keep things interesting.  Got a bunch of basic jeans and tanks?  Spice it up in the fall with a couple new sweaters that are trendy and your style!  That way, you’ll still be excited to get dressed with your updated capsule, but really…you will have only invested money into one or two new “trendy” pieces.  Therefore, if by the next capsule season you can’t stand those two trendy pieces, meh.  It was only one or two, not an investment into a WHOLE new wardrobe of super duper trendy pieces, you know?  Just an idea to keep things interesting and trendy without going overboard and regretting it next season.  

4.  How to deal with capsuling a changing body after pregnancy or while losing weight?

Oooohhh man, I feel you here.  Four pregnancies in five years had me ALL THE SIZES, and it was pretty frustrating at times to say the least.  The best advice I’d give you is sort of similar to question #1: create a separate “in-between” capsule to get you through the transition.  What I did in those squishy, shapeless months after pregnancies was sort of piece together an in-between-sizes capsule using pieces I already owned (like cardigans I could wear open and flowy, outerwear, shoes, some stretchy pants, and loose fitting tops), and then I’d add in a couple of transition pieces to get through that season of weight loss (things like maybe one or two pairs of inexpensive jeans in an in-between size).  After you make your goal weight/body type, donate the few extras you had to buy and then get started on formulating your new capsule in your new size! 

5.  So when CAN the shopping commence?  When should I begin shopping for the next season’s capsule?

How to prep and then begin moving towards your next season’s capsule and shopping list are covered in step four [HERE] and step five [HERE]–super duper easy and fun!!

Soooooo what do you guys think?  I predict a couple of the above answers won’t be popular with the strict rule-followers, but that’s okay with me.  😉  But do you agree?  What other questions popped into your mind?  I’ll be on here a bit to answer some Q’s in the comments if you can catch this post, and, if not, I’ll be back soon with Part 3 of the Cotton Stem Capsule Series FAQ’s!  In the meantime, come get some more capsule inspo on my Instagram [HERE] and Pinterest [HERE]!

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