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About a month ago, proper Summer started in the UK. Now I don’t define Summer by the solstice, the calendar, or even the moon. Summer, for me, is when it's so hot that it severely affects the clothes you can wear. Anything consistently above 25 degrees, with bright sun, means shorts are an option and linen is a necessity. Sunglasses are a question of practicality rather than fashion. Headwear, if you’re as follicly challenged as me, is essential. It could seem like a restriction. But actually if you love clothes, it opens up a whole new wardrobe of things that are designed only for hot weather. In the UK, unfortunately, these periods are unreliable and often brief. It’s happening less and less, but there have been years where such weather never really arrived. So when it’s here, I revel in it. I get out the espadrilles and the guayabera, cream-linen trousers and white-linen shirts. I turn my face to the Sun and close my eyes. This is also a professional exercise. Because I'm aware that many readers around the world enjoy this weather more consistently, and for longer periods, than in the UK. If you’re in New York or Spain, this is weather you can plan for. During the first 12 days of our ‘Summer’, therefore, I posted a quick Instagram story every day of what I was wearing. At the end, it occurred to me that there was a lot of consistency there. That it almost made up a Summer capsule wardrobe. And so I thought I’d repost some of them, and comment on what that capsule could look like. One of the first outfits I leapt to wear is this one. I bought the guayabera from Anderson & Sheppard last year (imported from Ramon Puig in Miami) but only got to wear it a couple of times before the weather cooled off. It is traditionally worn like a shirt, with nothing underneath; but I like something simple under it, like a vest or undershirt. I like the style because it manages to look both subtle but unusual, casual yet conscious. It’s worn with fairly smart trousers - Fox Air high-twist wool, made by Pommella - and black espadrilles. The guayabera works equally well with my olive-linen trousers from Paul Stuart, which are pictured above with a different outfit. There, the shoes are still black but they’re Alden LHS loafers (dyed black after I got an oil stain on a snuff pair). There’s a grey T-shirt on top, but this could equally be a white shirt. And over the tee is an equally unusual jacket - my hand-dyed Mandarin jacket from Prologue. More on that here. The reason this starts to look like a capsule collection, I think, is all the pieces could be swapped around. You could wear the outfit above with the white guayabera (perhaps worn open) and with black espadrilles. The next outfit is seemingly quite different: white-linen shirt, PS khaki shorts, brown-suede loafers. But most things could again be swapped with the preceding outfits. I might hesitate to wear the brown loafers with a brown jacket, but it wouldn’t look bad. The white shirt could be worn with either pair of the earlier trousers, while the grey T-shirt would look good too. The key thing that makes all this easier is that the tops are all lighter, and the bottoms darker. Even though you wouldn’t call the shorts dark, they are darker than the things above them: the white shirt, grey tee, and white guayabera. The following day, it wasn’t quite so hot but I kept the same colour combination, just in different styles: white T-shirt rather than a white shirt; khaki chinos rather than khaki shorts. That’s an old Flat Head tee, with my old Armoury chinos, vintage belt, white socks and still Alden LHS loafers. A rather Ivy look, overall. The only thing that wouldn’t fit with the capsule idea was the vintage jungle jacket I wore over the top (shown at the bottom of this article). But that could easily be replaced, if you were putting together a capsule like this for travel. If you were travelling, and wanted a smart option too, then a cream linen jacket could be useful. In the outfit above - worn when I was going into town rather than staying at home - there’s the same principle of lighter top and darker bottom, just with different items. Those taupe-cotton trousers could easily have been the olive linen or Fox Air wool, and the white guayabera would have been effective too. In any capsule there are often compromises - unless you are very narrow with the colours and styles. And here while I prefer these smart Edward Green loafers with the jacket, the Aldens would be OK. With tailoring, it’s more usual to wear darker tops and paler bottoms. That’s usually easier with jackets, when the shirt underneath doesn’t matter so much. But with a casual capsule, such as the one we’re running through, it’s usually better the other way around. Another of my favourite Summer outfits, for example, is the one above: brown knitted polo or T-shirt with white or cream trousers. The trousers can be cotton or linen (as here, from Ambrosi); the shoes can be loafers, deck shoes or espadrilles (as here, Diego's). But you can’t wear the white shirts or T-shirts we've shown higher up. A casual capsule collection - whether for travel or for a guy just building a wardrobe - could therefore be something along the lines of: If you want to learn more, please visit our website kachitany. Khaki and/or olive shorts and trousers White and/or grey T-shirts White shirt and guayabera Black and/or brown loafers and espadrilles White or cream deck shoes Navy knit or sweatshirt (could also be cream or grey) Brown overshirt or jacket The tricky area for clashing is really just the outerwear and the shoes. So I might only take black shoes if my single overshirt were brown. There are other colours you could happily throw in, such as the navy knitwear I’ve included in that list, or something brighter or patterned like a Breton top. If you need more smart options, you could take taupe trousers rather than the khaki, and add a taupe jacket, to give you a suit (shown above). If you need sportier ones, add dark patterned swim shorts and maybe something in towelling, to wear around the pool. There are lots of ways to tweak it depending on your circumstances. But the foundations are to have dark and light one way round, and to make sure the shoes, bottoms and outerwear all work with one another. I hear it’s going to hot again next week. Enjoy. Below, the shoes. Top to bottom: black Diego's espadrilles, black Alden LHS loafers, brown Edward Green Piccadillys, brown Alden LHS loafers, and two canvas shoe options - white, new, linen 45R oxfords and cream, old, cotton Doek derbys.
For over a decade, Steve Jobs, the billionaire co-founder of Apple, wore the same thing every day: a black turtleneck, Levi’s jeans, and New Balance sneakers.
Picking up the mantle, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wears a gray T-shirt every day and President Obama picks between a solid navy or charcoal suit. During an interview with Vanity Fair he said, “I’m trying to pare down decisions […] because I have too many other decisions to make.”
Google shows he’s a man true to his word.
When I started to see successful people wearing the same thing every day, I realized they were part of the movement I belong to, where less is more. Implementing that mindset is critical to reaching financial independence, and in that spirit I decided to create my own small versatile wardrobe, commonly called a capsule.
According to the apparel industry, every man, woman, and child buys 64 new pieces of clothes every year (plus 7.5 pairs of shoes). Our culture has become obsessed with fast fashion – think Forever 21, H&M, and Zara – which celebrates trendy disposable clothes at cheap prices.
I decided my capsule would forego trends and instead contain classic, iconic pieces I could get years of use out of. But my style is probably not your style, and that’s okay. So as you step through the process of creating your capsule, go with the styles and clothes that reflect your personal style.
The best-selling book in the world right now is about throwing things out: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo (you should read that book right now, it’s great). As someone who compulsively throws things out I realized I was keeping clothes I never wore.
I took all the clothes out of my closet, threw them on my bed, and made three piles:
As I finished putting the save pile back into my closet I was confronted with an in-cohesive wardrobe. Up to this point in my life I’d never thought about what my style was, but to make a functional capsule I knew I had to. I started reading style blogs and quickly learned what houndstooth was and to focus on two areas:
Like me, if you need help with defining your style and you’re a dude try Effortless Gent and Style Girlfriend. Women can check out Into Mind and Unfancy.
To keep a capsule wardrobe under control you should set a number. There are various opinions on how many pieces should be in a capsule: Project 333 says 33 pieces that can be cycled every 3 months (to coincide with the seasons). Unfancy says 37. There’s no right or wrong number, the point is to choose one and then maintain it.
I took an entirely different approach: instead of picking a number and working towards it I strategically filled the gaps in my wardrobe until I felt it was small yet versatile, and that became my number. The process took me many months and ultimately resulted in a 12 month capsule that contained 40 pieces.
My color palette is black, gray, white, and blue, and is heavy on gingham, stripes, and solids. Here’s a breakdown of my capsule:
To maintain the 40 piece limit I have a rule of “one in, one out”: any new clothing purchase requires an existing piece goes.
After having fully adjusted to my capsule wardrobe I feel the benefits many others have realized: more time because it’s more efficient, better decisions because it reduces stress, and because I seldom buy new clothes, more money.
If you want to create a capsule for yourself here’s what a 10-piece mini-capsule for summer might look like.
01. Breathable Polo Shirts: Banana Republic Luxe-Touch Polo
02. Casual T-shirts: American Apparel Poly-Cotton T-shirts
03. Oxford Cloth Button Downs (OCBD): Old Navy Slim-Fit Oxford Shirt
04. Swim Trunks: J. Crew 7″ Board Short in Navy
05. Shorts: Target Merona Club Shorts
06. Lightweight Chinos: GAP Lived-in Slim or Straight
07. Canvas Sneakers: PF Flyers Center Lo Sneakers in Natural
08. A Woven Belt: Jomers Madaket Belt
09. Boat Shoes: Sperry Top Sider Authentic Original Boat Shoe in Brown
10. Do Anything Sunglasses: Ray-Ban New Wayfarer in Tortoise
I didn’t want to leave women out and because I have a smart talented woman in my life (who turned me on to capsule wardrobes) she offered up her take. Here’s Holly…
Personally, I don’t do complicated fashion. Most days, all my effort goes into being a functioning adult who pays their bills on time and remembers to put on deodorant. While President Obama and Mark Zuckerberg probably have people to do both those tasks for them, I’m 100 percent with them on paring down decision making. However, I’m still a lady who enjoys fashion, so I’ve worked hard over the past year to find a balance between personal style, function and conscious consumption.
If you’re struggling to put together a fun yet functional summer wardrobe, I hope this mini capsule helps. This wardrobe is intended for weekends and depending on your workplace, casual Fridays. Bonus –chances are, you have many of these items already in your closet! The key is good, well-cut basics that easily mix and match, so boredom isn’t an option (I’ve already counted more than 30 outfits from just these ten pieces).
Generally, I like to keep my color palettes fairly neutral – blacks, browns, grays and whites. This is for two reasons. One, neutrals tend to pair easily with one another, allowing you maximum use of every item of your clothing. Two, matching pieces in your wardrobe is easier when there aren’t too many competing colors in it. Like Chris recommends, find a few complementary colors that you love and feel your best in, then stick with those. For me, I like to use color judiciously – my favorites being yellow, blue and red – to make an impact with my outfit.
It’s all about making these 10 pieces work for you. Not a dress girl? Swap out the dress for another pair of shorts or pants. Not a fan of tank tops? Find a cute short sleeve striped top and a long-sleeve chambray. Capsule wardrobes are all about experimenting, so don’t be afraid to change it up (and keep changing it up!) until you find what works for YOU.
01. Striped Tank Top: Enza Costa Striped Tank
02. Light-Colored Classic T-Shirt: Zady .02 The T-Shirt
03. Short- or Long-Sleeved Chambray: Madewell Sleeveless Chambray Shirt
04. Shorts: Bridge and Burn Luca Olive
05. Dressy Top: Boden Square Tee
06. Skirt (or 2nd pair of shorts): Boden Denim A-Line
07. Summer Dress: Ace and Jig Terrace Dress
08. Sneakers: Veja Grey Volley Sneakers
09. Sunnies: Rayban Clubmaster in Tortoise
10. Comfy, Everyday Sandals: Birkenstock Women’s Arizona Sandal
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