My Spring 2017 Capsule Wardrobe + 20 Outfit Combinations!
Hey guys! I'm stoked to share my spring capsule wardrobe with you today. Winter is thankfully the shortest season here in Sacramento so even though there's rain in the forecast, I'm switching out my dark clothes with cheery ones!
COLOR SCHEME
Basically the same as always, except this time I'm putting more emphasis on light wash denim and white as neutrals. I always lean towards more saturated versions of my favorite colors in the spring and summer. It's like the warm weather draws out the color lover in me!
THE WARDROBE
As usual, I've put together a video to round up my spring capsule wardrobe. This time I also decided to do a quickfire style session and I threw 20 outfits together using the items in this season's capsule wardrobe. It was a fun little challenge for myself. I hope you like it! You can watch the video here if you prefer to watch it on YouTube.
SMOCK DRESS
I decided to include one dress in this season’s capsule. This dress was a bit of an impulse buy from my online shopping spree at Forever 21 last summer. To be honest, I have qualms with shopping at Forever 21 because they are a fast fashion company which means they produce a lot of waste and pollution manufacturing their clothes and they don’t pay their workers well. I don’t think I’m ready to give up the mall quite yet (especially since I work retail right now) but I do want to get better at buying secondhand.
ALL THAT ASIDE, this dress is great. I love the smock shape of it because it perfectly captures the laid back style I strive for while still giving me a shape. That slight waist cinch really makes the difference between me looking fabulous versus looking like a toddler who put on mommy’s dress.
Because Forever 21 is fast fashion, the exact dress I bought is no longer being made. I’ve linked some similar dresses below! I’ve got my eye on that white dress. It screams spring (and more importantly, summer)!
TOPS
I’m not usually one to buy into trends but working retail has them at the forefront of my mind. As I planned my spring capsule, I wanted to incorporate the styles I saw around the mall without rushing out to buy brand new clothes.
Based on what I’m seeing come into stores, I know cold shoulder and off the shoulder tops are big for spring. Tie front tops and bell sleeves are also popular this season. I made myself a little list of the trends I liked and wanted to use in this season’s capsule wardrobe.
Most of my tops are basics. I lean towards a very simple style so I really only included two “trendy” pieces this season. My black bell sleeve peasant top ticks two trend boxes with its sleeves and off the shoulder option and my green tie front crop top that I bought in 2015 is now very trendy in both color and cut. I would have included the green tie front tee regardless of trends but it’s nice to know that it’s on trend for spring!
BOTTOMS
My jeans are my capsule wardrobe all stars because they get me through life. I live in jeans and I always seem to want more of them even though I already have too many. The only new jeans I’ve purchased are from Madewell and that’s because I work there. Luckily, they’re good jeans and I wear them for more than work!
The rough draft of my capsule included a denim skirt. If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know how much I suck at wearing skirts for anything other than a date or a job interview. As I was editing my choices, I realized that I was only including a skirt to wear on warmer days.
Here’s the catch: I would never wear a skirt on a warm day.
But you know what I would wear? Shorts. Specifically the denim shorts my mom-in-love gave me a couple of years ago that I wore the heck out of last summer. I immediately dug my favorite vintage jean shorts out of my storage tub and hung them up. I really dig the look of shorts with a sweater so I’m very excited to get to wear them in the spring.
JACKETS & CARDI
Spring is stlll a werid, transitional weather time. To keep myself ready for anything, I decided to include a lightweight and heavier olive green jacket. My trusty field jacket was also too good not to include. My long gray cardigan is something I’m hoping to get more use out of as the weather warms up and I’m hoping to thrift a camel/caramel/copper cardigan also. I just need more of that color in my life.
SHOES
I feel like this is the most realistic grouping of shoes I’ve ever picked. I included two heels last season and wore one of them exactly once. I had to be honest with myself when constructing this capsule, my lifestyle right now just doesn’t include heels. If the occasion calls for heels, I’ll wear them but for now, I’m not counting them as a part of the capsule.
I still have three or four things on my capsule wardrobe wishlist but I’m happy to say that most of my wardrobe is made up of old clothes!
