Book Review: Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe

Not only am I doing a book review, which is a bit rare on Munofore, but it is a Fashion Book! No, I haven't gone over the deep end completely. There are some very good reasons for me to read Secrets of the Capsule Wardrobe: How to Find Your Personal Style and Create a Happy, Confident Closet.

Let's get the disclosures out of the way to start. The link above is an affiliate link and I will get a few pennies if you decide to purchase it. More importantly I should tell you the book is written by one of my blogging buddies, Sarah Eliza Louderback of Devastate Boredom, the founder (muse? instigator?) of our Friday Frivolity Link Party. I am not getting any type of compensation from her for this review.

She is probably nervous about what I am going to say, while the rest of you are thinking of course she is going to say she loved it. You are right. If I didn't like the book I would just have told her in a private message "great job for writing it" and never mentioned it to you. But, I do like it and I need it.

What is a Capsule Wardrobe anyway?

Louderback defines it as:

a curated collection of clothing you love, that you can mix and match almost exclusively. Nearly all of your tops should pair effortlessly with nearly all your bottoms allowing you to own LESS clothing, while maximizing the number of possible outfits."

Her main audience for this book is the Fashionista with a stuffed closet that can never find anything to wear and wants to "winnow" down her wardrobe.

That is definitely not me.

I am a Fashion Disaster these days. Like many Stay at Home Moms I have fallen into the trap of putting myself last. No one cares what I look like anyway, right? I just want to be comfortable. I don't have time to coordinate an outfit in the morning plus get the kid ready.

But, as Louderback points out, feeling confident in your clothes improves your mood. And the Capsule Wardrobe concept makes it just as effortless to wear a confidence building yet comfortable outfit as it is to throw on yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt (my normal attire).

Finding my personal style

When I completed her exercise to look at my wardrobe and pick out the clothes I love and make me feel good when I wear them this is what I came up with:

A dress, two tops and a pair of jeans. And there is no "probation" pile for me. The rest of my clothes I would sort straight into the donate/ rag pile. They don't fit, I don't like them, they are falling apart, etc. If Clinton and Stacy were to come to my door and ask me to be on What Not to Wear, I'd have saved them the trouble of the torturous 360 degree mirror and just tossed everything on the spot! I know I need help.

I have two big problems when it comes to building my wardrobe: one I am cheap and two I have no idea what I should be wearing. So what do I do? On the rare occasion I do buy something new, I grab an on sale pair of sweat pants or jeans and a cheap t-shirt and hope they fit when I get them home to try on.

How the book can help

Louderback has great exercises to get you to think about what styles and colors make you feel good about yourself. She doesn't tell you:

• exactly how many pieces to have
• what brands to wear
• what types of clothes to have (pants, skirts, etc.)
• what colors to wear
• what your style should be based on your coloring or body type

Instead, she walks you through the thought process for coordinating a look that is uniquely yours and makes you feel good about yourself. And she makes you feel like this is something anyone, even a "fashion don't" like me, can easily do.

While I am not going to go on a mad spending spree, slowly but surely I am going to make a more conscious choice when I do choose new clothes. Even if I only shop from my beloved clearance rack occasionally. After a quick read through and a little thought I already have a much better sense of the colors I like, necklines I like (and don't like!), and what types of pieces I need to start adding to my new wardrobe. It's a start!

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So whether you are a confident fashion forward woman or clueless about coordinating your own style, this book has something to offer you.

Oh, and Sarah, great job on completing the book. 😉