248 | How Many Pieces Should You Have In Your Capsule Wardrobe? Here's the Answer

Summary

Episode 248 Summary: "How Many Pieces Should You Have In Your Capsule Wardrobe? Here's the Answer"

In this insightful episode of the HER Style Podcast, host Heather Riggs, a seasoned stylist, image consultant, and color analyst, delves into one of the most pervasive myths in the world of fashion—the idea that a capsule wardrobe must consist of a specific number of pieces. Through a blend of personal anecdotes, practical exercises, and expert advice, Heather empowers listeners to curate a wardrobe that truly reflects their unique lifestyles and personal styles.

Debunking the Perfect Number Myth

The episode kicks off with a bold statement challenging the conventional wisdom surrounding capsule wardrobes. Heather emphasizes that there isn't a one-size-fits-all number of pieces that every woman should adhere to. She states:

“There is no perfect number of pieces you should have. It’s about what you need.” (00:00)

Heather highlights that rigidly following prescribed numbers like 33 or 50 items often leads to frustration and a wardrobe that feels neither functional nor personal. Instead, she advocates for a more tailored approach that considers individual lifestyles, preferences, and life stages.

Visualizing Your Dream Wardrobe

To guide listeners in defining their ideal wardrobe, Heather introduces a visualization exercise:

“Imagine opening your closet doors and seeing your dream wardrobe in front of you. What's there?” (03:30)

This exercise encourages listeners to envision their perfect closet, whether it's filled with colorful dresses, versatile blouses, comfortable loungewear, or elegant suits. The purpose is to help identify what truly makes them feel confident and comfortable.

Three-Step Process to Determine Your Capsule Wardrobe Size

Heather outlines a three-step process to help listeners determine the optimal number of pieces for their capsule wardrobe:

1. Track Your Typical Week

   • Action: Spend 10 minutes mapping out daily activities from Monday to Sunday.
   • Goal: Understand the types of outfits needed based on your schedule.
   • Quote: “Are you working at a desk? Wrangling kids? Heading to brunch?” (05:15)

   By identifying daily routines and activities, listeners can discern the specific clothing requirements without overcomplicating their choices.

2. Define Your Core Outfit Needs

   • Action: Dedicate another 10 minutes to brainstorming ideal outfits for each listed activity.
   • Goal: Pinpoint “wardrobe workhorses” that are essential and frequently used.
   • Quote: “These are your wardrobe workhorses, the types of pieces that you need the most.” (06:00)

   This step ensures that the most functional and versatile pieces are prioritized, forming the foundation of the capsule wardrobe.

3. Multiply for Practicality

   • Action: Allocate 10-15 minutes to calculate the number of pieces based on core needs, laundry frequency, and outfit repetition.
   • Goal: Determine a practical number of items that balance variety with functionality.
   • Example: If you wear jeans three times a week and do laundry once, having one or two pairs of jeans suffices. Similarly, rotating through four blouses weekly would require six to seven options.
   • Quote: “Leave some room in this total number for your just because pieces, the fun extras that really make you smile.” (07:50)

   This calculation helps in tailoring the wardrobe size to individual habits and logistics, avoiding unnecessary excess.

Incorporating Just Because Pieces and Managing Space

Heather underscores the importance of including ’just because’ pieces—items that bring joy and add excitement to the wardrobe. These pieces are not strictly necessary but enhance overall satisfaction with the wardrobe.

Additionally, she advises considering storage constraints:

“If you have really tight closets and limited storage, then you might need to be more discerning in this season of your life.” (08:10)

Heather warns against overstocking and the pitfalls of trying to force-fit items into limited space, as illustrated humorously with a reference to the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic":

“If you pull a Confessions of Shopaholic and stuff bags into your armoire, they might just explode all over the room.” (08:37)

Final Takeaways: Personalization Over Numbers

Concluding the episode, Heather reiterates that the essence of a capsule wardrobe lies in its functionality and personal alignment, not in adhering to a specific number of pieces. She encapsulates the advice with the following points:

• Start with your lifestyle and weekly activities.
• Clarify your outfit needs to reflect how you want to present yourself.
• Perform practical calculations based on laundry frequency and preferred outfit rotation.
• Factor in space limitations and prioritize pieces that bring joy.

Her ultimate message is empowering:

“The answer is simple. It's however many pieces you want and need to have.” (10:50)

Heather encourages listeners to shed the stress of numerical constraints and focus on creating a wardrobe that enhances confidence, ease, and joy in their daily lives.

Conclusion

This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for women looking to build or refine their capsule wardrobes without the pressure of conforming to arbitrary piece counts. Through practical steps and a focus on personalization, Heather Riggs provides a roadmap to achieving a functional and joyful wardrobe that truly aligns with individual needs and lifestyles.

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Timestamps

• 00:00 - Introduction to Busting the Capsule Wardrobe Myth
• 03:30 - Visualization Exercise for Dream Wardrobe
• 05:15 - Tracking Your Typical Week
• 06:00 - Defining Core Outfit Needs
• 07:50 - Including Just Because Pieces
• 08:10 - Managing Closet Space
• 08:37 - Reference to "Confessions of a Shopaholic"
• 10:50 - Final Takeaways and Empowerment

Resources Mentioned

• Confessions of a Shopaholic: Heather references this film to illustrate the pitfalls of over-cluttering a wardrobe.

Next Steps for Listeners

While skipping promotional content per instructions, listeners interested in further assistance with their capsule wardrobes can explore Heather Riggs' offerings through the HER Style Collective and engage with the community for personalized support.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker]

Today I'm busting one of the biggest myths about capsule wardrobes. The idea that there's a perfect number of pieces you should have. Spoiler there isn't. But there is a better way to figure it out, and I'm about to walk you through it step by step. If you've ever felt stuck trying to limit your wardrobe to 33 or 50 or whatever number of pieces someone told you you should own, no more, no less, then this episode is your permission slip to stick. Stop counting and start curating what works for you. Keep listening and we'll uncover your magic number together.

[Heather Riggs]

Welcome to her Style podcast, where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist, ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started.

[Unknown Speaker]

Let's just start by busting the biggest myth in capsule wardrobe culture, which is that there's a right number of pieces to own. I know you've seen the articles and the YouTube videos and the TikToks about building the perfect 33 piece capsule wardrobe or people telling you that you only need 50 items in your closet. No more than that. But let me ask you something. Don't. How often has your unique life ever fit perfectly into someone else's framework? My guess is not very often because there are so many different factors to consider. And what I believe is that an effective capsule wardrobe doesn't have to have 25 to 50 pieces. I think an effective capsule wardrobe has to have what you need. Now, that could be 33 pieces, or it could be the exact same 48 items as your favorite minimalist blogger. But. But it also might look different. And that's okay. And I wanna help you figure that out today. So let's take a look at what you need specifically, because a stay at home mom and a business executive, a creative freelancer and a yoga instructor are all more than likely going to need totally different types and amounts of clothing. And even the same woman is going to need different capsule wardrobes depending on the season of life that she's in. Her wardrobe goals and values, her bud, her space, and so on. So remember, this can also change over time because what worked for you when you were commuting to an office five days a week probably won't work now if you're working from home or if you're juggling a new baby. So all that to say it's not really about the number it's about the functionality and it's about what you actually need to get through your week. So let's talk about how to figure out what your capsule wardrobe should look like first. First, I wanna start with a quick exercise. And unless you are operating a vehicle or if you're crossing the street or doing another activity where this would be dangerous to you in any way, then I want to invite you to pause and just close your eyes for a minute and imagining open your closet doors and seeing your dream wardrobe in front of you. What's there? Do you see an assortment of everyday dresses in your favorite colors? Maybe a couple of interchangeable handbags that go with everything beautifully displayed? You might have lots of matching loungewear sets that make you feel put together even on your laziest of days. Maybe it's a row of crisp white blouses and classic trousers. Or it could be colorful prints and beachy resort wear. The point is this vision, this dream closet, is yours and it's unique to you. So what I want you to do now is ask yourself next, how much do I see in this wardrobe? If I could have my picture perfect closet, what's there? Is it abundant and full yet? Of course we want it to be carefully chosen to suit your lifestyle and your preferences. So abundant and full, yet carefully curated. Or is it trim and minimalistic with lots of simplicity and space? Visualizing your ideal wardrobe is going to help you get to the first decision, which is do I want fewer pieces and less decision making, or do I want variety and creativity and a little or maybe a lot of extra? And second to that is what types of clothing do I reach for most often and desire to have available to me? This is really the foundation of building your ideal capsule wardrobe. The goal isn't necessarily minimal minimalism unless that's what you crave. If that feels really important for you, it's more about finding alignment between your lifestyle, your preferences and your values. So hopefully now you have a little bit better idea of what you desire your wardrobe to look and feel like. And now I want to get even more practical. So I want to give you three simple steps to walk through that will take that loose vision. We just started crafting and figure out how many pieces you actually need. So the first step is to probably no surprise to you if you have listened to multiple episodes of her style podcast. We always talk about this. It's tracking your typical week. So I want you to start by spending about 10 minutes mapping out what you do from Monday through Sunday or Sunday through Saturday. Are you working at a desk? Are you attending lots of client meetings or wrangling kids? Hitting the gym? Heading to brunch? Break it down. How often are you leaving the house? What types of outfits do you need for those outings? And how many days feel casual versus dressy? If you are in casual clothes, 80% of the time, your capsule wardrobe should be a reflection of that. So I don't want you to let half your closet be business wear if you rarely actually wear it. The second step is to take that and then define your core outfit needs. So the next thing I want you to do is take another 10 minutes or so to brainstorm what your ideal outfits would look like for each of these activities that you listed. Maybe it's jeans and a T shirt and a fabulous pair of shoes, or a midi dress and sandals. Or maybe you want to have lots of elegant suits that make you feel like a million bucks. These are your wardrobe workhorses, the types of pieces that you need the most. So I really want you to get detailed about this as best you can, all right? And then step three is to multiply that for practicality. And this is where we're going to really start to get specific and find out that magic number for you. So I want you to spend the next 10 to 15 minutes calculating how many pieces you realistically need based on the core outfit needs that you wrote out before. How many options do you want to have for each of those activities? What is your frequency of doing laundry? And how often do you like to repeat your outfits? I'm going to give you a couple of examples. Let's say that you wear jeans three times a week for the activities that you have, and you do laundry once. In that case, one or two pairs of jeans are going to be perfect for you. If you rotate through four blouses a week, having a total of six to seven options will give you a good number to choose from. You also want to leave some room in this total number for your just because pieces, the fun extras that really make you smile, that light you up, that feel exciting to wear. This could be a bold jacket or a beautiful skirt or that special occasion dress that you love. If it earns its place, if it makes you feel good and it brings you joy, then it definitely deserves to be there. And the last thing to consider is the space that you have available. You might want to have a fully stocked selection of 300 pieces that you truly love. But if you have really tight closets and limited storage, then you might need to be more discerning in this season of your life, you might need to do more with less. And we can definitely get creative about this for sure. But we also want to make sure that you're not pulling a Confessions of Shopaholic vacuum sealing and stuffing bags into your armoire only for them to explode all over the room the moment you.

[Heather Riggs]

Try to open it.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you have no idea what I'm talking about. Confessions of a Shopaholic is on my list of all time favorite feel good fashion movies. It's on Disney, I believe. So if you haven't seen it. Highly recommend. It's so adorable and witty and the costumes are amazing. But the main character has all of the clothes and instead of curating it and getting rid of some of the things that she doesn't actually need, she just tries to like, stuff everything into her armoire and hide it from her roommates. So I'm gonna get back on track now. We'll wrap up this conversation. But my point is a capsule wardrobe isn't supposed to feel restrictive. It's not a challenge, it's definitely not a punishment, and it is not a numbers game. It's truly about creating a wardrobe that is functional, that's fun to wear, whatever that means for you. It should reflect who you are and ideally support how you want to show up in the world. If you working toward a set number of pieces in your closet and it's stressing you out or making you feel frustrated when you go to get dressed, I want you to just drop it, let go of the number and focus instead on how your wardrobe can help you move through your week with more ease, confidence and joy. That is what we are all about here. So how many pieces should you have in your capsule wardrobe? The answer is simple. It's however many pieces you want and need to have. I want you to start with your lifestyle, look at what activities you you have going on in your week, clarify your outfit needs, what's going to make you feel your best for all the things that you have going on and then do some quick math around the practicality. What variety of pieces do you need? How often are you doing laundry? How often are you willing to repeat the pieces that you have and consider the space that you have available to you. And that's it my friend. We do not need to over complicate this. Now. That said, if you want help building or refining your capsule wardrobe, I would love to work together on this. Inside Her Style Collective this is my 90 day group coaching program where we will build a wardrobe that you love step by step in a personalized way that works for your goals and budget. And if this episode sparked something for you, I would love to hear about your dream wardrobe. So head into our free Facebook community and tell us all about it. You can find the links to her Style Collective and her Style community in the Show Notes. And I just want to thank you so much for hanging out with me today friend. I will be back next time week with even more style tips and mindset shifts to help you dress with confidence and ease. I can't wait to see you then.

[Heather Riggs]

Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her Style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherrigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.