Spring Capsule Wardrobe: Stay-At -Home-Mom 2017 Spring Capsule Wardrobe

Welcome to the second edition of my personal capsule wardrobes, where I’m sharing my spring capsule wardrobe. You can see my winter capsule wardrobe here.

I was nervous about creating my winter capsule wardrobe, but I didn’t feel that way about my spring capsule wardrobe. After realizing how fun and amazing a capsule wardrobe can be, I felt excited to make my spring capsule wardrobe.

It’s important to remember that my “rules” for my capsule wardrobes are very flexible and loose. For me, capsule wardrobes are not about following a strict set of rules or seeing how little I can have in my wardrobe. My version of a capsule wardrobe is all about experimenting and challenging myself to live with less clothing in order to give myself more freedom and less stress.

I try to keep the focus less on the number of items I have, and more on being intentional with my wardrobe. I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and experiment dressing with fewer clothes because I’ve seen how much it benefits my life.

Before I share the details of my spring capsule wardrobe, here is some background information about me and my life to give more context to my spring capsule wardrobe.

What’s Included

As I mentioned, for this capsule I wanted to challenge myself to step further out of my comfort zone and try creating a capsule with even fewer items than I had in my winter capsule wardrobe. I realized only including tops and bottoms in my 40-piece winter capsule wardrobe was actually more than I needed.

For my spring capsule wardrobe, I decided to stick with a flexible 40 piece limit again. But this time I wanted to see if I could also include shoes and outerwear in that 40 piece limit.

For my spring capsule wardrobe, I set a flexible 40 item limit which includes:

• tops
• bottoms
• shoes
• outerwear

I ended up with 36 pieces in my spring capsule wardrobe, and I feel really happy with that amount of clothing. It gives me a good assortment of outfit options and will work for a variety of spring weather conditions.

What’s Not Included

There are a few categories I have not included in my spring capsule wardrobe:

• Accessories, which includes jewelry, scarves and purses/bags.
• Workout clothes, meaning clothes I only wear for yoga or exercise.
• Swimwear
• Pajamas and undergarments, including bras, underwear, socks, and camisoles/tanks I only wear under something else, never on their own.
• Formal wear and dressy clothes. As far as I know, we don’t have any formal events planned during the spring. However, because I am flexible with my capsules, if something comes up that I need formal clothes for, I could get something out of storage for that occasion. Again, it’s not about sticking to the rules and numbers so firmly that I make my life difficult. It’s about intentionally living with fewer items of clothing to make dressing easier and stress-free.

Although I didn’t technically include accessories and workout clothes in my spring capsule wardrobe, I have included pictures of these categories below. I did this for interest’s sake and to give a more complete picture of my wardrobe.

Lifestyle

I am a full-time stay-at-home-mom to 2 young children. We spend a lot of our time at home or outside. I need my clothes to be comfortable and functional for life with 2 young kids. We try to get out at least once a day for various activities, such as locals kid’s programs, going to the drop in play center, walks/bike rides to the playground, play dates with friends and a few extracurricular activities.

I spend the vast majority of my time in casual clothes. Comfort is important, but I still want to look presentable and put together. All while being able to do things like play with the kids, do housework, meet up with friends, run errands or bike to the playground.

I practice yoga every day, primarily at home, but I aim for one class a week at our local yoga studio.

My wardrobe is fairly basic, and certainly not very trendy. But it’s functional and meets my needs as a stay-at-home-mom.

Climate

We live in central Alberta, Canada. Our winters are long, cold and snowy and our summers are short and warm. Spring and fall can be all over the place in terms of temperature and weather.

My spring capsule wardrobe was tricky because I needed to include clothes for a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions. Our spring weather can be anywhere from a warm, sunny 20C day, to below freezing temperatures with snow!

To help plan my spring capsule wardrobe, I decided to use an average temperature of about 10C for planning. Then included layering pieces to add or take off accordingly to keep me comfortable in a variety of weather conditions.

Shop my Spring Capsule Wardrobe

In case you’re interested in any of the items in my spring capsule wardrobe, I’ve included links under the images below. Many of my items were purchased a few seasons ago and are no longer available. If that’s the case, I’ve linked to a similar product that’s still available. I hope this will make it easier to find the items if you’re looking for something similar.

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Here is my 2017 Spring Capsule Wardrobe:

You’ll see some of the pieces in my spring capsule wardrobe were also in my winter capsule wardrobe. I don’t have the budget or desire to have a brand new set of clothes each season. I try to buy pieces that will work for multiple seasons, as layers during colder months or on their own as it warms up. Buying versatile pieces that work for more than one season is a great way to stretch your budget and get more wear out of your clothes.

Tops

As I said, our spring weather can be unpredictable. I’ve included pieces I can layer on cooler days and a few tanks and t-shirts for warmer days. It was important that most pieces coordinate with each other so I have more combination options.

I prefer tops in longer, loose-fitting styles, that work with jeans or leggings. My preferences for colors are dark neutrals like black and grey, and darker jewel tones.

1. Black tunic tank – similar
2. Burgundy tunic tank – similar
3. Heather blue tank – similar
4. Heather Green tank – similar
5. Black t-shirt – similar
6. Black tunic t-shirt – similar
7. Plum t-shirt – similar
8. Burgundy t-shirt – similar
9. Grey striped t-shirt – similar
10. Grey t-shirt
11. Charcoal linen blend top – similar
12. Grey 3/4 sleeve tunic – similar
13. Black gathered neck top – similar
14. Black 3/4 sleeve tunic – similar
15. Grey boyfriend cardigan – similar
16. Black cocoon sweater
17. Teal cocoon sweater – similar
18. Blue cocoon sweater – similar
19. Grey hooded wrap sweater – similar
20. Black hoodie – similar
21. Aqua hoodie – similar

Bottoms

Again, I need to have options for warm and cool weather. Jeans and leggings are my go-to pieces. I prefer skinny jeans with lots of stretch for ease of movement, usually in darker rinses. For leggings, I buy thicker compression leggings to make sure they aren’t see-through.

I plan to dress from my spring capsule wardrobe from now until the end of June. By the end of June, the weather will be warm, but one pair of shorts and three pairs of cropped pants will be plenty until I create my summer capsule wardrobe.

1. Skinny jeans
2. Ankle length leggings
3. Cuffed cropped jeans – similar
4. Black cropped leggings
5. Space dyed cropped leggings
6. Denim shorts

Shoes

I’m always happy to put my boots away after a long, cold, snowy winter. During the winter my shoes are mostly about function and utility, keeping my feet warm and dry. But once spring hits, I can have a little more fun with my shoes and add some variety.

Function is still important, however. I prefer flats and shoes that still let me run, play and keep up with the kids.

1. Multi-coloured woven Toms
2. Black elastic Bobs – similar
3. Black Puma running shoes – similar
4. Converse sneakers
5. Brown leather sandals
6. Black flip flops – similar

Outerwear

The black jacket is fleece lined and waterproof, which makes it perfect for a variety of conditions. The vest is a great layering piece. And the denim jacket is good as an extra layer, or to finish off an outfit.

1. Black 3/4 length waterproof, fleece lined jacket – similar
2. Black puffy vest – similar
3. Denim jacket

Accessories

Originally I was going to try including accessories in my 40 item limit. But I like having a variety of accessories to finish and change the look of an outfit.

I decided I didn’t want to limit the number of accessories I would wear simply for the sake of staying under 40 items. I have still worked hard to be intentional about the accessory items I keep. But I wanted to keep my options open and not put a limit on my accessory choices.

However, I am being selective about the accessories I keep accessible for this season. As I’m learning with my capsule wardrobe (and minimalism in general), fewer choices often makes things easier. The simple act of having fewer pieces out in my jewelry drawer and putting the rest away somewhere else makes decisions easier.

Perhaps I will include accessories in my 40 item limit in future capsules, but I wasn’t feeling it for this capsule. And because I’ve decided to make my own rules, that’s exactly what I’m going to do!

I have included pictures of the accessories I plan on wearing most often with my spring capsule wardrobe for interest’s sake and to give a more complete picture of my wardrobe.

Jewelry

I often wear the wood and gemstone mala locket necklace I made. The locket holds a piece of paper with my current intention written on it. The other necklaces were gifts and hold a lot of sentimental value.

The earrings are simple but pretty and I usually wear one pair or the other most days. The bracelets add a fun pop of color to an outfit and can be mixed and matched in lots of different combinations.

Purses and Bags

The brown leather purse is a great functional and durable crossbody bag. As I said in my winter capsule wardrobe, I hesitate to include the black diaper bag as an “accessory” because it is a purely functional part of my wardrobe. I will be very happy to retire the diaper bag once we are out of the diaper/wipes/spare clothes/snacks, etc. phase. But as a mom with two young kids, one still in diapers, a functional diaper bag makes life easier.

1. Wood and gemstone mala necklace (made by me!) – similar
2. Feather silver necklace – similar
3. Pyrrha lion silver necklace
4. Bird silver necklace – similar
5. Gold amethyst earrings – similar
6. Silver crystal earrings – similar
7. Color by Amber bracelets
8. Brown leather cross body bag
9. Black canvas diaper bag – similar

Workout Clothes

I practice yoga daily, usually at home, but I aim for one class a week at a local yoga studio. I’m a creature of habit, and when I find something I like, I stick with it. That’s why I have 4 of the same tanks in different colors!

I sometimes wear the leggings from my regular capsule for practicing yoga, they are technically athletic leggings after all. But I also have a couple of pairs I wear exclusively for yoga practices and classes.

1. Racerback tanks – similar
2. Grey stripe crop leggings
3. Blue and green patterned cropped leggings – similar
4. Space dyed cropped leggings
5. Black ankle length leggings

There you have it!

That’s exactly what’s in my spring capsule wardrobe for 2017. Creating this capsule was more challenging, because of the variety and unpredictability of our spring weather. But I think this capsule will work for a variety of weather conditions.

I’m really happy with my decision to include tops, bottoms, shoes and outerwear in my spring capsule wardrobe. I learned 40 pieces of only tops and bottoms in my winter capsule was more than I needed or wore. Minimalism is all about the journey and learning as you go. That’s exactly what I’m doing with my capsule wardrobes and it’s awesome. Refining and challenging myself to let go of what I think I need, and embrace the fact that I don’t need as much.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my closet, now I want to hear from you! Have you tried making your own capsule wardrobe? You can check out my winter capsule wardrobe here. And check out this post for the simple and stress-free process I used to declutter my clothes and create a capsule wardrobe I love! Be sure to leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!