Kasey’s Capsule Wardrobe Part 5 – It’s Done!

Thank you, Kasey, for sharing your thoughts on your new journey into wardrobe planning! 
Kasey also showcases her embroidery skills on her blog, Kasey Sasser Embroidery and Gifts.

Until recently my sewing direction was rather haphazard; an odd mix of colors, fabrics and patterns that didn’t really go well. Each piece was fine, but putting together an outfit on any given day, let alone packing off the cuff for a quick trip was hellish. Even planning far in advance for a longer trip was torturous. You see, I’m jealous of my husband’s wardrobe. He has a tux with three shirts, plus a black bow and black straight tie for formal wear; he has two suits for semi-formal to business wear with various mix and match shirts and ties (some of which I made!); he has work clothes – seven pairs of slacks with six short sleeve, six long sleeve and six polo shirts; he has “vacation clothes”, about 16 long-and-short sleeve shirts I have made him in various fun prints in cotton and plain linen, to which he just adds various shorts and slacks when we go on vacation. My husband doesn’t even have to think, he knows what to pack whether a business trip or vacation, I could even pack for him – heck, a stranger could even pack for him it’s so cut and dried.

But me? I had two or three skirts, maybe five or six knit tops, none of which matched more than one of the other. Formal wear was always a mad dash to a dozen stores to find maybe one dress that kinda fit, which would then get donated as soon as I got back because I couldn’t stand it. My biggest struggle has been that in-between, not so fancy as a cocktail but much smarter than daywear area – what do I wear when my husband wears a suit? Well, I haven’t answered that question yet, but I’ve made some headway into the rest of my travel wardrobe dilemma.

I wanted a set of clothes that I could pack into a bag with one or two pairs of shoes, and in addition to what I was wearing on the plane, have more than enough options for a long four-day weekend. Now, I’ve made great strides in my everyday wardrobe; I have several skirts and knit tops that each match at least two or three other pieces, and go with several pairs of shoes. But I wanted something a little nicer, something that didn’t feel like I was just wearing my everyday clothes on vacation.

I’ve been speaking with Roz (a lot) over the past year, and we talked about the concept of a capsule wardrobe. I’m not sure I really understand it, but what I got out of it was creating a few pieces (less than five), either with the same/ matching colors, or the same fabrics, and coordinated patterns. And you put them together and get a hopefully coordinated look. Well, I waffled and dithered and vacillated and back-tracked and rethought and reconsidered I don’t know how many times, and finally Roz said, “keep it simple; use patterns you know and fabrics you know, then you only have to pick a color palette.” Or some other such wise, calming, clarifying words (All Hail Roz!) Then my brain relaxed, and I picked red because I love it, and navy because that’s my basic dark color. And well glory be, they match too, so I was on easy street. Except the holidays came up with ironically, lots of travel, then being sick from traveling so much then a wonderful virus that shut everything down… well you know the rest. Here I am only a year later with my finished wardrobe.

So how does it work with my current pieces? Let’s look… here I have a white skirt in linen, a white skirt in ponté, and red, white and navy knit tops in 11 oz jersey, plus a blue and white stripe knit.

If I need to expand it further for a longer trip, I have a washed red linen skirt, a denim-look skirt, and two 11 oz jersey tops in grey and periwinkle. I also have a white and periwinkle stripe ponté from way back.

I have a small selection of shoes, from the slip-ons in the back for the airport and walking, to sandals for daywear and walking, plus a choice of navy or tan heels for evening.

And since it’s me, there’s gonna be a hat!

So yes, at the moment my vacation wardrobe is still mostly my everyday wear, but it’s slowly expanding! Where will I go from here? Well let’s look at my stash: some reds in different textures – lace, ponté and linen; with the blues changing from navy to royal, plus a few prints.

which blues go with corals – a new take on red –

which now go with a new blue, teal.

And I’ll be straying further from my TNT’s for these fabrics, changing the silhouette of my knit tops as Eileen showed us, adding some glam like Samina, or maybe finally getting a few evening pieces like Ann.

Looks