Like many people during the pandemic-induced lockdown orders, I turned to improving my living space with all of the free time I suddenly found myself with. While many looked to revamping their at-home workspaces or repainting their living room, I cleaned out my clutter-filled closet — and then turned it into a
capsule wardrobe.
As a writer that’s been covering
fashion trends for years, shopping is not only my favourite pastime but also basically part of my job. Over the years, though, I had managed to collect so much clothing that it was causing me to feel like I was drowning in my own closet. And so, confined to the walls of my apartment, I decided it was time to give my wardrobe a makeover.
While I’ve always tried to keep sustainability in mind when shopping, by buying from
ethical brands and
shopping secondhand, I was still guilty of making a few fast fashion purchases each season. I often made impulse buys on a whim, which led to a closet full of clothing and accessories I wore once or, worse, never at all. With the pandemic, this became only more apparent: As I wore my new uniform of hoodies and bike shorts during most hours of spring, summer, and fall, my impulse buys gathered more dust in the back of the closet.
Inspired by fashion writer and influencer
Stephanie Broek, I decided to create a capsule closet, a tightly curated and streamlined wardrobe made up of quality staples and statement pieces — one that I sourced as sustainably as possible. (I also had a move on the horizon, and my new closet space would be a far cry from the walk-in closet my husband and I were sharing, which I had already taken up 95 percent of.) And so I made a pledge to myself to quit shopping for new pieces entirely, promising to only buy secondhand and vintage pieces going forward.
After a week spent downsizing, a few months of sourcing “new” secondhand pieces, and a new physical closet later, I’m working with a wardrobe that’s less than 50 percent of what it used to be, and 100 percent more wearable. Here’s how you can build a capsule wardrobe, too.
Assess what you already own
The first step in creating a curated closet is assessing the pieces you already own. The idea is to build a wardrobe filled with clothing you’ll wear again and again. With that in mind, take a look at the contents of your wardrobe and decide what doesn’t fit that description.
After taking out the pieces you hardly or no longer wear, decide: What can you resell (to make money to reinvest into your new wardrobe), and what can you donate? You can also sell the clothing yourself on platforms like
Poshmark, eBay, and
Depop.
Before you think of tossing something just because it has a bit of wear and tear, consider taking the time to mend it. “It’s really important to fix nicer, classic items before buying new — for example, resoling a black bootie or fixing straps on a designer handbag,” says
Cassandra Dittmer, a sustainable stylist, consultant, and expert. “Shifting your mindset to a place of taking care of what you already own is a powerful way to evolve as a consumer.” Fun fact: One of my favourite shoes is a pair of sculptural Marni sandals (pictured here) that I’ve gotten cleaned and resoled after finding them secondhand.
For pieces that may seem too far gone to salvage or donate, do some research on where you can bring them to be recycled (do
not just throw them away as they’ll end up in landfills). Living in NYC, I drop off my unwanted clothing at donation bins from
HELPSY, a textile recycling service that sorts through your old goods and recycles anything unwearable into rags for industrial use. If you don’t have a similar donation bin near you, look at shop programs (
Reformation,
H&M, and
Levi’s are just some of the brands that will take clothing from any brand) that will recycle them for you. You can also pay to ship unwanted clothing and textiles to be recycled through programs like
TerraCycle.
Once you’ve sorted through what you already have (and hopefully made a few bucks in the process), you’re ready to start rebuilding your wardrobe.
