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What is a capsule wardrobe?
How to build a men's capsule wardrobe
What deserves a place in your capsule wardrobe?
The result: what it really takes to build a capsule wardrobe
I originally founded Bluffworks because I felt my journey was more important than my clothes. I needed everything I wore to be easy, and support my dreams, not detract from them.
The funny thing is, even those of us who profess to not care about fashion, still want to look good. What we wear is a deep expression of our identity. I can prove it to you by asking you to wear something you find ridiculous, but which might look smashing on someone else. You wouldn’t do it, because you wouldn’t feel right.
Before founding a collection of easy care travel clothing in Bluffworks, I was never willing to spend time, hassle, or excessive treasure on my apparel. So what to do, when looking good is a big part of feeling good?
What is a capsule wardrobe?
Our guide to creating the capsule wardrobe men have been looking for began with this post showing how to style a casual or business formal look with our clothing. However, beyond owning the right wardrobe, the next step is to own less of it, and reduce the complexity of managing what you wear.
The definition of a capsule wardrobe is a collection of pieces that are:
- Timeless, so they can be worn for a long time and won’t go out of style.
- Versatile, so you can wear them in many settings by mixing and matching items into seamless combinations.
- Limited, so you don’t own too many things, and your decision making and maintenance are as minor as possible.
Imagine it’s early morning, and you’re getting ready to take on the day. Of all the things you have to arrange, your clothing should be CHECK…DONE…READY TO GO…without hassle. That’s the goal.
How to build a men's capsule wardrobe
There are two leading ways to simplify your wardrobe:
Option #1 - Establish a uniform. Most people are familiar with the most famous example of someone adopting a uniform — Steve Jobs and his trademark black mock-turtleneck and jeans. The idea is to limit the energy or any excess investment in the daily routine of choosing what to wear. It takes courage to wear the same thing everyday, but WOW… can you imagine? I’m sometimes surprised we don’t all do it.
Option #2 - Build a capsule wardrobe. For most guys, this is more doable — to establish a simplified wardrobe that effortlessly outfits you for all aspects of your life, whether it’s a work capsule wardrobe or something more casual. The solution hinges on coordinating everything to go together, and acquiring easy care pieces that you can wear multiple days in a row. The result will be limiting both how much clothing you own, and how often you have to do laundry. Amazing.
Here’s what one version of what a simplified men's wardrobe looks like and my thinking on each piece:
Start with the basics
Dress it up
A few extra options
Pants + Shorts
- 2 pairs of pants: a light and a dark. Maybe khaki or light grey, plus charcoal or navy.
- 1 pair of travel jeans.
- 1 pair of suit pants (that turn your Gramercy blazer into a full suit).
- 1+1 shorts. Not counting my workout gear, I currently own one pair of active summer shorts, and one swimsuit.
Shirts
- 3 dress shirts. With a multi day wear shirt, you could get by owning just a few solids and a few patterns. How many? Owning just 2 shirts would be extreme, 3-5 is conventional, and 6+ is a little excessive (maybe for the laundry phobic). Funny thing is, most of us probably own 6 or more right now.
- 3 casual t-shirts. Talk about an item that can pile up in your drawer. I don’t think we need more than three. But, the potential for damage here is small. Wool is fantastic, but it makes me hot. We’ve been working on an elegant yet technical T-shirt that performs for years but we’re not there yet.
- 2 other shirts. For example, a short sleeve button down or a polo that is a little more polished than a t-shirt. But this is a danger zone, where you can easily go overboard, as the shirts above can do the job just fine.
Blazer
- 1 blazer in grey or navy. It should pair well with all of your pants above, and one pair of Gramercy Pants to make it a suit.
Accessories
- Belts - I like one dressy belt, and one more casual webbing and ring style belt. Look for belts from us later this year.
- Hats - 1 cap and 2 warm hats. Because I’m always cold, I allow myself a luxury here. I have one warm hat for outdoor activities, and another made of cashmere that keeps me extra toasty in the city.
Pause for effect… think about how far you can go with the above. Casual, semi-formal, dressed up with a blazer. Winter, spring, summer, fall. If someone handed you only the above men’s wardrobe essentials, you would do just fine, and move on to what really makes your blood pump.
Other things we didn’t cover, which we know you’ll own are workout gear, outerwear, additional cold weather stuff — particularly for things like skiing. Our goal here was to tackle the everyday, and I am far from minimalist when it comes to gear that needs to support my adventures.