While clothes and fashion might not immediately seem connected with wellbeing, when you start and consider how clothes can make you feel – confident, creative, expressed – I’d argue that how you dress and your style can actually make a huge difference to how you feel day to day. 

Having a capsule wardrobe basically means having a wardrobe that you curate into a selected number of items rather than a huge range of clothes. I first wrote about capsule wardrobes back in 2015, and I’ve been a convert ever since. Do check out this post for lots of links to help you create your own capsule wardrobe if this inspires you! 

For me, having a capsule wardrobe over the last couple of years has been a learning experience. It’s really made me realise what suits me and which kinds of clothes I actually wear. It’s also helped me refine my style and actually wear more of the items of clothing I own. 

A few months ago I had my colours done by the lovely Kathryn and that’s really helped me get away from the greyness of my old wardrobe and into the warmer more jewel like autumy colours that suit me best, with my neutrals being navy and khaki.

From really looking closely at the clothes I wear most often and the pieces I feel the best in, I finally have a handle on the shape of clothes that flatter my body shape the most. I’m quite hourglass shaped but with very full hips (I carry extra weight on the top of my thighs so I have a ‘double curve’ over my hips and then top of legs) so technically that makes me pear shaped. What I’ve realised is v neck or low scoop neck tops suit me best and make the most of my boobs (if you’ve got em flaunt em!). I also need to avoid sleeves that cut me off mid upper arm at the same height as the middle of my chest as they make me look wider. Sleeveless or 3/4 length tops (or long sleeved tops with the sleeves rolled up) look much better on my body. I also love skinny jeans and slim leg trousers as long as they are balanced with a looser top that skims my tummy, or on occasion some higher waisted pants with a top tucked in. 

As I work from home I’ve made sure most of my wardrobe is comfortable without being too slummy (as I would never get any work done!) so I have a couple of really easy to wear pants and tops.

You can see all my capsule wardrobe items here on my Pinterest board (most are actual things I own, some are just similar to items I’ve had for a while so I can see how all the pieces come together as one wardrobe)

Basically I have:

♥ Bunch of plain black and white vests and black leggings

♥ Range of v neck tops in khaki, black and berry colours 

♥ Two fine knits with v necks in plum and navy (fine knit is way more flattering than chunky on me)

♥ Couple of blouses, one in navy and the other in a blush brick colour

♥ Pair of skinny jeans in black and indigo from M&S in their Sculpt and Lift range

♥ Pair of high waisted black treggings – super comfortable! 

♥ Pair of really good quality black joggers and khaki harem pants for lazier working from home days from Hush

♥ Khaki skirt

♥ Berry coloured hooded top, denim jacket and leather jacket

♥ Khaki parka coat and fabric khaki trench coach

♥ Beautiful printed midi dress also from Hush

♥ Black printed dress (which is actually a maxi dress from H&M which I’m going to have taken up to knee length to make it a tea dress)

♥ Going out dress – an autumnal hued printed wrap dress from ASOS

♥ Range of accessories – I’m really loving layered up necklaces and fine gold rings at the moment – gold looks much better on me than silver. Also a couple of bags – I love cross body bags for practicality and have one in black and another tan one, then a black clutch with a chain strap for going out.

♥ A pair of nude heels for going out

♥ Tan sandals in case we get an Indian Summer

♥ Converse trainers and a pair of statement leopard print trainers from Hush

♥ Tan ankle boots, studded biker boots and a pair of suede ankle boots – also an investment piece from Hush

This season I’ve invested in a pair of suede boots, leopard print trainers and a dress all from Hush (which I snagged a discount code for) which I really feel make a difference over all. Then basic tees and knitwear have come from Boohoo.com and H&M. The sculpt and lift jeans from M&S are brilliant, really flattering and comfortable (I got 20% off on a Sparks card deal). In fact there’s been a lot of discount deals online with brands introducing their autumn ranges so it’s been a good time to purchase. 

I’ve bought quite a few bits online this season and invested more in quality pieces. My favourite online shops are Hush (I adore the clothes from them, my leather jacket was a brilliant investment piece a couple of years ago), Thought Clothing, Whistles and ASOS. 

I have also been loving using the StyleBook app to create outfit ideas, it’s really fun being able to play around with it!

Are you a capsule wardrobe convert? What’s in your autumn capsule wardrobe this season?

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