Winter Wardrobe/Hi!

Things I’m Terrible At:

• Consistently Blogging

• Actually being a Minimalist

Things I’m Very Good At:

• Curating a Wardrobe

• Maintaining my Closet

Nearly-complete wardrobe for Winter 2025-2026 (Dec 1 to Feb 28)

Winter Capsule Overview.
First, my why. I am totally overwhelmed by my wardrobe and the items I’m not wearing, and needed a clean reset. I did a large capsule for the fall (ideally would have been October-November-December) and it was really weird. We got super cold (for the Midwest) in September and then had persistent warm weather until right before Thanksgiving (US - late November) when the bottom dropped out and we got a bunch of snow. I just felt like the colors were awesome, but I had too many items to be able to put things together easily (around 65) and wanted to simplify.

Next, my how. I decided to start with the idea of Project 333 (33 items for 3 months, including jewelry, outerwear, shoes, and accessories) and tailor it to my needs (I don’t count jewelry, outerwear, or accessories other than shoes). I also have found that 33 items can feel al little restrictive, so I increased my number to 39 with room for 3 swaps if things wear out or don’t work. I broke the 39 items into 3 modules of 12 with 3 wildcards. The modules are based on WORK, ELEVATED CASUAL, and VERY CASUAL/SPECIAL items. The wildcards are for the items I thing are missing - usually shoes! The modules can cross over boundaries for usage, but enable me to think about some complete outfits and needs for each of those modules to ensure they are sufficient.

MODULE 1: WORK
Assigning a third of my capsule wardrobe to work enables me to have some flexibility without the need to oufit-repeat too often. I am assuming a need to dress for the office about 3 days per week most weeks.

1. Camel V-neck (Top)

2. Brown turtleneck (Top)

3. Cream Silk Blouse (Top)

4. Black lantern-sleeve sweater (Top)

5. Black Wide-Leg Trouser (Bottom)

6. Rose Dotty Wrap Dress (One-Piece)

7. Savannah Blazer (Layer)

8. Liverpool Blazer (Layer)

9. Tan Cardigan (Layer/Top)

10. Black Booties (Shoes)

11. Tan Booties (Shoes)

12. Tall Cognac Boots (Shoes)

MODULE 2: ELEVATED CASUAL
My next most-pressing need is my home/casual wear when I volunteer at school, run errands or go to appointments, or work at home. I feel better when I’m dressed in a way that is both comfortable and cohesive. A little intention goes a long way!

1. Rust Bodysuit (Top)

2. Pink Flannel (Top)

3. Blue Wide-Leg Jeans (Bottom)

4. Black Straight Jeans (Bottom)

5. Green Skinny Ankle Jeans (Bottom)

6. Amber Wide-Leg Trouser (Bottom)

7. Taupe Alpaca Cardigan (Layer)

8. Tan Alpaca TNeck Sweater (Layer)

9. Green Sweater (Layer)

10. Ecru Sweater (Layer)

11. Olive Sweater (Layer)

12. Brown Boston Clogs (Shoes)

MODULE 3: Very Casual/Special Use

1. Grey Flannel (Top)

2. Blue Straight Jeans (Bottom)

3. Wood Badge Sweatshirt (Layer)

4. White Sneakers (Shoe)

5. Bean Boots (Shoes/Special)

6. Black Cardi with Pearl Buttons (Top/Special)

7. Green Floral Dress (Special)

8. Black Lace Pants (Bottom/Special)

9. Red Sweater (Layer/Special)

10. Fur Trim Cardigan (Layer/Special)

11. Black/Tan Cape (Layer/Special)

12. Velvet Mary Jane (Shoes/Special)

WILDCARD: Just a little something extra…

1. Red Cowboy Boots (Because they are so fun!)

2. Grey Cashmere Sweater (Versatile and Soft)

3. Ecru Silky Midi Skirt (Versatile)

So this is a great start. If something really doesn’t work or I find myself missing things, I do have those three spots (just in case), but where I’m constantly struggling is the need to wear a smaller portion of my closet to really evaluate it vs. knowing there are good things going unused. And there are. Oh, are there. In resetting my closet, I have two underbed storage containers - one for off-season and one for “not in use right now”. The key here is that everything fits and I do/would wear it. Then I set up two bins of “too small” clothing, about 2/3 of which is about ten pounds too small and about 1/3 of which is about twenty pounds too small. Stupid to keep it? Perhaps. But with all the trash created by textile and clothing waste, I'd rather dedicate a little storage to these items than get rid of them at this point. I’m planning to move the “too small” items to longer-term storage. There is also a bin of purgatory/resale, which I’ll process relatively soon, and a number of not now/off-season items (especially a LOT of shoe) in my overflow closet. The shoes are in pretty desperate need of culling, but I’m not in the mood to tackle that right now. So. Minimal closet. But I’m not a Minimalist.

I’m tracking the wears and will report back at the end of the month.
TTFN! (Tata for now)
-Roo