Back in November 2015, I wrote this blog post on my wardrobe inspired by Ines de la Fressange’s ‘Parisian Chic’. I read through it the other day and was struck by how much my wardrobe has changed in three years, so I thought it was time for an update.

When I wrote the original blog post, our children were nine, six and three. Now, our children are nearly twelve, nine and six. Last academic year, I completed a teaching assistant course, so my wardrobe now needs some smarter, but durable, pieces for wearing in school. My wardrobe has evolved further and I’m now a bit more experienced at shopping in charity shops. Since I started paying £3-5 for a pair of trousers or jeans and no more than £3 for a top, I can’t bring myself to pay full price for something! Apart from underwear and everyday footwear, I look in charity shops first before resorting to buying new.

Two other changes since my 2015 post have had a small impact on my wardrobe. I’ve taken up running, which meant investing in a good pair of trainers and a bit of sports kit. And I discovered the konmari method for folding clothes, which involves placing your clothes in your drawers in a way so that you can see everything more easily. Instead of stacking t-shirts in a pile, they are filed in the drawers, as you can see below:

Time for the wardrobe breakdown:

Jeans and Trousers:

• Wide leg wool trousers
• Smart black trousers x 2
• Wide leg jeans
• Linen trousers
• Skinny jeans x 4 (black x 2, green & burgundy)
• Comfy jeans x 3 (blue)
• Jeggings
• Black leggings x 2
• 3/4 length grey linen trousers
• Walking trousers
• Shorts x 2

Tops:

• Shirts x 4 (husband’s blue/white stripe, my blue/white stripe, multi stripe, purple checked)
• Long sleeved tops x 5 (black x 2, red x 2, brown)
• Summery tops x 3 (white cheesecloth, blue batik, blue liberty print)
• T-shirts x 7 (black x 2, pink x 2, blue, white, red)
• Vests x 6 (black x 2, blue, red/white stripe, purple x 2)

Jumpers:

• Hoodies x 2 (one thin, one super warm)
• Warm sweaters x 2
• Guernsey (warmest jumper in the world!)
• Wool jumpers x 2 (one scruffy for home, one smart)
• Cotton knit jumper
• Black polo neck
• Thin knit tunic jumper
• Cardigans x 2
• Short sleeved tank top

Skirts and Dresses:

• Skirts x 2 (one smart for evening, one casual for summer)
• Smart dresses for work x 2
• Black wraparound dress
• Black fifties dress with pink petticoats
• Raspberry pink shirt dress
• Dark green evening dress
• Khaki occasion dress
• Summer dresses x 5 (various styles for dressing up with heels or down with flats)

Coats and Jackets:

• Thick wool winter coat
• Thinner wool coat for autumn/spring
• Khaki trench coat
• Waterproof 3-in-1 coat
• Tweed-style blazer

Footwear:

• Brown, riding-style boots
• Trainers
• Converse
• Flat sandals
• Tan heeled sandals
• Tan heeled ankle boots
• High heeled black court shoe
• Coral heels
• Flat loafer-style for work
• Wellies

Accessories:

• Scarves x 7
• Cath Kidston bag
• Satchel
• Coral handbag
• Tan handbag
• Black clutch
• Smart winter hats x 3
• Practical winter hat
• Sun hat
• Gloves x 3 (practical x 2, smart)
• Dressing gowns, pyjamas, underwear
• Jewellery and watch

Running Kit:

• Leggings
• Shorts
• Sports bra
• Vest
• Long sleeved cotton top
• Warm long sleeved top
• Waterproof jacket
• Aforementioned trainers

Since I overhauled my wardrobe in 2015, I try to keep on top of the amount of clothes I have. I’m more mindful of what clothing gets worn and what tends to linger in the drawer. Every couple of months, I send a few items to the charity shop that aren’t adhering to my simple rules that I started with in 2015:

• Does it suit me?
• Do I enjoy wearing it and feel confident in it?
• Will I get wear out of this in the future?
• Do I have too many of them already?

In the UK, we have four seasons and all kinds of weather, so I need plenty of variety to cover all eventualities. We like going camping and hiking and we go out for the odd night out now and again. I’m quite pleased with my current capsule wardrobe. I have enough choice without having so much that it’s overwhelming. Okay, so maybe ‘capsule’ is pushing it a bit. It’s quite a big capsule when I look at it all written down! But my clothes fit in two drawers of our chest of drawers and on half of one small rack of our wardrobe and I’m happy with that.

Do you have a successful capsule wardrobe? What or who inspires your style? Let me know in the comments below.