Announcing my Sewing Plan for Autumn/Winter Capsule Wardrobe (2021)!

Hear ye, hear ye! We have officially passed the autumnal equinox and fall is now amongst us. This is my first time experiencing autumn in Texas and I am really excited about dressing for the season. Today, I am announcing my sewing plan for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe for 2021!

Why the need to make it an "announcement"? Well, I have been creating rotating capsule wardrobes by sewing styles I love to complement the vintage/RTW pieces that I already own for many years now. However, I feel that I haven't quite been able to share my creative process and share the story of my capsule wardrobe as effectively as I would like. So, in making this announcement, I'm hoping to make a change and start sharing my design/sewing process and my styled looks over autumn and winter this year in a more organised manner.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

To put it simply, a capsule wardrobe is a selection of a small number of garment pieces that can be mixed and matched to create different looks. The concept of a capsule wardrobe is as old as time. Before fast fashion, people owned a small collection of clothes that were worn repeatedly throughout most of the year. For example, an average housewife in the 1950s would only own 5 housedresses and 6 afternoon and evening dresses. Alas, this is not the post where I talk about the history of capsule wardrobe, how having a capsule wardrobe can promote sustainability and consumerism (depending on how it is executed), and if 37 is the magic number for creating one.

Today, I am simply concentrating on sharing how I will be building my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe for 2021.

Why make a capsule wardrobe?

My current wardrobe is made up of vintage and RTW pieces that I have accumulated over the years. Some of them go well together, and some of them don't. Some of them are worn often, some of them are almost forgotten. By grouping my garments into mini capsules and dedicating a time period where I wear these pieces on repeat, I get to wear neglected pieces more often and challenge my own creativity by pairing different garments together for different looks. Over time, this allows me to evaluate and update my wardrobe for my current style preferences and needs.

Having a capsule wardrobe also helps me to combat decision fatigue on a regular basis. While I really enjoy dressing up, I also hate getting overwhelmed and having the false and unhelpful sense of "I have nothing to wear". I want more time and energy to do things other than rummaging through my closet to decide on something to wear for the day!

And honestly, I just really love making a collage of photos from a single wardrobe and dream about life as a fashion designer with my own fashion line.

How to build a capsule wardrobe?

A selection of the looks from my mini work capsule wardrobe of 2019/2020

The foundation

When building a new capsule wardrobe, I usually start with a handful of garments that I already have in my current wardrobe. I call this the "foundation". I try to pick a couple of bottoms (i.e. pants/skirts) and tops that already go well together, and try to have a mix of items that are worn often and almost never worn. This ensures that I have pieces in my capsule that I feel comfortable wearing (usually the ones worn often) and pieces that will challenge my style (usually the ones that are almost never worn).

The colours

After establishing the foundation, I build a colour palette based on the colours present in the foundational pieces. I usually add complementary colours and a couple of neutrals. Sometimes, the complementary colours are found based on a colour wheel, while other times, it's based on what my eyes tell me.

For example, baby pink and powder blue aren't really complementary colours based on colour theory. However, everyone knows that they simply go well together like peanut butter and jelly!

My pink and blue capsule wardrobe of 2019

The numbers

Like I said, I don't know if the magic number of making a complete capsule wardrobe is 33 or 37. When I had my mini capsule wardrobe for work in 2019/2020, I found that having around 5 tops, 5 pants/skirts, and 3 dresses worked well for me. With those numbers, I got at least 28 looks from my capsule wardrobe, which was enough for me to rotate around for more than a month without a repeat.

5 tops X 5 skirts/pants = 25 looks + 3 dress = 28 looks

Since I don't go out every day now, I am aiming to start with smaller numbers for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe (2021). This season, I am planning to have the following items in my capsule:

3 skirts/pants
3 tops
2 dresses

With these numbers, I should be able to get 8 different looks, which is more than enough for going out every weekend (which doesn't even happen every week now).

3 tops X 3 skirts/pants = 9 looks + 2 dresses = 11 looks

And if I played it smart, I might even get more than 8 looks! Depending on the weather, I might end up adding a coat or 2 to the capsule as well. We'll see!

My autumn/winter capsule wardrobe (2021)

For my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe, I am going for the following key design features:

A colour palette that features a mixture of jewel and earthy tones
A touch of 70's and 40's style
A sense of playful fancy

I am starting with the following pieces that I already own:

2 skirts/pants: 1 pair of vintage 80's does 40's trousers + 1 dark red cotton pleated skirt (RTW)
2 tops: 1 maroon vintage 1970's collared shirt + 1 cream turtleneck top (RTW)

I also have a burgundy red fedora hat that will be a lovely addition as an accessory!

Items from my current wardrobe that will be included in my A/W Capsule Wardrobe. Not pictured: cream turtleneck.

Since most of the colours in my foundation are dark red, I decided to add dark green to the colour palette as a complementary colour. These colours, after all, are classic colours for autumn and winter! The neutral colours for this colour palette are cream and brown.

Colour palette created using coolors.co

By subtracting what I already have from my plan, I should be making the following:

1 skirt/pants
1 top
2 dresses

And now, let's move on to the juicy details of my sewing plan for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe!

Sewing plan for autumn/winter capsule wardrobe (2021)

1 skirt/pants

A flared skirt

I am choosing to make another skirt for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe this year, because (1) I don't have fabric in the right weight + colour to make a pair of pants and (2) I haven't finalised my pants sloper.

I will be drafting my own pattern for sewing a flared skirt with a centre-front and centre-back seam. It will either be knee-length or a midi. Currently, I am also thinking about maybe adding some ruffles to the hem. Perhaps even a detachable bib as well? Maybe it will have pockets too? We'll see...

This skirt will be made using a cool forest green polycotton linen I found in a thrift shop.

Flatlay image showing green linen and label that is part of the sewing plan for autumn/winter capsule wardrobe

1 top

A wheat floral blouse

Flatlay image off-white floral fabric and vintage Simplicity 6308 that are part of the sewing plan for autumn/winter capsule wardrobe

For the new top that I am adding to the capsule, I will be sewing the vintage Simplicity 6308 using a wheat floral cotton fabric I found at an estate sale.

Both the long-sleeved maroon collared shirt and cream turtleneck from my current wardrobe will provide warmth to the cooler days of autumn and winter. But after all, I am living in Texas and some winter days are expected to be pretty mild. A short-sleeved blouse is an important option for those warmer days.

More importantly, I always want to add a touch of cute-sy romantic vibe to my looks!

1 dress

A corduroy jumper

Flatlay image rusty red corduroy and vintage Simplicity 7864 that are part of the sewing plan for autumn/winter capsule wardrobe

The first dress on the list for my sewing plan for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe is a corduroy jumper. When I found this rusty red corduroy at an estate sale, I knew it would be perfect for the vintage Simplicity 7864 jumper that I have in my stash. I have been wanting to sew with corduroy for a while and I take this as a sign that it's finally time.

I can't wait to pair this jumper with the cream turtleneck and knee-high boots!

A dress for the holiday season

The other dress that I want to sew will definitely be for the holiday season. Since 2017, I have been making a garment each year around November/December for the holiday season and I don't plan on giving up my made-up tradition any time soon!

At this point, I haven't quite decided on the exact pattern that I want to use for it. It will either be the vintage McCall's 6437, modern repro Vogue 8811 (vintage 1930's design), or the modern repro Butterick 5209 (vintage 1940's design). I have made the Butterick 5209 a couple of times (here + here) and it's also the base I used for designing my wedding dress, so it's a pattern I know well. However, I also want to try a new pattern that's been sitting in my stash! Decisions, decisions. Well, it's probably going to be a few more months until I start this project so I will mull over this for a little while more.

Which one do you think I should make?

Other sewing projects for my autumn/winter capsule wardrobe

In addition to the projects listed above, I am also planning to sew the following:

a vest in the same forest green linen as the flared skirt
a hat that looks kind of like the one on the Betsey Johnson sewing pattern envelope

I feel like these are accessory pieces that will add value to the capsule wardrobe but at this stage, I haven't quite figured out if they should be listed as part of the capsule. Another thing to mull over!

Sewing plan for autumn/winter

Do you have anything specific that you will be sewing this season? Let me know what your sewing plans for autumn/winter are and tell me what you think about mine in the comments below!

Sources:

Betsey Johnson vintage Butterick 3292 paper pattern via The Last Pixie Etsy shop

Two ladies in forest green by the river vintage Seventeen magazine scan via Just Seventeen

Ladies by the ticket booth via thevintagenews.com

Green bellbottoms vintage sewing pattern illustration via Making Make Believe LLC Etsy shop

Two ladies in green trousers and hats - source not found

Tom McAn boots advertisement vintage Seventeen magazine scan via Just Seventeen

Lady in fur coat via Style Du Monde