A favourite skirt is the perfect starting point for a capsule wardrobe.
The owner of this skirt is Juuli, who says that the African wax print narrow skirt is a favourite of hers. I love using a print garment as starting point for a capsule wardrobe, because it gives us the colour palette that we'll work from, and I'm delighted to show my suggestion for a capsule wardrobe building on the colours of this skirt.
Juuli is a size EU42 bottom, EU40 top, and to be different size on top and bottom is not unusual among women. She is 1,62 tall with short legs and a long torso. I am 65 yrs. She goes on to describe herself as being on the cusp of summer and autumn, so softly muted colours that are neutral to neutral warm would be what she is looking for when picking clothes and accessories.
Creating a capsule wardrobe using the Nordic Simplicity formula.
This formula is easy to remember and easy to follow.
1 staple or core jacket or cardigan, 2 bottoms, 3 tops and 4 accessories. This can be a very basic work wardrobe, or you can use this formula when you pack to go on holiday (whenever that becomes possible again), or any other occasions that you need to build a coordinated capsule wardrobe for.
You can find the link to Juuli's favourite skirt here. I have taken colours from it when creating the capsule wardrobe but you will notice that I have not used black like the model in the webshop is wearing, as I think it will not be right for Juuli's gentle colour palette. But there are so many other colours to pick in the print of the skirt, so here we go:
1 jacket or cardigan
Instead of using the skirt as the 1 core item I find it's smart to have a jacket as a staple piece. In this case, I used a creamy pink beige for the first item. With a rich print like this skirt, there are so many choices to pick from, and this cardigan is in one of the soft neutral colours I found in the vibrant print of the lovely skirt, which I think will complement the skirt and will bridge many of the other possible colour combinations.
A jacket is a useful garment for layering and warmth, and also for bringing interest into the outfits.
2 bottoms
Having shorter legs makes Juuli's body perfect for cropped trousers and neatly fitted skirts like the African wax print skirt of hers.
Naturally her skirt is one of the two bottoms we choose for her capsule wardrobe, and I chose a pair of cropped pants in the neutral beige picked from the colours in the skirt.
3 tops
Next I found three very different tops.
The blue top is pretty smart because it can be worn as a sweater when buttoned up, and it can also be worn open as a cardigan.
In the middle you see a softly formal cream blouse, and on the right a more casual safari-style taupe shirt, that complements the African feel of the skirt, in my opinion.
4 accessories
It's so important to have a curated collection of accessories, it is both a chance to show off your personality and also bring variation into the outfits (and keep you warm when needed)
Inspired by the ethnic theme I picked a feather and leather necklace and another necklace with a bit of a tribal style. Also, a couple of scarves in hazy warm peach and a muted rust.
Now, let's look at the items all together:
Six garments - ten outfits!
With these six garments and four accessories I was able to put together ten different outfits. Which means that Juuli can have two whole weeks at work with a different outfit every day.
And I haven't even brought shoes into the equasion. By switching between dressy shoes, casual shoes and tall boots, there is even more variety.
And by investing in an other garment like a pair of pants or another skirt or top that match the colour palette of the capsule wardrobe, there are even more possibilities for variation.
What do you think of this capsule wardrobe? Let me know in the comments!
I love seeing my skirt in a wider context.
I love the way you picked the clothing that goes with it, the colors work very nicely. There is a lot of neutral pieces which get elevated with the colors pulled from the skirt. This selection gives me so many options, more than I had imagined that were possible. Thank you thank you thank you!
I am so glad you liked it! It is fun to see the possibilities, isn’t it?
When I ordered it I was a bit worried that I might not have enough pieces to match. I was thinking of my navy and brown pullovers… But I never thought to pick neutral colors to go with it. They work so well and enhance the skirt, letting the skirt be the centerpiece.
It is a stunning skirt and a wonderful centerpiece of an outfit, and with so many wonderful colours you can pick from to combine it with!