Wardrobe Architect Week 9 - Choosing Silhouettes

This week's Wardrobe Architect starts us thinking about our capsule wardrobes.  I've never been able to get interested in capsule wardrobes before as when I have read about it in magazines, it has been about 10 items in neutral colours, all wardrobe basics.  This is really not me.

Since Sarai mentioned that this was the method she was following, I have spent a bit of time reading the Into Mind blog.  (Warning, this is a total rabbit hole if you are interested in this kind of thing!) and I was so glad to find that this is not the method at all.

You decide on the number of days with no repeat outfits so you can have say 3 weeks of outfits planned, and this tells you the size of the wardrobe you should consider.  Sarai is suggesting 20-33 items - this is much more me!

First of all, we have to choose up to 6 of our silhouettes we created in Week 4 for our Spring Summer wardrobes.  Here are my chosen ones:

Full skirted shirt dress with cardigan and pumps

Sleeveless summer dress with cardigan and pumps

Boat neck print dress, long or short sleeved with pumps

Flared or gathered skirt with boat neck tee and boots

I am all about the skirts and dresses!  Since starting to think of my wardrobe and what I feel good in, I have gone from wearing jeans a lot to only wearing them a couple of days a week.  I feel much better about my wardrobe!  I may add a wide-leg trouser option in there too.

The sleeve lengths will vary, and the tights/ boots will be worn in spring but (hopefully) not in summer.

Wardrobe Architect Week 4 - Silhouettes

Wardrobe Architect Silhouettes by sewlittletime on polyvore.com

I had a lot of fun with this one!  I put together the above collages really quickly as I had already spent time thinking about my preferred shapes and had gathered quite a lot of inspiration on my Happy Wardrobe Pinterest board.

All of this thinking since starting Happy Wardrobe led me to the realisation that I really do love to wear dresses of all kinds.  There's a place in my wardrobe for casual knit dresses, long and short sleeved woven dresses and shirt dresses.  What they all have in common is a fitted bodice and a flared skirt.  I like the same overall shape when it comes to skirts - a fitted top and flared skirt (also a-line shapes).

For trousers, I am giving up the skinnies!  I feel much more comfortable in wide leg or bootcut/ flared trousers, again with a fitted top.  I do love slim cropped trousers in the summer though.

I love boat necks and peter pan collars, but I also wear scoop necks and v necks.  Slim fitting cardigans are an important part of my wardrobe - I have so many cardigans that I have a filing system for them!  Once my carpal tunnel improves I need to get knitting the Miette I have planned in my head.

The clothes that get the most wear in our generally fairly rainy and grey climate are ones that can be worn or without tights (and tights save on the fake tan for my pasty pins!), so unless it's a very summery item, i often steer clear of the lightest colours.

And definitely no heels!  I have heels but rarely wear them unless it's to a formal event.  I'm tall so don't need the extra height, and frankly can't be bothered.  They don't do well with my walking pace or lifestyle.  Flat boots, brogues, ballet pumps or flat sandals it is! (and based on the collages above I need a pair of red ballet flats - you can never have too many pairs of red shoes).

How did you find this week's exercise?  Was it easy or hard to distill your style into a few silhouettes?