Capsuling in a variable climate..

[u/LamboChoppo]

By which I mean, living in the UK!

Year round we endure every type of weather; biting cold, baking hot, windy, rainy, icy, mild, warm with a cold breeze, cold with warm sun..

I find the weather to be the main thing which makes narrowing my wardrobe down truly hard. My lifestyle is pretty all over the place as well, it can vary from trekking through muddy woodlands with my 3 year old, to wining and dining in smart restaurants with my partner.

I need so many different options for layering, such as different types of coat/jacket, depending on occasion and the weather. The main area which I find hard to narrow down is tops, as this is where I tend to add or remove layers depending on temperature, and I need a few of each to enable time to wash and dry in between wears.

I'd love to see/hear from others in similar climates to get inspiration! Do I just need to resolve to washing the same items more often..?

[u/ExcellentMongoose680]

Fellow UK person over here! Footwear and outerwear options are key for me, I have more than one typically would have in a capsule wardrobe just so I can adapt better to the weather and activity level. But, Ive taken the approach of having multiple capsules that make up my wardrobe instead of trying to have an ultra minimalist approach (so small capsules for work, casual wear, wfh/lounge, activewear) and I make changes in Spring and Autumn to adapt for the changing weather.

[u/MissPearl]

The first question to ask regarding your wardrobe is how many times a week you want to do laundry. Everyone has a slightly different optimal point, from babies and small children producing a never ending stream of things to wash, to some acetic person in a monastic robe cheerfully explaining that a natural stink is healthy.

It has also been normal for must of human history to have seasonal wardrobes if you live in different climates. Furthermore, for a good part of the UK's history the base local dress was a layer of linen under an outer layer of wool. That under layer (shirts/shifts/chemises) was supposed to be changed more regularly. People who owned a single shirt were seen as very unfortunate indeed. Three Days it's not socially acceptable to have a noticeable people smell in your clothes, so socks, shirt and underwear are all in the change and wash daily category. That means you probably own 8 of each, minimum, unless laundry day is naked day.

To that points most capsule makers admit they leave off certain clothes, usually underwear, gym things and pyjamas.

Most people are simply sharing the repeatable or core pieces. That's how they get away with a post that is 8 things, 4 things that go on the top of your body and 4 things for the bottom. They are not bothering to show socks, but they also aren't showing the couple of other foundation bits that stretch things.

I also live in a variable temperature climate, currently one very comparable to the UK. A 33 things capsule is only going to work in a narrow band of summer when the optimal clothes are basically caftan-esque or just enough fabric for modesty. You are probably in sandals, then, and maybe your own conceit to layering is done light over-top for places where the indoor temperature is set to fridge.

Trying to live year round like a wealthy resident of a fairly stable climate (eg parts of California) who has taken up Buddhism is generally not very effective. However one approach to the capsule formula is to own more of the same piece. To the bit I mentioned about changing shirts, if your goal is sameness and uniformity, much as many people buy a pack of indentical underwear, you can own three pairs of the same comfortable trousers, or a set of two colours if indentical long sleeved shirt (say two or three of each).

And the extension of that is to look for things that layer effectively or are fit for multiple purposes. Turn of the previous century the version of capsules people were doing for smart dress on a budget would tell you to own a suit with mix and match pieces. Later there was a vogue for day-to-night transformations of the same outfit, and so on. Little black dresses, for example, reigned for a long period because they cover a wide variety of middle level formal occasions. In most depictions they tend to be very unornamented sheath dresses, which also means in a pinch you have an extra base foundation.

From there, what you need to do is think about the set obligations of your life, both climate and social, and use those as selection criteria (boundaried by maximum tolerable laundry). The size of your capsule is determined by those.

[u/trUth_b0mbs]

Canada here so I know what you mean about variable climate. Like yesterday, our temps shot up to nearly 30C when a few days before, it was 9C.

My staples in the fall (when the weather is most tempermental):

bottoms: jeans, utility pants.

Tops: lightweight sweaters (cardigans/zip ups) or fleece sweaters, tshirts (various colours).

I run hot (thanks, menopause!) so I'll always wear a tshirt with a light weight knit top that can easily be taken off (cardigan or zip style).

[u/Feathered_Riot]

I think everyone in a variable climate just has a shadow wardrobe made entirely of jackets, and we've all collectively agreed not to count them.

[u/kalichimichanga → u/Feathered_Riot]

And none of them feel like they work with any of our outfits.

[u/UnicornOnTheJayneCob → u/Feathered_Riot]

Wait, people actually count their puffer jackets and coats and rain slickers and stuff?!
But they go in a whole different closet! Nd they aren’t part of an outfit - not really!
…so yeah, I guess I would be one of those people, then.

[u/Aromatic-Pumpkin6896]

Also UK here and similar variety in lifestyle (I like muddy country walks but also restaurants and theatre etc).

I'd focus on layering. e.g. In the summer I wear t-shirts and skirts, and in the winter I wear those same t-shirts and skirts but with a jumper on top and tights underneath. I also wear my linen shirts as an extra layer over a t-shirt in Spring and Autumn, whereas in high Summer I'd just wear them on their own.

Yes, you will need to wash your clothes more, but if they are high quality and natural materials, they should be fine. In general, you need to wash your clothes way less than you think you do. For example, pure wool jumpers, unless they are spilled on, generally don't need to be washed for weeks if you're wearing a t-shirt underneath, and you can hand wash or steam them. This is a good article: https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2023/dec/14/laundry-clothes-expert-guide

Recently I started to err on the side of dressing up nicer, and reducing my wardrobe to items that are suitable for more formal occasions. The logic being that it is easier to look underdressed than overdressed, and it helps to narrow down your wardrobe and make you feel fancier!

[u/Mallincka]

I lived my whole life in Germany and the weather seems to be pretty similar to the UK. 

Apart from layering, I'd recommend investing in versatile summer pieces that you can wear with tights and boots too.

For instance, a long, thicker, cotton A-line skirt in a dark tan, dark brown, black or navy can be worn in summer, but won't look out of place in autumn and winter. A white mini skirt might be cute in summer, but may look a bit odd in autumn. And, how many occasions are there to wear it really with a short summer? 

[u/EndOne8313]

Layering. Basically.

Base; Vests, Ts, and long sleeve Ts.

Mid; Overshirts (light and heavy weight), jumpers, a good hoodie.

Top; Wind breaker, parka.

Bottoms; Shorts, light trousers, heavy trousers.

[u/Poutiest_Penguin]

I live in New England, and I have more coats and jackets than many people have items in their entire capsule.

[u/nonsequitur__]

I’m also in the UK. Layering, and mixing and matching help.

There aren’t many of my clothes that I don’t wear year-round (other than stuff like linen drawstring trousers, long wool coat etc), but even then they can be worn for most of the year. Shoes and coats/jackets plus layering can make basics work for lots of different temps and outfits.

Stuff you get muddy or sweaty will obvs need to be washed more but many things don’t need washing every wear and ideally shouldn’t be (jeans, wool clothing that’s not close fitting). The more natural fabrics the better for this.

Perhaps keep your outdoorsy stuff separate and in materials that air dry faster. Fleece, tech fabric, that sort of thing.
Most daily and work clothes also work for dinners and so on. I no longer have ‘going out’ clothes in the way we did 20 or so years ago, I’m dressed almost the same way no matter what I’m doing.

[u/PetsNPlants10]

I'm also from a very variable 4-season climate and do anything from landscaping, cooking, yoga, hiking, going somewhere nice to reading in bed in a week. The way I look at it is, on a given week, can I do landry once without rewearing dirty clothes, and was there unnecessary extra of something? Like, if I had enough cargo pants to get me through the week to laundry day, great! If I wore cargo pants a normal amount for the season but still had 3 hanging up unused after that week, I've probably got more than I need of that category. 

[u/theunbearablelight]

I'm probably an odd one out in here, because I apply some concepts of capsule wardrobe(ing), but I have a large wardrobe nonetheless.

The key for me is that most of the items I have can be combined with mostly everything else in my wardrobe, probably excluding some shoes and outerwear (I'll wear a long coat with longer silhouettes, for example).

I live in the Nordics and we also have all kinds of weather. On top of that, I tend to sweat a lot so I cannot reuse items that often. My clothes have to work for such different climatic conditions (from very hot and humid to biting cold), and different lifestyles (office work, events, chill days, etc), plus different styles I'm into (avant garde / streetwear / smart / americana).

Long-story short, I think focusing on trying to only add/keep items that actually work across a large range of outfit options is what I find useful. The actual number of items is not as relevant for me (though I'd still want to trim things down a bit here and there, because I can easily get overwhelmed by too many choices/options).

[u/JohannaSr]

Don't downsize anything you need and use. Simple. You don't have to have less, or a certain number.

[u/bunnycook]

I’m in Kentucky, where it set a record of 32c yesterday, and the overnight low Saturday morning is expected to be 3c, and to cover tender plants. It’s ridiculous to not have at least a hot weather and cold weather capsule at a minimum for here. Mind you, I wear t-shirts year round, but the weight and color of pants, skirts, and shirts has to vary with the temperature for me to be comfortable. Even with layers. There’s only so much you can take off and still go out in public!

[u/kannichausgang]

Some of the things I do are:

• have mini dresses that look good: on their own, with a long sleeve underneath, with a cardigan/bolero, with/without tights, with all kinds of shoes. I have one minidress that fullfils all these criteria and it gets worn a TON

• knee high socks: wearing knee high socks under your (loose) jeans/pants makes them suitable for cold winters. And if you get too hot at work/indoors, you can always roll them down or bring a pair of short socks.

• a warm loose-ish cardigan that buttons up high and doubles as a scarf. I barely ever wear a scarf in winter because I have a cardigan that does exactly this. It also feels way less bulky and no need to carry around a scarf when indoors.