What to Do When You Hit a Style Rut

Well, I knew it was going to happen at some point. My capsules would feel stale and I'd suddenly hit the "oh my gosh I hate everything in my closet" feeling. I've been struggling with it ever since I pulled out my winter capsule... and I can think of a few things that happened that got me to this point.

They are as follows:

1. I put all of my favorite stuff that I wear all of the time in my spring and summer capsules, totally forgetting to carry them over to my fall/winter wardrobes. So now I'm going to have to go back into those capsules to find my favorite pieces and work them in to my winter capsule.

2. A lot of the stuff in winter actually wound up being items I'm on the fence about. It was easier for me to tell myself that I loved an item and put it in a later capsule than to actually deal with the fact that yeah, it's pretty, but I'll probably never wear it again. My heart actually sank when I saw this capsule, and that's not the feeling I've ever been aiming to get with this project. Back to the drawing board.

3. My style has changed significantly since starting my capsule wardrobe. I've watched my style get much more edgy French girl lately, as opposed to the Blair Waldorf and Carrie Bradshaw-inspired ensembles I was wearing only a year or two ago. Chances are I'm going to have to do a mix of pulling out pieces from my previous capsules and buying new pieces that reflect my current style more.

4. I don't have the right mix of pieces in this capsule. I have a bunch of different Portofino tops, which seemed completely appropriate when I wasn't doing seasonal capsules. I put about 4 into this capsule, and now it seems like WAY too many. They're taking up valuable space in my wardrobe. I'm feeling the same way about the skirts I picked out for this season. I'm discovering that I steer more towards pants and dresses than I do skirts, so I'm going to have to move forward with that in mind.

That's one of the greatest things about making capsules, though. You really have to take stock and edit appropriately, because you want to make sure that you have the right mix of pieces that reflect who you are and what your style is. Spring and summer were right on the nose, fall was pretty close on the mark but winter has been off in a very glaring way.

That's okay, I'm not demanding perfection from myself and you shouldn't either. Mistakes are a part of finding yourself (and your style)... Take this advice both as a part of your style journey and your life's journey. ;)

Here's my plan of action: Remove the pieces from my closet that I can't stand / will never ever wear. Pull out pieces from previous capsules that I love. Shop for anything that's missing from my wardrobe. That way I can have a capsule that I love by the time next year rolls around.

Have you ever had a similar wardrobe crisis? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!