Mad Cat Capsule: Sometimes It's Sad to Say Goodbye

There is a great Joy in Using Up, but sometimes it’s sad to say goodbye.

I was going thru my clothes in anticipation for my next capsule wardrobe and realized that there are a lot of items I will be getting rid of. It feels good to declutter, pass on items that I no long want or need or that don’t fit right. But some of the items I love so much!

The high top vans were a lost and found from one of my old jobs. They were well loved when I got them, but I was able to get a few more years from them. I had to let them go when they were so used that they had holes in the bottom and hurt my feet to wear. I haven’t figured out how to recycle these yet, so I’m storing them until I do.

I’m giving up two thrifted pants that I have had for for several years. They happen to both be J Crew, a brand I don’t ever buy new but I find that I enjoy second hand. They both are mid rise, a style I never really wear any more bc I don’t enjoy the fit. They also both do not fit me now that I have gained some weight. I of course, have the impulse to keep them until I lose weight, but why? If the size were the only reason, I might try to keep them, but there are other reasons to pass these along as well.

Some items I want to keep bc of the good memories attached to them, or the feeling they gave me when I could wear them. I think that’s ok! If the item still brings me joy, I want to have it around. I have a small space I keep for nostalgic clothing, and some of the items I’m de cluttering might end up there. Another great way to “save” clothes if you will no longer wear them is to take pictures!!

My Minimalist Jewelry Collection

When I was young I wore a ton of jewelry. Rings on every finger, necklaces up to my chin. But somewhere along the way I stopped wearing almost all jewelry. For several years I wore only a few rings, then my wedding rings, and now I’m starting to incorporate more items.

I recently purchased a few new items from one of my favorite jewelry makers, Arcana Obscura. While I’m waiting for that to arrive, I was inspired to take a look at my current collection.

1) I got this quartz necklace this year while I was in Cleveland and it has quickly become one of my most worn items. I have completely forgotten the name of the designers that made it but I remember that it was made in Canada by sister designers!

2) Hamsa necklace by Arcana Obscura. I love this necklace and can’t wait to get more pieces from her! I got this one a few years ago.

3) + 4) I bought these two pendents at one of our favorite gems shops over the Summer. It’s a must stop whenever we find ourselves in Cape May NJ. They came with chains, but being no the best quality, I planned on swapping them out. For the amethyst I made a braided waxed cord inspired by one that a friend wears. The other I wore with it’s exisiting chain for a while, but it recently broke. I will most likely thrift a vintage chain for this.

5) + 6) Both my bracelets are second hand sterling silver (as you can see, I basically only wear silver). I found these in 2018 at various thrift shops, or antique markets. Does anyone else find it hard to wear bracelets in the Winter?

7) + 8) These two delicate silver rings are the oldest (as far as when I bought them) items in my collection. I bought them at a Renegade Craft Fair with my friend Racheal almost 10 years ago. I never take them off.

9) + 10) My wedding rings are the oldest items in my collection. I have’t had them the longest but the band is white gold and the diamond ring is silver both from the 20s or 30s, both second hand and antiquw. We got all our wedding jewelry from Erie Basin in Brooklyn.

11) My thoughtful mother in law got me this sea glass necklace as a gift. I love the colors! I kept the artist’s card for a long time, but no longer know where it is.

12) This E chain belonged to my maternal grandma, Elaine. This one is tricky to wear as it easily catches on clothing.

13) Another sea glass piece, a marble, I bought at a sea glass festival circa 2014. It’s a little difficult to wear bc of where it sits on me. I’d love to get it a new, longer chain.

14) Finally I have this citrine, amethyst, and quartz necklace which also has a very cheap chain that I actually snapped this week. I had been thinking of replacing it for a while, so now I have to! We picked this piece up in a gem shop in New Orleans in 2015.

You may have noticed a theme; I am very hard on my jewelry. It has to be able to stand up to a lot. I have several other pieces that have been broken a long time, or items I used to wear and stored away, and now have no idea where they are. I’m sure now that I am actively trying to wear jewelry again, I would wear some of them again. Maybe one day!

I’m not sure how jewelry fits in to slow fashion. I know that almost all of mine are fashioned by artisans, over 10 years old, locally made, and small batch. I feel pretty good about that.

What does your collection look like?

Mad Cat Capsule: Wardrobe Goals

I’ve had a capsule wardrobe for about a year and a half now and I love it, My style of capsule wardrobe and how I put it together had evolved a lot in that time. That makes sense bc my lifestyle has changed a lot, too! I still have a lot to learn and a lot to do towards having the perfect, for me, capsule wardrobe.

Here are some of my goals:

Move to an all slow fashion wardrobe
This one is an easy goal to achieve, all it takes is time!! I have completely stoped buying fast fashion, so all I have to do is wait until everything that I had bought before doing so is 10 years plus. After that, everything will be bought from ethical companies, thrifted, or 10 years plus.

Move to an all plastic free wardrobe (mostly)
Right now I still have a lot of clothes that are made with plastic. I’m not sure my closet will ever be completely plastic free. Some of the items are from when I shopped fast fashion, but more of them are vintage. I love to thrift vintage cotton, linen, silk, leather, and other natural fibers but every once in a while there is a fantastic poly or blended piece that I can’t resist. I’d like to get close enough to plastic free that all those items can be washed in a micro plastic capturing laundry bag.

Reduce the over all amount of clothes I have by… a lot.
I have so. many. clothes. Every time I make up my seasonal capsule, I try to pare down and get rid of items that I don’t wear or that don’t fit. But there are more and more clothes, and now that I am thrifting again, there are “new” clothes, too! Before I started thrifting regularly again, I was making a dent. I hope to one day either have a small enough over all wardrobe that I don’t feel that it’s exsessive. Perhaps when I can fit all my clothes into the one closet that now houses my seasonal capsule? I’m not sure how many items that will be, but I think I’ll know it when it happens. That leads me to…

Not buy “new” clothes unless I need them!
I would love to be satisfied with my wardrobe and not feel the need to buy more. I am not a minimalist and don’t plan to become one, but I do want to lessen the over all amount of stuff that I have. Perhaps Instead of not buying I simply rotate out items for “new” ones. A one in, one out wardrobe would be hard for me but may be possible. I love the idea of passing items on to new owners who will love them as much as I did.

These are the big four goals I have. I have some other goals related to my capsule wardrobe but not directly for my wardrobe. What are you goals for the future of your wardrobe?

Mad Cat Capsule: Fall 2018 (Oct, Nov, Dec)

For this Fall Capsule, I did things a little differently. I still eased clothing that I wanted in the next capsule in over the last few weeks of the previous one, but this quarter I divided the items by color. I usually try to only have a few colors in each capsule, aside from certain neutrals. But for this, I didn’t hold back.

The result is that the color themes in this capsule includes cream, light blue, green, black & white, yellow, black, white, and grey.

I also paid close attention to texture, fabric and weight in this quarter’s capsule. I’ve been working my way towards a plastic free wardrobe, but this capsule has a few synthetic pieces I’ve had for a long time and want to see if they are worth keeping in my closet.

This capsule turned out quite large. The weather has been all over the place, so partly the capsule reflects that but also I had fun putting this one together and getting out of my comfort zone.

14 shirts - Black and white ribbed mock neck (thrifted and vintage), silk mock neck (thrifted and vintage), snake skin turtleneck (thrifted and vintage), boat neck tee (ethically made, 10+ years old), waffle long sleeve (ethically made, 10+ years old), silk blouse (thrifted), black and white flral crop (5+ years), black and white dot crop (second hand), white floral crop (thrifted), mustard silk (vintage and thrifted), denim crop (vintage and thrifted), cream silk blouse (vintage and thrifted), floral long sleeve (thrifted and vintage), mustard silk knit (thifted and vintage. Not pictured).

10 tee shirts - grey crew (ethically made, 10+years), cream crew (ethically made, 10+years), green v neck (ethically made, 10+years), dark grey v neck (ethically made, 10+years), team sandwiches cat crew (thrifted), forgotten boardwalk (local biz), pizza and bee (local biz), MLB crop, yellow attendance (vintage and thrifted. Not pictured).

4 skirts - wool grey (thrifted and vintage), black suede (vintage and thrifted), black and white stripe (10+ years), long black.

6 pants - black skinny (thrifted), everlane (ethically made), light grey (thrifted), black mom (thrifted and vintage), green silk (thrifted and vintage), blue sailor (thrifted, not pictured).

6 sweaters - Grey kimono (thrifted), dark grey, cream crop (thrifted), yellow cardigan (second hand), green confetti (hand made, vintage, and thrifted), black holey.

4 over shirts - yellow cowl neck sweatshirt (10+), grey crop (thrifted), denim (found, not pictured), linen (vintage and thrifted, not pictured).

Edit: Light has not been my friend lately. While creating this post, I was only able to get limited photos. I’ll add more as soon as I can capture them.

6 dresses/jumpsuits - Long hippy (vintage, handmade, thrifted), black and white pineapple, black and white rabbit, cream cats, blue denim, grey jumpsuit (thrifted).

4 tanks - Black strappy tank (10+ years), black ribbed (10+), grey ribbed (10+), yellow.

7 shoes - bright vans, cat vans, velcro vans, zip booties (thrifted), emily booties, brown suede booties (vintage and thrifted), high tops.

In total this capsule has 61 pieces. 46 of them are slow fashion. I have also been trying to remove micro fibers/plastics from my wardrobe. It’s not easy, and I worry that I will never be able to fully eliminate them. I have to count exactly how many non synthetics.

Who else is starting out a capsule around now? Share your posts, or closets below!

Everlane Undies Review

Disclaimer: My product reviews are completely unsponsored and unsolicited. The opinions are my own from my own experiences.

I've been waiting to make another Everlane purchase for quite a while. I look thru the website every month or so, put things in the cart, take them out, leave, come back and do it all again. I've only ever bought from Everlane once before. 

There’s been a lot of debate on the internet and in the world of the low impact movement about Everlane. Once touted as the greatest and most assessable sustainable fashion makers around, Everlane has come under a lot of distain lately. Many people believe that it has out grown it’s title as Slow Fashion.

I’m on the fence. Everlane still says it upholds it’s sustainable standards, but it has been producing at a faster and faster rate. Is it possible that the level of care is being taken for each and every piece? Ultimately, I decided that at least they must be a better choice than regular fast fashion brands. Although I mostly buy everything second hand, there are some items that have to be bought new.

Which brings me to underwear!! From the first moment that Everlane announced their underwear and bras, I knew I wanted to try them. Undies are really hard to buy sustainably without breaking the bank. But I have a lot of undies so it was almost a year before I actually made a purchase. I waited until some of my old panties literally fell apart and I had to get rid of them before I decided it was ok to buy some new items.

I bought three matching pieces; the Tank Bra, the Hipster, and the High Rise Hipster all in grey. Having matching undies still give me a thrill. I waited until Everlane offered free two day shipping so these items came really fast. The last Everlane purchase I made, I was disappointed that the pants and top I bought came wrapped in plastic and in a plastic mailer bag. I was happy when all the underwear came in recyclable cardboard boxes with paper info cards. They came in a plastic mailer which I recycled at a local drop off location.

I like how simple, soft and easy these panties and bra are. The bra has a wide, tight lower band and straps that are about an inch wide. The straps sit far out on the shoulders which I wasn’t expecting, but I really like bc I do have quite a few tops that have wide or boat necks. The high rise panties are my favorite and sit right at or just below my belly button. The seat is a bit cheeky, which again, I wasn’t expecting. I’d love to get a full coverage bottom set of these, which they don’t make yet, but fingers crossed. I will definitely get more pairs of these undies when more of my current pairs wear out.

Overall, I’m still skeptical about how Everlane works and it’s impact. But as a middle ground of affordable, well made, and better than fast fashion, I’ll continue to use them for purchasing some items.

Have you tried buying the Everlane underwear line? What are your thoughts?

Mad Cat Capsule: Thinking About Fall

I’ve actually been thinking about my next capsule for some time. I have my inspiration piece and I’m excited to get started. I’m trying to pace myself this season, though. Usually at this point in the month before changing over my capsule, I’d already be wearing new items of the next capsule.

But I’m taking a different tactic this quarter. I’ve gathered quite a few pieces but I’m pointedly putting them aside and savoring thinking bout what my Fall Capsule will look like.

What I am doing is paring down what’s in my current capsule. I have already started to take out all the items from Summer (July, August Sept) that I haven’t been wearing as much, or that I’m ready to stop wearing.

It’s a nice time in the capsule process to work with an even smaller closet of clothes. The excitement of the clothes I can revisit in my new capsule is always so fun! I love knowing that I’ll get rid of even more clothing when I go thru everything in storage.

The anticipation for the next capsule isn’t always my favorite part, but this quarter it is! What’s your favorite part of building a new capsule? Does your favorite part change?

Mad Cat Capsule: Summer 2018 (July - Sept)

My Summer 2018 capsule came together pretty organically but also took a long time to finalize. It was kind of a meandering process this time around. It really started bc I had been thrifting quite a  bit and found items that I loved that didn't work for spring or in my spring capsule. I chose one of those items to be my color inspiration for Summer and got started from there. 

I started putting this capsule together in early June, about a month before I would be finished with my Spring capsule. I usually have this kind of fluidity in the last month of each season, sometimes it starts earlier in the month, sometimes later. My colors for Summer are purples (light and rich), yellows (buttery and bright), light blue, bright pinks, grey (of course!), black and white, and a few pops of red.  

Here is the inspiration for my Summer Capsule. I've never had a muumuu before and I could not pass this one by! I knew I wanted to use some of my purple pieces for Summer which I think goes well with this palate. Here is the capsule I built around this dress. 

Starting with my new thrifted muumuu, I knew I also wanted to wear my black and white striped American Apparel dress, so I went with a combo of geometric, plain, and floral/butterflies for dresses.  
6 dresses - butterfly muumuu (thrifted), AA dress (ethical, made in USA), blue roxy geometric zipper dress (thrifted), floral with pockets (thrifted), denim "nurse" dress (thrifted and vintage, Not Pictured), linen "nurse" dress (thrifted and vintage. Not pictured)

I've been obsessed with vintage silk tops. 
4 silk tops - purple, yellow, pink and black & white (all vintage and thrifted). 

I found these two great semi long sleeve but very light tees recently. 
2 long sleeve tees - Linen 3/4 sleeve, grey mesh front long sleeve top (both thrifted).

I got a crop "moon" tee at the clothing swap we did last year and it's inspired me to try more crop tops. 
3 crop tops - moons (clothing swap), button back b&w (clothing swap), cream lace (a gift, going on 5-6 years old). 

Lots of tee shirts are a must for warm weather (or any weather!). 
8 tees - fancy sleeved blue (clothing swap), japan (thrifted), blue AA v neck, grey AA v neck (both over 10 years old and ethically made), tie dye (10+ years old), cat/whale tee (10+ years old), work tee, blue forgotten boardwalk tee (not pictured).  

Gotta have a lot of over shirt options. 
6 over shirts / sweaters - vans hole sweater, maroon cardigan, lightweight grey cardigan (5-6 years old), blue FAB (found at bar) shirt, dot denim shirt (thrifted), light purple button down (thrifted). Last three not pictured. 

This season I'm looking for some trousers (both in my own collection and in thrift shops) so I might add to my pants, but for now, it's all about jeans. 
5 pants - engineer jeans (thrifted), banana republic jeans (thrifted), grey jeans (thrifted), everlane jeans (ethically made), bright blue pants (thrifted and not pictured). 

I feel like I'm forgetting a skirt? I found the pink skirt at the same time as the muumuu!
3 skirts - pink midi skirt (thrifted), purple with pockets (thrifted), blue stripes (15+ years old). 

I wear shorts mostly when chilling at home (never at work), but I do like to have a few for summer. 
3 shorts - levis button fly, roxy white (5-6 years old), denim cutoffs (15 years plus, not pictured). 

I use tanks mostly for layering or hanging around, but again in summer, you gotta have em. 
5 strappy tanks - yellow, blue, purple, bright pink with lace (15+ plus), terry halter (15+ years). 
3 ribbed tanks - grey (10+ years. Not pictured), black (10+ years), bright pink. 

Besides, bare feet, the only shoes I need for summer are my flops!! Unfortunately I can't wear them all the time. I recently thrifted a great pair of vintage sandals that I can't wait to wear (pictured below). I also want to wear my salt water sandals this year. 
8 shoes - Emily boots, tan flats, cat sneaks, grey cons (10+ years), zip boots (thrifted), flops (second hand from a friend), vintage black sandals (vintage and thrifted), salt water sandals (10+ years, made in the USA. Does anyone know the ethics on this company?). 

As always this capsule doesn't include sleep wear, swim wear, outerwear or loungewear. No undies, socks, bras, accessories, or jewelry  are included either. This capsule comes in at 56 items, 41 of which fall under slow fashion.  

Between Spring and Summer, I had some revelations about how capsule wardrobes have helped me find my personal style. I'm planning on sharing those with you in another post, but for now I'm just really excited to wear this capsule!

What capsule are you wearing right now? How do you feel about my choices for Summer? Are there items that you would have left out? Are you interested in seeing outfits I might make from this pieces?

Mad Cat Capsule: Comparing Spring

Spring marks one year that I have done a capsule wardrobe. Now I'm able to compare my first spring capsule with this year's. There are a few of the same items from that capsule that made it into the latest one! Both have my signature colors of denim, grey, black, and some white. Both are colorful, far more than my Winter Capsule. 

My previous Spring Capsule had mostly cool colors, but the new capsule has more warm jewel tones but with teals, and browns. 

My first capsule was far more casual, in the newest one, I consciously tried to be more dressy and formal. I feel more more in tune with a personal style since I have been using the CW method! That was one of my goals, and I'm glad it's working!

With this spring, I also have been a little looser with the "rules" of this capsule. I have never followed the stricter rules that some people use, but this time around I feel like I haven't even completed this capsule and we are already one month in. 

My first Spring, I was very rigid on purpose. I wanted to make sure I was trying this process whole heartedly. Now I feel so much more comfortable with capsules, I feel ok to play around with this one more. 

Since my first attempt, I've been introducing more and more slow fashion into my capsules. This latest one has the most ever, and I've almost completely stopped buying fast fashion! Even if I tempted, I try and seek out a sustainable alternative. I also care much more about what my clothes are made of. Sure, I always knew cotton felt great, but now I look for wool, cashmere, silk, and linen, too!

How long have you been keeping a capsule wardrobe? Does yours change much season to season? What have you learned?

Mad Cat Capsule: Spring 2018 (April - June)

Here we are, come full circle back to Spring. I started my Capsule Wardrobe in Spring 2017 and I have greatly enjoyed the last year. I feel like I've learned a lot and yet, I feel like I'm still learning and growing into capsule wardrobes. I'm still learning the best way to create each capsule, I'm still learning what my personal style is, and I'm still learning to part with so many of the clothes I've kept over the years. I feel like I'm moving towards owning less, buying less, but enjoying my clothes more. 

For Spring, my method was very different than the last few. seasons. I had a good idea of many things that I wanted to include and did not go thru all my stored clothes, only those I knew I wanted. I also bought quite a bit more this quarter (all used, except a few pairs of sneakers). I also didn't choose one color to be my theme as I mostly have done for the other capsules. I know I wanted more color this season, so I added whatever I wanted. My color scheme has my usuals, grey, black and denim, but also some maroon, brown, teal, orange, white, and mustard. 

7 Pants - New to me red cords (used), Everlane jeans (sustainably made), red pants (new to me but used), brown pants (used), grey jeans (used), gap jeans (new to me but used and mended), banana republic jeans (new to me but used).

4 Pullover Sweaters - cream (used), teal, grey (a favorite thrifted piece), black. 

4 Over Shirts/Cardigans - Mustard cardi (hand me down), maroon cardi, red/blue button down (10+ years), vermillion cardi. 

8 Tops - Maroon cowl neck (10+ years), black short sleeve sweater/top (10+), grey satin neck (used), B&W diamond top (new to me but used), moon shift (clothing swap), white short sleeved top (newly thrifted), lace sweat shirt (newly thrifted), Everlane top (sustainably made). 

4 Tank Tops - White, grey, black, brown with flowers (all over 10 years old). 

7 T Shirts - Maroon V, teal V, grey V, maroon crew (all made in usa and 10+), cat/whale (10+), grey Talula's, black Witch band T. 

4 Shirts/shorts - New to me bermuda (thrifted), t shift, denim (used), long black. 

9 Shoes - grey cons (10+), tall boot (new to me but used), suede booties (used), white hightops, velcro vans, cat sneakers, grey moccasins (10+), maroon boots (10+), emily booties.

My Spring capsule is a little all over the map, but I like it!! I think it'll work for me and I'm excited to try it. It's a bit larger than some of my previous capsules, falling at 50 items. 35 of those are slow fashion, a higher percentage than previous capsules. Many of the remaining 15 pieces are close to the 10 year mark. Having an entirely slow wardrobe is a goal I'm happy to work towards. 

I cannot wait to get into the meat of this capsule. And into real spring. Warm weather cannot come soon enough. Is everyone as excited for the coming season, and coming capsule, as I am??

Mad Cat Capsule : Sock Sorting - The Worst Clothing Chore

I don't know about you but I have too many socks. Like all my clothing, before starting my Capsule Wardobe I had socks everywhere. I fear I still do. One of my most hated jobs is to gather all the socks in one place and try to match them. I always seem to end up with a pile just as large. 

Since starting my capsule wardrobe I haven't taken away any socks, to save for other seasons, as I have with clothing. But I have started just wearing the same pairs over and over. This makes it easier to keep track of those in the wash, but I secretly hope to wear some pair out!

One thing I know for sure is that I will not be buying socks anytime soon!

What's your most hated clothing chore? Has it changed since you've started a capsule wardrobe?

Mad Cat Capsule: Shoes in a Capsule

My current capsule, Winter, is my 4th capsule and the first one that I have included shoes. Since starting capsule wardrobes, I found that I always reached for the same shoes, despite having many laying around. I had a huge bin of shoes going unused and dusty in the basement. I had shoes in closets, I had shoes I had forgotten about. I had shoes that I kept, bc I liked them, but that hurt my feet, didn't fit, or both. 

Much like the clothing, I took every pair of shoes that I wear out of all the places where I keep them. They were all over! Once I had all of my shoes together, I went thru them and threw away or donated all the shoes that were damaged, obviously didn't fit, or where ones that I knew I wasn't going to wear. There were a few that I put in a maybe pile, and the rest I sorted into what I thought I would use for my Winter capsule.  

I tried to wear my maybe pile first. Some of them worked, some of them I kept for other seasons, and some I let go. But there's where the first attempt at having shoes in my capsule kinda fell apart. My big problem is that I bought a bunch of shoes!! 

I totally caved and got not one, but two pairs of fast fashion shoes! Nooooooo! Terrible I know, but I will try to be better in the future. Then I found several great pairs of shoes second hand!! One of those has quickly become a favorite but the other I may have to get repaired before I wear them seriously. 

The photos indicate what shoes out of the ones that I chose for my wardrobe that I have actually been wearing. Three of the eight pairs fall under slow fashion. Having shoes in my Winter wardrobe hasn't gone exactly how I planned, but I'll continue this shoe experiment and see where it takes me for future capsules!

Everlane 1st Purchase Review

For the last few years, I've been trying hard to 1) not purchase too many clothes, and 2) not to purchase new clothes. I buy second hand bc it's better for the environment, bc I enjoy the mindfulness that goes into it, bc it keeps me from shopping in fast fashion, and because it helps save money. 

I love that second hand clothing is already broken in, easy to wear, a fun challenge to find, and I feel good about wearing it out, rather than worrying about saving it. But I generally buy second hand fast fashion (think Gap, Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters) clothing and it does wear out faster than buying new (if your buying well made new clothes) and I have found myself really burning through the jeans I have thrifted lately. I knew that if I wanted to buy a better quality, ethically and eco friendly made pair of jeans, I wanted to try Everlane. 

I first heard of Everlane through Erin at Reading My Tea Leaves but so many blogs I read rave about them. I liked that they fit into a new way of thinking about the fashion industry, conscientiously and transparently. 

I chose the High Rise Skinny Jean. On the models they are sleek, but sturdy looking. In person, they are mom jeans. Don't get me wrong! I like them! A lot! But they remind me of the older style of jeans with less spandex, less give, and more stiffness. On the models and on blogs I've seen, they look like they hug your curves and wear like more modern skinny jeans. They may be true for the skinny and the tall, but for my 150lb, 5'2", nearly 40 year old frame, they wear like a mom jean. I'm not complaining! But I thought an honest review would be best. I like the way these jeans make my butt look, they are soft and comfortable (and seem like they will get way more soft and comfortable!), I like the wash I chose. I would, and mostly likely will, buy more jeans from Everlane. But I feel a bit old in them, if stylishly old. 

I've worn these jeans about a dozen times now, and I can see them being a staple in many of my capsule wardrobes going forward. I'll continue to check in as they wear to see how they hold up. I also purchased a shirt along with the jeans but have only had the chance to wear it once. When I feel I have more data, I may make a review of that as well. 

Overall, I waas happy to support a company working to change the way we think about fashion and happy with what I got and how it fits. Have any of you tried this brand? What sustainable, ethical, eco friendly clothing companies do you buy?

Bullet Journal Check In: Bullet Journal + Capsule Wardrobe

Using my Bullet Journal and creating my capsule wardrobe go hand in hand! I like to use my bullet journal to jot down notes about upcoming capsules, ideas for capsule blog posts, to list things that I want in my capsule, etc... I also make a list when doing the photos for each capsule blog post of what actually is in my capsule. 

I have started keeping a outfit tracker. This is something I have done off and on in my journals. For this capsule, bc it's a bit larger than my last two, I wanted to track what I was wearing most, and what I was loving to wear. 

How do you use your BuJo and your capsule wardrobe together?

Mad Cat Capsule : Winter 2018 (January - March)

This capsule marks the end of my first year having a capsule wardrobe. My Winter capsule came about pretty easily. The way I create my capsule is to take absolutely all my clothes from everywhere and put them on the couch.  This was the first capsule where I was able to fit everything in the "extra clothes" bins I keep. Before now, clothes were spilling out all over. I was also able to sort all the clothes that aren't in this capsule by item. Previously, there were just too many pieces of clothing to keep track of. Keeping a seasonal capsule wardrobe has been a great way for me to let go of things and wear what I love while paring down. I created two paper grocery bags full of clothes to giveaway or donate because of the sorting of this capsule. 

For my Winter capsule, I really wanted to change things up. I have had so many of the same pieces in my first three capsules and although I love them, I was for something a little different this time around. In my other capsules the color blue played a big role, but for Winter I took all the blue out of my wardrobe. I also swapped out some favorite tees and staples for new and different items. My color palate for the Winter months are greens, creams, grey and heavy on the black. 

I'm glad that most of my wardrobe still falls under slow fashion, with many items being 10 years old or older, bought second hand, or bought in indie shops. I'm also super excited to include my first purchases from sustainable, responsible companies. 

6 t shirts - I kept my grey v neck (10+ years), this piece has been in all my capsules. My green v neck (10+), Happy Bday sandwiches cat shirt (thrifted), skeleton shirt (10+), cream pizza shirt from work, green xmas shirt from work.  

6 tanks - Most of the tanks in my capsule are 10+ years old. I have a grey, black and green with owls tanks, all from old navy.  I also have a cream tank (10+) and a army green tank and a black spaghetti strap tank (both getting close to 10+). 

5 long sleeve tees - I added a lot of layering tees in this capsule and so far, 10 days in, I'm so glad I did! I have three waffle tees, two 10+ from America Apparel (one grey and one light green) and one dark green (that one is getting up there). I also have a 3/4 sleeve black tee that must be at least 15 years old. Same with a long sleeve green tee that I've had forever. 

6 "fancy" shirts - I'm trying to add some flair into Winter, let's see how that works. The black sheer top, green feather top, and grey lace top are fairly new (6+ years). The gold flowy top and the anchor top are newly thrifted. I also purchased a new top from Everlane that falls into the "fancy" category. 

5 skirts - The long black skirt has been in my previous capsules and is newer (4+ years). It was bought at a local indie shop when I lived in Brooklyn. The black cord mini is 10+. The grey wool skirt is thrifted and the black leather is thrifted and probably at least 20 years old. I also have a long grey leather skirt that I got at a stoop sale (15+). 

6 jeans - My grey jeans, black jeans, and green jeans were all thrifted last year. My levis are well past 10 years old. I plan on doing a full review of my new Everlane jeans soon!

7 sweaters - I have two thrifted sweaters, a grey one and a mottled one with a cowl neck. I have two cardigans both 4 - 7 years old (the black one was bought in an indie shop). I have a cream wool sweater, a dark grey sweater, but my favorite sweater is a over sized teal sweater I got about 4 years ago. 

I don't include underwear, leggings, tights, exercise clothes, sleepware, or outerware in my capsules. But this season I am including shoes! I have 10 pairs of shoes for the Winter capsule. I plan to shoe these in another post. I hope to pare down my shoes, just like my clothes! 

This capsule is quite large, about as large as my very first capsule of clothes alone was!! I have about 51 items in this capsule (at least 23 of them slow fashion). For me, capsule wardrobes aren't about the perfect number, they are about mindful choices and wearing things I love. 

Who else is starting a new capsule in January? Is it Winter or Summer where you are? What are your go to cold weather clothes?

Mad Cat Capsule: Thinking About Shoes in My Capsule

While thinking about my next Mad Cat Capsule Wardrobe, which will be for Winter (Jan- Mar), I decided that one area of my wardrobe that makes me feel lost/overwhelmed/cluttered is my shoes. So I decided to really take a look at all my shoes, pare down, and think about adding what I was left with to my upcoming capsule. 

I have a lot of shoes that I have barely looked at since we moved, three years ago! Turns out our basement gets a little mildewy and I have not wanted to delve in and go thru (plus clean) my shoes but when I started feeling overwhelmed by my shoes, I knew I needed to. 

I started by going thru all the shoes I had upstairs first, which were plenty. They are also the shoes that I wear more often and love well. These are mostly sneakers, some boots, and my flip flops which I live in in the warm months. While going thru, I made a list of all the shoes I found in my Bullet Journal. Next I moved on to the shoes in the basement. One of my goals was to pare down enough to only have one box of shoes downstairs. Since I started out with two boxes of storage, this felt like a really good, if a little challenging, goal. 

At the end of the day, I had a small give away/throw away pile, a very small maybe pile, one box of storage, and a lot of shoes that I wear and can go in my capsules. Most of the shoes in my storage box are formal wear, sentimental, or super summer shoes. Those are going back to the basement. I also know that I have a few pairs of shoes floating around that I didn't capture in this declutter. I'll have to find those and determine if they are keepers. 

The next step will be to further pare down the shoes that I do wear, and break them into capsules. Right now, I'm thinking that I will try to incorporate my shoes into my Winter Capsule. I am trepidatious about this bc I'm sure this will up my overall capsule count. Even though my capsule is not about a set number, one of my goals is to reduce the amount of clothing I have and keep a smaller over all wardrobe. My end list ended up being about 40 pairs of shoes. Even though that includes shoes that I keep for sentimental value, that seems like an absurd amount. 

Do any reader keeping a capsule wardrobe include shoes? How many shoes do you own, whether you keep a capsule or not?

Mad Cat Capsule: Recent Additions and New Count

I have done a pretty good job all year of not buying any new clothes. I have bought some things second hand and we recently had a clothing swap at work, so I have picked up a few new to me items! 

I have never done a clothing swap before and it was so fun! It was a really great way to get rid of a ton of stuff but not throw it away or waste it. I tried to be careful not to obtain too many new items, but found a couple that I love!! And I never knew that seeing your friends wear clothes that you once loved, but no longer use, is such a fun and uplifting feeling!! 

So, since my last post, my Fall Capsule had changed a little. Here are a few of the items that I've added, and love, or had to let go of and a new count for fall:

Several of the button downs I selected for Fall either didn't get worn, or, in the case of one of my favorites, got a stain. I'm trying to figure out a way to salvage that one, but in the mean time I added 2 new tops: my red and blue top that I had left at an establishment about an hour away and took me 3 months to retrieve, and a new (to me) purple top that I got from a rummage sale. 

From the clothing swap, I got two tops I love; one cropped moon top. totally a new thing for me, but I love it!! And a 3/4 sleeve cream top with elbow patches. I wear both of these a ton. 

Two of my favorite pairs of jeans also bit the dust this season. My grey dot jeans got a terrible oil stain, and my snake print DK jeans developed some pulls and lost a lot of their shape. I took these out of my capsule (but kept them for "play clothes" or to wear around the house). But I found an awesome pair of black jeans second hand, which I had been looking for! I also picked up a pair of gab jeans at a rummage sale. They are worn and have a sizable hole at the moment, so IO plan to do some visible mending and add them to this capsule. 

Other additions include adding a "fancy" button down (from my clothing stock at home) bc I needed something to wear to a more formal event and I might as well keep it in my capsule. And although I don't count outerwear in my capsule, it's worth mentioning that I had to buy a red hat for my halloween costume and decided that if I had to buy it I should wear it as much as possible. 

I loved participating in the clothing swap and getting a few items here and there at rummage sales and thrift shops. I hope that we have another swap soon! But I'm also glad that my capsule has stayed pretty close to it's original number and I have only 38 items in this season. I'm also glad that  25 of the items fit into the slow clothing model. 

Have you readers ever done a clothing swap? How did it make you feel?

Mad Cat Capsule: Autumn (October - December)

At the start of my summer capsule, I had a hard time picking what it would be. This time around, I couldn't wait! Autumn is my third capsule and it was surprisingly easy to put together.  

This is the third capsule I've created since starting this project. When I was putting together Summer, I put several things aside for Fall, but when it came down to it, I only used a few of those. For Summer, I had one piece that inspired the whole collection, but for fall everything came together more organically. 

I happened to be going through all my clothes for a clothing swap with co workers, and I started by pulling everything I might like to wear and used that as a guide. I already had a basic idea of what I wanted to roll over from my Summer capsule.
The weather will be warm and cold and all other the place for this capsule so I have a wide range of clothing from tank tops to sweaters. 
For Fall, I kept my signature colors of grey and blue and I saved some coral pieces from Summer which worked well with some new items I'm adding.
Here is what is included in this capsule:

6 Tee Shirts - Most of these are rolled over from all of my previous capsules; A local brewery tee, a work tee from our 2016 picnic, a local radio stations tee, my grey v neck, a blue v neck, a cranberry crew neck. 

4 Tank Tops - These are all relatively old and well worn, and I'll mostly use them mostly for layering. These are all solids, some spaghetti straps, some wider strapped. 

7 Button Downs/Over Shirts/Long Sleeved/Fancy Shirts- I found that I wore a ton of button downs and over shirts for layering or just as is in Summer, so I'm keeping a few and adding a bunch. I'm also adding some long sleeve tees and shirts. I'm keeping both my denim button downs, and my white button down top. I'm adding a "fancy" button down. This goes with the blue silk tee that I've had for the last few capsules. I also have a waffle tee and a cowl neck 3/4 sleeve. 

7 Sweaters - I plan on getting a lot of use from sweaters and layers in this capsule. I have included some over sweaters and some that I can just wear as is. Two of these have been in my previous capsules. 

3 Skirts - I'm keeping the long flowing black skirt from Summer and adding a midi cordoroy, and a shorter wool skirt, all with pockets!

2 Dresses - I don't wear a lot of dresses, but it's good to have some! One with pockets, one with out. 

5 Pants - All my currant jeans are thrifted.  I'm toying with adding some other pants but I can't decide. 

I'm glad that my Autumn capsule falls right at Slow Fashion October. Part of the idea of my using a capsule wardrobe initially was to pare down the hundreds of clothes I own, but it was also to be more mindful of what I wear and where it comes from. I'm happy that 18 out of 34 of this capsule falls under slow fashion criteria. These pieces are either over 10 years old or second hand. Many of the new items were bought in small local shops.

How is everyone else's current capsule going? 

Mad Cat Capsule: What's Not Working (Summer)

From July - Sept, I'm in my second cycle of capsule wardrobing. Both seasons have taught me a lot so far. Almost 5 month in, I'm loving having a capsule wardrobe! 

One thing I've learned is that it's nice to have a safety net. One reason I've started using capsule wardrobes is bc I have too many clothes, but I also have trouble parting with items I don't use. Once I've picked my capsule, I try really hard not to dip into the stash of other clothes I have. But it's nice to know it's there!

This dress was a late add in, but I only wore it once. I thought it would be great bc it has pockets and is so summery, but it's so short and casual, it's not my go to. I love this thrifted dress, so maybe it will come back next Summer. 

I've also learned that as carefully as I choose the clothes for the capsule, as much thought as I put into them, sometimes things don't work out. In the first capsule, I swapped a couple of items for ones that would work better but for the second capsule I avoided doing that. There were still items that didn't work, but I just put them away and didn't use them. 

This white top was one white top too many! I could never fit it into my rotation! I might doate this one, as I have a similar one that I do wear often.

My original picks this capsule were fewer than my first capsule and taking away the items that didn't work made it even smaller. I'm excited about the idea of eventually getting down to as few clothes as I can, just what I really need and love. 

I love this thrifted blue silk top and got a lot of wear out of it in Spring, but it was too hot in summer for this top. I'm keeping it, in case we get some cool days in September and rolling it over to Fall, for sure. 

At the end of September, I'll be choosing net season's capsule, and I can't wait to apply what I've learned from previous capsules. What are some things that you consider when putting together your capsule? What do you do when you find a piece you've picked isn't working?

Mad Cat Capsule: Summer (July - September)

In April 2017, I started my first capsule wardrobe and I really enjoyed it! Wearing and remixing just a few items for three months was a really interesting experiment. I've been trying to pare down the amount of clothes I have for years, and Spring was a good taste of what it would be like to live with less. I couldn't wait to try my hand at the next three months. 

It took me a while to finalize my new Summer capsule. I'm still using a pretty loose capsule method, so it may not even be finalized yet! Last time I tried to stick to around 50 items in my capsule. In the future, I'd like to get this number way down, but for Summer I'll have about the same. Even if each season has 50 items, that would give me an over all wardrobe of 200 pieces which is way less than what I have now. 

For Summer 2017, I rolled over quite a few items from the previous capsule. I also added items, either from my stash, or that I recently purchased. The skirt above I bought second hand years and years ago and when I pulled it out of my old Summer box, it became my color inspiration for this capsule. Spring was blues, teals, green, and purple with a little black and white and my signature grey. Summer is blue again, grey of course, lots of white, some black and pops of coral orange. 

These two band t shirts, plus a shirt from our work picnic and one from a local brewery got the most use and fit this season's color scheme, so I was happy to roll them over. The plain blue shirt, a lighter blue crew neck, and a grey V also got rolled over. The blue silk tee and the striped oversized pocket tee didn't get as much use, but were useful in certain circumstances so I've kept those too. 

I have added a few tees to my Summer capsule; a brighter blue V and another graphic tee that can be turned inside out to be a solid tee.

I've been using a lot of over shirts for layering, and wearing a lot of lightweight button downs lately. The white shirt is a million years old from American Eagle via Marchell's. I've had it for at least 15 years. The denim was from a previous job's lost and found. The grey Gap sweater I got from a friends stoop sale in Brooklyn. All three of these got a lot of wear last capsule and will probably be around for a while!

I recently bought this shirt at goodwill. It had lace on the sleeves, which I thought I liked, but ended up hating. I cut it off and the rough edge is way more my style. 

I'm adding a few more button down style shirts to this capsule, too. The white is very old, and I have a similar one in blue and white. The plaid is one I bought locally when I lived in Brooklyn but haven't work much. The polka dot and black linen are some of my newest purchases, but both are second hand. I also have a short sleeved grey button down (not pictured).

I had a lot of tank tops in my last collection and I did use most of them (great for layering!). This capsule I still have a lot, but they reflect my new color scheme a little better. Only two or three of these are rolled over. 

For Summer I have several pairs of shorts, and a few skirts, and of course, jeans and pants. I've discovered that I really need pockets in all my shorts, skirts, and pants of any kind so it makes it easy to narrow down what I already have. This collection has the skirt I used for my color inspiration, a chambray shorter skirt, and a grey high/low with unique details. I bought a pair of linen joggers 2 Summers ago that I couldn't wait to bust back out. I've been wearing these lightweight orange pants for years now, and they fit it perfectly!

All the jeans I currently have were in my Spring capsule. And all of them are thrifted!

Last capsule, I couldn't decide on any dresses. I tried out a few but none ever really worked. But this capsule, I already have two! Both have pockets - pockets are a must! It's possible that I might add another dress  if I can find one that works. Right now, I have the orange one that I bought several years ago from a local Brooklyn shop, and the other I bought about 3 years ago. Although I love this blue dress from Old Navy, it was the purchase that made me decide I would never shop there again. 

Not pictured, I have included one sweater in this collection, too. All these items bring this capsule up to 44 items. That breaks down to 27 tops, 14 bottoms, and 2 dresses. As with my first capsule, I'm not including any undergarments, outerwear, shoes, accessories, gym clothes, or hoodies. 

This was a fun capsule to work on bc I know the weather/temperature will mostly be about the same. I really felt like I could play around with a wide range of style and fabric. It was nice not to worry too heard about warmth. I'll be interested to see how this capsule progresses. I hope you'll join me for updates over the next few months. 

Is anyone else getting their Summer (or whatever season your currently living in) capsule together?  Maybe you don't even go by seasons? Shout out any links to recent capsule posts! I'd love to see what some of you have been wearing!

Mad Cat Capsule: What's Not Working

Over a month in and I'm loving my capsule wardrobe. My Mad Cat Capsule consists of approximately 50 pieces of clothing not including loungewear, sleepwear, shoes, work out wear, under garments, or outerwear. That's a lot more than a typical capsule, but as this is my first one, and I literally have hundreds of items of clothing that I'm trying to pare down, this feels like a good start. I've really enjoyed refining what I wear, seeing what works and what doesn't. Going into this project, I really didn't know what to expect, but it's been helpful and exciting to wear only clothes I really enjoy. Over the past month or so, I've definitely noticed that there were items I chose that I didn't end up wearing. Here's the scoop about what I've discovered so far:

I chose quite a number of tank tops at the beginning of my 3 month capsule. I layer, layer, layer and I knew this capsule had to take me to the beginning of Summer so this was a good idea. But as the month progressed, I realized that I was only wearing some of them over and over and never reaching for others. I'm packing up the ones I'm not feeling. 

I thought having a few long sleeve shirts would be a great idea for a capsule that had to span April to June. I wore them once or twice, but noticed that I pulled out sweaters more often. Several of these are going into storage. I love these shirts, but not right now. I feel like I'll be pulling these back out for my 4th quarter capsule in Oct. 

I also had a 3/4 sleeve shirt that I really love and thought would be great, especially for work. I forgot that this shirt captures every cat hair, lint ball, and speck of anything really. This shirt will go to donation. 

I chose a few skirts for this quarter 2 capsule and I haven't worn any of them. Huh. I don't want to give up on them just yet but some of these will be put away soon. Again these are pieces that I love, but haven't worked out just yet. On the other hand, I was sure that I wouldn't need my favorite shorts until July, but grabbed them up for a hot beach walk around the beginning of May and am happy that I'll have them for the rest of this capsule.

After scrapping these items and a few others I'm just not wearing, you would think that I would have less pieces in this capsule, but alas, I don't. I lost a few, swapped a few, but added a few, too. In lieu of the long sleeve shirts, I added a dotted sweatshirt I quite fancy, and I recently got a few more graphic tees. So I'm hovering right around the same number of items. 

Really lessening the items I wear has been challenging. Getting rid of items that I definitely won't use, don't like, or don't fit has also been surprisingly hard. I have found it to be difficult to find the time to get these pieces out of my house and into new hands. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

If you've recently started a capsule wardrobe, tell me how it's going!