Finn's Fall Wardrobe Wishlist

/

Fall is here! And between the cooling weather and Finn starting school, I have been on the look-out for some new items for his wardrobe.

He is on the border between 3T and moving up to 4T, so I am slowly picking up new pieces in 4T to add to his closet. Since he started going to school three times a week, it would be nice to have a few more shirts and pants to add to his rotation, thus making laundry less pressing. Also, all of his sweaters and sweatshirts are getting too small, and we will definitely need those come winter. So, I pulled together some shirts, sweatshirts, and pants that I would gladly add to his wardrobe.

11. Thermal U-Shape Joggers in Olive Through This // 12. Thermal U-Shape Joggers in Lost at Sea Navy // 13. Relaxed Fleece Cargo Joggers in Clove // 14. Monster Critter Socks // 15. Harrison Casual Sneakers

What are your favorite stores for kids clothes? Any pieces you are eying for your kid’s closet?

4 Dresses for Spring

/

When spring rolls around, I can't help but want to bust out all of my dresses. I find dresses super comfortable, and they tend to be easy to dress up or down. On a chilly day, they can easily layer over leggings or under a cozy sweater. Here are 4 dresses I'm digging for spring.

Gray Dresses for Fall

/

I know I promised a post for today about my capsule wardrobe pieces, but I'm not quite finished putting it together. In the meantime, though, I wanted to share some great gray dresses I've come across in my search for the perfect one to add to my closet for this season.

  1. Pinewood Sweater Dress

  2. Hooded Sweatshirt Dress

  3. Marled Shift Dress

  4. Turtleneck Midi Dress

  5. Morning Fog Turtleneck Dress {I'm so sad this is sold out!}

  6. Swing Dress

  7. Symphony Shift Dress

  8. Latitude Shirt Dress

  9. Embroidered Flutter Dress

Capsule Wardrobe Planning: Fall / Early Winter

/

I was a little daunted to get started with this whole capsule wardrobe thing, but Unfancy's Capsule Wardrobe Planner was a lifesaver. I sat down one afternoon and did an initial session going through her categories.

I thought the lifestyle pie chart was especially helpful. It prompted me to think about any upcoming events, trips, and then just day-to-day usage to make sure I set aside the right type of clothes. I discovered that about 90% of my clothes should be for day-to-day wear as a stay-at-home mom. For me, this means comfy pieces that I can move around in, lay on the floor with Finn, get dirty, etc. 5% will be used for special events—Dylan's 30th birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The last 5% will be for travel. We are taking a week long trip with my parents and sister and brother-in-law to New Orleans. This was helpful so I felt confident stashing my dress pants but leaving out two nice dresses.

From there, I worked on the colors section. I wanted to keep the major and minor colors neutral, and I'm really feeling camel/tan/cream for this season. That's how I landed on black, gray, and camel/tan/cream. For the accents, I wanted maroon/magenta and lilac for sure. I've been eyeing a lilac cardigan for a while. Maroon and magenta are rich, jewel tones that represent fall to me. Plus, I had picked up a magenta cocoon sweater from JC Penney a few weeks ago. The turquoise/navy came about randomly. I realized as I was going through my closet that I have a few pieces that go well with navy so it seemed like a logical choice. Navy is such a classic color. It pairs with the gray and the camel, the lilac and the magenta.

My colors came together pretty easily; they are common colors for me, so I have quite a few options in each color. In terms of style/aesthetic, I picked a lot of items that can be layered to transition from fall to the chillier temps of early winter. I have a couple of cozy sweaters picked out, but I'm saving my thick ones for the heart of winter after the turn of the year. I'll definitely be busting out boots, leggings, and scarves to add to my outfits. I'm not counting shoes or scarves toward my capsule. Scarves are as much an accessory as a necessity here in Minnesota, and I don't think I could narrow them down to only a few options. I have quite the collection.

On Creating a Capsule Wardrobe

/

Have you heard of creating a capsule wardrobe? I've seen it pop up here and there on the web and usually skimmed past it as a trend that would soon pass. While at coffee with friends a few weeks ago, one of the girls mentioned that she had considered doing it—had even cleaned out a lot of the clothes in her closet—but decided against it. The cleaned out closet was enough for her. It got me to thinking, though, "Could I cut down to a set number of pieces for 3 months and not go shopping during that time?"

"I'm not sure," was my initial response, "but I'm intrigued", followed it right up. You see, I love going to Goodwill to find clothes and shoes at a good price. I justify the clothes by the low price. However, I surely end up spending more in the long run, and I allow things into my closet that don't always fit the best or work with my other clothes.

Since I've been staying home full-time, I've had a strong desire to clear clutter and purge. We also have a tight budget. So, I've been entertaining the idea for a week or so now of creating a capsule wardrobe for this fall/early winter season (approximately October–December).

Over the weekend I spent some time going through my clothes and sorting them by "Yes", "Maybe", and "No". I have two bags of "No" clothes that it feels so good to have out of my closet. I have a few items set aside for my fall capsule, and I hope to go through my pile of items to consider for the capsule to narrow it down to around 34 pieces. That isn't a hard and fast number for me; just a goal to help me keep my pile in check. I will keep you posted on my progress, my direction for the capsule, and any pieces I'm looking to add to my closet this season.

In the meantime, if you want to know more about a capsule wardrobe, here are some resources...

What is a Capsule Wardrobe?

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe

Wardrobe Planner

Would you ever consider doing a capsule wardrobe?