Womp womp: it’s winter. Like really winter, as this past weekend was dark + grey with a steady “wintry mix” falling from the sky.
Maybe it’s the Floridian in me, but I can’t stand to be cold for a single second. The one winter I spent living in New York taught me how to dress for real cold (not just “chill”), and those lessons have served me well. I have no shame in throwing on my (down-free!) puffy coat, hat, and gloves the second it dips below 50 degrees. I’ve noticed Southerners have this thing where they pretend it’s not actually cold, so I tend to stick out like a sore thumb.
But I digress! My winter capsule. This will be a long-ish post, but here’s a quick outline for you:
- Winter 2017 capsule
- The planning process
- Items by category (tops, shoes, sweaters, etc)
Without further ado, here she is:
My wardrobe goals in 3 words: glam, cozy, elegant
Color palette: Black/grey/camel, with pops of leopard and red. It’s easy to feel frumpy in the winter, but black + leopard makes me feel chic AF.
Go-to outfit combos: Cozy sweater, skinny jeans, and boots or pointy-toed flats. #basic.
Planning: This is my smallest capsule so far, but the most time-consuming in terms of shopping + planning. Winter is tough as a vegan, as pretty much every item of clothing is made from wool, leather, or shearling. I also had hardly ANY winter clothes (I’m talking maybe ten items?) so I really had to prioritize my budget. It’s also not as easy to mix and match in winter as it is in spring/fall, so I chose to keep the capsule on the smaller end and wear everything a little more often.
Lifestyle: This is definitely a “weekend/outing” capsule, but that’s only about 25% of my life these days. The other 75% is nannying or working from home on this ol’ blog. Since good vegan winter wear is hard to find, I want what I have to last. I don’t want to wear too much of my capsule while I’m nannying and running people to sporting events, piano, or just playing on the floor. For that, I’m going to create a separate (and small) “casual/lounge/nannying” capsule.
Weather: Cold (highs in 40s/50s) and probably rainy (our winter tends to be drizzly). I’m really tired of ruining shoes in mud or puddles, hence why these Hunter boots were on my Christmas list.
Special events/Trips: No trips planned, but LOTS of events to dress up for, such as: friend’s birthday parties (weekend afternoon-type events), Christmas card photos, Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, our housewarming party, and a baby shower I’m throwing for a friend at the end of February. (On that note, if anyone has ideas on what to wear to a little girl baby shower when it’s 30 degrees and raining please pass that information along.)
Still on the hunt for: A “Little Black Dress” that I could wear to multiple events/occasions, cute flow-y cardigans that I could dress up or down.
With that, let’s dive into each category!
SWEATERS
My favorite category, only because it takes so much effort to find sweaters with zero wool. Weirdly there are tons of cute sweaters out there with like 2% wool. WHY? What the point of including it if it’s only 2%? But again I digress. I love being able to snuggle up (even if I’m dressed up) in winter, and these will certainly allow me that! Add a bold pair of earrings and I’m ready to go.
01 | Sparkly bell-sleeve sweater
02 | Leopard turtleneck
03 | Grey turtleneck (old) | similar | similar |
04 | Marled turtleneck |
05 | Balloon-sleeved sweater | Literally cannot wait to wear this with my faux leather leggings and leopard heels.
06 | Embellished sweater |
07 | Camel turtleneck (old) | similar | similar
08 | Black turtleneck (old) | similar | similar
TOPS + OUTER LAYERS
Not the most exciting category, but I needed something I could layer! Still on the hunt for a few more cozy cardigans that I can throw over thinner shirts, but this tartan version will be it for now.
02 | Grey long-sleeve tee | I need like ten of these I wear them so often in winter
03 | Chambray shirt
04 | Faux fur vest (old) | similar | similar | similar | similar | A lot of these are available only in larger sizes, but don’t let that stop you. Mine is an H&M beauty that I found on ebay (after borrowing Elise’s for years), then took to a wedding dress alteration shop and had taken in.
05 | Tartan plaid cardigan | Multiple colors, and <$25! (Yes, you read that correctly)
PANT/DRESSES/SKIRTS
Again, not the most exciting category, but I’m just not one for skirts + dresses in winter. This was the category I needed to shop the least for-all are coming over from my fall capsule except the black distressed jeans (new) and turtleneck dress (old but in the back of the closet). I can’t tell you how excited I am for the faux leather leggings. I plan on wearing them with every top in this capsule.
02 | White jeans
03 | Distressed jeans
05 | Midi skirt (old) | similar | similar and even better
07 | Turtleneck dress (old) | similar | similar | This is probably one of the oldest items in my closet-I bought it from Express when I lived in NYC in 2009. It doesn’t look like much on the rack, but it has a statement shoulder and a fit that make it really special.
08 | Black ponte pants | Years ago, I found the BEST pair of skinny black pants at TJ Maxx. After years of constant wear, they’ve finally lost their shape. These pants are basically thick leggings, but I love them so much already.
SHOES
My second favorite category after sweaters! Finding cute vegan shoes is always a lot of work, and I LOVE the shoes in this capsule. A chic black sweater + pants with a pair of leopard shoes? Dead.
01 | Leopard flats | similar | similar |
02 | Strappy velvet heels | similar | similar
03 | Pointy-toes pumps
04 | Brown riding boots
05 | Black riding boots
06 | Tall rain boots | also here
07 | Ankle booties (old) | similar | similar | similar
Super excited that I might actually look cute this winter.
Ready to create your own capsule wardrobe? Join me for my Building a Capsule Wardrobe SkillPop! class on 1/11.
So fun!! I wish you could come over and attack my closet with me!!
Girl I’d love to meet you IRL even more so than attacking your closet! I’m actually starting a capsule-building business and would LOVE to have you as a client 🙂 Then we could at least meet virtually. Email me rebellekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested!