My first Sustainable Summer Capsule Wardrobe coming from the UK — and the first in a soul-crushing heatwave. It is currently 31 degrees C outside; that’s 88F for all my American fellows out there, which hardly counts as inferno — unless you live in an old, ‘charming’, Victorian house designed to trap all the heat IN. And then you have: inferno.

I recognize it’s only been 3 days of this heat. But, not to sound dramatic, I can’t remember a time when the air was chill, the leaves crisp, the sun a welcome respite.

Needless to say, my Sustainable Summer Capsule Wardrobe will be more, well, heat-driven than my previous iterations. Which, considering the record heat waves in parts of the US, and the regular heat across other places, is useful for us all.

However, now I am writing this about a week later, and lo and behold, torrential rain drowns me. All I’m going to say is, CALM DOWN UNITED KINGDOM.

And as a final note: I realize now, because I am — yet again — so late with this, most people are thinking “pre-Autumn” wardrobes. Well, friends, Global Warming doesn’t work with Fashion Cycles, so I predict, for many of you, the heat will continue well into September. So if you’re, like me, still wanting to look cute for the next 2-3 months, this is your guide.

A NOTE ABOUT ‘CAPSULE WARDROBES’

To finish off this great — and not at all meandering — introduction, I wanted to touch upon a point brought up to me via Pinterest. My previous Summer Capsule Wardrobe has been circulating there for the past year, but only recently, Pinterest has brought it comments. The top one? “I don’t understand how this is a capsule wardrobe 😭 this is more clothes then I own” [sic]. 

This person brings up a very fair, very poignant point about ‘Capsule Wardrobes.’ The term gets thrown about constantly these days. I’ve even seen fast-fashion, disposable-clothing bloggers refer to any round-up they put together as ‘Capsule.’

But, going back to what I create and what I call capsule on W&S — considering the breath (and depth) of the round-ups I put together, can I be calling this a capsule wardrobe? And, more importantly: should I be?

What is a ‘capsule wardrobe’ is, these days, hard to define. What began as a strict, number-specific program for people to follow has morphed into something else entirely. I think, these days, we can all agree that what is capsule depends on the person. Whether you want 10 items or 100, the important aspects of a capsule are wearability, sustainability, and versatility. Wearability referring to do I actually wear the item, and does it fit my actual lifestyle? Sustainability, meaning will this item last and stand a few washes and wears? And finally, mixing-and-matching referring to does it fit my overall wardrobe and can it be mixed-and-matched with other items in my wardrobe?

These three key points, in my opinion, far, far outweigh the need to have a strict number of items. So, to user @kama1826, I will argue and say yes, I do create capsule wardrobes, despite the large-ish number of items.

SUMMER CAPSULE WARDROBE: INSPIRATION

// You can find all of these and more on my Pinterest //

THE (MOSTLY) SUSTAINABLE SUMMER CAPSULE WARDROBE

Shop the Post through each section below — with more picks I just couldn’t fit into one capsule wardrobe!

RIBBED LOUNGE SHIRT* & SHORTS* // TKEES (SUSTAINABLE)

DAISY PRINT LINEN LOUNGE SET // SLEEPER* (SUSTAINABLE)

BLACK SCALLOPED BIKINI TOP* & BOTTOM* // MARYSIA (SUSTAINABLE)

TAN BIKINI TOP* & BOTTOM* // SKIN (SUSTAINABLE)

WHITE BEACH COVER-UP // DILLI GREY (SUSTAINABLE)

 

DENIM JACKET // LEVI’S* (SUSTAINABLE)

CARDIGAN // NU-IN* (SUSTAINABLE & AFFORDABLE)

WHITE TEE // EVERLANE* (SUSTAINABLE)

GOLDEN PUFF-SLEEVE BLOUSE // ABLE* (SUSTAINABLE)

WHITE TIE SHIRT // REFORMATION* (SUSTAINABLE)

GINGHAM SLEEVELESS BLOUSE // GANNI* (SUSTAINABLE)

EMBROIDERED IVORY BLOUSE // DOEN* (SUSTAINABLE)

 

STRAW TOTE // BEMBIEN* (SUSTAINABLE)

SUNGLASSES // RAYBAN*

STRAW HAT // JANESSA LEONE* (PACKABLE & SUSTAINABLE)

SHOULDER BAG // POLENE (THE BEST MID-RANGE BAGS)

GOLD JEWELRY // MISSOMA EARRINGS*, BRACELET*, EDGE OF EMBER RING* (SUSTAINABLE)

 

BROWN SLIDES // TKEES* (SUSTAINABLE)

CREAM TIE SANDALS //  DEAR FRANCES*

WHITE SNEAKERS // VEJA* (SUSTAINABLE)

BLACK STRAPPY SANDALS // AEYEDE*

 

CREAM COTTON BLAZER // PEOPLE TREE* (SUSTAINABLE)

LINEN TROUSERS // ARKET* (100% LINEN)

WHITE EYELET SHORTS // PEOPLE TREE* (SUSTAINABLE)

JEAN SHORTS // AGOLDE* (SUSTAINABLE)

 

BROWN LINEN MINI DRESS // & OTHER STORIES* (100% LINEN)

CREAM SILK MAXI DRESS // INTERMIX*

BLACK TIERED DRESS // MATTEAU* (SUSTAINABLE)

GOLDEN WRAP DRESS // PEOPLE TREE* (SUSTAINABLE)

IVORY JERSEY JUMPSUIT // HUSH*

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SAVE FOR LATER

 

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