Sewing a Capsule Wardrobe – Results

Drumroll, please!!!! After a month of sewing, twelve days of travel, and a couple of weeks of reflection, it’s finally time to share the results of the capsule wardrobe project!

To catch everyone up, two months ago, I announced that Mom and I were headed out on a once-in-a-lifetime mother-daughter trip to France in June. I decided to plan and sew my first capsule collection to add to my summer me-mades while also creating the perfect travel wardrobe for our trip.

After much deliberation, I settled on nine new garments I needed to sew before we left in mid-June. You can learn about my initial plans, including my fabric and pattern choices, in the blog post HERE. And you can see how I documented the progress in our “Sewing a Capsule Wardrobe” reel series on Instagram.

To cut to the chase, I finished all nine garments as planned! Yes, I was sewing up until the night before we left. Yes, I was way more stressed out the last week than I wanted. And, yes, I added a few more projects at the last minute—I am an overachieving sewist, after all. That said, I couldn’t be happier with the final results!

Above is a look at my complete capsule wardrobe! All but one garment was me-made (I took one pair of RTW jeans), and my total piece count was six tops, four layering pieces, four pants, and one scarf. I added four pairs of shoes, one cross-body bag, and some jewelry (not shown) to complete my travel wardrobe. *Looking for links to all the patterns and fabrics used? Find a full summary at the very bottom of this post.

For the eagle eyes following along, my last-minute additions were another simple tee in solid blue, a neutral linen blazer, and a floral scarf. I also sewed up a new pair of knit Carolyn Pajamas (not shown) in an Eiffel Tower jersey that had been in my stash for far too long. After all, if you are going to have Eiffel Tower pajamas, you SHOULD wear them in Paris, right?!

With my capsule wardrobe complete, it was time to put it to the test! First up, PACKING! I have to say, this was the fastest and easiest packing experience I’ve ever had for a long trip. All of my decisions were already made for me. The only thing I had left to select was the handful of earrings and a couple necklaces that I chose to help complete my looks. Otherwise, it was just fold and put in the suitcase—easy peasy!

Next up, WEARING! Again, easy peasy! Since I had put so much thought into how each piece went together, I just needed to decide which combination to put on each morning. I also wanted to wear each piece at least once and not repeat any looks, which helped narrow down the choices. The weather during our trip really ran the gamut. It started cool and drizzly and finished in the eighties, so I was glad I planned for layers and had loose, flowy options for the hot days! *You can click on any outfit photos for a closer look.

What worked? Overall, I was delighted with each piece and all of my looks. With ten non-travel days, I wore everything I packed at least once. My favorite look was Day 4—I love the colors, the fit, the style, everything about it. I wasn’t sure I would like the Harlow Shirt, but I fell in love and want more versions in my closet, like now! The other surprise winner was my olive Free Range Slacks. These pants went with almost everything in my suitcase, and I had to force myself not to wear them daily. I am also happy I added a linen blazer at the last minute. This was the perfect jacket for the trip, and I’m wondering why I didn’t already have one of these in my closet!

What would I change? The only thing that I needed was a hat. On the scorching days, a wide-brim hat would have been helpful, but I didn’t even think to include it. But clothing-wise, I didn’t feel like I was lacking anything. That said, could I have gotten by with less? YES! Again, with ten non-travel days, I definitely had room to duplicate more pieces. I think three tops only got worn once, so one or two of these probably could be left behind. I also brought light and dark jeans, but I could have gotten by with just one pair. Same with shoes, four pairs were great, but three would have also been sufficient.

All in all, I liked my mixture of prints and solids, of colors and neutrals, and of fitted and loose silhouettes. Everything worked really well together without being all the same color or style. When researching capsule wardrobes on Pinterest, almost all of them feature nothing but solids, and isn’t that rather boring? I like how my solid pants offered a good base, and then I changed things up with a floral, stripe, or plaid. It created a cohesive collection without being too matchy-matchy or repetitive.

As for the trip itself, Mom and I had a fantastic time! We had an amazing time discovering new parts of Paris, revisiting past favorites, and exploring more of Northern France. Highlights include museums, croissants, shopping, croissants, incredible sites…oh, and did I mention croissants? It was just the break we needed! Now that we are back, it is fun looking back through the photos and remembering everything we packed into those ten days, including choosing the perfect spot to document each outfit!

Would I do it again? While my goal for this project was to create the perfect travel wardrobe, I also needed to refresh my summer wardrobe, and I was able to accomplish both goals. It made packing and getting dressed during the trip effortless, and that alone made me a firm believer in capsule planning! I can see trying more capsule-type projects again in the future, but I want to make more use of existing me-made garments and not have to sew quite so much. That would make the process less stressful!

This experience also makes me look at my existing wardrobe and future sewing projects more intentionally. My goal with the capsule was to make sure each piece worked with at least two if not more, other pieces in the capsule. That should be true for everything in my closet! Each piece must have multiple uses, or else it needs to be reexamined—What’s missing? What would make it more versatile? Or does it need to go?

I want to do more with less, and my new capsule perfectly represents what that can look like. I barely scratched the surface of outfit options during the trip, and I can’t wait to see what other combinations I can create this summer. As an experiment, I did a bit of mixing and matching on the computer and came up with sixteen unique looks (twenty-five, if you count each pair of jeans, looks twice—light + dark). This multiples even further with the addition of the linen blazer, another pair of pants, or even a different color tee. Oh, the possibilities!

Thank you so much for joining me on my capsule wardrobe journey! It was a long process, but WOW, did it pay off in the end?! I would 100% recommend trying it yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about my process, the results, or any of the garments. I’d also love to hear if you think I should try this again for fall/winter.

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Want to recreate one of the looks for yourself? Find all of the fabric and pattern links below. Also, check out our Capsule Wardrobe shop page HERE.

Summary of Patterns & Fabrics (with links)

• Tops
  • Flowy Rayon Blouse: Closet Core’s Cielo Top + Digital Rayon Challis
  • Check Plaid Top: Tessuti’s Athena Top + M&M Check Linen
  • Floral Gauze Blouse: Atelier Jupe’s Olive Top + Floral Double Gauze
  • Stripe Button-Up: Liesl + Co.’s Classic Shirt + Stripe Cotton Blend
  • Knit Tees: Jalie’s Mimosa T-Shirt + Stripe Rib Jersey and Cotton Modal Jersey
• Layering Pieces:
  • Knit Pullover: Friday Pattern Co.’s Pogonip Pullover + SYAS French Terry
  • Floral Shirt/Jacket: Tessuti’s Harlow Shirt + Watercolor Linen Blend
  • Gauze Button-Up: Closet Core’s Jenna Shirt + Cotton Double Gauze
  • Neutral Blazer: Atelier Brunette’s Le Blazer + Stonewashed Textured Linen
• Pants:
  • Dark Wash Jeans: Ready-to-wear
  • Light Wash Jeans: Megan Nielsen’s Dawn Jeans + Washed Denim
  • Tapered-Leg Pants: Sew House Seven’s Free Range Slacks + Crinkle Cotton
  • Wide-Leg Pants: Tessuti’s Robbie Pants + Soft Washed Linen
• Other Links: Scarf (Floral Cotton Voile) and Labels (Capsule Collection)