i thought i knew a lot about men’s fashion, but the capsule wardrobe proved me wrong.

a few years ago i made the decision to dress better and took a deep dive into the world of color matching, layering, and pin rolling. i learned a lot and improved quickly, but after some time i became overwhelmed. i was acquiring too much clothing and i never felt like i had a cohesive style.

that’s when i found out about capsule wardrobes.

the capsule wardrobe (also called the basic, or minimalist wardrobe) is essentially a small wardrobe of extremely versatile basics. it’s like having an emergency kit of clothing basics that look great, last forever, and never go out of style — except without the emergency. the idea is that it makes you choose your clothes deliberately, spend less on clothes you’ll never wear, and makes the process of getting dressed in the morning that much easier.

so i decided to create my own capsule wardrobe, but not just any capsule wardrobe — the ultimate, minimalist, men’s capsule wardrobe. i started with what some call the “10x10 challenge.” essentially you have to create 10 unique outfits using only 10 articles of clothing. while this exercise might seem extreme, it’s perfect for learning how to create an expansive wardrobe out of simple outfits.

i started by defining the crucial basics i would need (excluding socks, underwear, undershirts, etc.) and how many of each i would need. here’s what i came up with. (note: this is for a mildly cold climate. this would probably need to be adjusted for colder weather.)

5 shirts (button down/t-shirt)

1 pants

2 shoes

1 layers (sweater, hoodies, etc.)

1 jackets/coats

i decided i wanted to have one cohesive style, so i made my first capsule a streetwear-inspired capsule. while many feel that it’s difficult to break into streetwear (mostly due to complex pieces and an overwhelming amount of brands) it’s actually a great place to start with a capsule wardrobe because generally the colors are monochromatic and neutral, making them easy to match.

finally, here’s my lived-in 10x10 streetwear capsule wardrobe:

quilted jacket (j crew), black hoodie (old navy), button down (banana republic), basic crew neck t-shirts (triptych), slim chino pants (triptych), baseline (adidas), converse.

so i would say it was a success — i had created my first capsule wardrobe. these ten pieces comprised around 30% of all the clothes in my closet and i could make them last longer than i could when i wore 80% of the clothes in my closet. i started to get an itch to purge my wardrobe…

but i realized that if i wanted a truly versatile capsule i would need to expand to other styles…

[read part II here: https://medium.com/@triptych.capsules/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-capsule-wardrobe-part-ii-d586d277f3f4#.vji0k07ew]