Fall 10 Item Wardrobe Review: How Did I Do?

In the fall I showed you all my Ten Item Wardrobe. As a refresher, the Ten Item Wardrobe means having ten core items, such as blouses, pants, skirts, and dresses that are the clothes you wear every day, and a few extras, things that round out your wardrobe, such as tee shirts, cardigans, and shoes.

I wanted to show you my Ten Item Wardrobe to show that a small wardrobe can be done. You can dress well and present yourself beautifully without a closet crammed with clothes. In fact, it’s easier to look great when you’re choosing from a smaller curated collection!

I my wardrobe small to make it easier to pick out my clothes. It also helps me to live more sustainably, because I purchase less clothing when I keep my wardrobe small, and a lot of the clothes I do purchase are secondhand.

So was my carefully planned capsule wardrobe successful? Here’s the update!

Fall Ten Item Wardrobe: How did I do?

I planned my core items around the temperatures we usually have in Fall: 70’s, 60’s, 50 degrees F. I kept some tees and a short sleeved dress for warmer temperatures, and had long sleeved tees and 3/4 sleeved shirts for the middle temperatures. For when the weather got cooler, I included some lighter weight sweaters in my extras.

Unfortunately, the weather here did not cooperate. We went from Indian Summer to Winter in the span of a week. When I published my Fall Wardrobe post, I was actually still wearing my summer wardrobe because it was 80 degrees. Then, the weather dropped about thirty degrees in the span of a few days. I went from wearing shorts and short sleeved tees to sweaters, pants, and boots.

And the weather stayed cold! For the entire Fall, we barely had any of that blissful 70 degree weather. I didn’t get much wear out of the two summer tops I included, and my short sleeved dress and flowy floral print shirt got worn exactly one time each.

I also didn’t wear the two button down shirts I included much. As much as I like those shirts, I found myself not reaching for them. As Marie Kondo would say, the shirts were teaching me that I don’t like to wear that kind of shirt. (Honestly, I’ve discovered that I don’t like nursing in button down shirts, and I don’t like having to unbutton and roll up the sleeves to wash dishes.)

What else didn’t work out? My red heattech leggings-pants. I wore them a lot last year, because they were the only pants I had that fit, but I realized I don’t like the way they are cut in the waist. I find myself choosing any other pants over them, and I think I wore them exactly once.

So, what did I actually wear? Almost half of my ten item wardrobe was out of commission due to being inappropriate for the weather.

My gray Madewell sweater and green Uniqlo leggings-pants have been the stars of my wardrobe this past season. I’ve worn them so many times, and I love them. They were both second hand finds from ThredUp, too!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my navy maxi dress by Annabelle, and I’ve worn that quite a bit too, mostly with leggings and a cardigan.

My lovely blue and white print tunic from Boden is also a favorite, but the weather has not been warm enough for me to wear it much.

I also wore my long sleeved Breton striped shirts from my extras quite a bit on the warmer days. I will have to elevate them to core items for the Spring!

What footwear did I wear? Because it was cold so often, I didn’t get much wear out of my ballet flats. I opted for my warmer and more comfortable Addidas running shoes. I’ve worn my Timberland riding boots and fake Uggs from Costco quite a bit, and I wear my black ankle boots by Blondo when I need something a little dressier.

Did I wear anything that was not included in the original Ten Item Wardrobe? Yes, I had to, because the Fall was so cold. I had to pull some of my winter sweaters out of storage far earlier than I had anticipated I would. I think it’s fine to keep some extra seasonal clothes around as unofficial extras to pull out in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. As I mentioned before, summer seemed to last an eternity here. The weather was in the 80’s through the first half of October, so I had to continue wearing my summer wardrobe.

So there it is. My Fall Ten Item Wardrobe was only moderately successful, since the weather ended up being nothing at all like I’d planned. Not all experiments are successful, however I still plan to keep a small capsule wardrobe in the future. I just may need to include more pieces during the transition seasons.

I hope you found this post helpful and are inspired to try your own capsule wardrobe. Do you have trouble planning and dressing for the in-between seasons too? Do you have a capsule wardrobe or plan to try one? Leave a comment below!

(For any links to any of the items featured in this post, check out my Ten Item Wardrobe, Fall 2018 post here!)