My Ten Item Wardrobe: Spring/Summer 2019

Capsule Wardrobe Inspiration: I’m showing you my Spring/Summer Ten Item Wardrobe for 2019.

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The Ten Item Wardrobe has been a game changer for my life.

Full disclosure: I suffer from anxiety. Too many choices overwhelms me. (I can’t shop at giant grocery stores!) Before I ever heard about capsule wardrobes and Marie Kondo, I had tons of clothes. It was the classic conundrum of “a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear”. When it came time to pick out something to wear to a specific event, my anxiety would get overwhelming. My closet was full of clothing, but nothing was “just right”. Half the clothes didn’t fit me properly or suit me. Instead of blaming the clothing, I’d blame myself for not looking good in them.

The idea of getting rid of all those clothes that were just okay or that didn’t fit quite right never really occurred to me. I mean, I paid good money for them! Sure, I sometimes decluttered a few things here and there when necessary, but I never considered having a wardrobe full of only a few things I really loved and looked great in.

Then I came upon the capsule wardrobe concept. I loved the idea, but the way some people implemented it filled me with existential dread. (There are way too many online guides telling you how to build a capsule wardrobe from scratch, which costs $$$, but not very many that tell you how to do it from an existing wardrobe. That’s why I wrote one here.) I felt that I couldn’t do a capsule wardrobe with my current wardrobe. So when I read about the Ten Item Wardrobe, I felt I had found my people.

The Ten Item Wardrobe concept comes from this book, Lessons from Madame Chic, by Jennifer L. Scott. It’s an enjoyable read with lots of ways to live a mindful and chic lifestyle. The number ten comes from the number of hangers in the small wardrobe in her room in Paris, where she was expected to hang her clothes (of which she had brought two overstuffed suitcases).

Ten is a good benchmark to aim for when choosing your core items – the blouses, pants, skirts, and dresses you wear every day – but you can have less or more, depending on your lifestyle. The core items are supplemented by extras. These are garments that round out your wardrobe, such as tee shirts, cardigans, shoes, exercise clothes, camisoles, etc. The idea isn’t to choose ten beautiful core items and then have a hundred “extras”; the idea is to help you pare down your wardrobe to the garments you love the most and want to wear the most often.

Some people may find the number ten restrictive. That’s okay; you can have fifteen or twenty core items if necessary. It’s just about not having an overstuffed wardrobe. (If you want to read about how I pared down my wardrobe using the KonMari Method, click here to get started.)

I find the number ten helpful. Having too many options in my closet sometimes induces “what am I going to wear” anxiety. It’s much easier to choose something to wear for the day when I have a small selection of clothing that all fits me well, is comfortable, and I love.

This season I have twelve core items. I have more clothing in the Spring/Summer for several reasons. One, several of my garments require ironing after being washed and hung to dry, so I need extra clothes on hand while they’re in the laundry. Two, it gets very hot and humid where I live, so I cycle through clothing quickly, as it’s hard not to get sweaty after being outside for a minute.

I’m going to show you, in detail, my Ten Item Wardrobe for this spring and summer and why I love each piece. I hope this will help inspire you to curate your own capsule collection. (And if it shows you that a small wardrobe is really not for you, that’s okay too!) I will leave links for any garments you can still purchase this year, and I’m transparent about what I purchased new and what was thrifted.

My Ten Item Wardrobe: Spring/Summer 2019

Core Items:

Floral Wrap Top Dress, L.L. Bean
Polka Dot Wrap Top Dress, L.L. Bean
Green Floral Wrap Top Dress, Lands End
Blue Paisley Dress, Garnet Hill (thrifted)
Green and Black Leaf Print Dress, Garnet Hill
Khaki Linen Shorts, Garnet Hill
Navy Linen Shorts, Garnet Hill
Denim Shorts, J.Crew (thrifted)
Blue Dot Detail Linen Top, Boden
Pink Button Down Top, Target
Emerald Sleeveless Blouse, Target
Plaid Tie-Front Blouse, Target

Extras:

Pink Lightweight Sweater, Garnet Hill (thrifted)
Blue 3/4 Sleeve Sweater, Garnet Hill
White 3/4 Sleeve Cardigan
Black Bolero Cardigan
Breton Stripe Tees, Boden (similar)
Yellow Flower Print Top, Target
Floral Tee, H&M
Gray/White Print Midi Skirt, Old Navy
Sam Edelman Gigi Sandals, Nude Patent and Black
Not Pictured: black leggings for layering, camisoles, or other undergarments; clothes for working out; clothes for gardening

Note: All my clothes have to be nursing friendly. That’s why all the dresses have functional wrap tops.

Core Items

Core items are the mainstays of the Ten Item Wardrobe. They are the dresses, skirts, pants, and blouses you wear most regularly.

I have five dresses in my core items this season.

This floral dress from L.L.Bean is my absolute favorite item this year. It’s extremely comfortable, and I love the floral print. It’s also very versatile. I can dress it up or down. During the cooler weather in the early spring I layered black leggings under it and a sweater on top.

I also love this polka dot dress from L.L.Bean. The only thing I don’t like is the length; it’s a little too long. (That’s because this dress is in a regular size. The floral version is petite.)

This floral dress is from Land’s End. It sparks joy. It’s also very comfortable. I actually like to wear this dress while cleaning during the week. I feel more productive when I feel like I’m dressed up.

Next is this leaf print dress from Garnet Hill. I bought it several years ago. It has pockets! I love how comfortable it is. The only downside is that it’s a little low cut. Garnet Hill is not offering this dress this season. However, you can probably find one secondhand on Ebay, Poshmark, or ThredUp. It was the Starlet Knit Dress.

This is the same version of the dress in a blue paisley print. I was lucky to find this one secondhand on ThredUp in perfect condition. I like to wear it with dangly blue earrings, and in cooler weather it looks great with a sweater layered over it. (See the extras below.)

I have three pairs of shorts and four blouses in my core items.

First, I have two pairs of linen shorts from Garnet Hill. These shorts are wonderful! They have an elastic waist with a drawstring, which means not only are they comfortable, but they still fit even if my weight fluctuates a few pounds. The linen is very high quality. Yes, it does wrinkle, but the wrinkles are not bad, and they look nice. High quality linen always looks much nicer and less wrinkly than cheap linen.

I find the navy linen shorts go best with most of my tops. This button down top is a cotton/linen blend from Target (last year).

This plaid tie front top is also from Target (last year). It was also in my Fall Ten Item Wardrobe last year.

I’ve paired the khaki colored linen shorts with this emerald top from Target (last year). I love the color, and it’s comfortable. I can also wear it with the navy shorts.

My last pair of shorts is a pair of denim shorts from J.Crew. I bought them secondhand from ThredUp. Denim shorts are versatile and go with all my tops. However, I may not get much wear out of them this season, as they’re a bit snug right now.

I’m pairing the denim shorts with my last core item, this blue linen top from Boden (last year). It’s comfortable and made of high quality linen.

It has a cute detailing at the top that gives it interest.

Extras

The extras are all the pieces that round out the Ten Item Wardrobe. In her book Jennifer doesn’t include tee shirts in her core items, so I don’t either. I’ll show you the extra pieces I have that I wear with this season’s wardrobe. Not pictured: undergarments such as leggings and camisoles, exercise clothes, and gardening clothes.

I have two light weight sweaters from Garnet Hill that I layer over my dresses when the weather is chilly.

This pink linen/cotton sweater from Garnet Hill was a steal on ThredUp. It’s very soft and looks nice with several of my dresses. The only downside is it’s very delicate and dry clean only. (I hand wash it, but even hand washing is a bit hard on it.)

I also bought this 3/4 sleeve blue sweater from Garnet Hill to layer over my dresses. It’s light weight and great for cooler mornings.

Both of these sweaters will go with me into my fall wardrobe in a few months.

I also have a couple of cardigans that work with my current wardrobe.

This white 3/4 sleeve cardigan was a hand-me-down from my mom. It’s actually very high quality, and I get a lot of use out of it.

It has some interesting detailing that I don’t see on garments these days.

This little black bolero cardigan goes well with my darker colored sleeveless dresses.

I have two Breton stripe tees from Boden. (The light blue striped tee is not pictured here.) I bought them several years ago, but Boden sells Breton tees every year.

This cute top is from Target (last year). I put it in my extras instead of my core items because I don’t wear it as often. The material wrinkles very easily, and it starts to look messy after a few hours of wear. I’m going to wear it a few times to decide if I want to keep it.

The last tee in my extras is a floral print tee from H&M.

I also have two midi skirts from Old Navy that I bought 8 or 9 years ago. I don’t wear them often, but I still keep them in my wardrobe. Here is one of them.

The two pairs of sandals I wear in the photos are the shoes I mainly wear all summer. I also have a pair of dressier sandals and a pair of addidas sneakers.

The sandals are the Sam Edelman Gigi, and I have the nude patent and the black. They are available on Amazon. (I actually found the black ones at T.G. Maxx for a good price!)

I hope that seeing my Ten Item Wardrobe in action inspires you to try out your own capsule wardrobe! If you want to get started, check the links below in the Resources section to get Jennifer’s book (I highly recommend it!) and to see how I’ve curated my own small wardrobe. Also be sure to read my decluttering posts if you want some inspiration and advice for paring down and cleaning out your own home!

Do you have a capsule wardrobe or want to try one? Or are you a maximalist who prefers a large wardrobe? Leave a comment below!