I'll never forget watching my mom work the aisles at The Gap during a back-to-school shopping trip. I was around twelve years old (too old for the kids' section, not quite a teenager) and we'd been struggling because I had grown out of everything and needed to start from scratch. She just started pulling things: two tops, a shirt, two bottoms, a belt, a jacket, a sweater, all in the same color scheme. She explained that you could mix and match these pieces into a dozen different looks. I stood there genuinely stunned. That was the first time I understood that fashion wasn't about individual items. It was about how things worked together.
Decades later, I still think about that afternoon, because a lot of us (myself included) spent our twenties and thirties doing the opposite...buying one cute top for a specific night out, a trendy pair of shoes that were about to go out of style, pieces that looked great in the moment but were slated to fail next season.
The capsule wardrobe is the answer to that. But it shouldn't be rigid system or a minimalist manifesto, rather the idea that a small number of pieces that genuinely work together will serve you better than a large number of pieces that don't.
Start with what you love
Here's where most capsule wardrobe advice gets it backwards.
The typical version tells you to strip everything out, start from a blank slate, and build up from a prescribed list of basics. And if that works for you, great. But for a lot of people (especially those of us who have spent years collecting pieces that actually mean something) this approach can create anxiety.
Now you're supposed to get rid of the scarf you found at an antique market? The bag from the independent maker you've followed for years? The earrings that belonged to someone you love? No thank you. Those pieces aren't the problem. Those pieces are the whole point.
A wardrobe works when is SAYS something about the wearer. The special pieces... the colorful pieces, the inherited pieces, the ones that you reach for constantly they say something about YOU are the pieces that need to stay.
The job of the rest of your wardrobe is to let those pieces speak.
The coat as the grounding piece
For a winter wardrobe, a great coat is the piece that lets everything settle into place. A great coat should not only speak to your personality, but leave space for the rest of your wardrobe to shine.
Let's be honest, a coat goes on last. Most of us consider our wardrobe first and then toss on a coat as we are going put the door. The coat's job is to protect us from the weather, not to create an "outfit."
As coat designer, I try NOT to design coats that a whole wardrobe needs to be built around... but rather one that can top off the wardrobe as you are flying out the door. One that serves as a grounding piece.
If the coat works, it quietly pulls the whole outfit together. The colorful scarf, the vintage sweater, the statement earrings: all of these read more intentional when there's something grounding it.
This is why the coat matters more than any other single piece in a winter wardrobe. It's the one thing you put on every day, over everything.
A poorly made coat that doesn't quite fit will undermine all of the work that you just spent on your outfit.
A well-made coat that fits correctly will elevate it.
Ok, but what color?
Once you're thinking about the coat as the grounding piece, color becomes a practical question rather than a trendy one. You're not picking a coat that matches everything, you're picking a neutral that works with your actual wardrobe and the pieces you already love.
For most people, that's either camel, black, or navy.
Camel reads warm. It makes jeans look intentional and sits beautifully alongside other warm neutrals and rich textures. If your wardrobe already leans warm...creams, browns, rust, olive — camel will feel like it was made for it.
Black is the most versatile. Black can disappears into an outfit rather than leading it. If you wear a lot of color, or need something that works across occasions, black gives you the most flexibility.Â
Navy is a middle ground. Navy is classic color that (similar to black) goes great with color. Yet, navy can also feel casual when you need it to. Navy can also be kinder on more skin tones than black, so I would never rule it out.
What makes the coat worth keeping
A capsule wardrobe works when the piece earn a place in it over years, not seasons. For a coat, that means quality matters more here than anywhere else in your wardrobe.
A coat takes more abuse than anything else you own. It goes on every day, brushes up against the world at large, and tackles the elements. A poorly made coat will show wear within one season. A well-made one will get better with age. The wool softens, the fit becomes familiar, and it starts to feel like something that belongs to you specifically.
What to look for
A high wool content (80% or above) is the first indicator of a quality coat. Clean construction at the seams, a lining and shoulder that fits well should also be a priority.
The math on a capsule wardrobe is different from the math on fast fashion. You're not buying ten cheap things every season. You're buying a handful of good things and wearing them for years.
A wool coat at $1090 worn over twenty years costs $54.50 a year. A coat that needs replacing every eighteen months costs more in the end, looks worse the whole time, and ends up in a landfill quicker.
A capsule wardrobe isn't about having less...it's about being more deliberate about what you bring in. Start with the pieces that already matter to you and find a coat that holds them together.Â
Where to start
The coat I'd point you toward depends on what's already in your wardrobe. If you want to talk through it, I'm at liz@coatcheckchicago.com. I've been making coats for over a decade and I'd rather you get the right one than just any one.
— Liz
