capsule wardrobe: autumn edition

It's an undeniable fact: when you become a mom, your style just changes.  While I'd love to say that I still put on heels every day, lay out outfits the night before, and wear everything from strapless dresses to harem pants that would be a total lie.  I've pretty much resorted to uniform dressing, and that's been the most successful way for me to get out of the house looking decent most days.  

When I heard about this capsule wardrobe concept, it immediately appealed to me.  I'm still a size away from my pre-pregnancy size and not very motivated to spend much money on clothes, so following a guide that involves me downsizing my closet rather than adding to it sounded like a great solution.  I'm also currently sharing a closet with Claire in a one bedroom apartment, so having a wardrobe that takes up less SPACE was also a factor.  Coats take up SO MUCH ROOM.  

Here is the basic premise: you take your wardrobe down to 37 pieces.  That's it.  

You don't count accessories like scarves, tights, jewelry, or sunglasses, but shoes & handbags count!  Workout clothes also aren't part of the picture.  I'm still on the fence about coats & jackets - living in the midwest, we have some serious winters & a lot of variation in temperature.  The girl who came up with this concept lives in Austin, Texas so I think there's some wiggle room there.  

I started by thinking about what I do in my day to day life - do I get dressed up very often?  

No.  Maybe once a month for a wedding or event, so I only really need one party dress and fancy pair of shoes (still debating whether Fashion Week will play a part in this section.  I think borrowing clothes from friends for events is fair game.)    

Do my clothes need to have a certain function?  

Yes, they need to be mostly nursing friendly.  

What colors do I want to stick to?  

I'm mostly focused on grey, cream, black, and cognac for fall, with accents of burgundy, green & navy.  

Next week I'll be sharing each and every piece I selected, and from then on outfit posts will become a sort of challenge as to how far I can stretch 37 pieces!  I'm hoping this project will be a liberating exercise in minimalism.  The photos in this post are from my collection of inspiration for this fall's capsule from Pinterest, which you can see in it's entirety here.  I know, you're shocked by the inclusion of jeans, flat sneakers, leather jackets, and stripes.  We're not reinventing the wheel here, this is about creating something that works perfectly every day.  

I'd love it if you wanted to take on this challenge with me.  Let's make this the fall of organized and streamlined closets.  Let's get dressed in the morning with a minimum of fuss and STILL look awesome.  If you want to share your outfits with me on Instagram or Twitter, you can hashtag them with #lshdcapsule.  I would LOVE to see what you come up with.  

Also, here are a few other bloggers doing capsule wardrobe series' this fall, Hey Natalie Jean & Kate from The Small Things blog with a maternity version!