The Ultimate Work Capsule Wardrobe Guide for Women

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This is the ultimate work capsule wardrobe guide for women, this post has been carefully crafted to help professional women in all stages of their career build a work wardrobe they love to wear. In doing so, you will spend less time frustrated, and develop a keen eye for your own personal style.

But first, make sure to grab your FREE Downloadable Work Capsule Wardrobe Checklist to take you from beginning to end of your capsule wardrobe journey.

Work Capsule Wardrobe Guide

In this guide you’ll find: 

• Understanding what a capsule wardrobe is
• How a capsule wardrobe works, and yes they do work!
• What items you need to create a work capsule wardrobe
• Budget details
• The work capsule wardrobe formula that has worked for me over and over again
• Key things to consider when building your work capsule wardrobe such as colour and pattern
• Where to shop for the best quality and most affordable business casual workwear
• A simple work capsule wardrobe checklist so you don’t forget to save it as a guide

What is a Capsule Wardrobe and What Does it Mean?

A capsule wardrobe is a collection of items in your closet that work together to create a variety of different outfits. The point is to have less pieces but more versatility, this decreases decision fatigue and allows you to easily put an outfit together.

What is A Work Capsule Wardrobe?

A work capsule wardrobe is essentially the above but edited to include only workwear. If you have a business casual dress code policy you’ll need a select number of pieces in your wardrobe for work, these pieces are typically not worn on weekends or at home but can be interchanged daily throughout your work week. 

Having a separate work capsule wardrobe means you’ll feel a divide between work and your personal life, your pieces will last longer because they’re not worn during times of play, and each carefully selected item sets you apart from everyone else giving you your own personal brand among your colleagues.   

Does a Capsule Wardrobe Work? 

A capsule wardrobe works and has worked for so many people with different lifestyles, but you should stick to a set of principles to help guide you, such as:

Remember to shop intentionally

Don’t just buy something for the sake of it. You want to limit emotional and impulse purchases otherwise your capsule will continue to grow and become a hot mess. Think about whether or not each piece you buy fits into your existing wardrobe, how versatile it is, how often you will wear it, and brainstorm 5 outfits you can pair it with using items you already have. 

They take time and many edits

Creating a capsule wardrobe will not happen overnight, it hasn’t yet for anyone and it won’t in the future. Take your time, make edits as you see fit, and have grace with yourself. Maybe you’ll realize a few pieces don’t actually work and you end up taking them out, or maybe you find gaps every so often and they need to be filled. There’s no set number of items that deems this method right or wrong so be sure to not beat yourself up. 

RELATED: 10 Things to Know Before Minimizing Your Wardrobe

Forget numbers

Firstly, there is no set number of items. Forget everything you’ve read about putting a set number on this because that only adds unnecessary stress, and you’ll begin doubting yourself. With that said, be realistic please. If you’re at 100 items something says you’ve drifted away from your wardrobe being a capsule wardrobe and now it’s just a wardrobe. You know it, I know it, so carry your utmost common sense with you while doing this and stay within a realistic number of items.  

They can feel repetitive and boring

Not to deter you, but this is something that needs to be brought up because it’s absolutely valid. This is one reason why I prefer creating seasonal and lifestyle capsule wardrobes, doing so helps crush any repetitive and boring feelings because every 4 or so months you rotate your pieces. 

For example, if you have a corporate job you’ll likely need a wardrobe to match, if your work is business casual you’ll need a wardrobe to match, and if you like lounging all weekend you guessed it, you’ll need a wardrobe to match. So in the end you might think, okay well that sounds like i’ll need MORE things. Not necessarily, items can be multi-functional and by getting a little creative you can come up with many different outfits with a small number of pieces- we’ll get into that a little bit later. 

Lastly, this is ANOTHER reason why shopping intentionally and making edits is so important, after a while you will be left with pieces that make you so excited you won’t get bored. Unless you love trends and wear an entire new outfit every single day, this method is not for you.  

With those key questions in mind lets get into it.

Here’s everything you need to know about creating and maintaining the best work capsule wardrobe for you.

What Items You Need to Create a Work Capsule Wardrobe

Dress code policy

The items you’ll need depend on your work’s dress code policy. This guide is aimed at a business casual dress code policy as that seems to be the most common dress code policy as of late, but to be honest a lot of business casual pieces can be dressed up very easily. Take blazers for example, you can easily pair them with denim for a casual look or throw on a pair of tailored trousers for a business casual and/or professional outfit.    

breaking it down

In terms of numbers for a work capsule wardrobe I like to stick between 5-10 tops that can be rotated bi-weekly. You can stick with 5 but I find 5-10 leaves more room for excitement, and less a feeling of repetitiveness. In addition, in the colder months you’ll need more layers so 10 tops gives room for that. 

When it comes to pants I find less options better, if you have a great pair of black trousers those can go a long way and they’re something you’ll never tire of. I like to stick to 5 items for pants. 

Don’t count shoes and accessories

IN TOTAL: Tops (5-10) Pants (5) = 15 items in your work capsule wardrobe   

15 items leaves wiggle room for seasonality, and prevents boredom since you can rotate bi-weekly. This number seems higher to you than some other guides you’ve read. It’s kind of meant to- this guide is realistic and meant to be sustainable. 15 items is not a lot in comparison to what the average American’s closet holds.

According to a 2019 article in the Wall Street Journal,

“American shoppers snap up about five times more clothing now than they did in 1980. In 2018, that averaged 68 garments a year, the online firm Rent the Runway told the New Yorker. As a whole, the world’s citizens acquire some 80 billion apparel items annually. And on average—average—each piece will be worn seven times before getting tossed”.  

So with that in mind, 15 items for a work capsule wardrobe doesn’t seem so big, does it? If you think that’s an incredibly small number you can adjust according to your lifestyle, but remember to stay realistic- eventually if the numbers continue to increase you have yourself a regular wardrobe.  

Basics

T Shirts both long and short sleeved, tank tops, bodysuits.  

Tops

Blouses, cardigans, sweaters, camis.   

Jackets

Blazer, cropped jacket, leather jacket, tweed jacket,

Pants

Trousers, denim, paper bag pants, culottes, leather leggings.

Skirts and dresses

Maxi skirts, pencil skirts, dresses.

Shoes

Flats, loafers, pumps, ankle boot, riding boot, 

How much Should You Spend on a Work Capsule Wardrobe?

Let’s face it, capsule wardrobes are a privilege. Who has the budget for separate wardrobes? Well, it’s more of a method than anything and I’ve broken down three income brackets depending on where you are in your life to help guide you. When I first left University for example I had a low income and a lot of debt, my budget couldn’t really go towards workwear but I needed it once I landed my first office job. Second hand stores were my saviors and I still wear my selections. 

Higher Income

If you have a higher income you might have less items but they each cost more, 

Average income

If you have a lower budget I have linked a few mid-range brands that offer really great workwear options, at reasonable prices. 

Lower income

If you have a lower budget bracket or simply don’t have a budget at all, consider second hand stores, I’ve found some of my favourite work trousers for under $10 from a second hand store and the quality is great! Absolutely nothing wrong with second hand shopping.     

How to Build a Work Capsule Wardrobe

Steps to build your own capsule wardrobe for work

1. Go through your closet and take out any pieces that are business casual, that you could wear for work and don’t particularly want to wear for play. The idea here is to separate your work wardrobe from your everyday wardrobe.
2. Think about your work dress code policy and the climate you live in. Do you live in a warmer climate and need less jackets? Do you need more jackets because you live in a cold climate? Are you someone who needs everything because you live somewhere that can’t make up its mind? Are dresses not your style? That’s okay just omit them, this gives you room in other categories. 
3. Look for a colour theme. It’s easy to just throw in whatever you want but looking for a colour palette that works together is the key to versatility and longevity.
4. Now that you have everything laid out it’s time to niche down and get more specific- think about that formula in the breakdown section of this article. How many of each category do you want? Write those numbers down to help narrow down your options.

This could look something like this:

Start with a neutral colour palette

Choose your favourite pattern to add as a statement piece

Breaking Down Your Work Capsule Wardrobe By Categories

Tops

8 tops

• 3 basics (1 tee, 1 long sleeved tee, 1 tank top)
• 2 jackets ( 1 cropped tweed jacket, 1 blazer) 
• 3 tops ( 2 blouses, 1 cardigan) 

Bottoms

4 bottoms

• 1 pair of medium wash denim
• 2 pairs of tapered trousers
• 1 pair of leather leggings

Dresses and skirts

• 2 dresses

Total: 14 pieces for your work capsule wardrobe that can be interchanged to make several outfits and all within a similar colour palette.

I personally prefer a warmer neutral colour palette so I will go with creams, browns, white, black, and a medium wash denim.  

5. Brainstorm outfit ideas for two weeks using this formula we just created, pair the tank top with the blazer and leather leggings, then with denim, then with trousers (that’s 3 outfits with just 5 items from the capsule) after two weeks are there areas that need to be edited?
6. Fill in any gaps you’ve found over the last two weeks to make the formula work better for you. For example, do you wish you added more blouses and less basics? Do you need more sweaters for a cold office? Did you realize you never wear cardigans? All of this can be edited as you go until you’ve figured out your ideal capsule. A bonus to this is you actually learn what your style is, and what works and doesn’t work for you and your lifestyle.

Additionally

In the long run this helps while shopping because you know what you don’t need, what you won’t wear, and what you tend to wear the most. If there aren’t any gaps then that’s amazing- congrats and please teach us your ways! 

7. Tweak and edit. Remember, your choices can always be tweaked and edited as time goes on but keep it realistic. For example, I really love blazers so I might take out the cropped tweed jacket and add another blazer, or keep the tweed jacket add another blazer and have 3 jackets and 15 pieces in total.

I’m still honouring my overall 15 piece work capsule wardrobe number goal, but yours can be a bit higher if that’s what works best for your lifestyle. 

Best Work Capsule Wardrobe Pieces

To help you narrow down the many categories of business casual workwear I’ve put together a list of the most popular work wardrobe pieces across the board. 

• Blazers
• Blouses
• Sweaters
• Skirts
• Jean jacket 

These pieces tend to be worn the most in office settings, fit into most dress code policies, and be the standard when starting out in a business casual environment. If you have no idea where to start, start here and use this list as a guide. From here you can edit and figure out what you like and don’t like. For example, I never wear skirts. 

Things to Consider When Building Your Work Capsule Wardrobe

What do you want from this method

Touching on your why, why are you creating a capsule wardrobe in the first place? What do you want to get out of it? Write this down or put it somewhere in your phone so when things get difficult you can go back to your why and remember the reason and overall goal for doing one in the first place.

For example:

• Do you want to save more money?
• Do you want more time in the morning for other things and spend less time getting dressed?
• Are you working towards becoming a minimalist?
• Do you shop a lot and are you trying to break the habit and own less?
• Are you just curious to see what all the fuss is about capsule wardrobes?

Whatever it is write it down, your why is a very powerful tool and can help you during times of uncertainty. 

RELATED: Why I Started Building Capsule Wardrobes

Your lifestyle

Does a small wardrobe fit into your lifestyle? If you’re someone who doesn’t want to ever get rid of anything, or do any type of edits to your existing wardrobe than this may not be the method for you.

Seasons

If you live in an area with different climates perhaps a seasonal capsule wardrobe works best for you. Living in Canada that method works best for me as winter is a larger part of the year, so just think about what works seasonally and don’t get hung up on creating one capsule wardrobe for the entire year- practicality is also a big factor in all this.  

Colours and patterns

Having a bright, loud wardrobe might work for some, but I find having all colours of the rainbow makes it harder to mix and match outfit formulas because some colours don’t pair well with other colours.

The same can be said for patterns, I do love having a statement patterned piece here and there, but I still tend to keep within the same colour palette. For example, I love stripes so I will add a tee or sweater in my capsule with stripes, but the colour will be cream and black and fit into the capsule seamlessly.  

How often your pieces need to be washed

Depending on the type of clothing you have you might need more of one category to avoid ruining your pieces in the wash. If you wear a lot of basics for example it might be more difficult to limit your capsule wardrobe items since things like tees need to be washed more frequently. 

Do you love the piece

This goes back to my point at the beginning of this article, be intention. Don’t just shop for the sake of it, limit impulse and emotional purchases and think about your why in doing this all in the first place. If you love an item and it coincides with your why for starting a work capsule wardrobe then add it, if it doesn’t or you’re unclear leave it behind. What ends up happening is you will begin to add items that provide no value and your wardrobe will become overflowing, leaving you back at square one and thinking this capsule wardrobe thing doesn’t work. 

Do an audit

At the end of each month do a quick audit of your capsule, how many pieces did you add? How many did you take out? What did you wear the most of and what did you wear the least? Count your items and see if you’re still under your goal number. If you are, great. If not, do some editing. Audits are key and essential in keeping your work capsule wardrobe successful, and something you enjoy doing. 

Where to Shop When Building Your Work Capsule Wardrobe

When it comes to shopping for business casual pieces it can get overwhelming with all of the choices out there, some being way too professional for you and totally not your style. I’ve written down a list of the best places to shop for business casual workwear that’s mid-rage in price so you can afford it while not compromising on quality. 

H&M

H&M has a department within it called Modern Classic. It’s aimed at business casual and somewhat professional or smart workwear and is a great place to start for affordable yet well made business casual pieces. I have many pieces from H&M and a lot of my favourites for work are from their Modern Classic line.

When you go into the store there’s no way of knowing what section it is since they don’t advertise it, but you can pretty much tell which section is dressier, if you’re unsure you can just ask someone working there or check the label on the garment. Modern Classic has a silver label on the inside. When shopping online you can just select women> shop by occasion> office wear. Aside from Modern Classic their whole range of clothing can be business casual, this store is the best place to start since it’s smart styles are always classic and work appropriate. 

Uniqlo 

Uniqlo is another wardrobe essentials brand offering women a ton of basics in solid minimalist colours and simple patterns, the quality is on par with H&M at similar price points. They pride themselves at engineering pieces for your everyday life meaning their clothing is durable and multipurpose. So you can wear them to work all day, and then transition the outfit for a work event.

Everlane

Aimed at sustainability Everlane has a lot of great quality basics that are really affordable. These will last you forever and are perfect basics for layering. I love their turtlenecks and medium wash denim. Their pieces are always so well put together and stylish without being too weekend vibes. They pride themselves on creating modern essentials for women and if ethical manufacturing is a value of yours they claim radical transparency in everything they do. Plus the Everlane community online is pretty great and you can find a lot of outfit inspiration from customers on their social channels.  

Work Capsule Wardrobe Checklist

Download your FREE Work Capsule Wardrobe Checklist which is a summary of everything in this article to refer back to or click the image below to download.