Yesterday (Wednesday) marked the first day of my 30X30 winter capsule wardrobe, and I went for an unsurprisingly predictable combination. A chunky knit sweater, slim fitting jeans, and some tidy looking shoes to dress it up a little.
Wearing Madewell t-shirt (not visible); Sheep Inc medium sweater; Zara jeans (old but similar here); Vaneli two tone pumps (also here); IRO coat (old but similar option here and I also like this one); Cuyana tote bag
I’m not sure whether I alluded to this previously, but we’re currently in the throes of battling through our baby boy’s four month sleep progression. I’m lucky if I can get 45 minutes of sleep in at a time – most night’s there’ll usually be a stretch where I’m wide awake with thoughts running through my head. I keep joking my brain feels like mashed potato, and that it’s any wonder I’m still able to string together a sentence, as we’re now nearing the end of our third week on little sleep. Or maybe it’s the fourth week?
It’s one of the many catalysts that drove this desire for a capsule wardrobe, and effortless, uniform dressing. So it’s little wonder that on my first day back on the capsule wardrobe method, I’d go for something familiar.
The unsung style staple of this look is the t-shirt I’m wearing underneath – not visible in the photos above. I’ve been heading out for a lot of walks, clocking in a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. The second I get back in the door, I’ve found myself stripping back my top layers to lounge around in my tee, to cool down a little. For day one, I opted for a recent addition from Madewell. I’ve worn this a few times already, and can concur that it is super soft and comes with that washed, lived in feeling.
You’ll also notice that my Cuyana leather tote is back out on rotation. Since treating myself to a Neverfull as a “baby” bag, I hadn’t found much reason to switch up my totes. The chocolate brown check print seems to look good with everything in my wardrobe. But as I’ve been using the pram a lot more – particularly to nip down to the shops to buy essentials – and thought I might benefit from having a bag which is a little more malleable and has a less structured design. Safe to say, I’m loving reaching for this again, and have been reminded why it’s been such a favourite of mine over the years.
So that’s it for my day one outfit. Will check in tomorrow with what I wore on day two! x
Aha! A T shirt underneath! I clicked on this post after watching the 10 by 10 youtube video you recently posted. I loved all the outfits (so so chic) and like the style of dressing you do but found myself thinking that if I wore all those jumpers I’d be sweating away as I live in Auckland! Knowing that you live in Sydney it really made me wonder how you did it. I love a good jumper myself but most days it comes off by 10:00 am and I have a long sleeved thin top underneath. But then my dilemma is that if I am at work that day most people only get to see what’s under my jumper – so really what’s underneath is my main outfit! My other option is to wear a very thin long sleeved merino or cashmere top all day with a blazer or decorative jacket of some description. Last year I wore shirts under my blazers but I’m tired of them this year and have been opting for a more minimalistic (less businessy) blazer look. I’m not into cardigans as they make me feel Mumsy! (I turn 60 soon – shock horror- not looking Mumsy is a big focus at my age!)
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Hahaha! Our house is really draughty so I actually find I do wear my knits all day long as I’m freezing otherwise. I also wear them on my walks and only take off my knit if I’ve been walking over an hour and starting to feel a bit warm. I joke that I’m like a lizard to my husband – my hands are always ice cold! XD I’ve certainly acclimatised though which I think plays a part in how many layers I would wear. But when I worked at Discovery, I’d usually have some sort of smart top underneath my knit or a tidy looking t-shirt in case it got too warm. Generally alternating between wearing and not wearing my sweater all day depending on how warm it felt in the office.
My stepmum turned 60 in December, and she tends to often wear a really beautiful red waterfall cardigan on the weekends with some black trousers which looks smart and not at all something I’d associate with being older (if that makes any sense – she’s in a senior role at work so wears pant suits to the office from what she’s told me). I love the lightweight knit underneath a blazer – it looks smart and you still have a chic outfit even if you have to take the blazer off. One thing I’ve been trying to find of late are some nice blouses which work for layering – something that isn’t silk (or is a washable silk). So much easier said than done!
Thanks for your reply! I can relate to the cold hands. I had cold hands for the whole time I lived in the Hutt Valley. (Even wearing layers) Although I am often nostalgic for Wellington, my home area for many years, I much prefer the warmth of Auckland. Now when I visit my mum’s home I can see that our house growing up was like yours, draughty!
Do you prefer the structured or unstructured Cuyana tote? I think you have both right? What about the organizer? Any thoughts on that?
Thank you so much.