What Capsule Wardrobe?

The other day, a friend texted me and asked me if I'd do a capsule wardrobe, as she had seen this thing all over the blogsphere and wanted to know if I was going to get in on that action.

I'll admit: I had to google it. And when I read through the concept, I had a good, long, hard laugh.

The cliff notes version of a capsule wardrobe is to get 33 items (shirts, pants, shoes, etc) and mix and match them to create outfits. You supposedly do this for every season, and it helps to prevent you from over-shopping.

See why I laughed? I got 99 problems but over-shopping aint one.

Anyway, I got to thinking: Do I even have 33 items (non-maternity, non-workout wear) in my closet?! Not for every season, I mean AT ALL? The answer was a big fat N-O. Isn't that crazy? And a lot of the stuff I did have was from my undergrad (ten years ago) to grad school (five years ago) days.

"Babe, can I have a budget to get some new clothes?!" I asked my husband desperately. "Sure, get whatever you want. As long as you look cute :)" Was my hubs text reply. Can we all just give this man a round of applause right now?

I started to shop online, but thought it was time to head out and actually try things on for once. So I packed up my little man and rolled out to my own personal hell on earth - a shopping mall. I parked by Nordstom, so logically my excursion began there. Except... Their stuff was not my style, although I know it's super stylish. I saw some Calvin Klein dresses that were fantastic, but let's get serious, I'm not going anywhere that would require me to be that fancy. "Welp, I tried to veer from the norm and it was a big ol FAIL!" I thought as I headed right on over to my main squeeze, J Crew.

Cardigan and jeans: J Crew; shoes: Vera Wang; watch: Michael Kors; necklace: Mark & Graham

You know what's lovely about my Crew? They have a stylist in-store to work with you. I told her I wanted some new jeans for what will hopefully, eventually be fall here in the hottest state on earth Texas. Boyfriend jeans were everywhere, so she grabbed me no fewer than 20 pairs to try on. Now, I'm a tall, slender person. But I particularly have NO thighs. So these curvy cut pants just looked absolutely d-u-m-b on me. Until I tried these (couldn't find online, similar here). I spent a small fortune on them, but ohmygosh are they broken in and comfy!

Jeans: J Crew Point Sur denim; shirt: J Crew; shoes: BCBG; necklace: street vendor in New Orleans. Yup.

They're still a boyfriend shape, but a more slender cut so I don't look completely homeless. I picked up a few tissue t-shirts, since they're my fav and so wearable for a SAHM. I also found a cardigan for the three months a year it is sweater weather here. Then I decided to get some pants that were more my typical style, and was pleased as punch when these had a decent inseam length for the beanpoles I call legs.

Jeans: J Crew Point Sur denim; shirt: J Crew; heels: Guess; scarf: another drunk purchase off a street vendor in NOLA. I mean, you can walk around with cocktails in that city, how am I supposed to remember where I made purchases?!

I'm still trying to figure out how to best style the boyfriend jeans. Since they're baggier, I think they need a fitted top and girly accessories. I have styling the dark matchstick jeans down, since most of my clothes are longer cardigans that will go great with it. With these new additions to my wardrobe, I don't feel as dated or frumpy and you'll be happy to hear (you know, if you care at all, and it's totally cool if you don't) that I now indeed own 33 items in my closet. The best part for me though? The part that made this whole mall experience well worth it? I was buying my pre-pregnancy size. Hell. Yes.

Do you wear boyfriend jeans? If so, how do you style them? What about this capsule wardrobe concept - will you be participating in it for the upcoming fall/winter seasons? Tell me all about it!