30 Pieces for 30 Days

By Cassandra Wong

Disclaimer: Photos taken without a mask were either during meals or taken off before the photo and immediately put back on. Photos without masks were taken only with close contacts around. 

Coming back to Middlebury this fall, we were instructed to pack light. As someone who has many (and I mean many) clothes, I wanted to challenge myself to using a capsule wardrobe. Capsule wardrobes are a somewhat new approach to dressing more sustainably; as Ellie Bavier explains in her climate conscious column, they are “a great way to thin out your closet from clothes you don’t absolutely love. Usually, these closets have around 30 well-made pieces that are alternated throughout seasons. Finding a color palette that works for you makes each garment wearable with the next.” They usually include a good mix of neutrals or favorite shades with some statement pieces, creating an accessible but minimal wadrobe.

For this challenge, I picked out 30 pieces already in my closet to stick to for 30 days, and did no shopping throughout the month. For my 30 pieces, I included jackets, tops, bottoms, belts, and shoes. Items that were not included were fitness clothing, undergarments, socks, jewellery and bags. Below, I’ve outlined how I kept things interesting and successfully enjoyed my 30 pieces. Scroll down to read my pros, cons, and major takeaways!

30 Pieces:

Outerwear: Black pea coat, beige overcoat, oversized faux fur coat, black blazer, checkered blazer, yellow sweatshirt, grey quarter-zip sweater

Tops: White tank top, black lace tank top, white cropped tee, black cowl neck tee, black off-the-shoulder shirt, fitted white collared shirt, oversized white collared shirt, black collared shirt

Bottoms: Blue straight-leg jeans, black skinny jeans, plaid paints, striped pants, tan trousers, pink skirt, beige sweat trousers

Dresses: Brown dress

Shoes: Black booties, White tennis shoes, Dr. Martens boots and kitten heels

Belts: White, brown and black belt

The Process:

During the 30 days, I found myself repeating outfits constantly. So, I developed different ways of switching things up. There were several methods I used to keep my outfits interesting:

1. Change your shoes: Probably the easiest way to change the style of your outfit is through your shoes. Heels and boots bring different styles to the same outfit, though it doesn’t make a drastic change, changing your shoes is an easy way to change the look of a fit.

2. Change your outwear: Another easy way to change an outfit is to change the outer layer. Changing your outerwear easily changes the whole outfit. It covers the fact that the bottom layers are the same and adds new detail to the new outfit.

3. Changing your bottoms: During this challenge, I started creating my outfit from my tops (a little controversial?) but an easy way to change an outfit is to put on a new pair of bottoms. Changing the silhouette of your bottoms can also add something new.

4. Layering: As I had to accommodate to Middlebury’s fluctuating temperatures, layering was another way I changed up the same outfit and stayed warm.

Takeaways:

Throughout these 30 days, I found that my options were surprisingly generous. There were pieces in my wardrobe that I wore once and never wore again during this time period. On the flip side, I found myself repeating outfits a lot more frequently. Although I am not one to be picky about outfit repeats, I found myself getting more creative than I usually would to rewear the same pieces by attempting to make it look slightly different. Though there wasn’t much I could do, given the limitations of the challenge, I found myself searching for fresh ways to make the same outfit look new again. 

The benefits of a capsule wardrobe are that it made my mornings stress free as I had a smaller selection of clothing to pick from. Since I picked basic and neutral pieces, I knew that most items in my closet were going to match other pieces. Thus, I could basically pull any top from my closet and match it to any bottom.  Moreover, as I mentioned, I found myself getting more creative with how I style the same outfit. A little shoe or coat shift hid the fact that I was wearing the same outfit again. An unexpected benefit of this challenge was also curating my style. While dressing for this challenge, I found myself gravitating towards similar silhouettes and types of clothing. As someone who might be trying to find or finetune their style, this challenge might help enlighten what you like wearing and what you are comfortable in. Going into this challenge, I knew that I liked collared shirts and straight legged pants, but after reflecting on all the photos, I’ve realised that I prefer looser and relaxed silhouettes that are cinched in the waist by a belt or tucking in my shirt, which was just an interesting tidbit for me. 

However, the downsides of this challenge were definitely felt. The first is a double edged sword as repeating outfits, while a great creative incentive and an obvious result of a minimalist wardrobe, became boring after a while. Secondly, in the case of special events, whether it be a party or something themed, it becomes more difficult to dress for those occasions. Since my wardrobe was constricted to 30 pieces, finding special occasion wear is trickier to achieve. So, if you are someone who has many events that require occasion wear, this way of dressing might be tricker, but not impossible, to navigate. 

Finally, pros and cons aside, I found that when I was selecting the pieces to include, I was mindful for each piece I chose. Rather than frivolously throwing clothes together, I paid special attention to each garment that I picked. Relating this to a real capsule wardrobe, I feel that this way of dressing forced me to not look for the trendiest piece to wear but rather for more classic and long-lasting pieces that would suit any occasion, pieces that were both practical and fit with my own style. I realized the value in investing in higher quality pieces that I really love, rather than giving into the draw of quantity over quality. Capsule wardrobes are an easy way to minimize waste, frivolous shopping, and practise more sustainable fashion choices.