Capsule wardrobes saving time and space
Marnie Millner How old are you?
4 on my birthday. I’m having a mermaid birthday with an elephant cake. We need to go to the mermaid shops where you get the balloons. All of my friends are going to come and they’re going to have presents. Mermaids have tails and they swish and they sit on the rocks. They have dads. There are dad mermaids.
How old is a grown up? Do you have any pets?
It’s just 14
Wally and Ernie, they’re dogs, when I put on the tutu when I go out, Wally bites them Maddy because I love her
Play dough, drawing,
Best friend? What are you really good at?
stamps
What makes you happy? What makes you sad?
Marnie says ‘get off’
Best thing about being a kid? Being a best friend Hardest thing about being a kid? Best friends Favourite food? There’s lots of food I love, a cookie
with smarties on top, a milkshake at a cafe on holiday, I’m going to Noosa one year
What would be your best day ever?
eclairs on the beach
If you were invisible for one day what would you do? I’d be like a sparkly thing that disappears What would you like to be when you grow up?
love to be an adult – I’d do some texting
How do you know when you’re in love?
have music. Painting
When I’m on the bike and Having chocolate I’d You have to REALISING that she had more than 300 items in her wardrobe, businesswoman Natalie Bramble-dunkley decided that her fashion habits needed to change.
She heard about capsule wardrobes and started adopting the approach with great success two and a half years ago.
“A capsule wardrobe is about selecting clothing pieces and having a limited use of clothes and a maximum number of outfits,” she explained.
“For some people, it’s economically driven because its more affordable. For some, it’s a space issue.
“It’s used a lot in Europe where space is at a limit.”
Natalie’s reasoning was largely based on space and the confusion that her wardrobe created.
“It was because of my limited wardrobe space. I have one bedroom full of clothes. My husband and I call it my dressing room.
“That’s part of the reason why I started doing capsule wardrobes – I just had so many clothes and nothing to wear!
“We also buy emotionally, that was one of the things I did,” she told
Until she started capsule wardrobing, Natalie purchased clothes spontaneously. Now she treats shopping like a business transaction.
“I just bought what I liked. Now I make a conscious decision. It was getting ridiculous because I couldn’t put together a wardrobe. I was travelling a lot for work but it took ages to plan outfits. Now I can honestly say that I pack 15 minutes before I have to go to the airport. I also spend far less money on clothing because I am making more conscious purchasing decisions.”
Natalie is on the move approximately 20 days each month and hates check-in luggage.
Thanks to the new approach, she can go away for 2-3 days with just her handbag and away for a month with 14 days’ worth of clothes.
She has also started culling and selling some of her extraneous clothes.
“I’m getting rid of 80-90 items. The rest I will keep and store. I had some really nice stuff and I didn’t want to throw it away.”
Using an app called Style book, Natalie itemised her wardrobe.
“I took photos of all my clothes. I could have chucked everything out, but I wanted to be objective about it.”
Natalie loves the convenience of having her clothing so well-organised and not needing to agonise over outfit choices or purchasing decisions.
“I don’t have to think. I have a capsule per season. It’s great!”
Natalie says that understanding and applying seasonal colour schemes is part of what makes capsule wardrobes a success. DARCEE NIXON
“The other part of understanding capsule wardrobes is knowing your fashion style. I actually realised I’m a ‘romantic’ – I didn’t know that before.”
Natalie’s advice to others