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WAYS OF STYLE

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15 MUST HAVES pieces to build a capsule wardrobe (BONUS: seasonal basics)

in Style on 09/27/19

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long long time.

If you look at my Instagram, you can notice that I wear a lot of the same basic pieces in many different ways and it has a lot to do with the fact that without even noticing, I’ve been building a capsule wardrobe for the past 2 years.

It all started when we started saving money for our trip around the world for 2 years (More on that here) and we had to cut down on our spending and starting to adjust to the idea of being happy with less things. Let me tell you, it’s the best decision we’ve ever made! I love not having a massive closet. It makes life so much easier.

There are so many pieces I would say you “need” (I think a good capsule wardrobe would probably contain around 50 pieces), but these 15 are my favorites based on versatility. It’s a good way to start if you don’t know how to do it.

  • Denim jacket: I prefer light denim, but it’s really up to you and what you like. This is my most worn piece ever. I used to have a really expensive $400 denim jacket that I left on a train and no one returned it and after that I just got this $44 one from Old Navy.
  • White sneakers: A total must. You can wear them all year round and they look good with anything… Jeans, dresses, skirts, shorts, jumpsuits…. Anything!!

  • Striped T-shirt: Another must! You can wear it all year round and dress it up or down. Even for Winter you can layer it with a long sleeve top underneath.
  • White T-shirt: After my denim jacket, this is my favorite piece. I always have 3 on rotation because I literally wear them every single week. These are great when you don’t know what to wear. They go great with anything!
  • A little black dress: OK, I honestly have 2 LOL. One for Summer and one for Winter.
  • A neutral jumpsuit: I got this black jumpsuit from Gap this past Summer and it’s so perfect that it’s packed for my trip around the world already. I swear in it’s a suitcase. I don’t want to use it and ruin it and I’m afraid I won’t find the same one again. Don’t judge me, I know I’m crazy.
  • A long, cozy cardigan: I love a good long cardi because you can use it all year round pretty much (at least in Chicago). I have this one and a thicker one for those cold Fall/Winter/Spring days ahead of us LOL.
  • Black skinny jeans: Love a good pair of skinnies because they are good for work, to go out and when you dress casual. Such a staple!
  • Good pair of jeans: I like dark skinny jeans, but I recommend having a lighter wash too. Brands I like: Citizens of Humanity, Madewell and Old Navy.
  • A midi skirt: I only have this one and I’ve had it for 4-5 years and I love it. It’s from The Limited. I also wear it during Winter with tights, booties and a sweater.
  • Crewneck or V neck sweater: You can choose a neutral one, a bright one or a printed one. I have a couple of these and I always try to choose the ones that have an extra detail, like these sleeves and a pop of color.
  • A striped sweater: My favorite sweater! I chose a black and white striped one because it goes good with most of my closet and also because it pairs great with leopard print. Also notice how I style my denim jacket for ‘mild’ Winter days or Fall.
  • Chambray shirt: Another staple. You can choose between light wash, medium wash or dark wash. I’ve had all 3 since I can remember, but this is the one I wear the most. Also great for layering and you can dress it up with a necklace, pants or a blazer and use it for the office or to go out.
  • A black or boyfriend blazer: I don’t wear blazers much, but I have this one that I love. I included here because most people work in an office and I think blazers are so great for work. I also have a black one, but I couldn’t find any recent photos wearing it, which proves that I don’t really use it that much.
  • Strappy sandals: You can go with black or nude here. I have them both, I love them both. The only reason I have them both is because they were gifted by Ann Taylor (which are the comfiest ever!), but if I had to choose just one, it would definitely be nude.

Of course, you’ll have to add some seasonal basics. Here are some ideas:

  • For Fall: A nice trench (do a light color so you can also wear it on Spring), a good pair of booties, a moto jacket, a blanket scarf, sweater and a couple of sweaters.
  • For Spring: A lightweight jacket, white denim, espadrille wedges, a striped dress and a floral dress. (one of them can be a maxi dress)
  • For Winter: A good puffer jacket and vest, tights, a flannel shirt and snow boots.
  • For Summer: extra t-shirts in neutral colors (2), a couple cute tops, neutral pair of flat sandals, denim shorts and 2 sundresses.

As I said before, a decent capsule wardrobe would contain around 40-50 pieces that cover all the seasons (if you live in a city with 4 seasons). If the weather where you live is nice (lucky you!) there are so many of these you can skip. Once you’ve built your closet with all these basics, you’ll see the benefits of having less stuff.

Ideally, you would refresh your closet a couple times a year by intentionally adding 4-5 new pieces (yes that’s it!), and these would usually be tops and dresses (Maybe a pair of pants/shorts). Remember that if you buy high quality pieces (they don’t have to be expensive!), they will last you for multiple seasons and since they are so classic, I promise you, they will never go out of style. This is how your closet would look like:

Tops: 1 white t-shirt, 1 striped t-shirt, 2 neutral t-shirts, 3-4 cute tops to go out or hangout. Here are some examples:

Shirts: 1 white, 1 chambray, 1 printed.

Jackets: 1 denim, 1 moto, 1 utility.

Coats: 1 puffer coat, 1 trench coat and 1 dark one you use to go out.

Pants: 1 light denim, 1 dark denim, black skinnies, 1 light colored or white, 1 pair of really comfy pants.

Shorts: 1 denim, 1 white (or any neutral) and one printed. (You can do 2 neutrals if you don’t like prints).

Sweaters: 2-3 neutrals, 1 striped, 1 fun or printed, 1 cozy cardi.

Dresses: 1 LBD, 1 LWD, 1 striped, 2-3 printed (one of the printed ones, can be a maxi dress)

Skirts: 1 midi, 1 black, 1 denim.

Jumpsuits: 1 black, 1 printed or striped.

Shoes: white sneakers, neutral booties, black booties, snow boots, rain boots, espadrille wedges, neutral sandals, neutral flats and strappy sandals.

Others: Tights, a good pair of leggings, a nice necklace, going out earrings, a neutral clutch bag, a hat, a backpack and an everyday bag.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below! This post is meant to help you make better choices next time you have to shop for something, it doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything you own.

Hope it helps you to build your capsule wardrobe. Remember that by having less things you are helping the planet, you’ll shop less (which means saving money for travels and important stuff!) and it will be less difficult to make the decision of ‘what to wear’ every single day.

Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂

XO,

Aimara

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Reflecting on WOS – What to expect moving forward. »

Comments

  1. Ahsan Parvez says

    October 30, 2020 at 9:06 am

    These are some of the elegant clothes. I love these photos.

    -Ahsan

    Reply
  2. Lauren says

    November 2, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    So excited to start building my own capsule wardrobe!!!!

    Reply
  3. Leah says

    October 9, 2019 at 9:51 am

    Oh cool! I already have a few of these but I need to add a couple more pieces. Love that you added the seasonal pieces too!! Thanks girl 🙂

    Reply
    • Ways Of Style says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:13 am

      Yay!! It takes some time to build that perfect capsule wardrobe, but it’s so worth it when you are done 🙂
      So glad you found this post useful.
      XO
      Aimara

      Reply
  4. Jess says

    October 3, 2019 at 8:00 pm

    On it! This is GREAT ❤️

    Reply
    • Ways Of Style says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:14 am

      Yay! Good luck building your capsule wardrobe 🙂
      XO
      Aimara

      Reply
  5. Sarah says

    September 28, 2019 at 8:35 am

    This is the most useful post I’ve seen about building a capsule wardrobe. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Ways Of Style says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:15 am

      So happy you found it useful Sarah!
      Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
      XO
      Aimara

      Reply

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OH, HI THERE!

Hi guys! My name is Aimara and I’m the voice behind Ways of Style.

I created this Blog as a space to express my thoughts and life experiences while wearing cute outfits of course! At the same time I want to encourage you to always be yourself, without caring what the world thinks about it.

I believe that we all have a specific purpose in life, but you can only find it by being 100% you and following your heart & intuition. In May 2014 I came to this country with a dream and with all my belongings in a suitcase, with nothing but determination to make it happen.

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Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while. After dealing wi Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while.

After dealing with how the new year started, I really didn’t feel like posting, so I deleted IG for a little bit for mental health purposes. The last thing I posted was on Jan 6th and after confronting a ton of senseless haters defending what happened I was so exhausted. Emotionally drained actually. (I know it was my mistake to try to deal with crazy people, but I was upset and couldn’t help myself 🙈)

On top of that, my beautiful baby niece Elisa, was born on Dec 26th, but spent over 2 weeks in the NICU having good days and bad days. She is thankfully home & healthy now, but boy was that scary 🙈 

Anyways, that’s what’s up. I’m ok now. Feeling a lot better and trying to get back to things little by little. Hope you guys are doing ok too ❤️

Have an amazing weekend!! See you soon 😘😘
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Disclaimer: I’m not wearing a mask at the beach because it was basically just us, so be cool.

I’m so happy it’s been in the 30’s, because this is the coldest we can handle 😂 Thank you Chicago 🙏🏻❤️

Hope everyone’s having a nice week so far! We got our test results back negative so I can finally see my family ❤️ It’s a good day today 🙏🏻
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A black t-shirt 🖤 Styled with a maxi skirt, @sp A black t-shirt 🖤
Styled with a maxi skirt, @spanx leggings and black skinny jeans 😊
Another basic piece you should definitely have in your closet because you can wear it with basically any bottom or layer it in any way you want!

I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past 3 months and even though my wardrobe is not super exciting, I’ve managed to have fun with what I have. I basically have 7-8 different bottoms, 6 basic neutral t-shirts, a couple of sweaters and a button down shirt. That’s it!

It’s been ok too because I haven’t been anywhere, so I really have no reason to dress up 😂
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One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freak One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freaking did it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I don’t often take the time to be proud of myself but today I’m doing just that ❤️
We’ve been talking about getting certified for scuba diving since forever, but this past December we decided to finally go for it. 

Why?
Because this was one thing we were going to do on our trip around the world and since the trip has been postponed until God knows when, we felt like we needed to do something to cheer ourselves up.

I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. I’m not used to face my fears like this or to push through when I feel like quitting, but this time I was determined. I think the @hellofears book made a huge impact in me. Now I promise myself to keep learning new tricks and to push myself outside of my comfort zone as often as I can. Enough of talking about doing things and let time pass by and not do anything at all. Enough of that!

What’s next? Well right now, we are in Chicago until January 30th, but we’ll spend February and March in Boca & Tampa (and then back to the Midwest!), so we already signed up for freediving & windsurf! Both extremely challenging, mentally and physically, but what the hell, we are going for it anyways!

I encourage you to think about some of the things (big & small), you’ve been talking about doing forever and somehow life got in the way and you kept postponing them. Write them down and challenge yourself to do it. Make yourself proud. There’s no better feeling! Just do it for you!

Even though I’m not writing resolutions this year (I always have, but I felt like the universe betrayed all of us in 2020 💔)I’m making a permanent change in my life: push myself, be brave and open the door for new feelings and emotions to arrive. I’ve been living way too comfortable for way too long!

Special thanks to Eric (@globaldiverscuba) for being so kind and patient and of course @diveforcee for being the best scuba store in south Florida. We found them on Google and they were amazing! Can’t recommend them enough!! 💙
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#waysofstyle #divers #scubadivers #floridadiving #lifestyleblogger #wedidit #proud #pushyourself #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #hellofears
Counting the days to see my girls!! Hi 👋🏻 W Counting the days to see my girls!!

Hi 👋🏻 We are currently quarantining in Chicago! We ran into a few very unpleasant issues with our new Airbnb (surprise surprise!), but we got over pretty quickly! Proud of us for doing that 😉

Yesterday I tried to sit down to write down goals for 2021 and honestly, after the crappiest year of all I felt like it was pointless. There’s so little I can control and the only thing I have the power to change is my mindset. 

How do you guys feel about 2021? Hopeful? I’m really trying to have no expectations because this past year has been so devastating that I don’t want all my hopes and dreams to be crushed again 💔 2020 is not exactly ending on the happy note we hoped for as a family, so I’m really hoping all this bad energy to be washed away tonight! #bye2020

Who knows what awaits... so for the first time ever I won’t write any resolutions, just trying to stay positive and faithful to the one who knows better 🙏🏻 How about you?

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Location: @thehappygarage in Ravenswood ☺️
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Hi guys 🖤 Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually Hi guys 🖤
Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually take this time of the year to disconnect from social media and allow myself to dream and think about new year goals without being influenced by everyone’s highlight reels.

It’s been an unusual year for sure and even though I can’t wait for it to be over, I’m also forcing myself to take the time to appreciate the lessons I learned. I received a lot of bad news this year, but this last month it’s been good. So good, that it almost made me forget about the past 11 where I felt I was living in an emotional roller coaster. I’m very happy to be here in Florida and challenging myself to learn new things. I feel so brave and that’s a feeling I never want to deprive myself of. Ever again.

I’ll share more later, but today I’m mostly posting to wish you a safe Christmas this year. In whichever way you decide to celebrate, I hope you find joy in the little things ✨

I didn’t do any of my treasured Venezuelan traditions this year, but I did have hallacas yesterday (they are the best, and you have to order them with enough time to @meencanta.21), tonight we are having Indian food and tomorrow, we’ll do dinner at G’s sister. We leave to Chicago on Sunday, so we are making sure to spend a lot of time outside in the next few days ❤️

Anyways, take care beautiful people. Can’t wait to catch up soon! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate 🎄
...
#waysofstyle #merrychristmas #december #floridavibes #beachbum #lifestyleblogger #beachvibes #goodvibes #bestwishes #besafe #brave #happiness #instafashion #mystyle #resortlooks #vacationmode #summersalt #savethefishies #gosummersalt #christmaseve
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Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while. After dealing wi Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while.

After dealing with how the new year started, I really didn’t feel like posting, so I deleted IG for a little bit for mental health purposes. The last thing I posted was on Jan 6th and after confronting a ton of senseless haters defending what happened I was so exhausted. Emotionally drained actually. (I know it was my mistake to try to deal with crazy people, but I was upset and couldn’t help myself 🙈)

On top of that, my beautiful baby niece Elisa, was born on Dec 26th, but spent over 2 weeks in the NICU having good days and bad days. She is thankfully home & healthy now, but boy was that scary 🙈 

Anyways, that’s what’s up. I’m ok now. Feeling a lot better and trying to get back to things little by little. Hope you guys are doing ok too ❤️

Have an amazing weekend!! See you soon 😘😘
...
#waysofstyle #lifeupdate #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #meijerstyle #leopardprint #lifestyleblogger #quarantinelife #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #beingreal #friyay #happyfriday #weekendvibes
From no pants and no shoes to double pants and dou From no pants and no shoes to double pants and double masks BUT still smiling 😆
Disclaimer: I’m not wearing a mask at the beach because it was basically just us, so be cool.

I’m so happy it’s been in the 30’s, because this is the coldest we can handle 😂 Thank you Chicago 🙏🏻❤️

Hope everyone’s having a nice week so far! We got our test results back negative so I can finally see my family ❤️ It’s a good day today 🙏🏻
...
#waysofstyle #chiberia #chicagoblogger #chicagowinter #grateful #chicagoinfluencer #winterstyle #winterlook #puffercoat #smallvictories
A black t-shirt 🖤 Styled with a maxi skirt, @sp A black t-shirt 🖤
Styled with a maxi skirt, @spanx leggings and black skinny jeans 😊
Another basic piece you should definitely have in your closet because you can wear it with basically any bottom or layer it in any way you want!

I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past 3 months and even though my wardrobe is not super exciting, I’ve managed to have fun with what I have. I basically have 7-8 different bottoms, 6 basic neutral t-shirts, a couple of sweaters and a button down shirt. That’s it!

It’s been ok too because I haven’t been anywhere, so I really have no reason to dress up 😂
...
#waysofstyle #capsulewardrobe #fashionblogger #howtostyle #whattowear #basiclook #classicstyle #maxiskirt #blacktshirt #chambrayshirt #whitesneakers #blackskinnyjeans #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #midwestblogger #meijerfinds #meijerstyle
One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freak One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freaking did it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I don’t often take the time to be proud of myself but today I’m doing just that ❤️
We’ve been talking about getting certified for scuba diving since forever, but this past December we decided to finally go for it. 

Why?
Because this was one thing we were going to do on our trip around the world and since the trip has been postponed until God knows when, we felt like we needed to do something to cheer ourselves up.

I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. I’m not used to face my fears like this or to push through when I feel like quitting, but this time I was determined. I think the @hellofears book made a huge impact in me. Now I promise myself to keep learning new tricks and to push myself outside of my comfort zone as often as I can. Enough of talking about doing things and let time pass by and not do anything at all. Enough of that!

What’s next? Well right now, we are in Chicago until January 30th, but we’ll spend February and March in Boca & Tampa (and then back to the Midwest!), so we already signed up for freediving & windsurf! Both extremely challenging, mentally and physically, but what the hell, we are going for it anyways!

I encourage you to think about some of the things (big & small), you’ve been talking about doing forever and somehow life got in the way and you kept postponing them. Write them down and challenge yourself to do it. Make yourself proud. There’s no better feeling! Just do it for you!

Even though I’m not writing resolutions this year (I always have, but I felt like the universe betrayed all of us in 2020 💔)I’m making a permanent change in my life: push myself, be brave and open the door for new feelings and emotions to arrive. I’ve been living way too comfortable for way too long!

Special thanks to Eric (@globaldiverscuba) for being so kind and patient and of course @diveforcee for being the best scuba store in south Florida. We found them on Google and they were amazing! Can’t recommend them enough!! 💙
...
#waysofstyle #divers #scubadivers #floridadiving #lifestyleblogger #wedidit #proud #pushyourself #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #hellofears
Counting the days to see my girls!! Hi 👋🏻 W Counting the days to see my girls!!

Hi 👋🏻 We are currently quarantining in Chicago! We ran into a few very unpleasant issues with our new Airbnb (surprise surprise!), but we got over pretty quickly! Proud of us for doing that 😉

Yesterday I tried to sit down to write down goals for 2021 and honestly, after the crappiest year of all I felt like it was pointless. There’s so little I can control and the only thing I have the power to change is my mindset. 

How do you guys feel about 2021? Hopeful? I’m really trying to have no expectations because this past year has been so devastating that I don’t want all my hopes and dreams to be crushed again 💔 2020 is not exactly ending on the happy note we hoped for as a family, so I’m really hoping all this bad energy to be washed away tonight! #bye2020

Who knows what awaits... so for the first time ever I won’t write any resolutions, just trying to stay positive and faithful to the one who knows better 🙏🏻 How about you?

I wish you the best for 2021 though! It’ll be a party of 2 for us, eating some Venezuelan food and some wine 🍷
Happy New Year’s Eve! ❤️
...
Location: @thehappygarage in Ravenswood ☺️
#waysofstyle #proudauntie #newyearseve #noresolutions #bye2020 #chicagoblogger #chicagophotographer #chicagoinfluencer #mygirls #myeverything #hope #faith #love #hopeful
Hi guys 🖤 Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually Hi guys 🖤
Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually take this time of the year to disconnect from social media and allow myself to dream and think about new year goals without being influenced by everyone’s highlight reels.

It’s been an unusual year for sure and even though I can’t wait for it to be over, I’m also forcing myself to take the time to appreciate the lessons I learned. I received a lot of bad news this year, but this last month it’s been good. So good, that it almost made me forget about the past 11 where I felt I was living in an emotional roller coaster. I’m very happy to be here in Florida and challenging myself to learn new things. I feel so brave and that’s a feeling I never want to deprive myself of. Ever again.

I’ll share more later, but today I’m mostly posting to wish you a safe Christmas this year. In whichever way you decide to celebrate, I hope you find joy in the little things ✨

I didn’t do any of my treasured Venezuelan traditions this year, but I did have hallacas yesterday (they are the best, and you have to order them with enough time to @meencanta.21), tonight we are having Indian food and tomorrow, we’ll do dinner at G’s sister. We leave to Chicago on Sunday, so we are making sure to spend a lot of time outside in the next few days ❤️

Anyways, take care beautiful people. Can’t wait to catch up soon! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate 🎄
...
#waysofstyle #merrychristmas #december #floridavibes #beachbum #lifestyleblogger #beachvibes #goodvibes #bestwishes #besafe #brave #happiness #instafashion #mystyle #resortlooks #vacationmode #summersalt #savethefishies #gosummersalt #christmaseve
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