Summer Capsule Wardrobe? An Attempt.

Hello. I am a maximalist. I love having a big closet full of options, it makes me happy.

But when faced with an international move, I immediately agreed to live out of my suitcase in my home country rather than our destination. Why? Comfort and ease. If I suddenly need an object, I probably know where I can get one locally. And if not, I know the language and can figure it out.

This means that I have also elected to not have my closet available for about two months. Keep reading to experience anxiety with me.

Okay, the Summer Capsule Wardrobe basics-

Who: The Jupiter Household. Each member will have a suitcase.
What: We will each live out of our suitcases for at least eight weeks.
When: Spring/Summer 2023.
Where: Mostly USA. Our suitcases will be with us in Arkansas, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and to our (not yet publicly disclosed) international home.
Why: Because we’re moving to another country and have elected to ship our stuff ASAP.
How: It’s our military life! The relocation is for Mister Jupiter; he was hired in another country, so we’re all moving so he can go to work.

So that’s the situation; a military move out of the country, we’re letting the household goods crates get a head start, which means that we’re all living out of suitcases for at least eight weeks. Whee!

☞ Related: Attempting the Perfect PCS, Take Five

This is extra fun for me, because I struggle to pack a backpack for a weekend trip. So several weeks in my carryon?! Bahahaha. I’ve been mentally immobilized towards this task for days…so I’ve been ignoring my suitcase so I can process other things first (like selling cars and a house).

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I started with looking at Pinterest capsule wardrobes to remind myself that it’s even possible, and to get some general ideas.

Sadly, most of the summer capsules just didn’t fit my style (I rarely wear shorts, and I don’t wear hats). So I stopped looking at other people’s capsules and focused on my own actual clothes.

I grabbed a garment rack, and started working with my real clothes that I actually wear. One of my capsule goals is to work with existing clothes, I have plenty; no real need to buy more…right?

After a lot of staring and switching things out, I came up with this Initial Summer Capsule.

This capsule contains

1. T-shirts
   1. White tank top, Vans
   2. White/gray shirt, James Perse
   3. Gray shirt with Modelo Logo
   4. (2) Sheer black tees, Club Monaco
2. One Popover; White linen, Ralph Lauren
3. Long pants
   1. Mom jeans, Levi’s
   2. Slim fit chinos, vince.
   3. High rise jegging, GAP
   4. [for sleeping] Black on black leopard print leggings
   5. [for air travel] Black joggers, fleece lined
4. One skirt, birthday goal! Black and red leather, Escada
   1. It’s high-waisted color-blocked leather 😍
   2. I’m tracking zipper progress ☞ Intermittent Fasting, Month Forty📍
5. Jackets
   1. White UPF zip
   2. Black UPF zip
   3. Navy cotton zip, Volcom
   4. White leather, GAP
   5. Holographic leather, Mackage
   6. [for indoor wear] Gray fleece
   7. [for indoor wear] Black fleece

⚠︎ Shoes? I could use a suitcase just for shoes, but we can talk about that later.

⚠︎ Purses? Well…I’m either going to use something formal for a few weeks, or wear something very casual to a black tie event.

⚠︎ Swimwear? Not photographed because I don’t have bikini hangars (do they exist?). Rest assured I’ll pack at least two bikinis (one is reversible!).

⚠︎ “Small clothes” both normal dailies, and the special event smoothers.

Note: This is just the most recent edit – I might swap out the white leather for hot pink leather.

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My Personal Mental Blocks
– Limited space; I’m trying to stick to one carry-on
– Needing to pack for 3.5 special events that are not casual

This minimum eight-week span includes

• A casual military event (one party = actually casual, but I still prefer to wear a dress)
• A nice steakhouse in Las Vegas
• A formal military event (I reserved my evening gown months ago, but I don’t know which shoes will work…so I must pack options)
• A “uniform of the day” military event (typically business casual for me, but I’m not a guest…I’ll be announced as I walk to my seat. So, no jeans.)

So I need to squeeze several levels of formality into my summer capsule. This is the factor that has been slowing me down the most.

That’s where we are. My typical packing struggles are exacerbated by the special event required items, plus the limited space, and my insistence to work with my current closet and to avoid buying clothes to donate after eight weeks (always an option, but so wasteful).

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↑ Version two; still a work in progress.

⚠︎ I will absolutely use packing cubes and compressible bags ⚠︎

My capsule will be up and running when Outfits of the Day Q2, 2023 publishes.
Q2 covers April, May, and June. Each month I take at least ten full-body photos, and share them with you.

I’ll be back to update this post with the final edit.
I’m curious to see if I can stick to a real capsule wardrobe at all, and especially curious to see if I learn to love it, or if I just miss my closet the whole time.

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