Project 333: Capsule Wardrobe

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe. Photo from The Beauty School Dropouts shoot with Tony McKay Studios

Emma took part in a photo shoot with The Beauty School Dropouts during Project 333. Photo by Tony McKay Studios.

Guest Post by Emma Joyce

Ever looked in your wardrobe and exclaimed, “I’ve got nothing to wear!” but in reality your wardrobe is so full that you have no idea exactly what is hidden inside? Have you ever gone to the mall and purchased a random top because you’ve made an effort to go to the mall and it would be seen as a waste of time not to have purchased anything?

Up until recently, I was that person. After moving house three times in one year, and wanting to reduce my consumption of fast fashion, I became interested in the concept of capsule wardrobes. Capsule wardrobes are having a bit of a moment with people recognising that style has little to do with a full wardrobe of on-trend pieces. Blogger Anuschka Rees says a good capsule wardrobe should consist of “a small selection of key pieces, express the essence of your style, be optimally adjusted to your lifestyle and allow you to quickly pull together an outfit for every occasion.”

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe. Photo from The Beauty School Dropouts shoot with Tony McKay Studios

Emma took part in a photo shoot with The Beauty School Dropouts during Project 333. Photo by Tony McKay Studios.

I stumbled across the Be More with Less website, and specifically the Project 333 challenge, while browsing the interwebs for capsule wardrobe inspiration. Project 333 is a challenge to wear only the same 33 items for three months (excluding underwear, socks, activewear, nightwear and accessories, shoes optional). Could I do this? Could this clothing maximalist really become a clothing minimalist?

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Capsule Wardrobe

Many of the bloggers who have capsule wardrobes favour neutral colour palettes or monochrome. They work in creative fields so require few formal pieces, or conservative office attire. I describe my weekday style as ‘urban professional with a vintage twist’ but on the weekends I’m at home in a pair of jeans or sweatpants paired with a simple tee. I like colour, particularly in a New Zealand winter where fashion choices are limited to black or grey. My 33 item capsule wardrobe needed to be equal parts office appropriate, pay homage to vintage fashion, colourful, and also a bit casual.

From 1 May to the end of July, I vowed to wear only the same 33 items. Several lists later, I had narrowed it down to 33 items. I chose items that could be mixed and matched – a black skirt can go with anything. A harlequin print top with a pencil skirt is colourful, office appropriate, and 1950s inspired. I paid homage to vintage fashion by including two colourful Miss Candyfloss dresses. A pair of black jeggings from The Warehouse could be ‘casual Friday’ when worn with a River Island blouse, or weekend fare with a striped tee.

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe: a black skirt can go with anything

A black skirt can go with anything

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe: The red Miss Candyfloss dress

The red Miss Candyfloss dress

During the three months, I was surprised that I didn’t feel any angst about picking an outfit for the next day. I agree with Anuschka Rees that a capsule wardrobe reduces decision fatigue and is an opportunity to see how you can style your existing wardrobe. Project 333 taught me that less is more. My most worn item was the aforementioned black skirt, and the red Miss Candyfloss dress. In fact, I had so much to choose from, the green Miss Candyfloss dress did not get worn at all.

Also, to answer my Mum’s question, no I didn’t find myself doing more laundry.

Would I do it again? The short answer is no. There were days when I wanted to wear something different. There were items in my wardrobe I would look at and think “why didn’t I add that to my capsule”. I like wearing nice clothes, and I want to be able to dress up in a bright orange skirt on a dull winter day. For me, Project 333 wasn’t life changing. But it did show me that it is not a full wardrobe that brings me joy but a wardrobe full of clothes that fit, show off my personal style, and represent a commitment to being a conscious consumer.

Would you try a capsule wardrobe? Let us know what your essentials would be!

Emma Joyce's Plus Size Project 333 Wardrobe. Photo from The Beauty School Dropouts shoot with Tony McKay StudiosGuest Blogger: Emma Joyce

Emma is a 35 year old public sector worker who combats the beige and suited corporate world by showing off her love of colourful fashion. Outside of work, you’ll probably find her with a camera around her neck taking photos of interesting people and things. You can find her sharing her style adventures on instagram as @theshortfatchick.

9 Comments

  1. September 20, 2017 / 12:47 pm

    Awesome Emma, I love the red dress, it’s gorgeous. I’m curious, did you include accessories like scarves and belts as part of the 33 items, or are they additional like (I assume) jewellery etc would be?

    • September 20, 2017 / 3:47 pm

      Hey Jess, accessories are additional 🙂

  2. Fiona
    September 20, 2017 / 10:53 am

    I wear casual all the time, country bumkin from way back.
    My work gets hot and physical, I can only wear stretch cotton items for breathing and limited to what I can buy in my size.
    So I usually only shop at The Warehouse, but even now I find their stock of larger clothing is depleting. I used to shop at K-Mart, 20 years ago. They used to go to 28, but now only a 26 and I find their leg and sleeve fit at the top, do not fit loosely on me.
    I don’t have a budget to buy from specialist outlet shops for larger ladies, they are highly expensive.
    So as I only wear loose, stretch cotton, below knee and below elbow items, I am limited to what I can find to fit. Hench when I find something that is perfect and it comes in different colours, I am buying several colours…………lol.
    So a mix and match waredrobe of 33 for me is a pass…lol

    • September 20, 2017 / 12:50 pm

      Have you looked at Yours Clothing before Fiona? It’s an online site, quite affordable and goes up to a size 32 I think.

      • Fiona
        September 21, 2017 / 5:56 am

        No, I will have a look thanks.
        Have you brought from them, Meagan? If so how is the sizing compared to NZ?

        • September 21, 2017 / 9:15 am

          Hi Fiona, I’ve bought from them many times! I usually just get my NZ size. You can see my posts about what I’ve got from them here.

  3. Sharlene
    September 20, 2017 / 10:20 am

    Awesome blog Em, I was only thinking about this the other day, I am so over everything in my wardrobe. I’m now going to clean it out.

  4. Michelle T
    September 20, 2017 / 8:52 am

    Awesome Emma! I don’t even have 33 items of clothing haha but I agree that by having only what you can and want to wear in your wardrobe is much better than having a lot of things in there that you don’t even wear.

    • September 20, 2017 / 9:33 am

      I’m impressed that you don’t even have 33 – I reckon my wardrobe has more like 333 pieces 🙈

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