Summer Capsule Wardrobe Checklist: How to Build a Closet you Love
Summer 2023 is here! I am so excited to share this post, I’ve been working on it for WEEKS. This is the first time I’m sharing a capsule wardrobe and my goal is for you to get tons of Summer outfit inspiration and find new ways to mix and match pieces in your closet.
I know the struggle of looking in your closet, full of clothes, but never knowing what to wear. Hopefully, this Summer Capsule Wardrobe checklist helps you simplify your existing wardrobe and build a closet that you LOVE.
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Shop my Summer Capsule Wardrobe below:
What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is basically a limited number of clothing pieces that can be mixed and matched together to create various outfit combinations. Typically, these are classic pieces that never go out of style, so you can wear them over and over again (ie. denim shorts, a button-up shirt, etc).
Many capsule wardrobes that I’ve seen take a very minimalistic, neutral and almost business casual approach. Which is totally fine, it’s a great way to ensure that everything matches, but it definitely doesn’t have to be that way!
In this post, I’m going to share my must have Summer staples that work great if you live a more active, casual lifestyle!
Why Build a Summer Capsule Wardrobe?
There are so many reasons why you should create a capsule wardrobe for yourself! But, one of the biggest advantages is saving time and energy in the morning when deciding what to wear. With a capsule wardrobe, you will have less options to choose from, meaning less decisions, and, it will be easier for you to mix and match the pieces together to create different outfits.
Sometimes having too many choices causes overwhelm. It may sound great to have tons of clothes with lots of options to choose from, but, in reality it can cause more stress and anxiety when getting ready.
By having a more limited, capsule closet, you’ll figure out your personal style and preferences, the colors you gravitate towards, and what pieces of clothing make you feel your best!
You’ll feel confident in your clothes because you know they’re the perfect fit and work for your body type. You will wear the pieces in your wardrobe more frequently. You’ll be more intentional when buying new pieces which will save you money in the long run and you’ll have a neat and organized closet!
How to Create your Own Summer Capsule Wardrobe
Let’s get into how you can build your own capsule wardrobe for the Summer season! Here are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself before you start shopping for new Summer clothes.
- What events do you have this Summer? What outfits will you need for these events?
- Where do you work? – Do you work at home in a casual, laid back environment or do you work in a corporate office setting where professional clothes are required?
- What is your lifestyle like? – Are you very active? Do you live a busy life in the city? Do you travel a lot? Do you love the outdoors?
- What is the weather/temperature like where you live? Do you have high temperatures during the day? Is there a lot of rain? Do you have cooler evenings?
These are all important things you’ll want to think about in order to find the right pieces for your wardrobe.
Summer Events/Occasions:
Here are some of the holidays and different occasions that you might want to take into consideration when choosing pieces for your capsule wardrobe.
- Bridal showers & baby showers
- Graduation
- Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
- Memorial Day & 4th of July
- Summer weddings
- Beach days
- Vacations
- Birthdays
- Concerts
Answering these questions will help you choose pieces that will work well with your current lifestyle!
Where to shop:
My favorite stores to shop for wardrobe staples are Abercrombie, Target and Express. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I share A LOT of Abercrombie. It’s one of my favorite brands because they have so many great basics and timeless pieces that never go out of style.
Their bodysuits, basic tees and jeans are absolutely incredible. The quality is amazing and everything has held up so well over the years. I’ve owned many pieces for 4+ years and they’re still in great shape.
Abercrombie offers really great sizing options too! They offer petite, regular and tall sizes in dresses. Sizes 23-37 in jeans with 5 different length options: extra short, short, regular, long and extra long. Plus a Curve Love option, which adds an extra two inches in the hips/thighs of the jeans.
I also really love the Express Body Contour line. They have some great bodysuits, cropped tank tops and tees! I wear these square neck cropped tanks ALL the time.
My Summer Capsule Wardrobe for 2023
Below I will share the pieces I chose for my Summer Capsule wardrobe. This year, my capsule color palette is white, black, lavender and pink. White and black are classic neutral colors, and then I decided to add in two fun colors! I’ve been seeing lavender everywhere this year, it’s the perfect pastel! And pink is basically a neutral in my closet at this point.
Having a color palette is so helpful when shopping for staples pieces. I highly recommend thinking about the colors you love and wear most often. Keep it simple and choose 3-4 colors, so that you can easily pair all your pieces together.
Tops & Dresses
- Cropped Tank Top
- White Basic Tee (Bodysuit option)
- Fitted Blazer
- White Button Up
- Midi/Maxi dress
- White dress
- Denim Jacket
- Active dress
Square Neck Cropped Tank Top
I mentioned this square neck cropped tank earlier in this post, it’s from the Express Body Contour line and it’s one of my most worn tanks. I own it in both white and black and it goes with EVERYTHING. You can wear it with a pair of denim shorts and a white button-up, underneath a blazer, with a midi skirt and denim jacket.. I mean the outfits you can create are endless.
Basic Tee / Bodysuit
White, black and neutral basic tees and bodysuits are the foundation of my entire wardrobe. I wear them almost every single day! If you struggle with putting together outfits, try starting with a basic tee or a bodysuit and then building your look out from there. You can add a pair of denim jeans or some shorts, and then add in a denim jacket, blazer or sweater.
I personally prefer bodysuits to tees if I had to choose because they have a tighter fit and smooth everything out. These seamless tee bodysuits are great because they look like your basic tee, but they’re actually bodysuits!
I also really love these cotton seamless tank bodysuits. They’re so soft and stretchy! I personally own the black, white and a taupe color.
Blazer
I used to think blazers looked too professional and corporate-like, so I never wore them. It wasn’t until this year, that I fell in love with the fitted blazer and realized how much you can do with it! Yes, they can be worn professionally to the office, but you can also wear them casually with a pair of denim shorts, a graphic tee, or over a maxi dress.
I LOVE this cream one-button blazer. It fits SO well. I have been searching for a blazer for years that doesn’t feel too boxy or oversized and I finally found IT. I went with the size XXS, versus an XS and I’m glad I did because it fits perfectly. Normally, sleeves are too long on me, but these are great!
I own this blazer in pink too, but if you don’t own a blazer yet, I’d definitely recommend the cream because you’ll be able to pair it with so many outfits!
White Button Up Shirt
I’m a huge fan of the white button up shirt! It’s so easy to layer and is great for cooler nights when you want something covering your arms! If you ever don’t know what to wear, the easiest Summer outfit to put together is a pair of shorts (you could also do a pair of jeans), a tank/bodysuit, and a white button up shirt. It’s simple, casual and effortless.
This is an outfit that you can create using existing clothes you have in your closet! You don’t have to go out and buy new pieces. But, if you’re looking for a great button-up, here is the exact one I’m wearing! It works really well as a swimsuit cover-up too!
Midi/Maxi Dress
I think it’s so important to have one midi or maxi dress in your closet that’s you absolutely adore and that can work for all different events/occasions. If I had to choose just one dress, this ruffle strap smocked midi is the one I would choose! It’s so versatile and can be worn for any Summer weddings, a baby shower or bridal shower, brunch with your girlfriends, or a Summer date night with your significant other.
The material is great quality, it’s thick, but not heavy at all. I love the sweetheart neckline and smocked top, and it even has pockets on both sides! The pattern and colors are very classic, so it’s very easy to style. You can add a denim jacket if you’re headed to brunch or a white blazer if you need to dress it up.
White Dress
White dresses are so versatile and can be worn over and over again for all different Summer events. They’re perfect for beach vacations, family photos, date nights, casual get-togethers and every day.
I really love this sleeveless, high neck white linen dress. It can be worn very casually or dressed up as well. Add a denim jacket and some flat sandals for an every day look or pair it with some clear strap heels and a leather moto jacket for something a bit dressier.
If you’re a bride or are looking for some cute graduation dress, I’ve styled so many white dresses on my Instagram page here!
Denim Jacket
Everyone needs a good denim jacket in their wardrobe. This light wash trucker jacket from Loft is one of my favorites. It’s been a staple of mine for years. I love that it has some structure too it, but doesn’t feel boxy, if you know what I mean.
Some denim jackets feel a bit too loose-fitting and some feel too rigid, this one has the perfect fit! You can easily layer it over bodysuits or a basic tee. You can throw it on over a maxi dress or an athletic dress. Denim jackets are such an easy layering piece!
I also really love this pearl denim jacket! You guys know how much I love pearls right now, so this jacket will definitely be in my rotation. I’ll share a photo below how you can wear a denim jacket with trouser pants, for a more casual, non-work setting!
Active Dress
If I had to choose one clothing piece that I had to wear all Summer, it would be this active dress. It comes in over ten colors, so if you’re a neutral girlie, you can definitely go with black or white. But, I decided on this beautiful lavender color!
The material is such great quality and it has built-in shorts with a hidden cell-phone pocket. I’d say it fits true to size, but it does run a little short. So, if you’re taller than 5’7″ I’d probably order the tall length. I am almost 5’6″ for reference and I’m wearing the XS regular.
I can guarantee that you’ll want to order a second dress after you try it on! It’s perfect for traveling and exploring while on vacation, going on walks, running errands, watching a baseball game.. just doing every day things!
Bottoms
Here are five essential shorts/bottoms for the Summer months!
- White jeans
- Denim shorts
- Linen shorts
- Tailored trousers
- Tennis skirt
White Jeans
I love white denim so much. It gives off a classic and effortless Summertime vibe! White denim is so easy to style because everything looks good with white. Neutrals always pair well, but pops of pink, lavender, green, orange, etc. do too. Seriously, every color looks great with white jeans!
This is one of my favorite pairs of white jeans, they’re from last year, however I’ll link this year’s version here!
Denim Shorts
I’m sure you own a few pairs of denim shorts in your closet already, but if you need a new pair, these two are my absolute favorite! The pair on the left is Abercrombie’s high rise 90s cutoff short and the pair on the right is the high rise mom short.
I’m in a size 24 regular on the left and a 24 curve love on the right, and if you can see, there’s a little extra room in the waist/thighs in the curve love! I love the fit of both, but I just wanted to note the differences.
Linen Shorts
Linen shorts are great for hot days because they’re light, airy and breathable. Unlike denim, which can be a bit heavier and not as breathable. I love these pull-on beige linen shorts, they’re under $35 and have a stretchy waistband!
They’re very comfortable, making them a great every day shorts options! You can wear these running errands, grabbing lunch, or sightseeing on vacation.
Tailored Trousers
Similar to the blazer, I also thought trousers were just for corporate girlies. I had no idea where I would wear them outside of an office-setting, so I was hesitant to buy a pair.. until I saw them styled all different ways over on Tik Tok. I decided to buy the pink trousers and I’m obsessed.
These are my new FAVORITE pants! I’m not even kidding. They fit so well and are super flattering! I’m in the size 24 regular and I love that they’re a bit more fitted through the thighs and then widen a bit from the knee down.
You can pair them with a graphic tee for a concert outfit or a black bodysuit or cropped tank for a night out. If you want a more professional look, you can add the matching blazer. So many options!
Tennis Skirt
Tennis skirts have replaced my every day athletic shorts! I feel so much more elevated and feminine when wearing a tennis skirt vs. running shorts. Below are two of my favorite skirts that I own.
The white skirt has a stretchy seamless waistband with a pocket on one side. The black skirt has an elastic drawstring that you can adjust in the front, as well as multiple hidden pockets and a silicone lining on the built-in shorts to hold them in place.
I love both! I think they’re great for any outdoor workouts, tennis, golf, walks, quick errands, hiking or biking!
Shoes & Accessories
I wanted to briefly share a few of the shoes and accessories that I reach for constantly in the Summer. I won’t go too in-depth with each one, but I’ll link a few options for you!
Shoes:
- Clear strap sandals
- White sneakers
- Slide Sandals
- Pool shoes
These clear strap sandals are perfect for any Summer events, weddings, brunches, bridal showers, etc. They instantly elevate your look and pair well with any dress or outfit since they’re neutral.
A good quality pair of white sneakers is also a must! I reach for mine all the time. You can pair them with your active dress for running errands, a pair of denim shorts and a bodysuit for a baseball game or with a midi dress if you’re going for a more casual/laid back look. I’ll link a chunkier white sneaker option here!
You’ll also want to add a pair of slide sandals to your capsule – something that’s easy to slip on and off. If you can’t tell already, I’m all about simple and practical, but still elevated! You can choose how casual or dressy you’d like this shoe to be, but these pearl slides or braided slide sandals are perfect!
Lastly, you’ll want to own some type of pool shoe that can be worn to the beach, a pool party, on vacation, etc. These are only $10 and come in tons of colors!
Accessories:
- Gold hoop earrings
- Simple gold necklace
- Straw tote
- Belt Bag
- Sunglasses
In terms of accessories, I like to keep it simple in Summer. I have one go-to pair of hoop earrings and a simple gold necklace that I wear almost every day! You’ve probably heard me talk about this multi-strand heart necklace from Kendra Scott, it’s so cute and dainty, and literally goes with everything.
You’ll also want a pair of sunnies, most of mine are from DIFF, a versatile straw tote that can be used every day and for the beach, and a belt bag that you can use for your HGWs!
Let me know if you liked this style of post! I wanted to share more of a casual, every day capsule wardrobe, but I can also work on a Summer Work Capsule wardrobe if that would be helpful to you! Feel free to leave me a comment below!
Other posts you may like:
- Summer Style Guide: Date Night Outfit Ideas
- Beautiful Resortwear & Summer Dresses for your next Vacation
- Ultimate Beach Vacation Packing List
This post shared how to build the perfect Summer Capsule Wardrobe in 2023.
