Stay At Home Mom Capsule/Minimalist Wardrobe, For Summer

I'm a little late to this party. 

Creating a capsule wardrobe is something I have really been wanting to do for quite a while.

Having a baby gave me the perfect opportunity to do so. Even though I have lost the weight I gained during pregnancy, my body has changed in so many ways.

 The most significant of these changes being my transition from a shy B cup to a full on D cup. 

Yikes!

Almost none of my pre-pregnancy tops could fit over this new and challenging shape. 

And now that my tummy is definitely squishier than it was before, 

many of my bottom pieces had to go as well.

Another wardrobe challenge I am suddenly facing is the absolute necessity of having easy access for nursing. Every top I own needs to be able to unbutton or pull up easily.

So, between those three new requirements for my wardrobe, I easily got rid of at least three quarters of the clothes in my closet.

.........

I didn't have a ton of clothes to begin with, but there were very few items in my closet that I absolutely loved and felt amazing in. 

The bottom half of the closet is mine. Not bad, right? 

But I really felt like I had tons of clothes that I never wore. 

Nothing went together, 

and there were many tearful mornings spent trying to find something I could feel good in.

I had, maybe 80 pieces of clothing before, compare that to my closet now. 

That's it. That is all of my clothes (excepting underthings, pj's, and workout clothes). 

I have been wearing only these items for almost a month now, and I love it!

I am a person who loves to dress simply. 

I feel like I have too much going on when I wear a necklace AND earrings. :)

So this idea of a capsule wardrobe is perfect for me. 

Getting dressed is so easy now. Everything in my closet goes together. 

I didn't really follow any rules in creating my minimalist collection of clothing. 

Here are the things I did do:

I thought about what style I wanted to go for, 

what looks I love, and what makes me happy in an outfit.

I know that I love things to be simple, clean, and classy. 

I am also a brand new stay at home mom, 

so I needed clothing that is durable, easy to care for, and effortless to put together.

Then I thought about a color pallet I wanted to stick with. 

This is what I decided:

If you looked at my closet before I cleaned it out, you would have noticed a lot of grays, creams, and blues. I love soft pinks, and I needed to add a non-neutral color, so that was an easy decision to make.

After I had paired down the items in my closet to the things that I loved and still worked for me, I thought very carefully about what I needed/wanted to add.

I made a secret board on Pinterest of clothes that were practical and lovely pieces.

I made lists and edited them, until I knew exactly what I was looking for. 

Then shopping was easy and fast.

So here it is. My stay-at-home, post-pregnancy-nursing friendly, capsule wardrobe:

I have 4 skirts. (I'm a HUGE fan of maxi's)

Large print navy blue maxi skirt.

From: Cato

Gray maxi skirt.

From: JC Penney

Lace maxi skirt.

From: Cato.

Gray pencil skirt.

From: H&M

1 Pair Straight leg dark wash jeans.

From: Express

(These jeans are their "Barely Bootcut" which I bought and altered after looking high and low for a pair of straight leg jeans and coming up empty handed.)

I have 6 tops:

Pale pink tunic.

From: Maurices

(I am not really satisfied with this top. I would like to replace it with this blouse.)

Navy blue tunic.

From: Maurices

Lace blouse.

From: Shopko, about five years ago.

  

White tank with lace detail.

From: JC Penney

 Cobalt blue blouse.

From: JC Penney

Black tank top.

From: JC Penney

3 Cardigans:

Navy Blue Cardigan

From: Macy's

Cream cardigan.

From: Maurices

 Beige crocheted lace cardigan.

From: A gift from a friend.

Two Dresses:

 Navy blue and white maxi dress.

From: JC Penney

Bonus, cute baby. Best accessory ever!

Navy blue knee length dress.

From: JC Penney

And for accessories, I have 2 scarves:

Both from Walmart.  (Don't judge!)

These are very lightweight infinity scarves, which I LOVE for nursing. 

If I'm wearing one of these, I just unravel it and use it a a nursing cover. 

And 2 Pairs of shoes:

Canvas cork wedge heels.

From: The Shoe Dept.

Nude Sandals.

From: Payless

.........

That is a grand total of twenty-one items. 

Keeping them all within the same color scheme, and all solids means that putting an outfit together takes about ten seconds. And with so little time spent on clothing, that usually means that I have a few minutes to spare for hair and makeup.

I remember my mom saying something like 

"If you have great hair, you can basically wear anything and still look nice."

So for me, having time to style my hair every day is an absolute must. 

Then if I don't have extra time to do makeup, nails, jewelry, or accessories, 

I still feel like I look great.

I have really been loving this change in my life. 

It's not my ideal capsule yet, but it's close.

I would like to replace a few of the tops with more flattering items, 

and I would like to replace one of my maxi's with a navy blue jersey pencil skirt. 

 But until I find exactly what I want, this is working well enough.

Have you ever tried a minimalist wardrobe? 

Any tips or thoughts?

I would love to read your comments, 

Thanks for stopping by!