I firstheardaboutcapsulewardrobes, hopefullyfiveyearsagoatthispoint, andit's alwaysbeensomethingthat's reallyinterestedme, butjustlikeminimalismorgoingtothegymeveroractuallyhaving a semiregularsleepschedule.
It's somethingthat I knowwouldprobablyimprovemyqualityoflife.
But I'veneverquitebeenabletomustertherealpowertostart.
Maybejustbecausedeepdown, I hatemyself a littlebit, and I don't actuallywanttoallowmyselftoenjoymylife.
Andso I justturnedinto a giantworkmachine.
Andnevermind.
Thisis a capsuleorder, a video.
Okay, sowhatis a capsulewarder?
YouaskGoodquestions, myfriend.
A capsulewardrobeisessentially a miniversionof a wardrobe, which I realizeconfoundlike a reallypretentiouswayofdescribingthephenomenonofjustnotbeingabletoaffordthatmanyclothes.
Likeallformsofminimalism, there's definitely a solidlayerofprivilegethey'reassumingthatyouevenhavetheproblemofowning a lotofstufftobeginwithandthatyouhavethemoneytoinvestinreallygoodqualityitems.
Thatbeingsaid, theideaof a capsulewardrobeistoselect 30 to 40 itemsthatyoulovethatfityouwellandthatmixandmatchandwhereonlythoseitemsforanentireseason.
Thegoalistomakeiteasiertoputtogetheroutfitsinthemorningandtosavemoneyandavoidimpulsepurchasesbecausethere's a strictlimitonthenumberofclothes, youknow, Yes, doingtheshotsofmyfeetisasridiculousasitlooksnow.
Thereason I'm finallydecidingtotryout a capsulewardrobeandthereason I'm sittingnexttothesuitcaserightnowisthat I'm actuallygoingtobeinLondonfor a month, which, incombinationwiththefactthatwe'recallinglivingwith 30 piecesofclothing, a challenge, justscreamsfirstworldproblems.
Thiswholevideoisgonnabelikethat.
I'm reallysorryaboutit.
I don't knowwhattodo.
Um, butnevertheless, I thoughtitwouldbeaninterestingexperimentandgiveusbothsomeinsightintowhetherowningmoreclothingreallymakesyouanyhappieroranymorefashionablerollcliffsending.
I feelgoodaboutthis, althoughitmightbe a littlebitbiasedbecause I haveonlyhadtopickoutoneoutfitsofar.
I'm justwearingmyfavoriteoverallsthat I'vebeenwearingineverysinglevideothat I feeland I laterthislittlelacycamisolesshirtunderneathtochangeitup a littlebit.
When I wokeupthismorning, itwasitwasreallyeasytochooseanoutfit, probablybecause I didn't havethatmanypiecestochoosefrom.
Butyeah, normally, evenwhen I'm goingouttorun a simpleerrandortogetdressedinthemorning, I canspendlikeanhourchoosingoutanoutfitforsomethingasstupidaslike, I needtogotothepostoffice.
I endupdiggingthroughmywardrobeforsolong.
It's like, Oh, thisis a littletoofancyforthepostoffice.
Okay, we'reonlytwoweeksin, and I amalreadyrewardthisexactsameoutfit, likethreetimesLizzieMcGuire.
Youareanoutfitrepeater.
I didn't think I wouldsettleintowearingthesameoutfitoverandoveragainlikethisearlyon, Butsomethingaboutbeingin a foreigncountrymakesmejust, like, notreallygive a shitaboutwhether I outrefuteornot, because, like, who's gonnaWho's gonnaroastmemyAirbnbhose?
Nobodygives a shitthat I'm wearingthesamedayoverandover.
Hello?
Hello?
ItisTuesdaynight.
I'm gettingdressedfor a date.
A firstdate, infact.
Now, mynormalfirstdateprepconsistsofaboutanhourofmechoosingdifferentoutfitsandfreakingoutaboutwhether I looklike I'm tryingtoohardoryoudon't looklike I triedhardenoughliketryingtofindthefuckingeffortless, sexybalancethatisalwaysimpossibletofind.
Anyways, I thoughtitwouldbeeasiersince I onlyhaveabout 40 itemswithmerightnow.
Butsomehow I havestillmanagedtomake a giganticmessoutofmywardrobe.
Closereverywhere.
I'vetriedjustabouteverycombinationandpermutationofclothingthat I currentlyown, and I thinkwenarroweditdowntotwooptions.
Itfeelslike a littlebitmoreof a classicfirstdateoutfit, though, usuallywas a bitofanopenneckline, sothatwhenyou'relikesittingdownandchatting, therewasskinoutthere.
I know, I know.
I'm kindoftheflirty.
I don't knowhow.
D'oh!
Allright, here's optionnumbertwo.
Thisoneis a littlebitmorecasual.
I havethisskirtwith a legslip, sowegotsomescandalouslegterritory, butit's prettyconservativeuptop.
I justthrewon a vintageBantithat I own.
And I mayhavedrawntheseboots, whichhave a prettysubstantialheelonthem, so I feellikeitwouldhelpdressup, beoffin a littlebit.
Youknow, thisoutfitisverylike l a coolgirl.
Sothat's kindofwhy I likeit.
Because I feellike I'm alwayssuch a try.
Hard.
I'm constantlyoverdressed.
Butnow I'm afraidthatinLondonwe'regoingto a barinSoHo, so I feellike I mightbeunderdressed.
Well, whyisthissohard?
Okay, I endedupgoingforoutfitnumbertwo.
I addedthislittletoward a shellchokerthat I mayormaynothavedesignedmyself a littlehopeAndthiscoatCool, butthecoastcomingofflaterintheifyoudon't havesand.
Okay.
Wishmeluck.
I'm gonnastressingMicrosoft a littlebit.
Usethediscomfortoflookinginpublic.
Hewasonlywearingtodaymywestcoatsuppliesyouneedprobablywhat I'm gonnabewinning, likehalfthetimewhile I'm inLondonbecauseit's socoldinthiscodeistheonlyreallywarmthingthat I broughtatthispoint.
London's winterweatherwasreallycomingformy L.
A s and I endeduphavingtowearthistancoatovernearlyeverysingleoneofmyoutfits, evenifit's notpicturedherewiththetancoat, likeinreallife.
I waswearingthattancoatbecause I wasfreezingotherwise.
Soultimately, I wasreallygladthat I brought a coupleaccessorieslikethisheadband, forexample.
Thathelpedmechangeoutmylookevenwhen I waswearingthesameouterwearallthetime.
Thenextweekend, I didstepupmyoutfitgame a littlebecauseit's timetoheadtoParisandmispronouncedallthenamesofthepastries.
Saturdaynight.
Thisiswhat I woretomyfirsteverraised, youknow, warehouse.
And I gotthesejeanssosweaty I couldn't wearthemfortherestofmyinterests.
Whichishowyouknowyou'vehad a goodrace.
I thinkthat's that's howshe's goingtonight.
It's gonnalookgoodnow.
As I headedbacktoLondon, I unfortunatelygothitbysometypeofcoldfluhangoverbubonicplaguecrossoverepisodethatleftmepajamafiedandinbedforthenextfourdaysstraight.
Hey, guys, itisthedaybeforeHalloween, and I amsogoddamnsick.
I doreallywishthat I hadanothersetofpajamas.
I have a blackteacherandleggingsthat I woreonthetrainfromParistoLondon, and I gotsosweatyanddisgustingandbonesandthen I havebeenwearingthissamepajama T shirt.
It's aroundfourPMonHalloweenand I don't have a costume.
I knewthiswasgonnabe a problemwhen I packedforthistrip.
because I wantedtomakesurethateverysinglepieceofclothingwassomething I wouldwearon a daytodaybasis.
So I didn't leaveroominmysuitcasefor a specificHalloweencostume.
I toldmyself I wasgonnathrowtheHalloweencostume.
Well, itwashere.
Butthen, obviously, I wasverysickfor a coupledays, and I'vejustmanagedtorallymyselftogoto a Halloweenparty.
Crazystory.
But I'm actuallygoingto a subscriber's Halloweenparty.
Soyougirlstryingtodresstoimpressreallybeenthis?
Thiswouldbe a situationwherebenicetonothave a capsulewardrobe, becausethen I think I couldeffectively d I y sometypeof a costumemoviecharacteroutofoutfitsthat I alreadyown.
Twohourslater, I see I wouldusetheactualSpongeBobtransition, but I'veliterallygoneanentirevideocopyrightstrikesforusingthatbefore.
Sopleaseforgivemyabsolutelyhorriblesponge.
Well, voice.
Hello, ladies.
I haveattempted a look.
I triedtodothisvampireeverything, but I don't evenown a redlipstickrightnow.
Andallofthemakeupstoresareclosedso I layeredonlikefivelayersoftintedlipbalm.
I didmybest.
Atleastthisdressthat I wasdoing a lotforme.
I thinkthisnecklinewillgetthemessageacrossher.
Peopleliterallyjustlooklike a drunkgirlis, exceptforme, which I guess I guesswe'llbemyrealcostumelatertonight, ifyouknowwhat I'm saying.
Sorightnow I amheadedto a cafetodo a littlebitofeverything.
I thinkthesavinggraceofmycouncilwardrobesofarhasbeenthefactthat I packedonetanslashneutralcolorschemeandthenoneblackcolorscheme.
It's madeitreallyeasytogetdressedinthemorningbecause I eitherdecidethatit's a blackdayortanday.
So, yeah, it's beenmakingthewholeoutfitdecisionprocessprettysimple.
I domisshavingmorevarietyouttruthfrom a littlebit, butsofarwe'redoingokay.
Hieyes.
So I haveeightdaysleftinthischallenge, and I'm slowlystartingtorealizethat I'veonlywornabout, like, 60% ofmywardrobesofar, mostlybecauseitisfuckingcoldhereinEngland.
And I failedtocalculateforthat.
TodayisSunday, and I thought I wouldjustgooutandshootsomeoftheoutfitsthat I haven't wornitcurrently.
I'm wearing a littleminidressandfreezeinmybootyoff, butyeah, I'm gonnatrytogetatleast a coupleofphotosbefore I turninto a gianticecubeandatleastget a littlebitofuseoutoftherestofmywardrobe.
Just a regulartape, theofficetakingpicsofmyownfeetonselftimers.
So I'm abouttopostonInstagram, and I'm realizingthatforthefirsttimeinmyoutfitsaregetting a littlebitrepetitiveNow.
Luckily, I haven't outfitrepeated, butbecause I packedSonyneutralandtannedtoneditemsinmycapsulewardrobe, liketheoutfitsarekindofblendingtogether.
It's liketanpants, tantoptanpants.
I thinkmypointofallthisisthatthere's justanabsurdamountofpressureonInstagramThiolooklikeyouhaveaninsaneamountofclothingand, likeevenmewith, youknow, 40 piecesofclothing, that's a goodamountofclothing.
It's stillnoticeable.
When I repeatitems, I willsayanotherdownsideofdoingthiscapsulewardrobehasbeenthat I havefeltrestrictedinthenumberoffashionvideosthat I canmake.
I wasgonnamake a falloutfitideas, video.
Butthen I realizedthatsince I'm shootingthisvideoprettymucheverysingleoutfitinmyfalloutfitideasvideowouldalsobeinthisvideo.
And I didn't wanttorepeatoutfitsbetweenthetwovideos.
Sothatiswhy I haven't actuallydonelike a fullbookoranythingyet.
I'vebeenfeeling a littleshittyaboutitbecausemychannelissupposedtobe a fashionchannel, and I justhaven't beenmakingfashionvideosbecause I don't haveor I feellike I don't haveenoughclothingtosustainthat.
I guessit's bringmebacktoyou.
Likewhen I firststartedYouTube, I had, I guess, a capsulewardrobejustbasedoffthefactthat I didn't havethatmuchclothing, and I didn't have a crazyamountofmoneytospendonclothing.
And I rememberfeelingreallyfrustratedatthattimebecause I wouldwear a dressonInstagramand I feltlike I couldn't wearitforanotherlikethreemonthsbecauseotherwise I wouldbeoutfitrepeatingandpeoplewouldn't beinterested.
Soironically.
That's why I gotintodriftingbecauseitwastheonlyaffordablewaythat I couldhaveenoughvarietyofoutfits, too, ActuallystartdoingfashionYouTube.
I guessthatjustleadsto a questiontoyouguyslike, Wouldyouratherthat I boughtlessclothingoverall?
And I hadlessvarietyofoutfitsonmyinstagram, andyoucouldseemereusingthesamepiecesoverandoveragain?
I wentforsomedrinksandbowlingwithsomenewfriendsthat I hadmetandthenearlythenextmorning, slightlyhungoverandverysleepdeprived, I slippedinto a muchmorecomfortableoutfittogototheairport.
AndinthewisewordsofMileyCyrus, hopon a planeto L A X notinmyheadlikeyeah, movingmyhipslike, Yeah.
Hey, guys.
So I ambackin L.
A.
Atthispointamongstmyworldlypossessionsandobsessivenumberofplantsinsidemydepartment, I havebeenbackhereforaroundfivedaysatthispoint, so I thought I wouldsharemyconclusionsfromthiswholewardrobecapsulewardrobeexperiment.
Overall, I think I overwhelminglyhad a positiveexperience.
I feellike I wasbeingreallydramaticatthebeginning.
I waslike, Can I survivewithonly 40 piecesofclothing?
Theanswerislike, Yeah, bitch, youcan.
40 piecesofclothingturnedouttobemorethan I needed.
I feltlike I overpackeventhough I wasthereforanentiremonth.
Sohewerethemajorproseof a capsulewardrobethat I foundthebiggestproofcapsulewardrobesformewastheamountoftimethat I savedinthemorning.
Itactuallysimplifiedmylifesomuch.
Therewas a hugedifferencenotonlyinhavinglessoutfitstochoosefrom, buthavingdone a lotofthementalprocessofselectingitemsthatwouldmatchtogetherwhen I packeddecision.
Fatigueistheideathatifyouhavetomake a bunchofdecisionsin a day, evensmalloneslikewhattowearinthemorning, whattoeatforbreakfast.
Notthat I wasmakinganyStevejobslevelmoveswhile I wasinLondon, but I dothinkithelpedmefeellessoverwhelmedinthemorningand, like I had a littlebitmoretimeandbrainpowertospendonmyactualwork.
I thinkoftentimesthereason I'd buysomethingnewisbecause I'vealreadyboughtsomethingelseandthen I don't quitehavetherightpiecetomatchwithit.
So I'm like, forevertryingThiooneupmypastpurchasesbymatchingthemwithsomethingelse.
Havingfewerpiecesofclothingalsojustmademeveryawareoffwhichpieces I hadn't wornyet.
So I didn't feeltheneedtogooutandbuy a newsweaterbecause I knewthat I had a sweatersittinginmywardrobethat I hadn't warnedthatmonthyet.
And I wantedtowearitbefore I boughtanythingelse.
Granted, I didgothriftingonetimeduringthismonth, mostlyfor a videoandforthefactthat I didn't wanttoleaveLondonwithoutcheckingoutthevintageshops.
But I madesuretonotwearanyofthenewclothesthat I boughtsowouldn't messupthewholeideaofthecapsulewardrobe.
Thereisalsosomethingcomfortingattheendofthedayandfeeling a littlebitlike a cartooncharacterinthat I had a certainselectionofoutfitsand a certaincolorpalettethat I alwaysworePreviously.
I hadalwaysthoughtofclothesaslike a costumeyoucouldchangeinandoutof, andyoucouldchangeyourcharactereverysingleday.
Sooneday I wanttoberomanticgirlie.
Actually, oneday I'm eagerLashley.
Oneday I'm likepunkrockAshley, and I thinkthat's a lotoffun.
Andthat's partofwhy I lovefashion.
Buttherewasalsosomethingcomfortingaboutfeeling a strongersenseofidentitywiththeclothesthat I broughtonthistripandfeelinglike I waswearing, like a consistentversionofmyselfeverysingleday.
I don't knowifthatmakessense.
Ormaybe I justlike, relyonfashionfortoomuchofmyselfidentity.
Butthatwassomething I felt.
MyCollinsareverybriefandquiteobvious, whichisone.
Sometimesit's nicetohave a varietyofclothingfor a specialeventlikeHalloweenorformyjob.
If I'm making, like a 30 outfitsvideoorlookbookandsecondofallonoccasion, itdidfeel a littlebitrepetitive.
What I meanbythatisinmyhead I havesomuchmoretimetowearclothing.
Then I actuallydolikewhat I waspackingforthistrip.
I wassostressedoutthat I wouldn't haveenoughclothing.
I wastrying, likeshovedonelastyearinmysuitcasewhen, inrealityonthistrip, I didn't endupwearingseveralofthepiecesofclothing.
I hadtoomanyoutfitsandnotenoughtimetowearallofthem.
Around a monthand 1/2 ago, I did a giantclosetcleannow, and I gotridoflikehalfoftheclothesthat I owned.
Butthisexperimenthasmademerealizethat I I ammorethanhappywithwaylessthanthat.
I don't thinkthathavingMaurclothingathomemademeanyhappierthanhaving 40 piecesofclothingthat I reallylikedonthistrip.
Althoughhemightbeslightlybiasedbecause I wasinLondonanditwasabsolutelylovelyandbeautifulandeverybodywaslovelyandhadBritishaccent.
Itwasverysweet.
So I think I wasjusthappyyou'reingeneralandmythirdandfinaltakeawayisthatthismonthmademerealizethegrowinggapbetweenwhat I perceivedthat I needformyinfluenceorlifeandwhatactuallymakesmehappyas a regularhuman.
I'vebeendoingYouTubefulltimeforaroundsevenmonthsnow, and I'veslowlyboughtintotheideawithoutevenrealizingit.
Thatinfluencerisneed a hugewardrobewithaninfinitenumberofoutfitsthat I need a perfectmirrorformymirrorself, that I need a bigapartmentsothat I couldhave a cleanbackgroundforallofmyvideoswhen a realitythatisthestuffthatusedtofrustratemesomuchaboutyoutoo.
I guess I reallywantedtobecomethisinfluencer.
Whowouldhave, like, beautifulclothesandperfectlycoordinatedoutfitsallthetimethat I didn't reallystoptothinkabout.
Why I likeoriginallystartedbyYouTubechannel, whichwasimportanttohavecooloutfits, butalsolargelytoshowpeoplethatyoudidn't needallthislikefancybullshitinorderThiodress.
Well, I feellikesomuchofmylifehasbecomecaughtupin, like, tryingtoobtaininfluenceorthingslikethefuckinghouseandtheperfectwardrobewheninrealitythatwasneversomethingthat I reallywantedorneeded.
So I mean, thisisgettingwaymoredeeperthan a fuckingcapsulewardrobe.
I needtorethink a lotofmylife, butthat's a topicforanothertime.
Sowhatdoesthismeanforthefateofmywardrobe?
I don't thinkthat I willbestickingstrictlyto a capsulewardrobefromnowonjustbecause I dolike a littlebitmorevarietyandflexibilitythanitallows.
But I cameupwith a systemthat I thinkwillworkovermeinwhich, atthebeginningofeachseason, I'm goingtoseparatearound 30 piecesofclothingonto a clothingrack, andthat's gonnabemylikepseudocapsulewardrobeon a daytodaybasis.
I willjustchooseoutfitsfromthose 30 pieces, soit'llmakeiteasiertogetdressedinthemorningandreducemydecisionfatigue, butalsohavethefreedomthatif I justwanttodressup, reallyclearthatday.
If I have a videotoshoot, if I have a specialoccasion, I stillhaveaccesstotherestofmyclothing.