Simplicity Relished

minimalism for the adventurous heart

7 Fashion Myths to Stop Believing

Friends, we’ve been fooled.

We’ve been fooled to believe that there is such a thing as a fashion rule. We’ve been told over and over again that there are certain indispensable “essentials” that must be a part of every wardrobe. We’ve been told that we’re not capable of dressing ourselves– that we need experts in the fashion industry to help us out.

But here’s the truth: our closets are our closets. They can be however large or small we choose. Our staples are our staples. They have to fit our lifestyle, climate, and needs.

For years, I was fooled by the fashion industry into believing that my image was made up of the clothes that I wore. I thought I needed to dress well in order to be seen and appreciated by others. I spent countless hours in front of the mirror– in dressing rooms, no less– trying to find my true self somewhere in a pile of textiles and price tags.

7 fashion myths to stop believing-- become the creator of your own wardrobe …Continue Reading

Capsule Accessory Series: 5 Powers of a Statement Necklace

Welcome back to the Capsule Accessory Series, where I share my capsule wardrobe secrets and how I use accessories to spice up my wardrobe. All the pieces featured here are from Noonday Collection, my favorite jewelry and accessory company. Noonday collaborates with artisan businesses throughout the developing world, creating beautiful fair-trade pieces as well as sustained opportunities for dignified work.

Read the intro post to this series, Capsule Accessory Wardrobe: How I Wear The Same Clothes All The Time.

First, a few questions…

What if you could change a simple outfit into a statement with a single piece of jewelry? Would you wear those clothes more often? Worry less about having a “boring” wardrobe? Feel more confident about your sense of style without needing to constantly buy more clothes?

This is what I’ve been able to accomplish with statement necklaces.

There’s nothing like a statement necklace to elevate an entire outfit. An everyday dress becomes a polished office or date night essemble. A t-shirt becomes interesting and trendy in an instant. And your necklace can have an impact on practically everything in your closet. It’s pretty much magic.

5 powers of the statement necklace- the perfect addition to your capsule wardrobe …Continue Reading

Introducing: Capsule Accessory Series (how I wear the same clothes all the time)

It has been about a year since I started my capsule wardrobe project, and it’s been quite the learning experience. I now function with fewer than 40 pieces in my wardrobe at one time, and have not needed to add new items since late summer last year. It has taken me some time to figure out how to dress in Southern California, and I’ve figured out which staples will last me the longest. Capsule wardrobes aren’t rocket science– if you’re determined to get it right, you eventually will.

Still, many people have asked me (through this blog and in person) how I manage to cycle and recycle through the same clothes. On top of the fact that the weather in Pasadena doesn’t vary much, I can almost wear the same pieces all year round. So how exactly do I get away with wearing the same clothes, without looking repetitive? Great question.

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My Epic Formula For Getting Dressed Super Fast

Does the title of this post promise too much? Perhaps. But I can’t express how much it has improved my life to shrink my closet to the essentials. I think my fall capsule wardrobe is the best capsule wardrobe I’ve but together yet, and I’ll tell you why.

The trick to creating a successful capsule wardrobe is finding enough versatile pieces that you love and that make you feel amazing. As though that’s not tricky enough, the next step is to make sure those pieces go well together. And finally, we have to think about limiting factors such as the local weather and what we need to be dressed for.

how to actually get dressed quickly 4 …Continue Reading

How To Wear White This Fall in 3 Easy Steps

Once autumn rolls around, we tend to put away the whites. The old fashion “rule” of not wearing white after Labor Day has sunk in deep.

But, as someone who loves wearing white and doesn’t believe in fashion rules anyway, my goal is to make white a wearable color all season long. My fall capsule wardrobe has some whites in it, and I intend to wear them straight through the end of the year.

How to wear white this fall 4

Use white as the perfect canvas.

Because it is! In this outfit, I wore my LOFT shell as a canvas for Noonday Collection’s Firelight Necklace. Against the white backdrop, our jewelry can really pop and become the center of the outfit!

A word about the Firelight Necklace: This piece is made by a sweet group of artisans in Kampala, Uganda. The coral-red beads are hand-rolled paper, and the entire necklace is hand-strung! Jalia and Daniel run this artisan group, and they’ve been doing local business as a ministry for over 5 years. Because of their success, they’ve opened a free daycare and reduced crime rates in their neighborhood. The local police even stopped by to thank them for their work!

How to wear white this fall

Combine it with seasonal textures.

To make the outfit more autumnal, I threw on my grey tweed skirt. It’s another great neutral to have when I really want my accessories to stand out. And of course, I added the Jamdani Scarf to the outfit to contrast with the whites I was wearing.

Seasonal textures come in all colors, which means we can easily combine them with our white pieces. Tweed, corduroy, wool, cable knits, and flannel are the perfect materials to keep an outfit seasonally appropriate.

A word about the Jamdani Scarf: Jamdani is a weaving technique native to India. The artisans who make the scarf are women who have a reliable income through creating pieces like this. I love wearing it because it symbolizes the opportunities that are made possible when we make conscious, informed purchases!

How to wear white this fall 5

Accessorize with bold designs, soft metallics, and rich tones.

In addition to choosing the right textures, it’s important to add accessories that bring forth that warm, inner brilliance we all desire to exude this season. Fall is the perfect time to be bold with accessories, and to ease our way into the golds and silvers that adorn the holidays.

I recently became a Noonday Ambassador, and I couldn’t love my accessories samples more. The Bazaar Bangles and the Beaded Boho Earrings are the perfect way to echo the white in my outfit, and they bring in that metallic element too. The bangles, like the scarf, are made in India where artisan business owners are able to pay fair, consistent wages and grow their business sustainably.

How to wear white this fall 2 How to wear white this fall 1

Love the accessories? Learn more about them below:

Wearing white this fall is easier than you think! 3 easy steps via @daisylinshih #capsulewardrobe

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Are you wearing white this season?

Fall Capsule Wardrobe: 33 Essentials For 3 Months

Here it is, finally: my fall 2015 capsule wardrobe! This is the first fall capsule I’ve put together, and I’m so excited about every piece that is in it.

Fall is a tricky season to dress for, especially here in Southern California. This week we’ll be experiencing 90-degree weather, while 3 months from now we will be “shivering” at temperatures closer to 50 or 60 degrees. How does anyone dress for such a wide range? 

Fall capsule wardrobe- 33 essential pieces for your fall capsule …Continue Reading

5 Secrets to Spicing Up A Small Wardrobe

It’s no secret that I love having a small wardrobe. Whether it’s my summer capsule or my travel pieces, simplifying my closet has helped me in so many ways. (Read the full story here.)

A simple closet doesn’t have to mean a boring closet, however. I think that dressing up can be a fun exercise in creativity and that’s a good thing. While I spend much more of my time nowadays focusing on things that matter more to me, I still enjoy putting together a good outfit. 

So today, I wanted to share 5 of my secrets to making a 40-piece wardrobe look polished and personal!

5 secrets to spicing up a small wardrobe- half …Continue Reading

Why I Shrank My Closet (and quit obsessing over my image)

I’m going to tell you part of my story today.

Ever since I was two or three, I loved the idea of being pretty. I wanted long hair, earrings, and dresses. There’s little explanation as to why I was so conventionally “girly;” my mother didn’t push those ideas onto me and I watched very little TV. Still, I dreamed of being a princess and looking beautiful everyday.

For a short stint in elementary school, I tried being a tomboy. It didn’t really work. That’s all I have to say about that.

And for most of my teenage years and into college, I cared deeply about dressing well. I subscribed to promotional emails from fashion houses, cosmetics companies and every department store I had ever frequented. I shopped often and spent a lot of money. I was basically addicted.

When I Stop Obsessing Over My Image

No matter how many times I changed my image– from Free People boheme to Ann Taylor polish– I never felt like I had gotten there. I always wanted more.…Continue Reading

Weekly Capsule: 2 Outfits from my Summer Capsule Wardrobe

summer capsule wardrobe week 2-7

Two outfits this week, because it’s been a bit of a struggle over here.

I’m feeling subdued. Not down– just absolutely exhausted. I can’t even fake excitement in my writing voice right now.

I need some time to rest this weekend, and of course I’ll be trying to be intentional about it. Choosing to rest takes courage. But as you know from earlier this week, I try not to succumb to FOMO, anyway. I’ve also noticed that it’s not easy to find peace on days off. There are a hundred things we try to cram into those extra 24 hours that we are more tired– and daunted– at the end of them than when we started.

Anyway, I hope you have a sweet, undaunted, uncrazy weekend. I sure need one.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what the heck a capsule wardrobe is, here are some links:

…Continue Reading

Weekly Capsule: 5 Outfits from my Summer Capsule Wardrobe

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Last week I shared my summer capsule wardrobe, and I’m already loving it. The weather has been a bit chilly here in Southern California (and by that I mean cloudy 50s and 60s…), so it was good to have included some cardigans!

If you’re new to the whole capsule wardrobe thing, check out these posts first!

One of the main lessons I learned from my previous capsule wardrobe was that high-maintenance clothing is not my friend. A few of my dry-clean-only pieces lasted throughout the 3 months, but others required washing. And, as a result, I lost the opportunity to wear them more than a few times.

This season, I specifically selected pieces that could stand a few washes. Some of the tops and bottoms have been in my closet for ages– 7 years to be exact! The fact that I can still love and wear them means that money was well spent.

_DSF3646 The most important thing to remember when it comes to building a capsule wardrobe is to balance variety and consistency. Variety will allow you to put together a diverse collection of outfits that is exciting and inspiring throughout the 3 months. Consistency ensures that different pieces will go well together– in materials, colors and patterns.

Accessorizing is another really fun way to take a capsule wardrobe from good to great. I don’t include accessories in my wardrobe (though I do include shoes), because a scarf is not an adequate piece of clothing on its own. However, playing with these pops of color– from jewelry to hair accessories to scarves and belts– can only enhance the clothes that already make you look and feel awesome.…Continue Reading

My 40-Piece Summer Capsule Wardrobe (and a step-by-step guide)

Summer’s just around the corner, so my summer capsule wardrobe should be filled with tank tops and short shorts, right? Wrong.

Creating a summer capsule wardrobe can be pretty challenging, depending on what’s on your calendar. If you’ll be spending any time at work– which I believe most of us will– then selecting perfect summery pieces that are still work-appropriate can be a challenge.

Building a summer capsule wardrobe should be based on the same principles we use throughout the year– namely, that clothes should be made for the body; not the body for clothes. Sure, summer is an excellent time to get outdoors, lose the weight we need to lose, and focus on fitness. But it’s not a reason to force ourselves into trends that just don’t work for us.

Summer is just as important a season as any to love everything in your wardrobe.

If you’re just now checking out the whole capsule wardrobe thing, be sure to read these posts:

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

Summer Capsule Wardrobe Inspiration and a guide to build yours! …Continue Reading

How to Get Ready In 10 Minutes

I have never been a roll-out-of-bed-and-look-fabulous kind of person. I’ve always needed my morning time. Almost every day, I eat a full breakfast, drink hot coffee, get myself ready, check my email, plan my day, and chat with my husband. Somehow if I don’t do all these things, then the whole day feels off— is anyone else like this or is it just me?

Despite how important it is for me to take my time in the morning to mentally prepare, I’ve also been working on cutting down my getting-ready time. I like being spontaneous, and I hate having to hold up an impromptu gathering or outing by half an hour because I have to “get ready.”

How to get ready in 10 minutes or less

Confession: it used to take me more than half an hour to get fully ready. It’s true that I took my time and didn’t bother to move very quickly, but for the most part I was just obsessing over every detail of my outfit and makeup.

Yup that was me– before I discovered minimalism and realized how much I really wanted to focus on other things.

Anyway, the good thing that resulted from that is that I tried on a lot of beauty products. I still have a dwindling stash of items I’m now slowly using up, but I thought I’d share about my favorites. And how I now get ready in 10 minutes or less….Continue Reading

My 3-Minute Messy Bun

A few of you have asked me how I whip up my hair into a carefree messy bun, so I thought I’d share! It’s been a while since my last beauty post and I want to write more about my simple everyday routine.

First, I’m really not a “hair” person. I have pretty plain, straight dark hair, and I’ve never been that good at doing fun things with it. But, I’ve always liked the idea of messy, “I-don’t-care hair.” Unfortunately most of the tutorials online are anything but quick, which I think is a bit ironic for the end result. If it takes time and skill to accomplish, then it can hardly be a real “carefree” look.

The tips I’m sharing today are for creating a genuine I-don’t-care style that literally takes minutes. (I timed myself– it took less than 3 minutes to get my hair together this morning.) My hair is medium length, so this is pretty much doable with any hair that will go back in a ponytail….Continue Reading

Capsule Wardrobe FAQ’s

The capsule wardrobe is a simple concept, but there are lots of details that are easy to get hung up on.

Now that my late-winter-early-spring capsule wardrobe is in full swing, I’m ready to answer some questions that surface often.

Capsule Wardrobe FAQ1

But first, this outfit! It’s a new favorite. The sheer blouse (similar) is the perfect piece for our relatively warm SoCal “winters,” and the black maxi skirt keeps me cool and casual while still being appropriate for work….Continue Reading

How To Sell Your Gently-Worn Clothing

One major incentive for me to thoroughly clean out my closet was the prospect of selling my gently-worn items. These are the things that I purchased but, for one reason or another, rarely ever used. They’re perfect candidates for re-sale, and the extra cash was a great opportunity to choose better spending habits.

The first thing to remember when selling your clothes is that you will never earn back what you paid– ever– without being dishonest.

In fact, what you earn from clothes you sell will be a small fraction of what you paid. (Think about that before you make your next purchase!)

The reason is, as soon as we purchase clothing, its value decreases. It’s kind of like buying a car– its dollar-worth takes a nose-dive as soon as money exchanges hands.

With that in mind, just remember that you won’t make a fortune selling the stuff in your closet, but you probably will earn something. Here are several easy options for doing so.

How to sell your gently-worn clothes …Continue Reading

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Disclaimer: Simplicity Relished is a for profit blog. Any company that I collaborate with is chosen by me and chosen because they fit the theme and readership of my blog. Copyright: If you see something you like here, please be encouraged to share it along with a link back to my site. All of the images and content here, unless otherwise noted or linked, is my own original work.