capsule wardrobe Archives | Simplicity Relished

How To Dress Up Your Favorite Old Sweater

October 31, 2016

Most of my favorite clothes are old. I’ve had them for at least a couple of years, and they’ve become significant elements in some of my favorite memories. I love the memories that old clothes invoke.

Sweaters are no exception. Old sweaters are the best– and despite the fact that many of mine have holes, I still wear them. Because 1) I love how soft they are, and 2) I don’t care.

Furthermore, fall and winter are the perfect time to slip into our well-worn jeans and throw on our favorite knits, because nothing says “cozy” quite like that.

But this doesn’t mean our outfits have to be boring… or (exactly) the same everyday. I wear the same clothes all the time [again, because 1) I like to and 2) I don’t care], and yet there’s a lot of fun to be had dressing up those same clothes in different ways.

One Dress 3 Ways: Capsuling with Symbology

August 29, 2016

This fall, I’m focusing on getting the absolute greatest mileage out of all of my clothing. This means figuring out how to contextualize, accessorize, and maximize each piece so that I can wear them over and over.

Beyond living simply, one of my biggest passions for years has involved fighting for justice and creating opportunity for the poor around the world. This has meant jumping on board with Noonday Collection, a fashion-forward company that partners with artisans in vulnerable communities to create beautiful jewelry.

So of course when I found out about Symbology, I was thrilled….Continue Reading

7 Fashion Myths to Stop Believing

April 4, 2016

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.

Capsule Accessory Series: 5 Powers of a Statement Necklace

March 18, 2016

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.

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

February 8, 2016

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.

My Epic Formula For Getting Dressed Super Fast

October 29, 2015

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 Wear White This Fall in 3 Easy Steps

October 15, 2015

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.

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!

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!

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.

Love the accessories? Learn more about them below:

Firelight Necklace (Uganda)
Jamdani Scarf (India)
Bazaar Bangles (India)
Beaded Boho Earrings (India)

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

October 5, 2015

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?

How to Get Ready In 10 Minutes

April 14, 2015

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.”

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

Denim, Yellow, and Red

August 25, 2014

When I embarked on Project 333, I had very few pieces on hand to start. Most of my things were in boxes and I was already using a restricted wardrobe. Naturally, I picked my best pieces and was determined to wear them all month long….Continue Reading