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  • About
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Blogs
    • YouTube
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    • Sustainable Brands
    • 2nd Hand Reno
    • 2nd Hand Online
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about me

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After thirty years teaching computer literacy at the elementary and middle school levels, I was not ready to retire, but was ready to try something new. Looking for a way to be of service and have fun at the same time, I turned to my lifelong passion for fashion and style.

That's the fun part, but where does the service piece come in? In 2015, I watched the eye-opening documentary, The True Cost, outlining the destructiveness of the fast fashion industry. Unable to ignore the profound environmental and human rights costs caused by runaway clothing consumption, I began looking for a more ethical way of clothing myself.

Online I found a creative group of young women writing about capsule wardrobes. A capsule wardrobe is defined as a small collection (30 to 40 pieces) of clothes focusing on quality, versatility, and ethical sourcing.  Since 2015, I have immersed myself in the world of capsule wardrobe creation, ethical brands, secondhand shopping (to diminish the flow of clothes headed for landfills), and developing my personal style.

Having amassed an expert's knowledge of capsule wardrobes and ethical fashion choices, I'm prepared to enthusiastically share these resources through classes, presentations, and private consultations. Join me to discover a simpler, more stylish, guilt-free way of dressing.

definitions

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Classic style with an edge from the Chic at Any Age blog.

capsule wardrobe

According to Wikipedia, a capsule wardrobe is: 

​"...
a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. This is usually achieved by buying what are considered to be "key" or "staple" items in coordinating colours."

The term "capsule wardrobe" was coined by Susie Faux, owner of the West End boutique "Wardrobe",in the 1970s to refer to a collection of essential items of clothing that would not go out of fashion, and therefore could be worn for multiple seasons. The aim was to update this collection with seasonal pieces to provide something to wear for any occasion without buying many new items of clothing.Typically, Faux suggests that a woman's capsule wardrobe contain at least "2 pairs of trousers, a dress or a skirt, a jacket, a coat, a knit, two pairs of shoes and two bags"

The concept of a capsule wardrobe was popularised by American designer 
Donna Karan in 1985, when she released her "7 Easy Pieces" collection. Her aim was to fill what she referred to as "a void in the marketplace" for a stylish and practical wardrobe designed with working women in mind. When the collection debuted, she showed eight models dressed only in bodysuits and black tights. The models then began to add items of clothing such as wrap-skirts, trousers, and dresses, to demonstrate her interchangeable style of dressing.

Blogger Courtney Carver's Project 333 is the mother of the current capsule wardrobe movement. She came up with the idea in 2010 as part of a simplification of her life following an MS diagnosis two years earlier.
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It's a wise move to invest in a fine leather bag. It will elevate any look.

curated

Curated is a word, not unlike artisanal, that has been so overused that it's begun to lose its original meaning. In spite of that, I've chosen it because it precisely expresses the care that I'd like capsules101 participants to exercise when adding items to their wardrobes.

Curate:  select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or exhibition). 

​Curate brings to mind a museum curator, an individual who assembles an exhibition with great thought and care; every piece is integral to communicating the artist's personal vision authentically.

The same authentic personal vision can be brought to your wardrobe when mindless shopping is replaced with mindful curating.

Ask yourself these questions:
  • Does this piece of clothing express my personal style?
  • Does it fit and flatter me?
  • Will it work with most other items in my wardrobe?
  • Is it well-made of natural materials?
  • Is it made ethically?
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