Angie Marie Creating a Summer Capsule Wardrobe for Full-Time RV Living has been something that I’ve been working on since we went full-time last summer. I will admit that limiting the amount of clothes that I own has been hard for me, and even more difficult for me to do for my two girls. When I was growing up, we didn’t get new clothes very often. Many of the clothes that I owned were hand-me downs that never fit me quite right, and most of my clothes that I wore in high school were from goodwill or bought with my own money when I started working. I have a tendency to hoard clothes, and to hold onto them because I worry that I won’t have anything to wear.
A view of the inside of my RV closet. I have limited room to hang items, and I’m hoping to organize it better as I fine tune my capsule wardrobe.
With that being said, it’s been very challenging to downsize my clothes for our new lifestyle. I stumbled on the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe, and I really like the idea! It not only will prevent me from buying and owning entirely too many clothes, but it will allow me to organize my tiny RV closet as well as not have to think too hard about what I’m going to wear for the day. This has been an ongoing process for me, and I hope that I’ll have my clothes paired down soon for all seasons. I thought I’d share with you exactly how to create a summer capsule wardrobe for your RV closet.
What Exactly is a Wardrobe Capsule
A wardrobe capsule takes the phrase less is more and applies it to your clothes. It’s eliminating the bulk of your clothing so that you have a limited number of items that you love to wear. The idea is to have clothes that can be mixed and matched easily so that you can create different looks for all sorts of occasions.
My bottom drawer is filled with shirts that are completely unorganized, and quite frankly a disaster. I’m hoping when I downsize them some more that this drawer will look better.
Capsule wardrobes typically will change with each season, but you can easily keep some pieces that can cross over to other seasons. Investing in high quality pieces of clothing that you will wear over and over again will allow you to save money so that you aren’t buying new clothes frequently. However, you may still need to freshen up your wardrobe with new pieces each season depending on the wear and tear on your clothing. The idea is to remove the old clothes to make room for the new clothes or you’ll end up back at square one. It’s important to remember that creating a capsule wardrobe is very personal, and there’s no right or wrong way to make one for yourself.
Center Your Summer Capsule Wardrobe Around Your Lifestyle
The best way to get started with creating your summer capsule wardrobe for full-time RV living, is to consider what you do daily so that you have the right clothes to match your lifestyle. If you are an active person, then you may need several wardrobe pieces that focus on sporty and lightweight clothes. If you have business meetings to attend or lots of social gatherings, then you’ll want to make sure that you have several business casual pieces of clothes that you can mix and match easily.
What to Include in Your Summer Capsule Wardrobe
Once you have clothes that match your lifestyle, you’ll want to consider a few others things when creating your wardrobe. Pick clothes that are comfortable, that fit you well, that you love, that are of great quality and pieces that are timeless and classic. The number of clothing items that you have in your capsule wardrobe will greatly depend on each person, but a summer capsule wardrobe usually falls into the 25 to 50 items range. Some go lower and some go higher as it honestly depends on how minimalist you want to be in the end.
Get Started with What You Own
Before you rush out to buy a lot of new clothes, it’s a great idea to go through your wardrobe and pick out which ones you want to keep. If there are clothes that you rarely wear, consider donating them. Once you have a pile of the clothes that you wear often, then you should split them up according to the season. I store a lot of my winter clothes under our bed in a suitcase. Things like winter coats, heavy jackets and sweaters are best stored out of the way due to the tiny closet space that we have. Keep fine tuning your keep pile until it’s a manageable amount of clothes for a capsule wardrobe.
Another great idea when creating your summer capsule wardrobe is to stick with neutral colors. All items that are white, black, gray, brown, navy or cream are worth keeping because you can mix and match them easily. If you have a color that you love and it looks great on you, then also consider keeping it in your wardrobe. The idea is to have a consistent color palette.
Ideas of Summer Capsule Wardrobe Pieces
If you’re in need of ideas for your summer capsule wardrobe, then stick around for this section. I have included what I feel like are great staples to have in your closet. Take note of the clothing types that you like to wear and make a list to check off as you work on creating the perfect summer capsule wardrobe for full-time RV living. If you don’t have all the pieces you need, then consider buying them from second hand resale stores for pre-loved and vintage clothes that will save you money.
- Summer Dress
- Camis
- Skirts
- Maxi Dress
- T-Shirt Dress
- Light Denim Jacket
- Chambray Shirt
- Denim Jeans
- Denim Capris
- Denim Shorts
- Lightweight Linen Button-Up
- White T-Shirt
- Graphic Tee
- Cotton Tanks
- Linen Shorts
- Linen Pants
- Sneakers
- Flip Flops/Water Shoes
- Sandals
- Tote Bag
- Summer Clutch
- Swimwear
- Breathable PJs
Stick With It
Learning to adopt to a capsule wardrobe mentality doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to stay focused on less impulse purchases, and use a little bit of strategy to plan out a wardrobe that is curated just for you and your lifestyle. It’s a great idea to go through your clothes each season to look for ones that need replaced as well as items that you didn’t wear as much as you thought you would. Don’t be afraid to update your wardrobe as needed, but also don’t forget to eliminate clothes as you bring new ones in so that you don’t end up with a closet stuffed full of clothing again.
My wardrobe includes many lightweight tank tops, shorts, graphic tees, and a few hoodies for cooler summer nights. I am planning on adding a summer dress or two this year to my wardrobe, and a few other staple pieces that I am lacking. I am hoping that once I eliminate more clothes this year, that my closet space will look way more organized. My goal is to create close to one week’s worth of clothes, and include a few Sunday’s best items as we are working on making church a part of our weekly routine.
Check Out Some of My Favorite Amazon Staples for my Summer Capsule Wardrobe. Please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate, and these links may provide compensation to this blog which goes directly to keeping it up and running.
