Spring capsule series pt. 1: idea & planning.

Feb 21, 2018 | 4 comments

Hi! Hello! How are you all doing? I’ve not been putting a lot of effort into my blog for the past couple years which I am actually super sad about. Afterall this is where it all started when I pubilshed my very first post back in 2015! I’ve been thinking about picking back up on writing so many times, but with the rise of short-form content (hello TikTok, Shorts and Reels) it’s just harder to have time for it all these days. As much as I love creating snappy little styling reels I do also miss long-form and slower content, and I’m secretly hoping that we’ll start seeing a slow shift back to that in the near future. I mean, am I the only one feeling super fatigued by the AMOUNT of content out there some times? Everything is so high speed; similar to our consumption habits. I know everyone seems to love TikTok, I’ve given it a go myself and I do kind of like it too, but man. From a content creator perspective (even not just that, from a social media user perspective too), I’m so tired of feeling like you have to be “in it” and that you need to be onboard with all the newest social media trends alive to keep up. Anyway… moan over.

I wanted to check in here with a bit of a life update (for those of you old-school enough to enjoy the written format) as I feel like we’ve not chatted in ages!

 

(Trigger warning: infertility)

One major thing I have been considering openeing up about for a while is infertility and how this has been affecting our lives for the past 2 years. I’ve been going back and forth about sharing this for so long because well, it’s private and intimate and while I do like keeping things real on here some things are just better kept private. Having said that I’ve felt so incredibly alone in this whole process, and actually, after deciding to just be honest about it I’m amazed of how many other people we meet are actually going through the same. According to WHO 1 in 6 people are affected by infertility on a global scale, so really this is something we should talk way more about, yet there seems to be a lot of shame and taboo evolving around it. It’s something you always think happens to the next person and it’s never something I pictured would happen to me. But as this article states “infertility does not discriminate”, and it can happen to anyone.

As you know if you’ve followed me for some time we were blessed with a beautiful daughter back in 2020. When we decided we wanted children at the time, it didn’t take long from making that decision until I actually had a positive pregnancy test in my hands. Not long after that we felt ready to expand the family again, but as it turns out fate had other plans for us. It took a long time for us to even feel sure and ready to become parents the first time around, but once we did (it’s true what everyone always tells you) there was nothing else we rather wanted. That was it. Wanting to experience it all again so bad and then not being able to conceive has been no less than heartbreaking. At some point it becomes part of your life – you kind of get used to the fact that it’s just not happening. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but we were ultimately left with no other option (if we ever wanted more kids) than to go through IVF. I’m currently on my second round of IVF after one unsuccesful attempt back in fall 2023. Full of hormones and super (!) tired, but feeling okay despite it all. Having spring around the corner and generally experiencing lighter days at the moment helps a lot.

I’m very grateful for where we are and what we have, please know that. So we will have to see what the future brings. I just wanted to open up about this so that maybe if you’re going through the same thing; please know that you’re not alone and I know exactly how you feel <3 And maybe also so you guys know why I might be a little absent sometimes. 

Okay, so this whole week is kind of all about making our wardrobes ready for a new season. I know it’s still winter, but before we know it spring is (fortunately) upon us! As such, I don’t mind winter at all, but right now I just need more light and warmer temperatures. On Monday I published a post about what it means to “donate” your clothing (read more here), and this coming Friday I’m putting up a blogpost about how to care for your wardrobe in order to make it clean, fresh and ready for yet another a season. Today, however, it’s about the slightly more creative (and fun, if you want) part of the capsule wardrobe concept: the specific items and the style I’m going to pursue this season. I like to make these posts with accompanying videos every season and I know it’s a process many of you love to be a part of. I’m looking so much forward to spring! Even though winter is still upon us, you can only feel spring in the air already, right? Even my favourite trees in the garden – my lillacs – have already got green buds, and I’m looking forward for them to be in full bloom once May comes around. Could actually be, that spring is my absolute favourite season of the year!

Okay, så hele den her uge kommer lidt til at handle om det her med, at gøre garderoben klar til en ny sæson. Jeg ved godt det stadig er vinter, men før vi ved af det er foråret (heldigvis) over os! Jeg har som sådan ikke noget imod vinter, men lige nu trænger jeg bare til mere lys og lunere temperaturer. I mandags var jeg inde på lidt omkring hvad der egentlig sker med meget af det tøj vi donere (læs mere her), og på fredag kommer der et indlæg om, hvordan du kan pleje din garderobe så den bliver ren, frisk og klar til endnu en sæson. I dag skal det dog handle om den lidt mere kreative (og sjove, om du vil) del af capsule wardrobe konceptet: nemlig det tøj og den stil jeg kommer til, at forfølge denne sæson. Jeg laver gerne disse indlæg med tilhørende videoer hver sæson, og jeg ved det er en proces mange af jer elsker at være en del af. Jeg glæder mig til forår! Selvom vinteren tager sine sidste krampetrækninger lige nu, så kan man bare mærke det i luften allerede, ikke? Selv mine yndlingstræer i haven – mine syrentræer – har allerede fået grønne knopper, og jeg glæder mig til de springer ud i maj måned. Måske er forår faktisk min yndlingstid på året!

A look back at autumn/winter

I try to always look back at the previous season and take some notes in my capsule planner (which is basically just a notebook dedicated to my capsule wardrobes. No need to overcomplicate that step) so that I can look back on my thoughts for future seasons. I note down if I have been missing something, and I also make notes if theres something I didn’t use that much and maybe some thoughts about why. That way, I can see if those things are still something I think I’m missing the coming season or next year, and at the same time I learn to avoid the things that I might not use as much as I intended. The latter scenario has unfortunately been the case for these boots this time and after a couple of years having them stored away beforehand, this last attempt to put them into use might be proof that they were a mistake to ever even purchase. Knee-length boots are just not my thing: lesson learned. I think they are uncomfortable and difficult – my ankle boots win by 100 miles compared to them. Also I had too many jumpers in my capsule this time around. I reached out for the same ones week after week, and this proves in a well-known phenomenon especially for many women in the western world where we often only use about 30% of the things we have in our wardrobes. I’m all about extra jumpers during winter – but not quite as many jumpers next year. In the middle of the season, I also bought these boots from Dr. Martens in a secondhand version via Trendsales, since I have been missing a pair of completely flat and comfortable winter boots that can handle snow and rain and are as comfortable as a pair of sneakers. My Acne Jensen boots don’t cover those qualities, they are better for dry days and days in the office. They have proved to be a perfect match and I have used them so much already! Generally I have been really pleased with my winter capsule, but after a cold and wet winter I’m SO ready for spring!

Jeg forsøger så vidt muligt altid at kigge tilbage på den foregående sæson, og evt. tage nogle noter i min capsule planner (som bare er en notesbog dedikeret til mine capsules), som jeg kan se tilbage på fremadrettet. Jeg noterer bl.a. om jeg har manglet noget og desuden noterer jeg også om der var noget, som jeg slet ikke fik brugt og evt. hvorfor. På den måde kan jeg se om det er noget jeg stadig synes jeg mangler den kommende sæson eller næste år, og samtidig lærer jeg mig selv at undgå de ting, som jeg måske ikke får brugt så meget som først tiltænkt. Sidstnævnte scenarie har desværre gjort sig gældende for disse støvler denne gang, og efter et par år med dem i gemmerne og altså dette sidste forsøg på at tage dem i brug må jeg erkende, at de i sin tid var et fejlkøb. Knælange støvler er bare ikke min ting – lektie lært. Jeg synes de er ubehagelige, og for besværlige – der vinder mine ankelstøvler altså med 100 mil. Og så havde jeg for mange striktrøjer med denne gang til, at jeg kunne nå at få dem alle brugt. Det blev de samme jeg greb ud efter uge efter uge, og dette påviser i sig selv et ret velkendt fænomen, især for mange kvinder i den vestlige verden hvor vi ofte kun bruger ca. 30% af de ting vi har i vores garderober. Ekstra strik om vinteren ja tak – men ikke helt så mange næste år. Midt i sæsonen købte jeg også disse støvler fra Dr. Martens i en brugt udgave via Trendsales, da jeg har manglet et par helt flade og komfortable vinterstøvler, der kan klare sne, slud og regn og desuden er ligeså komfortable som et par sneakers. Det lever mine Acne Jensen støvler ikke helt op til, de er bedre til tørre dage og dage på kontoret. Det har vist sig at være et helt perfekt match, og jeg har brugt dem så meget allerede! Generelt har jeg været virkelig tilfreds med min vinter capsule, men efter en kold og våd vinter er jeg SÅ klar til forår!

My inspiration for the coming season

Throughout winter I’ve been obsessed about mixing in a bit of French romance into my wardrobe, and this will continue into the coming season. I’m still super inspired by my style icon number 1: Anine Bing, but slowly, cool French women like Jeanne Damas and instagrammer Audrey Lombard have also got under my skin, which my inspiration board for this season clearly emphasizes, haha! In fact most of the work lays mostly in the styling of my wardrobe this season, because I know I have many of the items shown in these looks stored away from last year or among my basics. I’ll be able to recreate many of these looks with things I already own, which is pretty cool. I want to pull back out my leopard flats and like last year, I’ll also incorporate a little bit of red and as something else this year a bit of blush pink too. Just a few colours to brighten up my wardrobe. Some of the things that inspire most this season are delicate pastels put together with worn out jeans, lace details, leopard print, lots of golden jewelry and the the color red. And as always,  I’m still crazy about my monochrome basic wardrobe. I’ll never get tired of that!

I løbet af vinteren er jeg blevet mere og mere forfalden til, at blande lidt fransk romantik ind i min ellers meget klassiske garderobe, og det kommer jeg også til den kommende sæson. Jeg er fortsat suer inspireret af mit stil ikon nummer 1: Anine Bing, men langsomt har seje franske kvinder som Jeanne Damas og instagrammer Audrey Lombard også fået sneget sig ind under huden på mig, hvilket mit inspirations board for denne sæson bærer tydeligt præg af, haha! Egentlig ligger arbejdet heri mest i stylingen af min forårsgarderobe, for mange af produkterne ved jeg, at jeg har gemt fra sidste år eller også har jeg dem i forvejen i min basis garderobe. Jeg vil derfor kunne genskabe rigtig mange af de looks der inspirerer mig, hvilket er super fedt. Jeg vil hive mine leopard ballerinaer frem fra gemmerne, og ligesom sidste år kommer jeg også til, at inkorporere lidt rød og som noget nyt lidt sart lyserød. Lidt flere farver, som kan lyse mine basic og klassisk looks lidt op. Noget af det der inspirerer mig allermest denne sæson er sarte pasteller sat sammen med slidte jeans, blonde detaljer, leopard, masser af gyldne smykker og altså farven rød. Og som altid er jeg stadig vild med min monokrome basis garderobe. Den bliver jeg aldrig træt af!

A sneak peek of one of my newest 2ndhand additions to my spring capsule: the beige biker jacket!

My  wishlist

Before a capsule wardrobe season I like to make a shopping list – you ca read all about how I do that right HERE. Not because I’m off to buy an entirely new wardrobe, but just to add a few fresh items. I’ll always check out my secondhand options before buying, because I’ve discovered that many of the things om lusting over can often be found in secondhand versions. Then I get the change to satisfy my inner fashionista while doing it in one of the most sustainable ways possible. The list below is my wishlist for this season:

  • Beige biker jacket
  • Dungarees
  • Band tee (with red details)
  • Kimono
  • More golden jewelry
  • Dark blue Levi’s jeans (vintage)

Besides these I also have a “wishlist” of things I want to pull back out from my storage. I know I have a dotted denimshirt from a few years back, my red cotton jumper from last year, my leopard flats, my blush pink shirt and ballerinas and I’d also like to use my kitten heels and black lace top from my occasional wear on a daily basis. Just sometimes and just because. Sometimes you feel like dressing up a bit more, you know? At the moment I’m really into these very feminine items together with trashy denim.

It’s far from all of these wishes I actually end up purchasing; I often end up ditching some of the wishes completely in the process if I discover I don’t need them anyway or I’ll end up saving some wishes for the next year. Normally I also use Polyvore to put together som looks based on both my basic wardrobe and the items I’m thinking about adding as my seasonals, but since I recently decided to invest in the capsule wardrobe app Cladwell I decided to use the app as a tool in my planning process this time around. It turned out to be perfect for that! That way I’ve been able to drag my items in and out of my wardrobe as I liked, until I was happy with the result and the outfits the app came up with. The most important thing is, that you end up with an amount of items that you’re happy about using over and over again while at the same time adds some freshness to your basics!

Anyway, this is as far I am in the process right now. Part 2 which is my final capsule will be up next week, so stay tuned!

Forud for en capsule sæson laver jeg gerne en shoppingliste – det kan du læse hvordan jeg gør lige HER. Ikke fordi jeg skal ud og have en helt ny garderobe, men blot for at friske min basis garderobe lidt op. Jeg tjekker gerne mine muligheder i brugte versioner før jeg køber nyt, da jeg har opdaget jeg ofte kan finde præcis dét jeg mangler netop i brugte udgaver. Så får jeg tilfredstillet min indre fashionista samtidig med, at jeg shopper på én af de mest bæredygtige måder man kan. Nedenstående er min ønskeliste for denne sæson:

  • Beige biker jakke
  • Dungarees
  • Band tee (med røde detaljer)
  • Kimono
  • Flere guldsmykker
  • Mørkeblå Levi’s jeans (vintage)

Udover disse så “ønsker” jeg mig også ting fra min egen garderobe, som jeg har gemt væk fra forrige sæsoner. Bl.a. en prikket denim skjorte jeg købte for år tilbage da vi boede i Århus, min røde bomuldsstrik fra sidste år, mine leopard ballerinaer, mine pastel pink skjorte og ballerinaer og så vil jeg gerne indimellem bruge mine kitten heel stiletter og min sorte blonde top fra min occasion-wear capsule. Bare indimellem og bare fordi. Nogle gange vil man gerne være lidt ekstra fin, og lige nu er jeg vil med items som disse sat sammen med et par slidte jeans.

Det er langt fra alle mine “ønsker” jeg rent faktisk ende med at tilføje til min garderobe; nogle ting ender jeg med at droppe helt eller gemme til næste år. Normalt bruger jeg Polyvore til, at sammensætte nogle looks ud fra de ønsker jeg har (både nye og ting fra gemmerne) men eftersom jeg for nyligt besluttede mig for, at investere i capsule wardrobe app’en Cladwell, så besluttede jeg mig denne gang for, at bruge den som værktøj i planlægningen af min kommende capsule. Det har den vist sig virkelig nyttig til! På den måde har jeg kunne trække items ind eller slette dem igen, hvis jeg ikke synes de outfits app’en foreslog fungerede alligevel. Vigtigst af al er det jo, at man ender med ting man er glad for at bruge igen og igen!

Anyway, det er så vidt jeg er i processen lige nu. Part 2 som er min endelige capsule kommer i næste uge, så hold øje herinde!

4 Comments

  1. M.

    Hey! I read your blog since some months and i find it really inspiring, love your very basic but classy style, I took many ideas to style my sometimes forgotten wardrobe basis. 🙂 great fun to rediscover what you already have.
    I also started doing capsules 2 year ago but I wonder how do you manage to change to spring season so early. I live in northern Germany and we are in the middle of a cold wave I it would be impossible for me in the next two weeks to change to ballerinas and leave my winter coat behind… Would you really start a spring capsule on the 1s March? What I usually end up doing is kind of a transitional wardrobe, and for the months of march and usually november I just exchange gradually the winter capsule to spring. But it’s not ideal because I have much more clothes on the wardrobe and all mixed up this time. How do you do it living in cold Denmark? You stick to the seasons no matter how the weather is, ot do you wait for warmer temperatures?

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Thanks for your comment and a great question! Keep in mind that since I’m also here to inspire, I may start my process a little early. Transitioning to a spring capsule now is not ideal – it’s freezing in Denmark too! In reality I won’t start using my spring capsule before in the middle of March, OR once the temperatures really goes up. There are definitely things in my spring capsule that with layers would already be wearable though, and then I could just save my flats and so on for when the temperatures allow me to use them. But really, do what makes most sense to you. You don’t have to be so rigid about the dates, your wardrobe has to work in real life too <3

      Reply
  2. Lo

    Excited to see how your spring capsule comes together! I’m looking forward to incorporating some lighter shades like pink and light blue.

    Reply
  3. user

    Perfect fit!!

    Reply

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