A simple autumn capsule wardrobe.

Aug 25, 2019 | 13 comments

A look back at summer

Even though summer has been at a non-existing state almost all through august this year, it’s actually been a really nice summer. I think it’s crazy that we’ve already lived in our apartment for 5 months! That’s almost the entire spring season and then all through summer too. Time has just flown by. We’ve been in South France with some of our friends, we’ve visited Mortens family in Copenhagen, I’ve attended a festival and we’ve been to a lot of concerts this year too – Foo Fighters was definitely one of the highlights, which I bought tickets to for my husband’s 30th birthday. It’s also been a summer with lots of trips to the beach (and swims in the ocean) on the days where the weather has been great, and then I’ve been in both London and Copenhagen for work. Earlier this summer I even launched a few new jewelry designs, for example my Dune hoops, that I’ve been wearing all summer.

My summer capsule has been working out great this season, I’m almost tempted to say “as per usual”. Summer is not my favourite season when it comes to styling, and as soon as I feel the slightest bit of autumn in the air, I feel inspired anew and I start getting excited to swap out my summer clothes with my all time fave: autumn clothing! To be honest I’ve not been wearing my summer clothing all that much during august. The large amounts of rain and the cooler temperatures we’ve had in august just haven’t inspired me all that much to dress for summer. So it’s been a lot of basic outfits which you know is always fine by me. Having said that I can’t wait to throw a bunch of autumn goodies into the mix. I might as well embrace that autumn vibe the weather is giving us anyway, instead of trying to work against it, right? And so what if summer might return for a little while in September. I think I’ll survive 😉 Maybe I’ll just keep my denim skirt out from storage a little while longer. I’ve worn that quite a lot so if summer decides to come back around before autumn really kicks in, I’ll have that to carry me through it all.

På trods af den nærmest ikke-eksisterende sommer vi har haft her i august, så har det faktisk været en rigtig skøn sommer. Synes det er vildt at tænke på, at vi har boet i lejligheden i 5 måneder allerede! Det er næsten hele forårssæsonen og så sommersæsonen vi har boet her. Tiden er bare fløjet afsted. Vi har været på sommerferie i Frankrig med et vennepar og deres to små piger, besøgt Mortens familie på Sjælland, jeg har været på festival og så har vi været til et utal af koncerter – bl.a. Foo Fighters, som jeg gav manden billetter til i 30 års fødselsdagsgave. Det blev også til en sommer med masser af ture til stranden  (og dyp i havet) de dage hvor vejret har tilladt det, og så har jeg rejst både til København og London i forbindelse med arbejde. Jeg lancerede tidligere på sommeren også et par nye smykkedesigns, bl.a. mine fine Dune hoops som jeg har gået med non-stop hele sommeren.

Min sommer capsule har fungeret super fint denne sæson, lidt som det plejer fristes jeg næsten til at sige. Sommer er ikke min favoritsæson når det kommer til styling, og jeg kan altid mærke på mig selv at så snart der er de mindste tegn på efterår, så bliver jeg inspireret på ny og begynder at glæde mig til, at skulle skifte sommertøjet ud med favoritten over dem alle: efterårstøj! Og for at være helt ærlig, så har jeg ikke gået meget i sommertøjet her i august. Den store mængde regn og de køligere temperaturer har ganske enkelt ikke inspireret mig til, at hive det frem. Så det er blevet til en helt del basic outfits, men det er også ganske fint med mig. Men nu glæder jeg mig altså til, at smide lidt efterårsgodter ind imellem det hele. Man kan jo ligeså godt embrace den der efterårsvibe der allerede er her, ikke? Så skidt med om sommeren vender tilbage for en stund i September. Det overlever jeg nok 😉 Måske beholder jeg lige min denim nederdel fremme. Dén har jeg brugt en del henover sommeren, så hvis det bliver varmt igen er den en god lifesaver.

 

 

A more simple approach this time

Many of you might be able to see from my overview, that things look a little different that usual. Usually I would part my wardrobe in a 80/20 division, where most of my basic all-year clothing takes up the big part (around 37 pieces of clothing+shoes) and the rest is season based clothing (around 5-8 pieces). I’ve been doing the capsule wardrobe like this for the past 2 years, and it’s been working great. However, to be completely honest I almost always end up with items I don’t wear all that much, sometimes not even at all. And even if it’s something I already had, something that I pulled out from storage at the beginning of the season; it’s a shame. It’s actually kind of a waste too. And I want to change that.

So this time around I’ve simply had a look at my all-year basic wardrobe, and then added/replaced some of the items within that one with items that suit the season, instead of adding extra season pieces on.  That way I stick with that whole “less but better” approach I adore so much and I’ve ended up with 37 items in total. I didn’t aim for that number specifically (37 is actually the number most people start with when they just start doing capsule wardrobes), I adjusted my wardrobe to fit autumn both in terms of colours, materials ans style until I was satisfied. I do still believe it makes a lot of sense to define your “perfect” basic wardrobe – or template if you will – because it can help you so much, especially when building future capsule wardrobes. But it doesn’t mean it has to be static, because you’re life aren’t either. It gets easier and more fun to get dressed everyday this way, especially when you know everything goes well together. All tops and bottoms match, and the amount of items that require a bit more styling (or can be hard to style) is minimal. I think this is the perfect balance for me to go for this season.

Som de fleste af jer måske har luret på min oversigt her, så ser det lidt anderledes ud end det plejer. Jeg plejer at dele min hverdagsgarderobe op i en 80/20 opdeling, hvor basis fylder mest (ca. 37 stykker tøj+sko) og den resterende del er sæson betonet tøj (ca. 5-8 stykker tøj+sko). Sådan har jeg kørt det de sidste 2 år, og det har fungeret ganske fint. Men ærligt, så er der altså ofte en håndfuld items som jeg ikke når at bruge i løbet af sæsonen, og det er super ærgerligt. Uanset om vi så taler tøj jeg allerede havde men blot havde taget frem fra opbevaring, eller hvis det er noget købt i genbrug eller fra et bæredygtigt mærke. Det er en slagstøjspild. Og dét vil jeg gerne lave om på.

Derfor har jeg denne gang taget udgangspunkt i min basisgarderobe, og så ganske enkelt fjernet/tilføjet nogle elementer i de forskellige produktgrupper, der passer til sæsonen. På den måde holder jeg mig til lidt men godt, og lander på de berygtede 37 items i alt (der ofte er dét tal folk starter med at gå efter, første gang de skal bygge en capsule wardrobe). Jeg er dog ikke bevidst gået efter 37 items. Jeg har fjernet items jeg ikke har brugt længe (som i måske kun en enkelt gang eller 2 den sidste sæson), og erstattet dem med nogle jeg synes passer til efterårssæsonen både i materiale, stil og farve indtil jeg var tilfreds. Jeg synes stadig det er super essentielt netop at definere denne basisgarderobe – eller garderobeskabelon, om I vil – for den kan altså hjælpe langt henad vejen, især ved opbygning af capsules til fremtidige sæsoner. Men den behøver absolut ikke være statisk, for det er dit liv heller ikke! For mig fungerer det ganske enkelt bedre ikke at have for mange valg i hverdagen. Det bliver sjovere og nemmere, at klæde sig på hver dag især når man ved at alt kan sammensættes på kryds og tværs. Alle bunde og toppe fungere sammen, og mængden af items der måske kræver lidt ekstra styling er minimal. Det tror jeg er den helt rette balance, at gå efter denne sæson.

My inspiration & wishlist

I’ve bought a few new pieces for my wardrobe this season. These jeans from my fave Armed Angels and a new, white basic shirt has moved in (both added as all-year basic pieces to replace older items that just don’t look nice anymore) and then I have found the coolest leopard bomber in a local secondhand store in Copenhagen recently. Score! When I go through my storage boxes each season, it’s never hard to see that autumn is my favourite season because I have so many nice items from previous years. So that’s why I don’t have this big urge to buy a lot of new things. I’d like to mention though, at sometimes (because of my job) I get offered to test out items in the middle of a season and I do sometimes say yes to these opportunities, but I think you guys get my point. I’m so happy with the result of my autumn capsule. It’s simple, scandinavian and classic all while having that touch of autumn that I love. Especially the deep and muted colours like brown and green but also beige are all perfect for autumn, and it’s something that returns year after year.

What inspires me this season is therefore all things classic, timeless and scandi chic – a monochrome colour palette with a little bit of autumn and then of course lots of layers. I especially love the transition from summer to autumn, because then you can still wear your skirts and have bare legs, but wear a cozy jumper and boots at the same time. The pleated skirt you see above is from my occasion wear capsule, but I’ve chosen to give it a shot in my everyday wear wardrobe this season instead, and then pack away my beloved leather skirt for a season or two. It’s been a part of my all-year basic wardrobe for 3 years but sometimes you just need something else, right? And then I love the before mentioned jumper, skirt & boots combo especially if the skirt is a pleated midi skirt like this one. Bring on all the autumn hygge!

Are you guys getting in the mood for autumn too, or are you waiting just a while longer?

Jeg har købt et par enkelte nye ting til min garderobe. Disse jeans fra yndlingsmærket Armed Angels samt en ny, hvid basis skjorte er flyttet ind (begge tilføjet basisgarderoben for at erstatte ældre items der bare ikke ser pæne ud længere) og udover det fandt jeg den sejeste leopardjakke i Kirkens Genbrug på Østerbro i København for nyligt. Score! Når jeg går i mine opbevaringskasser, så er det ikke svært at se at efterår er min yndlingssæson, for jeg har simpelthen så mange fine sager allerede fra forrige år. Så derfor har jeg ikke det store behov for, at skulle have så meget nyt ind. Det skal dog lige påpeges, at jeg somme tider bliver tilbud noget til test igennem samarbejder eller andet mit i en sæson, men altså jeg tror I forstår min pointe. Her og nu er jeg simpelthen så glad for resultatet af min capsule. Den er simpel, skandinavisk og klassisk samtidig med den har det dér pift af efterår som jeg elsker. Især de enkelte dybe farver som brun og mosgrøn, men også beige er perfekt til efteråret, og det er noget vi ser vender tilbage hvert eneste år.

Det, som jeg er inspireret af denne sæson er derfor også super klassisk og typisk skandinavisk – en monokrom farve palette med et snært af noget efterår, samt en helt masse lag på lag. Jeg elsker også at især i overgangen fra sommer til efterår, der kan man stadig gå med nederdel og bare ben men samtidig tage et par støvler og en hyggelig strik på, fordi temperaturerne er så milde. Den plisserede nederdel I ser ovenfor er iøvrigt fra min occasion wear capsule, men jeg har valgt at prøve og flytte den over i min hverdagsgarderobe og så gemme min lædernederdel væk en sæson eller to. Den har ellers været en fat bestanddel af min garderobe de sidste 3 år, men nogle gange trænger man bare lidt til en pause, ikke? Og så er jeg VILD med førnævnte kombi, især hvis nederdelen er en plisseret midi nederdel, som denne. Nu kan efterårshyggen bare komme an!

Er I gået i efterårsmode endnu, eller venter I lidt?


13 Comments

  1. Gitte

    Jeg nyder, at sommeren er kommet tilbage til Danmark, men når efteråret kommer, tror jeg også, at jeg er parat. Jeg kan godt lide at klæde mig i lag og gå med accessories som tørklæder, så på den måde, er efteråret velkomment. Efter at have gået meget farverigt tøj i en periode, har nu lyst til at gå mere klassisk klædt.

    Reply
  2. Alison

    There is a crisp breeze this morning that has me wanting to do my fall closet swap ASAP, even though I know I will still need some summer items for a few weeks yet. This fall I’m going to try a stricter capsule than I have in the past, so will be doing some mixing and matching to see which items will work best. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  3. Anna

    It’s so funny – I put my denim skirt away for the summer and get it out for the autumn/winter/spring when I wear it with thick tights and boots!
    I was shopping yesterday with my 14 year old daughter, on the hunt for a perfect camel/cream coloured jumper. I tried on literally hundreds and none of them looked right. Eventually, my daughter said, “Mum, I just don’t think it is the right colour for you – it makes you look green.” I looked and she was right! I bought a gorgeous deep brown one instead and stopped looking like Morticia from the Addams Family!
    This is our last really hot day in the south east of England, tomorrow it is back to a more reasonable low 20’s. I can’t wait for Autumn though. Cords, jumpers, boots – lovely!

    Reply
  4. rachel

    I’m not adding anything new this fall, I looked through my stuff and have more than enough. Now to avoid the shops and browsing to stick with my no buy pledge. So many of my favs from your autumn wardrobe last year haven’t made the cut this time….the check blazer and gorgeous olive green silk shirt and those croc boots I loved. Will the leopard fur coat make an appearance in winter?

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Still in storage, but I’ve brought other older faves out instead 🙂 Maybe I’ll bring some of those out during winter or spring, who knows! Signe x

      Reply
  5. Rach

    Love autumn but not yet ready to give up summer. I’m on a no buy after realising I have more than enough cosy jumpers and jeans!! So many of my favourites from last year didn’t make the cut this time round -the check blazer, the gorgeous Everlane silk shirt or the brown croc boots (I’m obsessed with mock croc). Will the leopard fur coat make an appearance in the winter edit?

    Reply
  6. jude

    Hi, on your picture board you have a grey cardigan – the link takes me to a J.Crew cardigan, but it doesn’t look like the same one. Can you tell me where the one in the picture is from, it is just what I’m looking for. Thank you!

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Hi Jude. that’s because mine is really old and no longer available. 🙂 Mine is from a Danish brand called Part Two. Signe x

      Reply
      • Jude

        Thank you!

        Reply
  7. Donella Muzik

    Thanks for this terrific series and clean approach to style management. Loving it! Do you have some articles/posts about storage of off-season items? Happy dressing!

    Reply
  8. Anne

    How do you store out of season shoes and clothes? How do you dress for a “cocktail” attire occasion? I love your style and minimalist lifestyle.

    Reply

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