The capsule edit · No. 01
Add your tops, bottoms, dresses, layers, shoes and accessories, untick the pairs you would never wear together, and see how many outfits your capsule really makes, which pieces do the most work and what to add next.
Tees, shirts, blouses, knits
Trousers, jeans, skirts, shorts
Dresses, jumpsuits, playsuits
Jackets, cardigans, blazers, coats
Sneakers, flats, boots, heels
Bags, scarves, belts, jewelry · not counted (see settings)
Your capsule makes
232outfits
from 17 pieces counted (20 listed) · 13.6 outfits per piece
(5 tops × 4 bottoms + 2 dresses) × 3 pairs of shoes × 4 layer choices (incl. none) = 264
− 32 ruled out by your “doesn’t go with” marks = 232
One more pair of shoes that goes with everything adds the most: +84 outfits. One more dress adds the fewest (+12).
Numbers are outfits that include the piece. A piece in few outfits often clashes with several others, or is a dress: a dress makes one outfit on its own, while a bottom pairs with every top.
232 outfits See the breakdown
An outfit is a top with a bottom, or a dress, plus one pair of shoes, plus a layer and an accessory if you count them. With no marks the count is a multiplication: (tops × bottoms + dresses) × shoes × layer choices × accessory choices. Marked pairs are then removed outfit by outfit, so one clash between a top and a bottom removes every outfit built on that pair.
The sample has 5 tops, 4 bottoms and 2 dresses: 5 × 4 + 2 = 22 bases. Three pairs of shoes make 66, and three layers counted as optional give four choices each (none, or one of the three): 264. The two marked clashes remove 32 outfits, leaving 232. A fourth pair of shoes that goes with everything would add 84 more, the biggest gain from any single piece, while a third dress would add only 12.
The phrase “capsule wardrobe” appeared in American publications as early as the 1940s and was revived in the 1970s by Susie Faux, a London boutique owner. Donna Karan popularized the idea in 1985 with her “Seven Easy Pieces” collection. More recently, Courtney Carver's Project 333, running since 2010, asks people to dress with 33 items or fewer for three months, counting clothes, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes, but not underwear, sleepwear, lounge wear or workout clothes.
It is not only about style. In a 2012 study for the UK, the charity WRAP estimated that around 30% of the clothing in the average wardrobe had not been worn for at least a year. A planner like this one makes the unworn pieces easy to spot.
Also in this edition
Pick one color and see complementary, analogous, triadic, split, monochrome and neutral pairings on an outfit, with hex codes to copy.
A week or month of outfits, filled from your capsule or by hand, printed cleanly on A4 or US Letter.
Price divided by wears, with cleaning, repairs and resale value, comparing several pieces side by side.
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Try WebTraceCheckThere is no fixed number: it depends on your climate, your work and how often you do laundry. A well-known starting point is Project 333, which uses 33 items or fewer for three months, counting clothes, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes but not underwear, sleepwear, lounge wear or workout clothes.
Shoes and layers multiply every outfit you already have, while a new top only pairs with your bottoms. In the sample, 21 top-and-bottom or dress bases can each be worn with any of four layer choices, so one more pair of shoes adds 21 × 4 = 84 outfits, but one more top adds 4 bottoms × 3 shoes × 4 layer choices, minus any it clashes with.
No. The number tells you how well your pieces combine, not whether you like wearing them. Use it to spot pieces that sit in very few outfits, or a category that is holding the rest back, then decide with your own eye.
That is up to you, which is why they start as “not counted”. Counting one accessory at a time as optional multiplies the total by the number of accessories plus one, so three accessories turn 232 outfits into 928. That can be fair for a scarf that changes a look, less so for earrings you wear every day.
Only in this browser, in its local storage, so it is still here when you come back on the same device. Nothing is uploaded. Use “Save file” to keep a copy or move it to another device, and “Open file” to load it there. The printable outfit planner on this site can fill a week from the same saved capsule.