My Summer 2016 10-Item Wardrobe

Yes! I am so excited to write this post. I love everything about the 10-item wardrobe idea, which I first read about in Jennifer L. Scott’s Madame Chic books. Having a simplified capsule wardrobe makes my life much easier: I can close all my drawers, and getting dressed takes no time. But also, I feel like it’s made me more stylish. Having to pare down my wardrobe makes me focus on what I actually wear every day, which are usually the items I feel best in.

So when the weather started getting warmer, I started by bringing out and evaluating my summer 2015 10-item wardrobe. While I kept a lot of it, some pieces that were a few years old needed to be retired and replaced.

I love this year’s wardrobe! The color scheme is red, white, and blue. I didn’t mean to be so patriotic: red is one of my favorite colors, and blue goes with everything. So let’s start with pieces that made the cut from last year:

Fisherman’s sweater, vintage. This is from my fall/winter wardrobe. It’s warm but still looks great with summery clothes.

J. Crew Factory jeans.

Gap cropped white jeans.

J. Crew Factory striped dress. I still love this piece, I’ve had it for four years!

Floral dress, made by me about six years ago. Pattern by Amy Butler. This is a great any-occasion summer dress. The colors are so bright!

J. Crew Factory chambray shirt. Another one I’ve had for four years!

And now (drumroll please): the four new additions for this year!

What’s this? My goodness, it’s the summery, short-sleeved cousin of my very favorite J. Crew shirt! I especially love the peacock blue and dark red together, it looks vintage.

Bright red J. Crew Factory 5″ chino shorts. Brand new!

Navy blue J. Crew Factory 5″ chino shorts. These are actually a late addition to last summer’s 10-item wardrobe. They’ve held up well!

J. Crew Factory striped chevron dress. This is the dress I blogged about (the one I was eyeing as an alternative to a $500 dress). I love this dress. It fits beautifully, it’s made beautifully (it’s lined, and they’ve matched the stripes really well), and it was only about $50.

Here’s the dress on (a little wrinkly–I was sitting in it)!

So those are my 10 core pieces. Here are some T-shirts (my extras) to round things out:

Same as above, in white! May need to get some other colors.

J Crew Factory gray T-shirt. I love these shirts–they’re light and drapey.

Another new item: J Crew Factory “fruit salad” T-shirt.

Summer just isn’t summer without Archie. I got this shirt from Archie Comics’ official Threadless store! The (wow, wrinkled) navy T-shirt, white and gray tees, and floral tank are all from (of course) J. Crew Factory. The floral, white, and gray tops are from last year.

So what do you think? I’m pairing everything with my brown Josef Seibel sandals and brown Ahnu sneakers, both of which are about two years old. I also have some five-year-old Sam Edelman silver flats that have held up really well (see picture above).

Have you done a 10-item or capsule wardrobe? Post about it below!