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Having nice clothes is one thing, but actually creating outfits with those clothes is quite another.

Believe me, I’m all for capsule wardrobes. But your capsule wardrobe isn’t some magical style robot; it doesn’t actually have any good advice on how to style cute outfits. I knew I wanted to look stylish, but I had no idea how to go about it. I had no system in place, and each morning I felt like I was grasping at an entirely new set of straws in order to barely pull something together. Some days, I sort of got it right. And other days, I have to wonder where the heck I went wrong, because somehow I ended up looking like Jack Sparrow.

One day, I decided that once and for all, the time to figure out what exactly was so right about the outfits wins and what was so terribly wrong about the outfit fails was now.

I think one of the reasons why the capsule wardrobe phenomenon has grown so popular is due to the fact that we are rarely taught how to style outfits from the clothes that we already own. As children, we are taught the basics of matching: that everything matches with black and all tops match with jeans. We are taught how to look not mismatched, but not exactly how to be creative with our style. Because of this lack of style education, the idea of doing all your wardrobe planning at once and owning a wardrobe where every piece matches with everything else seems like a practical way to go. Personally, I think if that’s someone’s reason for owning a capsule wardrobe, then the wardrobe is a cop-out.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my capsule of basics that I rely on nearly every day. But I also love fashion, and I don’t like being limited to wearing only what is in my capsule wardrobe at any given time. I want to be able to go into my closet and see an array of different styles and a rainbow of colors, and still be able to put together an outfit that I feel like myself in. I take these steps whenever I want to put together an outfit that feels complete, comfortable, and stylish. Here’s how I do it.

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