by Jess Atkins, Stylebook Co-Founder

If you’re unhappy with your wardrobe, it may be time to do a closet reset and go back to your basics! Starting a classic capsule will give you a great wardrobe foundation from which to build your personal style and guarantee that you always look put-together. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to find wardrobe basics that are already in your closet and create a month of outfits with them using Stylebook. By the end, you’ll know which items you need and how to style them!

Starting a classic capsule doesn’t mean you need to go shopping - you don’t necessarily need the perfect trench coat, just neutral basics that fit you well. It’s much more affordable to shop your closet, so let’s take a look at your closet and see what we can find inside your existing wardrobe. You probably already have a few great wardrobe staples in your closet, and I’ll help you find them! It’s easy to forget about basics because they’re often playing a supporting role to more exciting clothes.

Plus, using Stylebook to plan your capsule will make it easy to remember your outfit ideas so you can use your work now for the whole year, and look super polished in the coming months! Have fun being creative now - then get dressed faster later.

1. Finding the basics in your wardrobe

What makes something a wardrobe staple?

• timeless basic silhouette that endures across multiple years
• color that pairs well with almost anything
• it can be worn on its own or as a layering piece
• you could wear it over and over without getting tired of it

First, you need to search your closet for potential wardrobe staples. Look in your real closet and separate the items that adhere to my list of criteria above into a pile.

If you already use Stylebook, simply look through your virtual inventory and move the pieces you think would be a good wardrobe staple into a custom folder called “Classic Capsule Wardrobe” with subfolders like tops, skirts, jackets, etc.

TIP: If you don’t use the app yet, just put the clothes you selected in a pile and add them to Stylebook when you’re done! This capsule is a great way to start your Stylebook closet! Copy and paste similar items or store photos from online to get started super quickly. Even if you wear vintage pieces, it’s easy to find similar pieces with a quick google search! Here’s a guide on how to add your items quickly. Keeping a record of your clothes makes it easy to create outfits and plan outfits anytime!

There are seemingly infinite choices when it comes to classic wardrobe basics. I’ve provided a list of what I found in my own closet at the bottom of this article, but you can choose variations that fit your needs. For example, I’ve chosen black skinny jeans, but you may like black culottes or navy wool trousers better. If you’re not sure where to start, use my list as a jumping-off point and make adjustments based on what is in your closet.

2. Choosing a classic color palette

Start with a neutral color palette. There are actually tons of different neutral color combinations, so work with what you like. You don’t need to wear black, white, and tan if it’s not you. We have a few examples of neutral color palettes on our Colors Pinterest Board! Save your favorites into the Inspiration section of Stylebook (here's how)! There are two different ways to approach color for this project:

1. Choose your colors now and look through your closet for pieces that adhere to it
2. Find all your potential staples first; then create a color palette out of what you selected, and edit out the clothes that don’t fit in

3. Making Outfits

Now that you have a list of basics to work with, here’s how to come up with good outfit ideas. These outfits are classic and can be worn in a wide variety of settings. My favorite part of classic style is that it works almost anywhere and it makes me feel polished. I’m going to walk you through my favorite ways to create looks using basics. While you read this, use Stylebook to mix and match your clothes! If you want to add additional clothes from your wardrobe to your capsule while making outfits, go ahead! There’s no need to limit yourself. The initial collection is just a starting point.

Use an Outfit Recipe

You can make your own outfit recipes based on your favorite outfits, your style inspirations, or my examples! Here are a few of my favorite outfit recipes that work well with closet staples:

Monochromatic Outfit =
Same Color Top + Similar Color Bottoms

High Contrast Outfit =
Light Color Top + Dark Bottoms

Pops of Color =
Neutral Top + Neutral Bottoms + Bright Accessories

Flirty Casual Outfit =
Voluminous Top + Above-the-Knee Skirt

No-Fail Outfit =
Blouse + Jeans + Cool Heels + Belt

Date Night Outfit =
Black Dress + Heels + Trench

Casual Outfit =
Voluminous top + Mid/High-Rise Jeans (tuck in the top!)

Weekender =
T-shirt + Belt + Jeans

Shuffle an item

Use Stylebook’s Outfit Shuffle feature to get new outfit ideas. Open an item in the closet and tap the crossed arrows button to shuffle it for 10 outfit ideas. You can get more outfits by going back and shuffling again!

Mix and Match Everything

Try every top with every bottom. Since you can easily test out ideas inside Stylebook without making a mess in your real closet, it’s super easy to try out all the possibilities quickly and easily. You can even take advantage of the Clone Outfit feature to duplicate a look.

Find inspiration

Go out in the world and search for inspiration! You can save your ideas in the inspiration feature for future reference; you can even add them to outfits as styling notes. Here are my favorite places to find timeless style inspiration:

• Movies - I love using movies as outfit inspiration! Classic movies are full of timeless outfit ideas. I also think romcom movies have great casual outfit inspiration. Somehow, they always make even jeans and a t-shirt look good!
• Luxury Brand Ads and Online Catalogs - Just because you can’t shop top-tier designer clothes doesn’t mean you can’t get styling ideas from them. Browse your favorite brands’ websites to see how they tuck, cuff and put together looks.
• Pinterest outfit search - My all-time favorite inspiration tactic is searching for an item on Pinterest. Type in terms like “denim jacket outfit” and see if you can recreate any of the looks with what you already have.

4. Save Your Ideas

The best way to dress well every day is to save your outfit ideas for future reference. This is where Stylebook is key, since you can create a catalog of tons of looks while you're feel creative. Plus, you can experiment with outfit ideas on your phone without making a mess in your real closet. You don’t even have to be at home. Any time inspiration strikes or if you’re just trying to kill time, you can make outfits. Saving your outfit ideas will guarantee that you’ll have something good to wear in the future even if you’re drawing a blank while looking at your closet.

5. Plan Your Outfits

Use the Stylebook calendar to schedule your outfits! Now that you have a ton of outfit ideas, plan to use them! Stylebook allows you to add one or more outfits to each day with searchable notes. You can plan your entire month if you want, but I personally like to plan about a week in an advance. Don’t worry, you can move outfits around if you change your mind. Pat yourself on the back because now you’re going to look perfectly polished for the entire week - or even the month! Each morning, Stylebook will send you a notification with your scheduled outfit and you won’t have to think about what you’re going to wear at all!

My Closet Staples

Using Stylebook to plan your capsule will ensure that you take advantage of the clothes you already own! I’ve put together 32 outfits for this story, but these items can be remixed into many more combinations. Since it’s impossible to remember them all, save them in the app so you always have a classy look to fall back on! Scroll down to see the list of items in my capsule.

Instantly create your own classic capsule graphic like this one inside Stylebook. Here’s how!

Tops

• striped top
• silky blouse
• button-down
• long sleeve t-shirt

Sweaters

• cardigan
• pullover

Tank Tops

• dark cami
• light cami
• sleeveless silky tank
• knit sleeveless top

Skirts

• denim skirt
• mini skirt
• knee length skirt

Pants

• black skinny pants or jeans
• light trousers
• bootcut pants on jeans

Shoes

• light flats
• dark flats
• knee high boots
• ankle boots

Bags

• Tote
• Clutch

Accessories

• brown belt
• black belt