What Is a Capsule Wardrobe?

Quick answer

Nine T-shirts get you comfortably through the week. A capsule wardrobe is a deliberately small wardrobe with a fixed cap, where almost every piece works with almost every other. In the best-known model, Project 333, the cap is 33 pieces for three months. For T-shirts the sum is: days between two washes plus two spare, so with one wash a week that makes nine.

Capsule wardrobe at a glance

• Idea: few pieces that almost all work together
• Size: Project 333 works with 33 pieces for three months
• Counts: clothes, shoes, jackets, accessories
• Doesn't count: underwear, sleepwear, sportswear, occasion wear
• T-shirts: days between two washes plus two
• Colours: often three calm base colours and one accent
• New buys: most versatile if it goes with three things you already own
• Streetwear: colour through the prints, cuts to match the trousers
• Swapping over: twice a year, when the clocks change

Quick questions

What is a capsule wardrobe, explained simply?

A small wardrobe with a fixed cap in which almost everything goes together. With Project 333 that is 33 pieces, and underwear, sleepwear and sportswear don't count.

How many T-shirts does a man need?

Days between two washes plus two, so with one wash a week, nine. Sports shirts come on top, and the same sum applies to women.

How many pieces are in a men's capsule wardrobe?

There is no fixed number. Our list has 33 pieces including shoes, jackets and accessories, based on Project 333 by Courtney Carver.

Does a capsule wardrobe work with streetwear?

Yes. It is easiest with calm base colours, and the colour then comes through the prints. Add cuts that fit your trousers, for example boxy with a high waist or oversized with wide trousers.

How often do you swap a capsule wardrobe?

Twice a year is enough, ideally when the clocks change, on the last Sunday in March and in October. If you follow Project 333 strictly, you repack every three months.

In detail: origins, lists and the T-shirt sum

Below you'll find ready-made lists for men and women, a streetwear version, and the sum that shows why the expensive shirt often turns out cheaper in the end.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

A wardrobe with a cap. You decide how many pieces you'll wear over the coming months and pick them so that almost every top goes with almost every pair of trousers. What doesn't play along goes in a box or goes out the door.

In our version, everything you put on in daily life counts, shoes, jackets and accessories included. Left out are underwear, socks, sleepwear, sportswear and anything for rare occasions, meaning the suit for your cousin's wedding. Project 333 handles it in much the same way (more on that below).

If you pick each morning from 33 pieces that get along, you spend less time standing in front of the wardrobe and still don't look the same every day. The choice shrinks. The outfits stay.

What does capsule wardrobe mean?

Capsule means small and compact here. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word turned up in that sense in the US in 1938, and the capsule wardrobe was already appearing in American magazines in the 1940s (Wikipedia). In streetwear you know the word from a different corner. When a brand announces a capsule, a small, self-contained mini collection arrives, with pieces that belong together. A capsule wardrobe follows the same logic. You just put the drop together yourself, and afterwards it hangs in your wardrobe.

Where does the capsule wardrobe come from? From London to Project 333

In the 70s, Susie Faux ran a boutique in London's West End with the fitting name Wardrobe. She brought the term back and meant by it a core of pieces that never go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers and coats, topped up with a few new pieces each season (Wikipedia).

In 1985, the American designer Donna Karan showed her collection Seven Easy Pieces: seven pieces for working women, all of which could be combined with one another. The models first walked out in just a bodysuit and black tights, then wrap skirt, trousers and dress were added piece by piece (Wikipedia). A fashion show as an assembly manual.

In 2010, the American blogger Courtney Carver started Project 333. The rule: 33 pieces for three months. Clothes, shoes, jewellery, accessories and jackets count. Underwear, sleepwear, loungewear and sportswear don't, and neither does your wedding ring. After three months you repack. That is where the 33 in our lists further down comes from.

Steve Jobs lived the radical version: black Issey Miyake turtleneck, Levi's 501s, New Balance 991s, which is how he went to work most days. He told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he liked the idea of a uniform. A capsule leaves more room to play. It only throws out what doesn't work with the rest.

How many pieces belong in a capsule wardrobe?

There is no fixed number, Project 333 says 33. More important than the number is what it adds up to. 9 T-shirts times 5 pairs of trousers make 45 combinations. With 4 pairs of shoes that is 180, and that is before any hoodie or jacket goes over the top.

The sum works out when the colours play along. A pair of trousers that goes with exactly one shirt takes one of 33 slots and gives you one outfit. If you love them, they are worth the slot. Our advice: start with 33, stick with it for three months and write down what you missed.

How many T-shirts do you need? The sum

Count the days between two washes and add two shirts. The two are a buffer for the coffee stain, the wash day that gets skipped, and the shirt still hanging on the drying rack.

• Wash every 4 days: 4 + 2 = 6 T-shirts
• Wash once a week: 7 + 2 = 9 T-shirts
• Wash every 10 days: 10 + 2 = 12 T-shirts
• Sport: 2 to 3 technical shirts extra, which don't count towards the capsule

With nine to twelve T-shirts you're well set up. Every further one gets worn less. The shirt at the very bottom of the pile still looks like new in three years, because it never had its turn.

In summer the shirt goes out on its own and you change more often, so use the upper figure. In winter it disappears under a hoodie or knitwear, and the lower one is enough.

Why three to five T-shirts is too few

If a list plans for only three to five T-shirts, that suits an everyday life of shirts, blouses and cashmere in which the T-shirt only comes out on Saturday. In a streetwear wardrobe, the T-shirt carries the outfit on almost every day of the week. With five of them, you're at the washing machine every three days.

Colours: neutrals and accents

A capsule works most easily when the pieces get along. One simple way there: three calm base colours and one or two accents. If you love more colour, take more.

• Base for tops: black, white, grey
• For trousers and jackets: denim blue, olive, beige
• Accent: a colour you really like, such as pink, red or yellow

Washed tones make it easier. Washed Black, Vintage White and a faded grey have no hard edge, and sit closer together than fresh deep black next to pure white. Navy right next to black is a quiet contrast that people often only notice at second glance.

A test for every new buy: how many things you already own does the piece go with? From three upwards, it combines well in a capsule.

Capsule wardrobe list for men: 33 pieces

For men who wear sneakers day to day and have an appointment that calls for a shirt a few times a year. 33 pieces, not counting underwear and sport.

Tops, 16 pieces:

• 9 T-shirts: 2 each in black, white and grey, plus 3 graphic tees
• 2 long sleeves
• 2 hoodies, one grey, one black
• 1 sweatshirt or knitted jumper
• 1 overshirt in corduroy, flannel or denim
• 1 white shirt for appointments

Trousers, 5 pieces:

• 2 pairs of jeans: one dark blue, one black or light wash
• 1 pair of cargo trousers in olive, black or beige
• 1 pair of wide tailored trousers or chinos
• 1 pair of shorts for summer

Jackets, 3 pieces:

• 1 mid-season jacket: bomber, denim or workwear jacket
• 1 winter jacket: puffer or wool coat
• 1 dark blazer that also works over a T-shirt

Shoes and accessories, 9 pieces:

• 1 pair of white low sneakers such as the Nike Air Force 1
• 1 pair of flat retro sneakers such as the adidas Samba
• 1 pair of boots
• 1 pair of loafers or leather shoes
• 1 cap, 1 beanie, 1 belt, 1 bag, 1 watch or chain

What's missing is missing on purpose. No suit: if you wear one twice a year, it counts as occasion wear. No Breton top, no trench coat.

Capsule wardrobe list for women: 33 pieces

Same number, more play with lengths. The T-shirt sum applies in exactly the same way, and all our shirts are unisex anyway. What changes are the proportions: cropped with a high waist, long and wide with short and tight.

Tops, 16 pieces:

• 9 T-shirts: 1 fitted basic each in black, white and grey, 3 oversized or boxy, 3 graphic tees, ideally one of them in slim fit
• 1 ribbed tank top
• 2 long sleeves
• 2 hoodies or sweatshirts, one oversized, one cropped
• 1 knitted jumper or cardigan
• 1 wide shirt that works open as a light jacket too

Trousers, skirts and dress, 6 pieces:

• 2 pairs of jeans: one wide with a high waist, one straight or baggy
• 1 pair of cargo trousers or parachute pants
• 1 pair of cycling shorts
• 1 skirt, mini or midi
• 1 plain dress in black or grey

Jackets, 3 pieces:

• 1 mid-season jacket: bomber, leather or denim jacket
• 1 winter jacket: puffer or long coat
• 1 oversized blazer

Shoes and accessories, 8 pieces:

• 1 pair of white low sneakers
• 1 pair of flat retro sneakers such as the adidas Samba or the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
• 1 pair of boots
• 1 pair of sandals or ballet flats
• 1 cap, 1 beanie, 1 shoulder bag, 1 belt

A long oversized shirt with cycling shorts and sneakers is a complete outfit in July, made from two garments. It doesn't get more efficient than that.

Streetwear capsule: the print is the colour

Classic capsule lists often read like the shopping list for your first day at a management consultancy: navy blazer, Oxford shoes, cashmere. That is not much use for streetwear. Here two ideas of its own help.

First, the accent comes through the print. A wardrobe of nothing but blank basics is very calm. If the base colours stay black, white and grey, the colour can sit in the motif: pink lettering, a yellow exclamation mark, a red heart on the back. The shirts still go with everything, and every outfit has one spot where the eye catches.

Second, the silhouette counts for more than the colour. With few pieces, the cut shapes the outfit most. A boxy shirt ends at the hip, and with high-waisted trousers the waist shows. An oversized shirt with a dropped shoulder and wide trousers that bunch up over the sneaker make a wide, relaxed look. A slim fit shirt brings baggy jeans back down to earth. What each cut can do is laid out in the comparison Boxy vs. Oversized vs. Slim Fit.

Nine shirts for one week: an example from our shop

This is what the rotation would look like if you built it only from HUSTLE&PAIN. Three base colours, five cuts, all unisex, all 100% cotton, with the motifs screen printed or embroidered.

• SHOTTIE: black oversized shirt in 300 GSM, the base for everything
• ENERGY: Washed Black, relaxed fit, 250 GSM, yellow exclamation mark
• ANTAGONIST: Vintage White, oversized, pink lettering and pink paint splashes
• LAW OF ATTRACTION: Vintage White, boxy oversized, hand-painted pink edges, MONEY NEEDS ME lettering
• ART OF LIFE: Vintage White, slim fit in 150 GSM organic cotton with a red PAIN heart on the back, for hot days and under the overshirt
• LIKE KURT: grey, oversized, sun-faded with bleached patches
• YOKO ONO: Vintage Grey, extra long, kimono cut without a shoulder seam
• PRICE OF FAME: Faded Concrete, boxy, for example with high-waisted trousers
• FUGITIVE: bleached stripes in grey and black, boxy, the only pattern of the week

The accents sit only in prints, edges and paint splashes: pink twice, yellow once, red once. Every one of these nine goes with black, denim, olive and grey.

How to build a capsule wardrobe: five steps

1. Everything out, onto the bed, and count. The number is the best reason to carry on.
2. Make three piles: I wear it all the time, I wear it sometimes, I never wear it. The third pile is more honest than any guide.
3. Fix your colours. What doesn't fit the base and accent goes in the box.
4. Hold the rest up against the list above and write down the gaps. Only then buy.
5. If you want to keep the size: one in, one out.

Trick for step 2: hang everything on the rail with the hanger hook facing the wrong way round, and only turn back what you've worn. After three months the rail shows you what never had its turn.

Seasonal swap: rearrange when the clocks change

In Germany, rearranging twice a year is enough. The clock change makes a good date: according to the EU directive, it always falls on the last Sunday in March and in October.

• Stays all year: T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, the first hoodie, the mid-season jacket
• Comes in at the end of October: second hoodie, knitwear, boots, winter jacket, beanie
• Comes in at the end of March: shorts, tank top or cycling shorts, sandals, light shirts between 150 and 180 GSM

The heavy 300 GSM shirts run all year: on their own in summer, under the hoodie in winter. Whatever is on a break goes into a box under the bed, washed. In March, unpacking feels like a small restock.

Cost per wear: what a T-shirt costs each time you wear it

Divide the price by the number of times you wear the shirt. With nine shirts in rotation, each one gets worn on around 40 days a year. An example:

• Shirt A costs €15 and the collar is stretched out after 25 wears: 60 cents per wear
• Shirt B costs €60 and lasts 150 wears: 40 cents per wear

150 wears is just under four years in a rotation of nine. The expensive shirt is the cheaper one here, and it looks better the whole time. If you own only nine shirts, it is better to buy heavy than to buy many. A 300 GSM shirt like SHOTTIE drops straight down and almost stands on its own at the shoulder, where thin jersey hangs limp. How to recognise a shirt like that before you buy is covered in How to Tell If a T-Shirt Is High Quality.

The wash does the rest: turn it inside out, 30 °C, no tumble dryer. That protects the screen print, and without the dryer the cotton shrinks less, because knitted fabrics in particular tend to shrink in a tumble dryer.

Sources6

1. Wikipedia: Capsule wardrobe
2. The Duquesne Duke: Project 333 brings more joy with less clothes (24 September 2020)
3. Fox 13: How to create a capsule wardrobe with just 33 pieces (25 July 2016)
4. Wikipedia: Steve Jobs
5. EUR-Lex: Richtlinie 2000/84/EG zur Regelung der Sommerzeit (in German)
6. Wikipedia: Wäschetrockner (in German)