amazon highlights: The Curated Wardrobe / Rachel Nacimas / 2017

In the 1930s, the average woman had roughly nine outfits, while today the average woman acquires 64 new items per year. The women who call me want to invest in pieces that will flatter them, that they will be able to make lots of outfits with for any occasion, and that they will be happy with for years to come. They don’t want to buy more cheap clothes, but even more than that, they just want to stop buying the wrong thing. If you’re ready to finally just start wearing your clothes and stop second-guessing, read on.

there are five main reasons why so many women want a capsule wardrobe, but so few actually have one. Note that the reasons capsule systems will give you for this (overconsumption, too many trends, fast fashion) may be an accurate reflection of the symptoms you’re having, but still don’t explain the root problem.

Reason #1: The numbers game: The founding principle of the capsule wardrobe is its limited size. there’s actually no standard, from eight pieces to 80. The real secret is to have enough, but not too much, for you.

Reason #2: Basics boredom

Reason #3: The color conundrum: The result is that even a wardrobe with a consistent color scheme may not be as interchangeable or as flattering as you would like,

Reason #4: The figure fiasco

Reason #5: The lifestyle gap: Most basic capsule wardrobe plans assume a certain lifestyle, which is almost always not yours.

I call this the CURATE formula, and you can use it to build an elegant, low-maintenance, wearable wardrobe that you feel great in.

C - Cultivate Harmony: In style, harmony happens when a woman is consistent with her clothes.

U - Unearth your desires: We can fill your wardrobe with fabulous clothes that look great on you, but it’s all for naught if you don’t actually want to wear them.

R - Restrict, don’t constrict: Honing your wardrobe down to a more manageable size is incredibly helpful, but you still need enough to dress for different occasions and not feel constricted.

A - Add sophistication: Learning to dress with sophistication is the middle path that will allow you to be stylish and express yourself without looking foolish.

T - Trick of the trade: It’s all about maximum impact, minimum effort.

E - Employ big picture strategy: Having great pieces in your wardrobe is key, but if you don’t know how to style them into equally great outfits, the final result can be underwhelming.

1. Cultivate Harmony. Eliminate Distortion (harmony). Matching your design qualities (shape, scale, proportion, silhouette, structure, and color, all of which I will discuss more in depth momentarily) to those of the clothing eliminates distortion and creates visual harmony, an effect that is automatically pleasing and natural to the viewer.

2. Pick the right (silhouette) strategy–elongate or fit and flare: Essentially, elongation means that the lines of your garment will flow more vertically, emphasizing a long, lean figure, while fit and flare lines move in and out horizontally, emphasizing curves.

3. Scale appropriately

4. Find the right structure: Those with narrow bone structure and a natural slimness generally need more rigid, tailored clothes, while more muscular woman with larger bone structure need flexible clothes that flow and drape so they can move with their body, and curvier women need clothes that are soft or stretchy enough while still providing enough support to conform to curved shapes.

5. Identify your color qualities: Hue is how warm or cool a color is, value is how light or dark a color is, and chroma is how soft or bright a color is. Each person has these three color qualities, just as every color we see.

it’s important not to forget that we see relatively, not objectively.

Je ne sais quois (mood)

Unearth Your Desires

Restrict, Don’t Constrict - My rule of thumb is that the number of unique outfits they need per occasion is roughly two-three times the number of times per week the occasion comes up, per season. For example, if you work from your business-casual office three days a week and from home two days a week, you’ll need six-nine outfits for the office and four-six outfits to work from home for each season.

Add Sophistication - The ultimate sophistication in style is when the woman–who she is both inside and out–is perfectly and accurately reflected in her clothing.

Trick of the Trade - spend more time and energy by far on my skincare, hair, and makeup than anything else I do for my style. The simple reason is that this is where you can make the single biggest impact as far as how elegant and polished you’re perceived to be.

Employ Big Picture Strategy

Every outfit should have basics, a statement focal point, a finishing piece, and basic accessories.

A statement focal point can be any part of the outfit, from a blouse to a pair of earrings or even shoes, it just has to have the power to draw the eye.

A finishing piece is generally a topper, such as a cardigan or a jacket, or an accessory not needed for function such as a scarf, a belt, or a piece of jewelry.

Finally, we add to the composition your basic accessories. These are things you’d wear regularly, like shoes, a handbag, glasses or sunglasses, and small jewelry like stud earrings or a watch.

Style isn’t something you put on, it’s something you become.