Super slim knickers, a good bra and away you go

Still on capsule collections. The best way to buy a CC is when you have a legitimate reason for a overhauling your wardrobe. And I do mean overhaul, not your regular pop to the shop for a new top kind of thing. No, I’m talking new job, first job, post baby. Even “nothing fits” is a good enough for me. This keeps you focused on the job at hand, and you are less likely to go wandering off into Adairs for a new set of sheets you do not need. Unless you are like me, a self-proclaimed shop-a-holic who does know the difference between need and want, but just chooses to ignore it. Capsule collections are also a fabulous way of maximizing value when you only have a limited amount to spend and are doing your best to avoid your credit card in case you catch something serious. Like the plague or worse…your husband finds out.
Here are my hot tips on buying your very own:

1. Establish your primary reason for your capsule spend (see above, we’ve already covered it). This will give you a good idea of which shops to hit and will help keep you focused. Really, how many times have you nipped out for a new suit for that next big meeting and come home with an evening dress? Or, is that just me?

2. Stick to a pre-determined number of items. Same benefits apply as above.

3. Try to buy at least half of your collection in one store to maximize your opportunity to coordinate your pieces. It also saves value shopping minutes and leaves you ample time for that decaf soy flat white you’ve been craving since breakfast.

4. Grab as many items as you can in one try-on frenzy. The more items, the greater ability you have to put together multiple outfits. Most stores only allow 5-6 items at a time, but are happy to hold your left-overs and bring them to you when you need them. Better yet, take a friend and share a booth.

5. Include belts and bling in that grab. They change the look of any outfit. Do not treat them as add-ons…treat them as essentials.

6. Take shoes with you - one high, one flat. Like belts and bling, shoes can change a casual item into a formal one and vice versa. This is particularly important when buying skirts and dresses, because unless you are shopping for the latest in bohemian hippy, skirts and dresses look weird without the right shoes. Socks and runners do not count.

7. Invest in a pair of super-slim magic knickers and wear them. These will change your life. Not necessarily your sex life, because they really aren’t that attractive in the boudoir, but they will help you get into that pair of size 12 jeans you‘ve been lusting after since June. Kmart sell bust-to-thigh magic knickers for under $20.00...they are comfortable and they work.

8. Before you shop, get your bra fitted and wear it. I'm big on this...fanatical almost, just ask my mum. A good fitting bra will make any women look great and feel fantastic and when you are trying on 9000 pieces of clothing…you need fantastic

9. Know you body shape. There is no point wasting all this time and effort on clothes that do not work for you.

And finally, always keep in the back of your mind which of the current items in your wardrobe can be integrated into your new collection. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN have too many pairs of jeans.


CHECK IT OUT: Did you know that pregnant women have been connoisseurs of the CC since clothes were in vogue without even knowing it. Really. The minimum amount of the clothes for the maximum amount of wear for a specific reason. Need I say any more.

24 outfits for under $300; I'd like to see that!

Took my fabulous young cousin Kate shopping a couple of weeks ago. She’s a great girl and I adore her, but her taste in clothing - Brady bunch tee-shirt anyone? - was clearly not from my side of the gene pool. Kate was only in town for a couple of days and desperate for a new wardrobe before she embarked on her first big career as a primary school teacher. Her wants were simple: to stretch her budget of a couple of hundred dollars give or take, as far as possible without compromising on style and value.

Easy.

Now, we’ve all heard of the term “capsule collection” right? It’s been around for a while, but probably made all the more famous to us mere mortals when Stella McCartney caused a frenzy with her said collection in Target a couple of years ago. A capsule collection by my definition consists of a small number of items, usually 8-12 that can be inter-changed with other items to create a greater number of outfits. For Kate's CC, we took ourselves to DFO South Wharf and the Table Eight-Barkins clearance store - a small warehouse sized treasure-trove of discount priced everything of reasonable quality befitting a young, hip teacher. We had already brought a circle skirt in white, purple and grey, and contrasting singlet the day before, but it was half an hour later when we really hit pay-dirt:
Two knee-length pencil shirts (a summer tweed weave in chocolate, and a gold satin with paper-bag waist line*) / a dark lavender blouse with vertical ruffles down the front and side zip, and white short cap-sleeve shirt with grey pin-stripe and waist tie / one pair of grey cotton knee-length jodhpurs / one short-sleeve, grey jacket with middle button; and one black cinch belt.
To this we added a sleeveless jacket vest in cream with golden undertones, brown elastic cinch belt and some bling from Jacqui E. Plus a short faux leather biker jacket - also in grey - with ¾ length sleeves for good measure. We had triumphed in a way, neither of us had ever triumphed before. Twelve items (minus the bling) and over two dozen different outfits for a variety of occasions, and only one of them, the cinch belt, in black. Wicked!

CHECK IT OUT: Paper bag waist lines apply to very in, very now skirts, shorts and trousers that look as though they’ve been cinched in to create a paper bag gathered effect above the waist band. Not great for everyone, so try before you buy.