20 Pieces 20 Outfits - Winter Edition
New series alert! Because a) they are a lot of fun to create and b) the perfect way to show you how all of the different techniques I write about work together, 20/20 posts are now a regular thing, a quarterly thing to be precise. That means at the beginning of each (calendar) season, in December, March, June and September, I'll show you a complete 20-piece sample of a capsule wardrobe, the concept behind it and 20 outfits you can create with it. Plus I might sneak in a few extra editions during the seasons as well ;)
Now, until now the 20/20 posts have always been inspired by my own preferences, wardrobe and colour likes. But: I am completely open to suggestions from you guys! For example, I'd love to create a super bold, colourful 20/20 edition that is totally unlike my style. What do you want to see, which elements would you like to see incorporated, which themes, which wardrobe structures? Email me, message me on Facebook or just leave a comment on this post if you have any ideas or requests.
Click here to check out the fall 20/20 edition and here to see the 2-part summer edition, which might be a little more relevant right now to those living on the southern hemisphere. For everyone else: read on for a run-down of this year's winter wardrobe and 20 sample outfits.
Concept
Although I was really into classic fall colours, like burgundy, mustard and navy, only a month ago, my pinterest boards have started to lighten up and I'm once again mostly drawn to clear whites, cool pastels and delicate, wintery patterns. I wanted to make this 20/20 wardrobe clean and modern but also give it a slightly more festive touch, with lots of chunky knit patterns, subtle embellishments and details. The wardrobe I came up with in the end has a true modular structure which means it is completely based on mid-range separates that can be mixed and matched. Distribution-wise I stuck to my regular formula of about twice as many tops than bottoms and 4 pairs of shoes. I played around with a few different ratios, but the 50/30/20 one (tops/bottoms/shoes) is in my opinion pretty fail-proof if you want to create a versatile modular wardrobe structure.
Of course, in winter more than any other season you will definitely need a few additional pieces to supplement your main 20 items with (layering pieces, tights, gloves, coats, scarfs, etc.). If this was my wardrobe, I would probably choose a light grey as the main colour for gloves, scarf and tights, and a mint or a grey coat. Or maybe even a white coat. What do you think?
Here's the colour palette and list of elements I worked from:
Colour Palette
Elements
Clear, icy colours. Cool pastels. Lots of grey, white and mint. Clean, simple shapes. Chunky knit sweaters. Flared mini skirts and woolen tights. Classic winter patterns + details. Delicate silver jewellery. Embellishments. Lace-up boots. Slim-fitting trousers.
Here are my 20 favourite looks that can be created with our 20 pieces:
Where to find the above items
Sweaters: J.Crew (lavendar), High (grey), Jac + Jack (white), Rag & Bone (black), Maison Kitsune (mint). Tops: Rick Owens (black), Acne (denim shirts), Lucy Paris (white), Duffy (mint-white), Bellerose (lavender). Skirts: Topshop (grey tube skirt), T by Alexander Wang (black), Lulu & Co (metallic grey), T by Alexander Wang (mint). Trousers: Acne (black), Etro (printed). Shoes: Topshop (black heeled boots), Rag & Bone (white brogues), Selected (black flat boots), Topshop (western boots).