Fall 2022 Capsule Wardrobe at 73

Every season I put together a small selection of clothes which co-ordinate well.  The rest I pack away out of sight. So I have lots of potential outfits and a nice, organized closet. And if it’s a between season like Fall, then that means layers.

I want to show how it’s possible to re-arrange items we already have without feeling we need to get out and buy lots of new clothes every season.

I’m 73, short (62 inches) and overweight (143 pounds).  I don’t massage the images to make me look better.  I think we need to see honest pictures of older women otherwise we lose self-confidence as we age and our figures change.

Building a wardrobe for my lifestyle

Right now I’m travelling around in England.  I’m seeing family of course but also revisiting country villages and seaside towns that have changed since I last saw them, decades ago.

So this capsule is easy to pack into a single suitcase.  And it’s ideal for walking the beaches with my dog, meals in the pub with my daughter, sightseeing in small country towns as well as getting on with my blog!

Note re these photos:  I am packing up to leave Margate.  I’ve been staying in a lovely house that’s been redecorated by the young owners in various vintage styles.  But that means very few blank walls where there’s enough light to do a photo shoot.

So you’ll see I’m trying to block out the mirror behind me, but not very successfully.  You’ll notice the phone on the tripod as well as a bit of my rear view!  This clutters the image a bit, but life’s not always perfect, is it?

My money-saving wardrobe for 2022

I love to buy new clothes and shoes.  It’s fun and it updates the look fast.  It’s easy to look older than your years if you always rely on favorites with a cut or color from several years back.

But this Fall and winter are going to be difficult for most people.  With nobody sure about food prices, fuel costs or how much their mortgages and rents are going to be, this is not the time to splash out needlessly.

So this is the first capsule I’ve photographed where nothing is new.

Most of the clothes have featured in these seasonal wardrobes before.  Some are from last Fall, some are from earlier.  But by combining them differently I don’t feel they are ‘the same old outfits’.

Some of the items are charity shop purchases.  When I was in the UK for six months last year I picked out lots of navy items that I knew I could work into a wardrobe for almost any season.

You don’t need to spend lots of money, or indeed any money at all, to put together an organized wardrobe.

I wrote my Capsule Wardrobe 10 step recipe here.  It’s a few years old now but the same rules apply every season.  So if you’re tired of having too many clothes but nothing to wear take a look.

If you want step by step help to sort your wardrobe then visit my Mature Style Course.  Through short videos I guide you through exactly what to do so you end up with a seasonal set of clothes that look good on you and suit your personality and lifestyle.  You’ll never shop the same way again!

Fall 2022 color scheme

I find that varying the color scheme from one season or year to the next helps me think creatively about which items can make successful outfits without copying exactly what I liked wearing in previous years.

Fall 2022 base color

I try to find both a top and a bottom in a single color that will anchor the wardrobe.  This season I’ve decided on olive green.  I’ve used it as a secondary color previously so I’ve amassed several useful green items.

A good base color tends to be a color that almost every other color works well with.  So white, cream, beige, brown, grey, black and navy are ideal.  It’s also easy to find lots of tops, bottoms and jackets in these basic colors so, if items get worn out, you can easily fill the gaps. I see denim as so ubiquitous that I tend to add it to every wardrobe too.

Choosing a secondary color

This is where your style and personality come in.  If you’re a casual classic like me you’ll tend to choose another basic color or a tone of your primary basic.  This gives a more ‘put together’ look.  It won’t turn heads but you’ll avoid looking as if you’ve dashed into a store to find anything that fits in the sales! 

But if you’re less classic you’ll want to try out a few more eye-catching color combinations, e.g. pink with yellow, or black with a bright contrast such as silver.  You can get ideas by looking on retailers’ sites for the current season, as most will promote both a classic and a more fun palette in their look books/inspiration pages.

My secondary color for Fall 2022

I decided to marry up green with some of the many navy items I have.  It makes for a rather subdued wardrobe so I’d only choose these colors for Fall or winter.

A third color to break the monotony

With two base colors it’s worth adding a touch of a third brighter color.  I’ve chosen an orangey rust color simply because I’ve got a shirt in that color. And I’ve added a green-blue shirt that marries the green and navy base colors.

Here’s my wardrobe for this autumn

Three bottoms:

• Straight denim girlfriend jeans – you can see them in my try-on of 2021 jeans here.
• Narrow olive cigarette pants with stretch – see them in last Fall’s capsule here.
• Wide navy linen pants – bought for under 10 dollars (£8) from a charity shop last year.

Eleven tops:

• Navy V neck sweater all-in-one with a blue wide-sleeved shirt – bought inexpensively from Cache Cache earlier this year but only worn once
• Green striped tee – bought from my local supermarket last summer
• Navy boat-neck striped tee – bought from M&S last summer
• Green silk shirt – you can see it last year here
• Navy tee – bought several years ago
• Rust spotted shirt – bought for 5 dollars (£4) from a charity shop last year
• Navy cotton jacket – M&S you can see it from two seasons ago here
• Stone sleeveless cardi – M&S (no longer available) you can see it from Spring here
• Black collared top – bought for 5 dollars (£4) from a charity shop last year (I thought it was navy, but it looks fine even so)
• Dark olive fitted tee with long sleeves – bought for 3 dollars (£2.50) from a charity shop last year
• Navy V neck edge-to-edge cardigan bought a couple of years ago.

Three pairs of shoes:

• White canvas sneakers – bought for summer but rarely worn (supermarket)
• Navy and tan loafers – supermarket similar in M&S, you can see them this Spring here
• Navy knitted flats – Allbirds.com, you can see them this summer here

A few accessories:

• Tan leather shopper – see it last two years ago here
• Black and green necklace – from my very first capsule wardrobe here
• Navy spot scarf – charity shop, under 2 dollars (£1)
• Green pattern small neckscarf – bought from the sale bin last year

What didn’t make it into this wardrobe

If you follow these posts you know that I want to keep them as authentic as possible. 

As I’d forgotten to bring my earrings and chain necklaces with me, you won’t see any jewelry apart from the necklace I travelled in.  Sure, I could have bought jewelry, but as this wardrobe is all above saving money, I didn’t want to.

So if this set of outfits looks too boring to you, you should follow the recipe but add in some favorite pieces of jewelry to add flashes of interest.

I hope you’ll be inspired to put together your own capsule wardrobe this season.  Remember, what I’m wearing is just based on clothes I own and my simple lifestyle.  Your wardrobe will be different.  If you go to work, or visit upmarket restaurants or give dinner parties, the clothes you’ll need will be more stylish and less casual.  This try-on is just one example of how one average woman gets the most out of her fashion purchases.

If you’d like to see my previous capsule wardrobes follow the links in the listing of clothes above or here are the previous two capsules – so you can see how things change (or not!)

Capsule Wardrobe Fall 2020

Capsule Wardrobe Fall 2021