April showers bring May flowers. And what do May flowers bring? My spring and summer wardrobe out of the basement! It also provides the perfect opportunity to donate the items that no longer bring me joy and to find a few new items that do.

Throughout most of my life I’ve gone back and forth between extremes of not caring much about my wardrobe to doing full hair and makeup every day.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJySJ54E4tk[/embedyt]

Over the past year or so I’ve been experimenting with having a minimalist capsule wardrobe as a sustainable solution to balance my need to feel like I put some thought into my appearance every day without actuallying having to put that much thought into my appearance every day.

While the frustration of not being able to go a week without doing laundry quickly got old, the idea of having a well-designed closet stuck with me.

It turns out that putting some thought into your wardrobe in advance makes it a lot easier to look effortlessly put together on a daily basis. Now when I shop, I look for a mix of classic and statement pieces and I always evaluate the versatility of each piece and how it will add to my overall wardrobe.

This past weekend our family headed to the mall to do some spring shopping. In all, I purchased four dresses, three pairs of jeans, two t-shirts, and three necklaces.

Shirt: LOFT (exact – wearing size large)
Jeans: LOFT (exact – wearing size 16)
Necklace: LOFT (exact)
Shoes: Amazon (exact – wearing size 10)
Purse: Fossil

This outfit is the perfect grab and go casual look. I’m always a sucker for a good striped shirt. The stripes add a bit of interest to what otherwise is a basic t-shirt, while still maintaining versatility. Add some light wash distressed denim, a pair of flats/sandals/sneakers, and a cute pendant necklace and this look is done.

The jeans were a surprising find. I wear a size 16 pant so I typically don’t tend to find my size in stores and usually have to order them online. But even better than finding my size, was finding a pair of jeans that fit perfectly. The jeans are solid and well-constructed. Despite their thickness and barely-there stretchyness, they don’t gap at all at the waist. I’ll definitely be trying out more of LOFT’s curvy jeans in the future.

During the warmer months, I lean towards wearing more dresses and skirts. There’s nothing simpler than just throwing on one item of clothing, a pair of flats, maybe a necklace, and heading out of the house. And if you want to go minimalist, all you need is 25 dresses to have one month’s worth of outfits with no repeats during the work week.

Dress: LOFT (exact – wearing size medium)
Necklace: LOFT (exact)
Shoes: Amazon (exact – wearing size 10)

A black swing dress has been on my to-buy list for quite some time. I love that this one has sleeves, which means it can be worn without a cardigan. The material is nice and thick, which takes its dressiness up a notch. The dress can easily be dressed up with some heels and some jewelery. But it can also be dressed down with a jean jacket and sandals. Plus it will carry nicely through cold weather with a cardigan, tights, and boots.

My closet is sorely lacking in the red department. So when I saw this dress with its figure-flattering empire waist, I had to snag it. I love a good statement dress that doesn’t need anything beyond a cute pair of earrings to make an outfit.

Dress: LOFT (exact – wearing size large)
Necklace: LOFT (exact)
Shoes: Amazon (exact – wearing size 10)

This dress is cotton so it leans a bit casual. My office dress code goes to casual (yep casual, not business casual) during the summer so this dress plus a pair of sandals will make for a easy stylish combo. If my office was more formal, I’d add a cardigan or blazer to dress it up. A jean jacket would also work great with this.

Okay, I am in love with this shirt dress. Each of my recent purchases makes me feel awesome in them (because why buy anything that doesn’t?) but this dress is my favorite. The drawn waist is very figure flattering. Small details like the imperfect polka dots, soft gathers in the shoulders, and slight puffs on the 3/4 sleeve really take the style factor up on this staple.

Dress: LOFT (exact – wearing size large)
Necklace: LOFT (exact)
Shoes: Amazon (exact – wearing size 10)

I’m really happy with these new additions to my spring/summer wardrobe. I don’t see myself adding too many more items, though I am still on the hunt for the perfect trench coat, a pair of while jeans, a cute but functional pair of sneakers for my commute, and a versatile jean jacket (though I’m eyeballing this one).

For more capsule wardrobe inspo, check out this video:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJySJ54E4tk[/embedyt]