How to Rock a Transitional Wardrobe - Nada Manley

Okay, I’ll admit it. Transitional Wardrobes, and, frankly, capsule wardrobes of any kind can be a little, yawn…. especially for creative, spontaneous, former-impulse-shoppers like myself. If, like me, you’ve never met a frill or a bauble you didn’t adore, then the idea of the same 28 outfit combinations on repeat for 6 months can sound like a life sentence.

But remember: Transitional Capsule Wardrobes are temporary. And during all of those months of (cute, flattering) outfit repeats, you will be busily transitioning to your goal weight, and planning your future wardrobe. So it’s not all work and no play.

And now it’s playtime. You did the hard work of sifting through your closet, paring back to your current size, then adding a few well-selected basics to the mix. Now, it’s time to bring on the accessories. Because this is where you get to throw caution and season and even, to a lesser extent, budget to the wind and just have fun. Accessories will become the permanent-ish adornments to your temporary wardrobe.

This is where you truly get to express your personality. And personal style.

Oh, and you can SHOP again.

Can I get an amen?

And you can keep these pieces forever! (Or until you no longer like them. Whichever comes first.)

The plus side of plain-ish clothes is that you can wear the funkiest most fabulous accessories ever, and it’s never too much, because the clothes give the eye someplace to rest. Whether you’re looking at a Transitional Capsule Wardrobe or a more permanent Goal Capsule Wardrobe or just your current, as-is, not at all edited wardrobe, you’re going to need accessories.

For the sake of this illustration, let’s take another look at our sample Transitional Capsule Wardrobe.

So let’s just say, theoretically, that you have Chic or Boho or Relaxed Style and no accessories. Nothing. Not a single bauble or blingy thing. And you needed to start, from scratch, and add some

fun and flair. This is what I would recommend adding to the wardrobe above.

Just think of this as your “starting from scratch” accessories wardrobe. I chose to use both silver and gold, brown and black, and then brought in 3 colors – the blues and greens from the wardrobe and coral as an accent color.

This starter accessories wardrobe suits a more fun, casual lifestyle, and I picked the pieces accordingly.

Shoes

I chose 3 solid neutrals (black, brown and gold/silver sandals), two printed flats (leopard and floral) and a solid flat in the accent color. They are versatile, casual and a add some necessary oomph. Fun, splashy accessories to brighten this simple wardrobe.

Bags

The minimalist bag wardrobe features three essential styles: an everyday bag (in this case, a crossbody), a tote and a dressier day to evening style.

Jewelry

Many women enjoy wearing both gold and silver, so the jewelry in this collection includes jewelry wardrobes in both metals. I also added some fun, colorful earrings, a trio of geometric rings, a cocktail ring, and three statement necklaces (short statement necklaces for this Style Dial 2 wardrobe; a Style Dial 1 or 3 would want longer necklaces). I also threw in a scarf. Because it’s pretty and I like it, and what better reason is there than that?

And now, it’s outfit making time. Take all of those lackluster outfit combinations we counted before, and bring them to life with some well chosen accessories.