The Spring capsule I don't have
It’s not a wishlist, it’s a long-term plan.
This post somehow got too long for the email format, so should be opened in a browser or the Substack app. There are links to clothes and other newsletters down at the bottom.
I started a clothes no-buy in August 2024, and decided to take it month by month. At this point, I’m pretty much committed to doing a full year, and I have astonished myself by thoroughly enjoying it.
Starting at the end of the summer, with a wardrobe I loved, I managed to navigate autumn despite feeling that I really didn’t have the right combination of clothes, and as soon as I could fling myself into sweater weather, I was there for it. Winter dressing is my happy place, so I am resisting even thinking about spring, but I know that clothes for the transitional seasons are the weak place in my closet.
I keep saying that for me the key to a successful no-buy is acknowledging that I have enough, and I’m not-buying because I’m trying to reform (reform and re-form) my shopping habits. It has been easy all winter to look at things, think that they are pretty, and have no pangs about not buying them, because I am very aware that I have so many clothes I love.
What I’m recognising is that the household no-buy is harder (and less well-defined) because I have things in my house that I want to change, both structural and cosmetic. I’m running into the equivalent now with the spring wardrobe. I’m going to find it hard to dress once the weather gets warmer, until I get to summer proper.
The problem isn’t all wardrobe, quite a lot of it is me. Well, most of it is me. I don’t enjoy the summer - I loathe the sun and the heat (although I also appreciate things about it too), and I just don’t feel comfortable in my skin when it’s hot. I know, Mediterranean problems - especially as I love the sunny Roman winters, with little pockets of biting cold every so often just to keep things interesting.
But what happens between boots-and-scarf temps and wilting in the heat is that dressing just turns into this impossible attempt to not be too hot or too cold in the space of one day. It’s not helped by my commute, which means I leave the house before dawn, when it can be rather parky, and sometimes leave work mid-afternoon to sit in a sunny car for an hour. To be fair, no one I know seems to find this whole thing as challenging as I do, so it is very much a me thing. And to be fair to myself, I have almost every year said that as the transitions are comparatively brief (summer is a solid four months, often longer), it’s not worth buying clothes just to wear then.
But those pesky transitions happen twice a year, and twice a year I spend a few months feeling annoyed and not like myself when I get dressed. So in the autumn I said I would give it some serious thought, then promptly forgot as soon as I could legitimately wear a sweater all day. But every time I look around someone is bleating on enthusiastically about spring being nigh, so I am giving the thoughts.
Normally, my instinct would be to start creating wishlists, or consulting my extensive wishlists, with a vague idea of what I was looking for, and then I’d start looking for bargains. (Sigrid’s post about wishlists made me realise how I have abandoned mine). But I don’t browse for clothes as I used to, so this time I didn’t find a piece of clothing I liked and work back from there (what’s it made of? How ethical are the brand? etc).
This time, I went straight to the brands I know I want to support. I will buy clothes when the no-buy is over, but I will put restrictions on myself, and one of them is that I only buy from brands that fit my values. I looked at two Italian knitwear brands, and Not Perfect Linen, which is Lithuanian - I have clothes from all these brands and love their quality, customer care, and ethos.
What I really lack in milder weather is a light knit. I don’t have anything much between a proper winter sweater and a light summer evening layer. The solution isn’t to acquire a load of thin knits, because the fabrics used for fine knits often don’t work for me. I think what I need is an overlayer that can work as the main event, or as an actual layer, or I need a chunky knit in cotton or linen. I don’t wear t-shirts, but I’d consider one that was more of a knit. My first thought was that I need more cardigans, but I think I’d use a more structured knit jacket as much if not more.
Above is everything I saved. Apart from the NPL items, where you can’t always see the item in the colour you want, this is a very strict palette I’ve opted for! Mainly because the two Italian sites tend to deal in neutrals (Rifò uses colour quite a bit, but their spring selection was neutral-heavy), and I don’t wear whites or beiges or greys. I wear a lot of black though (and am leaning towards navy more and more) so even if more options were available, this is probably what I’d opt for.
I do actually love the idea of this whole thing as a little self-contained spring/autumn capsule, but I don’t have a few thousand to spend on clothes even if I was shopping, and even I don’t think I need eight cotton sweaters. I was more interested in seeing what appealed to me, and apparently cotton sweaters are something I feel strongly about.
Looking at my selection with a more realistic eye, I can begin to notice what I think I would really use. I have both the NPL linen pants and the sleeveless top in a couple of colours, but wouldn’t say no to more of either - I found myself thinking that more linen trousers would be useful at various points last year. But I have some, and I have a couple of pairs of floral jeans and some pyjama pants, all of which will get me through until after the summer. I like the look of the Artknit cotton knit pants, but I’m not sure how practical they would be. I have linen shirts, although the one above is a new cut which I hanker after. I will definitely buy it when the year is over. The tops are the ones that really draw me - I am beginning to wonder if the knit shirts might be a good half-way point between a cardigan and a jacket. Meantime I will muddle through with the cardigans or jackets that I have, but be aware of what I think would be most useful.
My aim all the time with my wardrobe is to future-proof it, so I also need to keep in mind that I would like to retire before too long, so dressing for the changing temperatures during the day will be easier. I don’t want to make a big investment in work clothes and then find that they are only useful for a few more years.
The no-buy is curing me of my need to be acquisitive for the sake of it. It’s giving me time and space to really consider what is in my wardrobe, and to see how I wear it. I don’t want to add to the number of clothes I have, so any future purchases would have to replace something I no longer wear. Not buying has made me aware that this time last year I would already have added some cotton sweaters or jackets to my closet automatically, whereas now I’d rather add one than some - I am very comfortable wearing the same things on repeat, and have really been doing that all winter.
Lin’s post on shopping within a budget made me think that this is probably the way forward for me once the no-buy is over. Gillian had already pointed out the pitfalls of suddenly taking the brakes off, so I was already considering how not to fall back into old habits. I have never had a clothes shopping budget, or budgeted for clothes, and now is the time to start. I’m very focused on home improvements at the moment, and clothes-buying is not an option, so it’s a good time to decide the habits I want to form. I have absolutely seen my thought-habits around clothes changing over the past seven months, and that gives me confidence that I will be able to rethink my spending habits.
What I do want to do is keep the pieces above in my mind, while I am dressing this spring. I want to make a note of when I think the items would be useful, and to see if there is anything I don’t think of at all. I want to get to the same point with my spring/autumn wardrobe as I have with my summer one - I don’t enjoy the summer but I do enjoy getting dressed for it.
Links
Rifò: Fanny sweater, Elisa tee, Leda cardigan
Artknit: Black merino overshirt, Black linen cotton overshirt, Black linen cotton top, Black cotton cardigan, Black cotton straight pants, Blue linen sweater, Navy cotton sweater, Navy cotton Aran sweater, Navy linen cotton ribbed sweater, Navy long-sleeved polo shirt, Navy linen cotton ribbed pants, Navy cotton overshirt
Not Perfect Linen: Elmina shirt, WELS pants, Prague top
Breaking stagnant habits
As I wrote this, I realised how much I refer to things, to consumerism, to stuff. And to how much I love my stuff. But I do want to stress that while I am attached to all my bits and pieces, I know perfectly well they aren’t what matters to me. I am endlessly, profoundly grateful for the people I love, for community, for being a part of something where …
Ode to navy.
This autumn/winter I am really not on top of my wardrobe. I’m not quite sure what the issue is, but I still haven’t pressed or steamed the winter clothes I took out of summer storage, and in any case I seem to be quite content wearing the same things on repeat.
I am a big fan of light cotton knits, and they are so hard to find.
I really enjoy your writing, Louise. I have become more intentional in my shopping and have slowed down considerably this year. Your newsletter inspires me to keep at it, thank you.
“The no-buy is curing me of my need to be acquisitive for the sake of it.” I feel this, Louise! You seem to be approaching this in a thoughtful way, exploring the challenges of entering a season that is not your favorite for dressing (mine is summer! I miss layers!) and what might really be additive to your future wardrobe.