This season, I am keeping this post as simple as possible, with the thought of perhaps sharing a few Outfit of the Day posts on Instagram.

As outlined in my budget breakdown post, I was able to stick to my Fairdare goal of only adding items that were secondhand or conscientiously produced. It worked really well for me to intentionally coordinate a mix of secondhand and thoughtfully-made items. 25% of my wardrobe this year is secondhand. I was delighted with my thrifted finds, but also enjoyed choosing a few new items. I plan to continue shopping this way in the future.

As with my fall/winter wardrobe, I am employing the easy-to-follow, ten-item wardrobe outline created by Jennifer L. Scott, which she writes about in her lovely Madame Chic series. The following is from Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris:

“Your wardrobe should consist of ten core items, give or take a few, but those items do not include outerwear (coats, jackets, blazers), occasionwear (cocktail dresses, evening gowns, special day dresses, etc.), accessories (scarves, gloves, hats, wraps), shoes, and what I call under shirts—mainly tee shirts, tank tops, or chemises that you wear as layers or underneath a sweater or blazer.”

I continue to love this simple formula for organizing and planning my wardrobe. Really, all you have to worry about is coordinating your ten core items and the rest falls into place quite easily.

As always, key to creating a successful ten-item wardrobe is being true to your lifestyle. My lifestyle is slow and simple. I go to church on Sunday and the rest of the week, I care for my home, nanny, take care of my daughters and make things, when I can find the time. We live in a rather rugged mountain environment and, as I’ve alluded to before, all my daughters want to do in the summer is play in the creek! I spend a lot of the summer sitting in the dirt, playing with them. We also go on a lot of long walks to the lake and on mountain trails.

I feel most like myself in clothing that appears quite effortless. At the same time, part of my motivation for employing the ten-item wardrobe concept is that I do like to make an effort to look presentable. When I had children, I knew I didn’t want to succumb to sweats and yoga pants for my daily uniform. Maintaining a lifestyle-appropriate ten-item wardrobe ensures there is always something presentable to wear.

While I still have a good amount of my beloved grey in my wardrobe this season, my spring/summer wardrobe is lighter and brighter than fall/winter was, with white and blush tones incorporated.

I have one additional core item this season. Spring is much colder than summer, here in the Rocky Mountains, and we get some snow through May, while summer is seasonably warm. I tend to wear much of my winter wardrobe well into spring. For this reason, I considered creating separate spring and summer wardrobes, but I decided that it would be too much fuss, especially considering we are two-thirds of the way through spring already! I won’t be wearing the long-sleeved tops and jeans much in summer, but they do still get some use during our cool summer evenings.

Finally, I thought it may be of interest to note when items were added, to demonstrate the life of an item in the ten-item wardrobe. For example, the note “SS17” means that the item was added Spring/Summer 2017.

Core Items:

1. c/o Everlane Silk Shell in White-Grey (Transparently Made in China). SS17.
2. Everlane Silk Tank in Slate (Transparently Made in China). SS16.
3. Everlane Poplin Sleeveless in Grey (Transparently Made in China). SS15.
4. J. Crew Oxford Crepe Cap-sleeve Top in Antique Mint. SS15.
5. J. Crew Long-Sleeved Navy Gingham Button-Up. (Similar, Made in USA. $25 off Tradlands). SS16.
6. c/o Everlane Relaxed Linen Shirt in White. (Transparently Made in China). SS17.
7. Long-Sleeved Dark Indigo Denim Shirt (Secondhand). (Similar, Made in USA). SS17.
8. Eileen Fisher Organic Linen Skirt (Sold Out, Similar). SS15.
9. Elizabeth Suzann Florence Pant in Black Linen (Made in USA). FW16.
10. Imogene + Willie Imogene Slim Indigo Jeans (Made in USA). SS16.
11. Imogene + Willie Imogene Slim Black Jeans (Made in USA). FW16.

Extras:

1. Sporty Shorts (Secondhand). (Similar, Transparently Made in Vietnam). SS17.
2. Beige T-Shirt (Secondhand). (A more-tailored option by a favorite designer, Made in USA).  SS17.
3. Whiskey T-Shirt (Secondhand). (Similar, Made in USA). SS17.
4. Black T-Shirt (Secondhand). (Almost Identical, Transparently Made in Vietnam). SS17.
5. c/o Everlane Cotton Box-Cut Tee in Rose. (Sold Out, Similar, Made in USA). SS17.
6. Everlane Cotton V in Navy. (Transparently Made in Vietnam). SS16.
7. Banana Republic Dark Grey Long-Sleeve Tee. (Similar, Transparently Made in Peru). FW14.
8. Everlane Crew Sweatshirt in Light Grey Marled. (Transparently Made in Vietnam). SS15.
9. Baserange Basic Sweat in Nude (Made in Portugal). SS17.

Shoes:

1. Veja Esplar Sneakers in Petal (Organic, Fair-trade Cotton Lining and Low-chrome Leather, Made in Brazil). SS17. Worn with these socks.
2. Chaco Z/2 in Black. Requisite creek-wading footwear, with a comfortable, sturdy sole, though I’d recommend trying a style without a toe loop, as it requires frequent loosening. SS16.
3. ECCO Touch 15 Buckle Boot in Black. SS15. (Similar, Sustainably Made in Spain).
4. Koolaburra Farrah Sandal. SS15.
5. Sam Edelman Black Ballerina Flats. (Similar, Made in Italy). SS14.

What about you? Are you using the Ten-Item Wardrobe concept or another capsule wardrobe concept this season? If you have a blog post or vlog about your spring/summer capsule wardrobe (Ten-Item Wardrobe or otherwise), please link to it below! I would love for you to share in this space. 

Note: If you sign up for an Everlane account and make a purchase through this Everlane link or purchase an item through an Amazon link, I will get a credit for the referral. Thank you for supporting Cedar & Bloom.