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Fashion Vintage

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Using Vintage Clothes

February 12, 2019

How to Build a Vintage Capsule Wardrobe

This post is part of a paid partnership with Hotter shoes.

I am the kind of vintage collector, who sees an item and buys it because I love it. I definitely don’t think about whether it will go with other stuff I have or whether I have the perfect accessories to match it. It’s just that little bit harder to plan ahead when you go hunting for gorgeous second hand clothes. I have however learnt a few tricks along the way, perfect pieces to tie together your outfits, as well as really useful footwear to compete those vintage outfits. It may be a little bit harder but with the right pieces you can definitely build a vintage capsule wardrobe.

Your key pieces

How to Build a Vintage Capsule Wardrobe

I absolutely cannot live without roll neck jumpers in both block colours and stripes. These go well with skirts, trousers and under dresses and are ideal for making summer clothes wearable year round. I have everything from light cotton ones to really warm ones. I usually get these new from places like Primark and wear them year round. I also love light blouses, they are not only great with skirts, but also under dresses. They are also perfect for making outfits look slightly more smart and adapting outfits for work. I also try to have a few cardigans and light jackets to wear over my outfits, to change them up a little. Wrap style cardigans always work well over vintage dresses.

As you probably already know I have quite a big collection of Hotter shoes. I love how comfortable they are and how well they go with my mixture of vintage and modern clothes.

Red Vintage Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

How to Build a Vintage Capsule WardrobeYou could apply this to any colour, but I chose red to go with my gorgeous Hotter Donna shoes. A simple colour block dress can be worn so many different ways with the addition of some basic pieces and pretty patterned skirts can be worn with lots of different tops. I mix and match like this a lot with my clothes.

Green and Neutral Vintage Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

How to Build a Vintage Capsule WardrobeThe Hotter Dorset shoes are your perfect versatile every day shoes. Perfect for smarter work outfits, but also great with casual outfits day to day. They are also comfortable enough to keep you going throughout the day. These would be great with both tailored trousers or a full skirt and with a mixture of tops you could loads of outfits together with just a couple of vintage basics.

Blue and Purple Vintage Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

How to Build a Vintage Capsule WardrobeI absolutely love my Viviene heels and wear them all the time with both dresses and skirts. Neutral toned and metallic heels are perfect for a vintage wardrobe, as they go with so many different options. I have quite a lot of purple and blue vintage pieces in my collection, so I thought that was a great place to start. You can see how I styled my Vivienne shoes with a lilac dress here.

Casual Vintage Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

How to Build a Vintage Capsule WardrobeThen of course there are days when we want to keep it casual. As a really busy mum, these are my kind of outfits! I love comfy shoes that work perfectly with a pair of jeans, but can also be worn to dress down one of my dresses. I’ve chosen a mixture of metallic and colours here, as I like to have both. Trainers look great with pretty skirts and simple tops and I love to put gorgeous vintage tops with jeans and trainers for a casual look that is still completely me. Shoes features (top to bottom) Daisy, Brooke in pink and red and Piper.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. Be sure to check out all the lovely shoes of the Hotter website and let me know which pair is your favourite.


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  • Reply
    Nic
    February 13, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Love this post! It’s really useful as a vintage style capsule wardrobe is not something you see very often. I think you have great style and you inspire me to wear more vintage style clothes. Can you recommend shops for the colour block dress?

  • Reply
    Kacie
    February 15, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    I found this super helpful! I’m always looking for ideas for how to put things together or pack for a trip and have things all go together! And also especially excited to find out about these shoes! I just moved to Europe and need some really comfortable good quality walking shoes that also have a vintage feel so I can’t wait to check them out! Thanks!

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