From scratch

Paying it forward in the form of a capsule wardrobe

My daughter was born in 2019 and my son in 2022. About six months after he was born, I looked around and, to my horror, I had nothing to wear. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, COVID, repeat, and it had been a solid five years since I had last bought clothes because I wanted to and not because I had to. When you’re in the midst of early motherhood, its hard to care about what you’re wearing. Your body is changing by the minute. You may plan to have another kid, starting the process all over again. And once you are finally done done, things are not quite where they used to be. The last thing I wanted to do during this time was spend a bunch of money on clothes that would never fit me again. Not to mention the disdain I felt towards the clothes I wore during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I wore each bump or breastfeeding friendly item to death, and I wanted to burn it all.

When it became clear that I was not having a third child (at least not on purpose), I desperately wanted to regain confidence in my wardrobe. Both my body and what was “in” had shifted significantly since I was last in tune with the current trends. At that point, I faced the question: how do you build a wardrobe from scratch? This week’s substack attempts to answer that question.

I scoured Instagram and blogs, ravenous for ideas that were affordable and resonated with my style. If skinny jeans and stan smiths were out, what was in? I found bloggers/influencers whose style I admired and studied their feeds, stumbling upon a simple but impactful capsule wardrobe for the current season. It was just what I needed—a few pieces to mix and match for endless possibilities.

My son turns 3 in July, and I am once again in love with the items hanging in my closet. I have many friends in a similar boat—whether its the tail end of the baby-making phase, weight loss, or just feeling out of touch with the Gen X influenced trends—so I’m passing the torch with my own capsule for Spring/Summer 2025. My hope is that it will help someone else regain their confidence after a style hiatus, whether motherhood related or otherwise.

WHAT I WORE THIS WEEK:

BUT FIRST, outfits. My office is extremely casual. Most of the guys I work with wear golf polos and shorts to work every day. My past jobs had all required corporate garb, so when I started working here, I struggled to find the female equivalent of golf gear (update: there is none). Eventually, I gave up and decided to just wear whatever I wanted. Thankfully, no one seems to care! I love it because now my work clothes are the same as my non-work clothes, minus a few crop tops. The outfits I wear to work could easily translate into school drop off, running errands, or weekend fits.

MONDAY:

shirt : skort : socks : sneakers : similar headband

TUESDAY:

sweater - old H&M : tee : belt : jeans : shoes - old Loeffler Randall similar

WEDNESDAY:

sweater : pants - old Anthropologie : shoes

THURSDAY:

dress : sweater - similar : shoes - similar : sunglasses

FRIDAY:

top - old Zara similar : pants - similar : shoes - old Anthropologie love these

FRIDAY NIGHT (BIRTHDAY DINNER):

dress : shoes : earrings - vintage via eBay

MY 2025 SPRING / SUMMER CAPSULE:

Here it is! 15 clothing items and 11 accessories combined to make 40 Spring / Summer outfits. The best part? Each item is under $200 (except 1). And I’ve included even more affordable alternatives where I could. These outfits range from casual to night out, and all of them will have you looking stylish and polished. If you are emerging from a fashion rut like I was, I hope this helps you start rebuilding a wardrobe that makes you feel great.

1st Row: white tee / cheaper : blue button down : white button down / cheaper : black tube top : white tank top

2nd Row: brown barn jacket cheaper : cropped denim jacket / cheaper : yellow sweater / cheaper (never fear the men’s dept!) : blue sweater / cheaper

3rd Row: white linen shorts / cheaper : blue boxer shorts : white denim : black linen shorts / cheaper : white skort / cheaper : white linen shift dress / cheaper

Accessories: brown suede loafers : white thong heels : brown belt : black belt : lace-up sandals / cheaper : sneakers : blue hat : silver earrings : gold earrings / cheaper : black leather sandals : straw tote

Below are FORTY outfits I put together with the items above. I don’t know about you, but I want to wear them all!

A few final notes on the capsule:

• If these colors don’t speak to you, swap them for colors that do. For example, swap the blue items for pink or red. Swap the yellow for tan. Make it yours.

• You probably already have some of these items in your closet (or your man’s closet?). Take a look before you buy anything.

• Consider hitting a thrift store, Poshmark or Mercari - the button downs and jackets would be easy things to find. eBay is a treasure trove of 80s/90s jewelry for incredible prices.

FOOD:

Beyond wardrobes, the other thing I almost exclusively make from scratch is salad dressing. I started doing this in around 2012 after I read two books that completely changed the way I think about food (It Starts with Food & Pandora’s Lunchbox). I was on Whole30 and could not find any premade salad dressings that did not contain seed oils. A lot has changed since then, and now grocery stores are littered Whole30 compliant options, but I haven’t stopped making my own dressings. Its easy, and it tastes better.

Here are two of my favorites:

Incredibly Quick Creamy Vinaigrette

• ¼ teaspoon yellow mustard

• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil mayo (I like Chosen Foods which I buy from Costco)

• 2 tablespoons EVOO

• Salt and cracked pepper

Put it all in a jar and shake it up. Ta da! You’re done. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit of water. It so simple, you have the ingredients in your pantry, and it is incredibly tasty. We buy Bonne Maman jelly for PB & Js, and I save the empty jars for this exact purpose.

The Best Homemade Caesar

Adapted from this recipe.

• 2 small garlic cloves, minced

• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (fear not! find it by the tuna)

• Juice from one lemon

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise (Chosen Foods again!)

• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or more)

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Once again, put it all in the jar, shake it, and you’re done! This one does tend to be too thick, so I thin it out with a splash of EVOO or water. This with some crunchy romaine and the rest of the homemade croutons from your pea soup — are you kidding me?! My daughter will eat three bowls of Caesar salad with this dressing. It is also great on roasted broccoli or other vegetables.

A few additional thoughts:

• The anchovy taste is mild, but if you just can’t, replace the anchovy paste with some chopped capers. You can also just add capers for some additional zing.

• Add a teaspoon of calabrian chiles or sriracha to make it spicy.

• If you don’t have time for croutons (who does, really?), take a half cup of panko breadcrumbs and toast them in a pan until golden brown with some EVOO, salt, pep and garlic powder. Sprinkle on top of your Caesar (or anything, really) with parmesan cheese for an awesome crunch.

IN SUM:

Thank you so much for reading. It means the world to me. If you end up getting some outfit ideas from this post, please let me know! And if you like what I’m doing here, please subscribe and share it with a friend.

XOXO

Jaymee