The problem with capsules...

The problem with capsule wardrobes is not an actually issue about capsules. The capsule so far is great! The problem I discovered has to do with how the capsules are split up.

As I usually do in the midst of winter, I was daydreaming about the beautiful (read: ungodly hot and unreasonably bright) summer months ahead. I imagined me frolicking in the Texas sun, lathering sunscreen on my pasty arms and legs and inconveniently forgetting that corner of my forehead that always seems to be more freckled than the rest...

As I reminisced about lovely days in shorts and sandals, I began to wonder when these long, hot days will begin. Last year it was super hot (read: anything over 85°) starting in mid-May and lasting until the last breath of October (see diagram below). I've always preferred hot to cold, so it's a good thing I ended up in Texas. But as I began to think about the implications of this persistent heat and general unpredictability on the contents of my future capsules, I got a little nervous. How am I supposed to predict Texas' bizarre weather choices? Or really any states',  I know Texas doesn't have a monopoly on wacky weather.

If I follow the schedule prescribed by my capsule wardrobe guru Caroline at Unfancy, then my summer wardrobe will be worn from July to the end of September. While this might reflect the weather generally in Texas, it poses a huge problem for a teacher. Everyone knows that as soon as summer vacation opens its welcoming arms, teachers shed their cardigans, slacks, and flats for a real person wardrobe of cut off shorts and tank tops. Many a former student has been startled by this transformation as they stumble upon their teacher a week after school gets out and they've gone from buttoned up matron to sunburnt beach bum. Or at least a sunburnt teacher in shorts. So I was sad that it seemed that I would have to keep my slacks in my capsule year round. Don't ask me why slacks depress me, thats pretty much self-explanatory. I just don't want my capsules to have items that I will only wear for half of the three months. I only get 37 items (give or take) for the whole season, so I want them to be wearable.

Naturally, in order to orient my understanding of how the seasons work, I made a diagram.

I hope this makes clear how confused I was. Capsules say the seasons are one way, society tells us they're another, and Texas is just Texas. You'll note I had to make a new season for Texas, what I called Autumnal Summer, because the calendar says fall and the temperature says "Don't make me laugh!"

I decided, after examining my diagram and comparing it to the schedule I follow for the academic school year, that it makes the most sense for me to follow the traditional description of the seasons, as follows:
Winter: December, January, February
Spring: March, April, May
Summer: June, July, August
Fall: September, October, November

There are two implications of changing my own capsule wardrobe schedule:

• I'll be off of the schedule of the rest of the capsule wearers, but I also get to change out my clothes earlier!
• I change out my spring capsule for summer when it makes sense to, and will have only two weeks of overlap with summer and the fall semester beginning. But I will still suffer through 2 months of a fall closet that in no way resembles the fall clothes of the rest of the country. But we get like three months of what other people call fall and we call winter, so I'm good on boots and sweaters regardless. 

Clearly I think way too much about the weather, but ever since I found this quote, I've begun to really consider the temperature when making my clothing decisions. 

Food for thought! Look for my posts on my spring capsule inspiration and purchases in the next few days!