Capsule wardrobe for women: what to buy, in your colors
A capsule wardrobe is a small set of clothes that all go together. The secret is color: two base neutrals, one middle neutral and three accents. Below: the 18 pieces, how to build it, and the six colors for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
How to build it
- Take everything out and keep only what fits and what you wear.
- Pick your six colors: a dark base, a light base, a middle neutral and three accents.
- Fill the list below with what you already own in those colors.
- Buy only the missing pieces, one at a time.
- From then on, when something new comes in, something old goes out.
The 18 pieces
Each piece has a color role. The season cards below say which shade fills each role for you.
| Piece | How many | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Trousers | 2 | Dark base |
| Jeans or a skirt | 1 | Middle neutral |
| Plain tops and tees | 3 | Light base |
| Tops in color | 2 | Accent 1 |
| Blouse | 1 | Accent 2 |
| Knit | 2 | Middle neutral |
| Dress | 1 | Accent 3 |
| Blazer | 1 | Dark base |
| Coat | 1 | Middle neutral |
| Shoes | 2 | Dark base |
| Shoes | 1 | Light base |
| Bag | 1 | Middle neutral |
Tips that keep a capsule working
- Buy the base pieces in plain fabrics. The accents can carry the prints.
- Keep shoes and bag in the base colors, so they go with everything.
- Swap the accents each season and keep the bases all year.
Capsule colors for your color season
Six colors from each season's own palette: a dark base, a light base, a middle neutral and three accents.
- Dark baseSoft denim navy#5C6B8A
- Light baseIvory#F6EFE2
- Middle neutralLight taupe#9E8C74
- Accent 1Apple green#8FCB6B
- Accent 2Coral#FF8A6B
- Accent 3Warm rose#FFA6BE
- Dark baseWarm denim#4E6E82
- Light baseCream#F2E6CE
- Middle neutralGolden tan#B5854A
- Accent 1Bright tangerine#F4511E
- Accent 2Chartreuse#C0CA33
- Accent 3Warm pink#EC407A
- Dark baseDark warm brown#3E2723
- Light baseBright ivory#FFFDF5
- Middle neutralWarm cocoa#8D6E63
- Accent 1Bright violet#651FFF
- Accent 2Bright orange#FF3D00
- Accent 3Vivid green#64DD17
- Dark baseSoft navy#4A5C78
- Light baseSoft white#F4F1EC
- Middle neutralBlue gray#7C8894
- Accent 1Soft raspberry#C2739A
- Accent 2Soft denim#6C97BF
- Accent 3Rose pink#D98BA5
- Dark baseCool navy#2F4058
- Light baseSoft white#F0EFEC
- Middle neutralMedium gray#8E8F92
- Accent 1Rose red#D81B60
- Accent 2Cool lavender#9575CD
- Accent 3Periwinkle blue#7986CB
- Dark baseSoft navy#3F4A57
- Light baseSoft white#EDEAE4
- Middle neutralMushroom#9A938A
- Accent 1Soft berry#A5677A
- Accent 2Dusty rose#C08497
- Accent 3Dusty lilac#8E7C9E
- Dark baseSoft olive brown#57503F
- Light baseSoft cream#F0E8D8
- Middle neutralCamel#B79B75
- Accent 1Muted rust#B5654A
- Accent 2Soft gold#C4A76A
- Accent 3Sage green#87905F
- Dark baseCoffee#5A4632
- Light baseWarm cream#F2E7D0
- Middle neutralCamel#C9A87C
- Accent 1Rust#C1440E
- Accent 2Antique gold#C9A227
- Accent 3Fern green#4F7942
- Dark baseDark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Light baseWarm cream#EDE0C8
- Middle neutralDark camel#A08963
- Accent 1Deep amber#B9770E
- Accent 2Tomato red#A93226
- Accent 3Dark mustard#9A7D0A
- Dark baseTrue black#1C1C1C
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCharcoal#5A5A5A
- Accent 1True red#B71C1C
- Accent 2Deep cobalt#01579B
- Accent 3Pine emerald#00695C
- Dark baseTrue black#000000
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCool gray#78909C
- Accent 1Vivid purple#AA00FF
- Accent 2True red#D50000
- Accent 3Cool fuchsia#C51162
- Dark baseBright navy#0D1B3E
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCool slate#607D8B
- Accent 1Bright violet#651FFF
- Accent 2Electric red#FF1744
- Accent 3Emerald#00C853
See also the capsule wardrobe for men, the travel capsule wardrobe and the three colors that look good together.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle.
Dark base: the darkest neutral or quiet shade (C* under 25). Light base: the lightest neutral with C* under 20. Middle neutral: the neutral nearest L* 60 that is neither base. Accents: three palette shades with C* 25 or more (15 or more in a soft palette with too few) and L* 35 to 80, strongest first, at least 35° of hue apart. A summer capsule takes its accents from L* 50 to 85. When a palette has too few in that range, the rest come from any lightness.
Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season.
What this page cannot do
This page lists six capsule colors from each season's palette. It cannot see your current clothes, your body or your budget. It cannot tell you which season you are either. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser, and gives you your own palette.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
How many pieces are in a capsule wardrobe?
There is no fixed number. Ours has 18 pieces, counting shoes and a bag. Start smaller or larger as you like; the colors are what make it work.
What colors should a capsule wardrobe be?
Two base neutrals for the big pieces, one middle neutral, and three accents for tops and a dress. If all six come from your own color season, every piece goes with every other.
Do I need to throw away my clothes to start?
No. Start with what you own in your six colors, and only buy what the list is missing.
What are the capsule colors for my season?
A Soft Autumn builds on soft olive brown and soft cream, with muted rust and soft gold as accents. A True Winter builds on true black and pure white, with vivid purple and true red as accents. This page lists the six colors for all 12 seasons.
What you can do on this page
This page explains how to build a capsule wardrobe: the steps, a 18-piece list with a color role for each piece, and tips. It then shows, for each of the 12 color seasons, six capsule colors from that season's palette (a dark base, a light base, a middle neutral and three accents) with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.