Golden coin phrases like ‘Old Money’ and the ‘Clean Girl’ aesthetic have been floating around TikTok and Instagram lately, to describe some of the latest trends. These might even be what you use to describe your style, and there’s nothing wrong with that! You may already have in mind an aesthetic or what you would define as your ‘personal style’, but is it something you truly like, or do you like it because a trend told you to?

Today we are going to deep dive into curating a capsule wardrobe and decoding your personal style from the algorithm.

If you’re of age, and looking for a pregame to going out, I recommend taking a drink every time I mention ‘Old Money’ throughout this post, and yes, you should already be 2 in at this point.

Now like most things, creating something of value takes time, and your personal style should be no different. Instead of heading straight to your closet and throwing away anything that doesn’t fit the latest trend (i’m not saying that you should hold on to those college going out clothes, but I am saying hold off on torching your whole closet until we have a baseline established).

In order to find what you are truly influenced by (this is not a personal attack on influencers), we need a neutral zone. Now there a million different ways you can go about this but for the sake of making it convenient, we will turn to a neutral zone that is arguably accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This neutral zone is Pinterest.

Pinterest, once plagued with classroom snack ideas and home DIY’s for the non-handyman, (don’t get me wrong, i’m definitely sure it still has its own algorithm for that, thankfully it is just not the one I am on) will now be a platform that is such a vital tool in your kit when building the ultimate capsule wardrobe.

What makes Pinterest great for those looking to build a capsule wardrobe or looking to find their personal style is that generally what you’re ‘looking’ for (at least for me) is a vibe or overall aesthetic. What I mean is when you look at an image on Pinterest, there is something in that photo that caught your attention. Was it a top someone was wearing? Perhaps a stack of accessories on their wrists? Or even a handbag carefully, but “casually” placed laying on a garden bench in the south of France that caught your attention.” The point is you are looking for outfits or pieces that catch your attention, unbiasedly. Another thing about Pinterest that is useful, although annoying at first, is that most of the pieces you find (this isn’t the case for ALL items as the more definitive designer pieces are usually easier to obtain) but most for pieces on Pinterest it is hard to find the actual item or it simply isn’t available to purchase anymore. Now while this is frustrating when you really like a piece, but it’s sold out (sometimes the right amount of will power and hours of scrolling pays off and you’ll find it on a resale site), it actually is a benefit when find your personal style because it challenges you to find items that reflect your inspiration item’s style.

Pinterest forces us to use a bit of critical thinking when it comes to outfit selection. It uses our post engagement knowledge to suggest what we might like based off what drew us to the last image and gives us the option to ‘hide’ things from our feed that we aren’t interested in, further tailoring our feeds. After some trial and error (this is where the whole ‘takes a little bit of time’ thing comes in) you’ll be able to see rather from your home feed or boards you make what pieces or overall aesthetic is really catching your eye, without a person ‘telling you’ What you should like. Essentially the suggestions you receive were created based on what you were interested in. Side note: (if your still somehow unfamiliar with Pinterest, boards are essentially just folders or collections of posts you like that you can either make public or private to refer to what you like. They also help with your algorithm feed too.)

Then, once you have an aesthetic nailed down, I would suggest creating a board or boards that include items you are trying to find for your wardrobe. This also doesn’t have to be on Pinterest, I am a huge fan of the notes app so if lists are more your thing, you can do that too. Mapping out your goal for your wardrobe will help you determine what you don’t need in your closet currently and what items are worth investing in.

 Another important thing to consider when curating your capsule wardrobe is to select a color palette in which each piece complements each other so that when you look at your closet it appears cohesive. If we’re sticking to the ‘Old Money’ aesthetic and pairing it with today’s society, we can see an example of this when look at Sofia Richie. Every time she steps out her style is making an impact across channels because she has a cohesive color palette of timeless neutrals. The neutral color palette works especially with the ‘Old Money’ look because no matter what pieces you pair together, it looks intentional and well thought out. If you want to add pops of color to your outfits, they look even more elevated paired with a classic foundation.

The PB capsule color palette:

In this capsule color palette, a mix of warm and cool tones of these 5 shades stays true to the ‘Old Money’ neutral palette while allowing you to interchange them with modern silhouettes. This allows for your outfits to pair well no matter the piece or season.

Now, if you’ve made it this far and chose to refresh with your favorite beverage, I hope you haven’t placed a revolve order that will surprise you on your doorstep, and if you just stayed for the styling tips, I hope this helps you get started on curating your ultimate capsule wardrobe!

-       PB