How to build a capsule wardrobe one season at a time.

To build a capsule wardrobe, start with the clothes you already wear, pick a short color palette, buy only the gaps that make several outfits, and swap part of it each season. The result is a small set of clothes where most pieces go with most others.

Around 30 pieces a season, shoes included, is a common place to start, but it is not a rule. Below are the four steps, a count for each category and a plan for the seasons.

What a capsule wardrobe is, and is not

It is fewer pieces that mix and match, chosen for the life you have, in colors that go together. Getting dressed gets quicker because almost every combination works.

It is not a uniform, a strict number, or a reason to buy a whole new wardrobe. Workout clothes, sleepwear, underwear and one-off pieces for a wedding usually sit outside the count.

Step 1: pull out what you actually wear

Start with what you own, not a shopping list. Take out the pieces you have worn in the last few months and liked wearing. They are your capsule's real core, because they already suit your body and your days.

Leave out the pieces you keep for "one day", things that don't fit, and anything waiting to be mended. If your closet is crowded, declutter it first so the pile is honest.

Then look at what you pulled. You will probably see a pattern: mostly jeans and knits, or mostly dresses, mostly navy and cream. That pattern is your style, and it is what the capsule is built on.

Step 2: pick a color palette

A palette is what makes everything go together. Keep it short:

• Two or three neutrals for the big pieces: trousers, coats, shoes. For example navy, cream and camel, or black, gray and white.
• One or two accent colors for tops and small things: rust, sage, burgundy or pale pink.

Take the neutrals from the pile you pulled, since you already wear them. If one color keeps showing up in what you love, that is your accent.

Step 3: fill the gaps, slowly

Lay the pieces you kept side by side and look for what is missing. A real gap is a piece that would make several outfits work, not just one: trousers that go with three tops you love, or a coat that goes over everything.

Here is a rough count for a seasonal capsule of about 30 pieces. Move the numbers to fit your week.

Buy one gap at a time, and wear the capsule for a few weeks before buying the next. Often a gap disappears once you see how the rest works together. For a list to check against, there is a full capsule wardrobe checklist of core pieces.

Step 4: plan it by season

A capsule changes with the weather. Keep a core out all year (jeans, plain tees, a blazer, a knit or two, sneakers) and swap the rest about every three months.

Store off-season pieces in a labeled box under the bed or up high, so the rail only holds what you can wear this month. At each swap, let go of anything you skipped all season and note what you missed. Those notes are next season's gaps.

See what you wear before you plan

The hardest part of a capsule is step 1: knowing what you really wear, not what you think you wear. In Clozzie you add each piece from a photo and log your outfits on the calendar. After a few weeks, its insights show your most worn pieces, the colors in your closet and how much of it you really wear, so the pile for step 1 almost picks itself.

When the capsule is set, save its outfits on the outfit canvas and group them in a lookbook for the season. Give the pieces you store a location, like "under-bed box", so you know where they are at the next swap. For ideas on what to wear from it, see these capsule wardrobe outfits.