Nautical Capsule Wardrobe

Sometime last month I decided that I was in the mood to make some capsule wardrobes, but was completely stuck for ideas. The fine people of Instagram came to the rescue with a couple of suggestions, so I now have a couple of these to keep me going when there are no other pressing things to blog about. And it’s always a good theoretical exercise to practice your coording skills. Where possible, I will aim to do these capsules using the contents of my actual wardrobe, though if I can’t manage something, I will revert to stock pictures.

Starting this out easy, with something that sits pretty firmly within my comfort zone: a nautical themed capsule, which was suggested by @lilianarowena. It may not quite be summer yet, but why not get ready in anticipation of warmer, sunnier days, right?

The Capsule

Everything except the ankle socks was my own photo.

For the sake of the collage, I’m not including any small accessories, whether they be jewellery or wrist cuffs, sticking to just the main components of a coord. It’s not the largest capsule, yet the pieces that are included provide plenty of variety. When I first saw the nautical capsule suggestion, my initial reaction was a bit of a “Ooooh, that will be hard”, but once I stopped and actually used the grey cells in my brain, I realised the mistake in my thinking. Nautical is actually a pretty broad theme that doesn’t have to rely only on sailor collars. The tricolour colour scheme, stripes, and hats also convey enough of a nautical or seaside feel. And then my moment of genius: naval stuff also counts as nautical! Hence the inclusion of that Metamorphose jacket and the tricorn, so that we can have some fancier coords instead of only casual ones.

This is a truly workable and versatile capsule, offering different levels of fanciness, options for different seasons, and different cuts to accommodate some masculine looks too. In a way this also falls neatly into another capsule wardrobe suggestion I got, which was for a daily/travel-appropriate wardrobe. That theme deserves its own take, which will happen in due course, so I’m just pointing out that this one would also work for that.

Coords

It’s not a capsule unless you can prove that it all works together, so let’s have some potential coords.

Haenuli's Lovely Memories JSK.

I love this dress so much it’s almost beyond words. It’s understated and very fancy at the same time, perfect to dress up or down as necessary, which these few coords hopefully show. And it’s turned out to be a surprisingly versatile addition. Admiral realness? Classy vintage sailor looks? Cute casual stuff? She can give you all of that and more!

Bodyline's L262 JSK

Reds and polka dots aren’t the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about sailor/nautical themed lolita - but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a thing. It’s all about throwing a lot of blue at it and picking the right accessories to go with it.

Meta's Sailor Tiered skirt

It would be criminal to have a nautical themed capsule and not include my sole main piece that actually has the word ‘sailor’ in its name. Whilst she is neutral enough to probably be able to carry off something more dressy, there isn’t always much point in doing too much mental gymnastics. It’s ok to let casual pieces be casual.

Meta's Wizarding Lesson trousers

Last but certainly not least - the boystyle option. Because sailor ouji is super cute and practical, which sometimes is exactly what you need. And let’s not ignore all of those boy-girl twinning you could do with yourself by switching out the main piece for these trousers! That’s as good a goal as any.

Final words

What I love about this wardrobe most, besides versatility, is how wearable it is. Every piece here is a comfortable one, so you’re never stuck between wanting to look cute and wanting to feel comfortable. Moreover, whilst the whole capsule was created with a nautical theme as the focal point, these pieces offer enough wiggle room to give you something else should you want it. A lot would be down to the choice of accessories, but whether you wanted something more classic and vintage or more typically sweet lolita, the potential is there. Some of these outfits are not ones I would’ve thought of without doing this capsule, namely anything with the stripy red socks, so thank you, @lilianarowena, for your suggestion! Thanks to you I now have a few extra coord options that I didn’t realise were lurking in my own collection.

Right now I’m not sure how regular these capsule wardrobe posts will be. There is still a decent handful from the Instagram suggestions that I have to go through. We’ll see how long it takes me to go through them all. In the meantime, if there are any other ideas you have, drop them anywhere that you may find me: in the comments, on Patreon, in my Instagram messages - I promise to make a note of your suggestion and get round to it. Eventually.