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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Guardian fashion

The ultimate capsule wardrobe: the only 20 items you’ll ever really need

A wardrobe with a small number of neutral coloured clothes hanging on the rail and one or two items below
‘Having bare rail between hangers sounds fantastically cathartic.’ Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

A capsule wardrobe is the kind of thing that most of us chalk up as a nice idea, but not one that is actually achievable in the real world. The need for outfits for different occasions, seasons and moods seems to dictate against a wardrobe stripped back to its bare bones.

But what if you could pare the chaos back to a lean, considered edit of only the items you need? Having bare rail between hangers sounds fantastically cathartic, and not needing to wade through a tidal wave of ill-fitting or unloved clothes every time you get dressed sounds dreamy.

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