In this article we're going to discuss how to build a perfect winter capsule wardrobe for men. Keep reading to look your best this fall/winter season. 

Nothing quite like the colder seasons to get your dose of perfect fashion moments. This is the time to bring out the moodier, earthier, darker colours and work them into the most breath-taking looks. Building a flexible capsule wardrobe works like a charm in this season.

One of the best ways to ensure that you have an absolutely phenomenal capsule wardrobe across the colder seasons, is to find a trustworthy guide that helps you navigate it.

Yes, you might think that you can just wing it – wear whatever sticks out to you, whatever works the best with your personal taste and have a great fall/winter. And you can do that.

Here’s the problem with that though: the trick to getting these seasons right, fashion-wise, is to understand how to layer and combine the colours. Layering is one of the trickiest things to do, especially when you are curating a capsule wardrobe.

To make this easy for you, we have divided this guide into four sections – the basic elements of the capsule wardrobe, decoding the bases and the trousers, the color palettes that you can go for, and outfits that you can have in your rotation.

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THE ELEMENTS OF A CAPSULE WARDROBE

Technically, you can build a great capsule wardrobe with just about seven to eight elements. Read on to figure out how to buy this.

1. For the minimalists

If you like to keep your outfits to a minimalistic, charming effect, you should invest in solid bases – like a knit grey sweater, or beige turtleneck, black belts, one dark trouser and one light trouser, two or three different classic jackets (a good denim jacket would work with a lot of different outfits), a pair of dark and warm shoes, and a few elements that can add a pop of colour on the days you are feeling a little adventurous – like the hat in the case of the second look here.

This way, you are not overdoing the number of elements, you are just investing in pieces that can be mixed and matched.

2. For the lovers of classic looks

These elements are going to be the easiest for you to curate, since a lot of these have been around for so long that they are really easy to curate. What are the classics of a fall/winter look – a good bomber jacket, or a trucker jacket, solid sweaters and turtlenecks, a woollen beanie, and dark trousers or denims.

So, if you like the timeless appeal of a classic look, get these elements in warm earth tones and gentle neutral tones so that you can mix them around to create new looks.

3. For the adventurous ones

If you are more adventurous when it comes to your wardrobe, and you want to reflect that in your fall/winter outfits as well, you would want a few more elements in your wardrobe.

We would recommend going for experimental boho chic patchwork jackets, long, dramatic double-breasted jackets, good pairs of chinos and denims and some funky scarves to top it off. Don’t be shy when it comes to mixing and matching these up.

You want the looks to have some flair. Here’s a pro tip though, just in case you want to keep a few elements of this look subtle – keep the bases of your look, like the sweater or tee that you are wearing underneath, in a solid, neutral color.

WHAT TO BUY FOR YOUR CAPSULE WARDROBE

First things first – you have to get the base of the look right. The base comprises of the sweaters, sweatshirts, turtlenecks, pullovers, shirts or tees that you would wear as the first layer of the clothing.

To make the perfect capsule wardrobe, you need to have three kinds of bases in your rotation. Here are three tricks that might help you work the base out. 

1. Solid Bases

Solid bases are great for those who want their look to be subtle and impactful. These are considerably easier to style, since you do not have a pattern or texture on the base layer that you need to balance off with the top layers.

So, you can just pick a solid, fall/winter colour and work out the rest of your look from there. Solids are also really easy to source, since every single piece of clothing is available in solids.

2. Patterned Bases

This is for those who enjoy more patterns in their bases, and do not want to go for solids. If you like patterned bases – it is best to go with a patterned sweater, or a graphic sweatshirt, or a turtleneck with some design on it.

The other option is to go for a good quality plaid shirt with thicker material as your base. But, bear in the mind that this would just form the first layer of your look, so the pattern will not be altogether visible in heavier winters when you cannot just wear this one layer.

You could also go for something that does not have patterns all over, in case you want a subtler pattern.

3. Textured Bases

This is for those who want to add something to the base layer, but do not like the idea of patterns. Go for something with a good knit pattern. A good knit pattern introduces texture and depth to the look while also being understated and classic, and you do not have to worry about balancing a pattern as with patterned bases.

Go for interesting weaves, like a cable-knit sweater in a solid colour, or for something with a slightly coarser knit where the weave is visible.

You will have to look for these with a little more effort, since a good textured sweater or sweatshirt is slightly more difficult to curate.

BUYING THE TROUSERS FOR YOUR WINTER CAPSULE WARDROBE

This is how you can pick the trousers for your capsule wardrobe. 

1. The options for trousers are pretty standard during the autumn and winters. You can go for thicker denims, standard corduroy pants, or even woollen trousers depending on how cold the winters get. 
2. There is only one thing that we would ask you to keep in mind – and that has to do with the fit. You will have to figure out whether you are the kind of person who likes baggier looks, or more fitted ones.
3. Since you are going to layer, especially during the heavier winters, your look would tend to be a little oversized when you put everything together into an outfit. So, if you want at least one element to be as fitted and close to your silhouette as possible, go for trousers that fall close to your body. 
4. At the same time, bear in mind that there are a lot of winter looks that do not really gel with very fitted trousers. And a lot of the fabric that these thicker trousers are made from are not really meant for a snug fit, so they would end up looking a little baggy. 
5. If you want to bypass that, we recommend getting your trousers tailored and customised and going for trials well ahead of the season, so that you can avoid the rush and get some good quality pants.

DECODING THE COLOR PALETTE FOR THE FALL/WINTER CAPSULE WARDROBE

You can layer with overshirts, jackets or scarves, and the thing that would matter the most here, are the color palettes that you are going for. Now that can be somewhat confusing, but do not worry – we have a few palettes that would have you covered.

1. Neutrals and Earth Reds

These palettes are for those who like to keep their outfits balanced. This is a pretty great, and extremely well balanced color palette to have in your mind when you are curating a fall/winter capsule wardrobe.

The colours on this gel really well with each other – so you can easily combine a mustard (second color in the first row) coloured turtleneck, with a bark brown (fifth color in the second row) jacket, or a corduroy overshirt.

You can also go for a solid grey (fifth color in the first row) sweater as your base, with a deep red (first color, first row) as your overshirt. The lighter colours make for really great bases if you want to use that for layering. If you want a standalone element and you are not layering, you can use the darker colours as bases as well.

Almost every color in this pairs really well with dark brown or black trousers, so you do not need to fuss about getting a lot of different colours in your pants.

2. Warm Autumn Tones

If you are the kind of person who really enjoys dressing in the colours of the seasons, such as deeper and warmer colours, this is the palette for you. Invest in a few good neutrals for the jackets, like a soft brown coloured blouson jacket (fourth colour, second row), or a beige-mustard overcoat (fifth colour, second row). 

Since these colours are all warm, we would recommend not going for very heavy patterns or textures so that one element does not overpower the overall look. Go for a solid deep magenta turtleneck (fifth colour, second row), or rust red sweater (second colour, first row) if you want the base to really stand out.

All of these colours pair really well with black trousers, whether woollen or denims, so you are absolute sorted when it comes to that.

3. Cooler Earth Tones

We know that not everyone is a fan of warmer colours, even though those are pretty much the standard for fall/winter. But do not worry, we have you covered. If you do not like warmer colours so much, you can go for cool tones as well. It will be a little unconventional, but that is the charm of it. 

But, we would not recommend skipping the warmer tones altogether, since they are also really versatile. You can keep the warmer colours in your wardrobe to a minimalistic rust or beige – like the last two colours on the two rows.

You can go for a rust coloured plain-knit sweater, or a beige cable-knit one, both of which are absolute classics.

All of these colours pair extremely well with denims as well as black trousers, so that is what you need to invest in for your capsule wardrobe.

FIVE PHENOMENAL CAPSULE WARDROBE IDEAS

1. Capsule Wardrobe Looks 1 – Perfect Neutrals

This is your perfect workwear, neutral and minimalistic wardrobe – one that states that you have panache, and a certain taste in impactful clothes. Curating this can take some time, since you want to get into the right shape and shades. But it will be totally worth it. 

First, get your bases right – buy a white turtleneck so that you have something that goes as the base for all of your outfits. 

Get a beige textured sweater to align some of your outfits with the quintessential winter colours, and get a black sweater for the days on which you want to wear something edgier. 

Next, invest in good formal trousers, in ochre, brown and black. Get yourself a good long coat, a bomber jacket and classic leather jacket. For the shoes, you would only need two in your rotation – some black dress shoes, and lighter suede shoes.

You can take any one of these elements and work it with the other elements, switch these up and have fun mixing and matching. No matter the combination, you would have yourself a great look.

2. Capsule Wardrobe Looks 2 – Neutrals and Cool Earth Tones

If you want to spruce up a minimalistic wardrobe without taking away all of the focus from the neutrals, this second set of clothes could make for a really great capsule wardrobe for you.

This is great for workwear, as well dates and outings. Throw in a formal suit with one of the neutral bases and you are good to attend a winter wedding as well.

For this wardrobe, you would have to invest in a lightweight woollen sweater. This goes as your base in all the three looks. Get a nice trucker jacket in brown ochre and plaid shirt in earth tones.

Then, invest in second, ochre sweater to layer on the white sweater, and zip-collar pullover in a moody green. This second one can be the top layer for a look, or you can use it underneath the trucker jacket as well. 

For the trousers, invest in a good white pair to complement the greens, the plaids as well as the ochres. And get corduroys or denims in a nice brown to complement the whites and the greens. You can go for a nice pair of suedes, or some black sneakers to complete this look.

3. Capsule Wardrobe Looks 3 – Neutrals and Warm Tones

This third set forms one of our favourite capsule wardrobes, simply because of how each one of these pieces are so versatile, while also being statement pieces by themselves.

This one has a very good balance of bolder colours, so if you are just getting into experimenting with colours that pop out in your outfit, this is a wardrobe that we would highly recommend to you.

Apart from getting a neutral grey or beige sweater and a neutral turtleneck to form the base, also invest in a sweater in a slightly unconventional colour – like the olive green one in the third look.

Each one of these elements can be paired with the white or dark trousers to form three standalone looks. Next, the layers – go for a double-breasted beige long overcoat so that you have a classic element in your wardrobe, and an ochre brown corduroy jacket. Each of these can be switched back and forth to create new looks. 

Finally, get a jacket in bright colour so that it pops out when you combine it with either of the three bases – something in a rust orange colour would go with the neutral greys and beige, as well as the dark olive green sweater.

Also, invest in a good scarf in a dark tone. A pair of black dress shoes and some suede boots would complete any of these looks.

4. Capsule Wardrobe Looks 4 – Bright Pops of Colour

If you want your wardrobe to have more bright pops of colour than the previous one, we would recommend going for this fourth capsule wardrobe. This one introduces two bright warm tones to create more impact in your outfits.

The bases are quite simple in each of these three looks – a simple, classic, solid white sweater. This alone can be paired with vintage denim pants or the more classic patterned trousers to make for a perfect look.

For the top layers, you can get a neutral grey zip collared pullover, or a button down sweater jacket with a cable-knit pattern. The cable-knit adds a lot of texture to the look, and you can wear just the cable-knit over the white sweater with a pair of denims to create a really great look.

For the chief pieces of this capsule wardrobe, go for a mandarin orange bomber jacket in suede, or a bright magenta-red trucker jacket. Each of these two elements can completely elevate your look into a more fashion-forward statement outfit.

5. Capsule Wardrobe Looks 5 – Neutrals, Earth Tones, and Bright Bases

This final capsule wardrobe takes a little from all of the previous wardrobes and creates something unique. There is no hard and fast rule that says that you cannot go for bases in a brighter colour.

The only reason we do not recommend that as often is because brighter coloured bases are a little limited in versatility, because there are not many options when it comes to pairing them.

But, if you want to add a bright red sweater as your base, like the second look in this capsule, you can go ahead and do that. Reds like these go with dark denims pants and brown jackets, so versatility would not be a problem here.

You can also go for hoodies in neutral whites and greys, in case you do not want to invest in sweaters. Hoodies can be made to look more formal with black trucker jackets or long brown overcoats. Keep the trousers to a simple black or white.

Again, each one of these elements could be paired with the other to create a completely different look, so do not be shy when it comes to experimenting. For the shoes, go for some good sneakers, black dress shoes and a pair of suede shoes.