Okay, don’t hate me. But what prompted this post was a BTS video. Specifically, the outfits they wore for the March 2021 announcement about renewing their collaboration with UNICEF for the Love Yourself campaign. So proud.

I watched the video (below, if you’re interested) and near the end there’s this scene (above) of the group sitting together all sharing what the Love Yourself campaign means to them. And while I was listening to their sentiments, I was also noticing their outfits. I love seeing them like this because they are so well-styled cohesively as a group. But it occurred to me that their outfits as a whole were actually an entire capsule wardrobe!

“[A capsule wardrobe is] a practice of editing your wardrobe down to your favorite clothes (clothes that fit your lifestyle + body right now), remixing them regularly, and shopping less often and more intentionally.” ~ Caroline Rector of Un-fancy. 

If you break their outfits down you end up with:

1 Pair Black Pants

1 Pair Dark Grey Pants

1 White Tee

1 Black Cardigan

1 Grey Cardigan

1 Dark Grey V-neck Pullover

1 Black Crew-neck Pullover

1 Light Grey Crew-neck Pullover

1 Black Button-down (I actually thought from the video that Hobi (dark-haired man on the far right) was wearing a black button-down. Once I saw him standing I realized it was another black crew-neck, but I’m going to go with black button-down because that would have worked for his outfit here and will be more useful to the capsule than a second black pullover. You know poetic license? This is #sartoriallicense).

So that’s 9 pieces. 9 basic pieces that are relatively easy to find at any size and price range.

From those 9 pieces, you can make 34 outfits. That’s practically SEVEN WEEKS of work outfits. From 9 items. If you added just one pair of blue denim jeans to the mix, that would give you an additional 19 outfits! And I actually think I’m leaving something on the table cuz I thought of some other combination but it’s gone and my brain is fried so I’m done.

Fashion Math is breaking my brain.

And before people start hating on me for “lack of color,” understand this is just an example. You can use whatever colors you want. Personally, I’d be happy starting with this black/grey base and then add maybe 2 colored blouses and 2 colored sweaters (and maybe a pair of greyed down socks, you know what I’m saying). Doing the math quickly in my head, that would add like 1,275 more outfit combinations (gross exaggeration but you get the idea). For each single item you add (that is complementary to the majority of the other items) you increase the total outfit count by SO MANY 🙂

Considerations when Purchasing Items to Mix-and-Match

  • Something to keep in mind when choosing items you’re going to want to wear over things (like the pullover sweaters) as well as under things…think fine knits, like merino wool or rayon/cotton blends, etc. Something that is a thin, pliable knit that won’t add bulk or too much warmth, since you want to be able to layer comfortably; but is a fit with enough ease to it that it will go easily over something else without bunching up.
  • Keep necklines in mind when you want to layer tee shirts under crew-neck sweaters. Not All Necklines Are Created Equal.  Yes, I said it…AGAIN. A crew-neck is not a crew-neck is not a crew-neck. And necklines need to be compatible when layering. Like, the “pants + white tee under black crew-neck” will not be any different than “pants + crew-neck” unless you can see the little band of white at the collar and below the sweater hem. So it’s not just a matter of grabbing any tee and any sweater and thinking it will work.
  • Consider the compatibility of different tones of colors. Yes, even grey and black have different tones. I don’t know exactly how to verbalize the difference between blacks, other than some are softer and some seem sharper? If you hold many black items up against one another you’ll start to see the differences. It’s even more pronounced in greys. Grey tones can lean in different directions – towards blue, towards yellow…some are murkier, some are crisper. Grey is not grey is not grey (buzz phrase of the day). Just keep that in mind when trying to purchase items that you’re going to want to combine with other specific items.

The above are all good things to keep in mind when layering, as well. Every tee will not look “right” (to you) under every sweater. There’s more to item combining than just color – even though color is usually the first thing people notice and are drawn to.

If you’re just here for the fashion and not interested in BTS, stop here 🙂

Okay, this got pretty “technical,” considering it started from a BTS video.

Speaking of which, did you know many of their songs/albums/music videos are connected by philosophical threads/meanings and one after another, tell an ongoing story? It’s really fascinating how they write and build their song-lists and develop video ideas and stories. If all you’ve heard is “Dynamite,” you may be shaking your head and thinking, “she’s lost her damn mind.” But there are whole books written on the deeper meanings of their songs, their philosophical undertones, etc. It’s really fascinating and sometimes way over my head, quite honestly (Kim Namjoon, who writes a LOT of their lyrics is BRILLIANT. Literally. He has an IQ of 148.).

I’ve been slowly working my way through this book Map of the Soul – 7: Persona, Shadow & Ego in the World of BTS. From the book description, “Starting with the lyrics, this book launches into a deep, engaging examination of the album in the light of the psychology of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. The many layers of meaning embedded in the number 7 are brought to light, along with several fundamental concepts of Jungian psychology.” ETC. Following BTS is not all sunshine and fluff. Map of the Soul: 7 is their album that was released right at the beginning of the covid19 outbreak and subsequent quarantine (ha ha, I’m laughing, how many times have I written the phrase “covid19 outbreak and subsequent quarantine” for work in the past year?? A LOT.)

Sorry, I’m falling down my favorite rabbit hole (#queenoftangents). The connections make sense in my mind, but I’ll stop here for now. Oh, here’s the video of them talking about their involvement with the UNICEF Love Yourself campaign. They are lovely ambassadors for this cause.

Alright, I know someone is going to ask, so here are all the combinations (sorry, it’s a LOT):

1. Black pants + white tee
2. Grey pants + white tee
3. Black pants + white tee + black cardigan
4. Grey pants + white tee + grey cardigan
5. Black pants + white tee + black pullover
6. Grey pants + white tee + light grey pullover
7. Black pants + white tee + black buttondown, buttoned
8. Black pants + white tee + black button-down, unbuttoned
9. Grey pants + white tee + black buttondown, buttoned
10. Grey pants + white tee + black buttondown, unbuttoned
11. Black pants + white tee + grey v-neck pullover
12. Black pants + grey v-neck pullover
13. Black pants + white tee + grey v-neck pullover
14. Grey pants + white tee + grey v-neck pullover
15. Black pants + black buttondown + grey v-neck pullover
16. Black pants + black buttondown + black crewneck
17. Black pants + black buttondown + light grey crewneck
18. Grey pants + black buttondown + grey v-neck pullover
19. Grey pants + black buttondown + black crewneck
20. Grey pants + black buttondown + light grey crewneck
21. Black pants + black buttondown
22. Grey pants + black buttondown
23. Black pants + black crewneck + UNDER black buttondown
24. Black pants + light grey crewneck + UNDER black buttondown
25. Grey pants + black crewneck + UNDER black buttondown
26. Grey pants + light grey crewneck + UNDER black buttondown
27. Black pants + black buttondown + black cardigan
28. Black pants + black buttondown + grey cardigan
29. Grey pants + black buttondown + black cardigan
30. Grey pants + black buttondown + grey cardigan
31. Black pants + white tee + black buttondown + black cardigan
32. Black pants + white tee + black buttondown + grey cardigan
33. Grey pants + white tee + black buttondown + black cardigan
34. Grey pants + white tee + black buttondown + grey cardigan

ADD ONE PAIR OF BLUE JEANS
1. Blue jeans + white tee
2. Blue jeans + grey v-neck pullover
3. Blue jeans + white tee + grey v-neck pullover
4. Blue jeans + white tee + black cardigan
5. Blue jeans + white tee + grey cardigan
6. Blue jeans + black crewneck pullover
7. Blue jeans + light grey crewneck pullover
8. Blue jeans + white tee + black crewneck pullover
9. Blue jeans + white tee + light grey crewneck pullover
10. Blue jeans + black buttondown
11. Blue jeans + white tee + black buttondown, buttoned
12. Blue jeans + white tee + black buttondown, unbuttoned
13. Blue jeans + black buttondown + black cardigan
14. Blue jeans + black buttondown + grey cardigan
15. Blue jeans + black buttondown + grey v-neck pullover
16. Blue jeans + black buttondown + black crewneck pullover
17. Blue jeans + black buttondown + light grey crewneck pullover
18. Blue jeans + white tee + black buttondown + black cardigan
19. Blue jeans + white tee + black buttondown + grey cardigan

And you wonder why the dishes don’t get washed. I’m insane. Oh! No! Wait! I’m A Complicated Person! Ha ha ha! My YouTube friend knew what she was saying.

I need to rest my brain now. Goodbye.