Creating a Capsule Wardrobe to Look Taller

Hi Imogen,

I´m a big fan of your blog, and I´ve read all of your books I hope it´s alright if I ask you some style advice

I´m a petite (5´2´´) figure of 8 with a balanced, short mid body. I have slightly warm coloring, dark blond hair and blue green eyes, and I´m a classic-feminine personality style (classic in cuts, feminine/classic in colours and feminine in clothing materials – think cashmere – my favorite I´m also a jeans girl – here in Norway business casual (including jeans) is the standard clothing option unless you work in finance (which I do not). I´m also a busy mom of two boys aged six and four – and because my youngest has cerebral palsy and has to be carried around a lot + I play with him on the floor, skirts are often difficult.

I love the idea of the capsule wardrobe, but I´m finding it hard to combine that with the principle of a column of color (which I would love to do to give me those extra visual inches). Could you do a post about how to combine the capsule wardrobe with the column of colour?

With love from Norway,

Jasmine

Wardrobe capsules column of colour by imogenl featuring Oscar de la Renta

Wardrobe capsules are just a formula for finding a bunch of clothing in colours that work together and can be easily mixed and matched. One of the benefits of having a colour analysis is that you will find that automatically your wardrobe has this function when you choose colours from your palette as they are designed to work harmoniously and easily be mixed with each other.

A column of colour can be created in two ways:

Through the center of your outfit – so find a top and bottom of similar color and value (that’s the technical color word for depth of colour)
Through the outside of your outfit – a suit is an easy example of this, but you can create it simply just by choosing a cardigan or jacket that is a similar color to your trousers or skirt.

Don’t forget that if you want the most elongation, you need to continue the unbroken line of color through your feet – so wear shoes that are either a similar color to your bottom (or your version of nude if you’re wearing a skirt and no tights), or go slightly darker (won’t draw attention the way a lighter color will).

If you really want to stick with always wearing a column of colour, you won’t find that your capsule will be as interchangeable as if you don’t, but you can get many outfits still from working with these principles.