Women’s Plus Size Outfits -Time to Have Fun with Our Capsule Wardrobe

Now that you have your plus size capsule wardrobe in place, it’s time to see what outfits we can make, and to have some fun! At this point, anything goes, and you can show your creative side. In this posting, I will show you a really fun technique for putting outfits together. and help you find plenty of women’s plus size outfits in your very own closet!

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Your Closet “Order”

Do you find yourself wearing the same blouse a couple times per week, because it’s just your go-to or your favorite? Wearing the same thing over and over, especially when you have other things just as nice, makes your wardrobe BORING. I found that I did just that; I wore my favorite blouse until it fell apart, all the while looking through my closet and finding another blouse, that I had forgotten about, and wondering why I never wear that one instead!

So, I came up with a method of making sure everything gets worn equally. Here’s how I did it:

Section Your Clothing in Your Closet.

My sections are as follows:

  1. Shirts, dresses, character pieces
  2. Neutral bottoms such as pants and skirts (neutral or solid color)
  3. Completer pieces (mostly neutral or solid color)
  4. Camisoles

Hang ’em Left to Right

  • Next, arrange your shirts, dresses, and character pieces in such a way that there’s a mix of colors, textures, and styles. My rule of thumb is to hang solid, then print, then solid, then print, and so on from left to right. And try to keep the like colors away from each other. You don’t want to wear black 3 days in a row.
  • As you wear outfits, you will pull the first shirt, dress, or character piece on the right.
  • As you do laundry, you will place the clean skirt/dress/character pieces all the way to the left, and will sort them according to your “solid/print” model.
  • As each piece from the shirt/dress/character piece section is pulled, you will make an outfit of it and wear it that day. You will pull a pair of pants or a skirt, and a completer piece and/or a camisole. You will put all the items on, then pick out accessories and shoes. And WAH-LA, you have an outfit!
  • Tomorrow, you will pull the next item in the shirt/dress/character piece section, and will make the day’s outfit out of that.
  • This method causes you to wear everything you own eventually. You might think it sounds a little OCD (and you would be right!) but it’s actually pretty fun. I think it keeps my creative juices flowing, and I don’t get as bored with the same garments day after day.

How it Works in Real Life

I always look at my shirt/dress/character piece of the day before I get into the shower in the morning. While I’m in the shower, I think about how I’m going to wear the piece. At other times, when we are on a really early morning schedule, I will plan my outfits by the week, pulling 5 tops or dresses, and adding in the neutrals. Then I hang it all on 1 hanger, so I just grab the next hanger in the closet.

Here’s a demonstration on pulling a top and making women’s plus size outfit from it:

Women's Plus Size Outfits

My closet. You can see I have solid colors and prints mixed together

Women's Plus Size Outfits

You can see I have a pearly gray fine gauge sweater in line to be worn next.

 

Women's Plus Size Outfits

I put on the gray sweater, cinched the waist with a black leather braided belt with tassels, and put on a skinny black jean with back flats over gray socks.

Women's Plus Size Outfits

Or, I put on a completer piece, a kimono with lace shoulders, in a mint and gray paisley pattern

 

Women's Plus Size Outfits

Or dressed it up for summer with white canvas shorts and a fun polka dot/striped scarf and white mule sandals.

Women's Plus Size Outfits

For the next day, we find the striped shirt.

 

 

 

Women's Plus Size Outfits

Here, I have put on my black maxi skirt, but I’m wearing as a tube top dress. I have the striped top on as a popover for the dress, and black flats

Women's Plus Size Outfits

Or I could put on the berry colored skinny jeans, snow booties, and wear a long lace (shirt extender) black cami under the striped shirt

 

Women's Plus Size Outfits

And (this is headless pic I took last summer) here is the same striped shirt, with a light tan skirt and a flowery scarf that belonged to my grandmother, and my go-to flats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, you can pull a shirt or blouse or a character piece, and pair it with a few items in your closet, and you have bunches of plus size outfits at your fingertips!  And I’m not the only one saying it.  Suze Solari does this for a living, getting into women’s closets and finding great outfits women didn’t know they had.

Mix it Up for the Seasons

I am lucky enough to have enough closet space that everything can be hung up. But if you are limited on space, your closet order can still work for you for each season. My plus size capsule wardrobe is all-season, so as the seasons change, I don’t have to move much around. Here’s what I do:

  • Push the pants to the back, and put the skirts and shorts together for my neutral bottoms section
  • Move the heavy long sleeve shirts and winter completer pieces to a section I call “Later”.
  • Move the blouses that require a camisole or completer piece to the “Later” section.
  • Move the winter shoes to the inside closet shoe rack, and the summer shoes to the more accessible shoe shelf in my bedroom.

Of course this changes more with the weather than the season. In the Colorado mountains, we can get 70 degrees in January, and snow in July, so the weekly forecast is needed when planning outfits. For the hottest parts of July, I rely on single layer tops and shorts and sandals. Early spring can require snow boots in the morning and shirt sleeves in the afternoon. Late spring can be hot like July or cold like December. So, I’m moving things around and planning more to the weekly changes in weather than to the seasons.

The Lesson Learned

One time I pulled a beige tank top. This was back when I had to make do with what I had, because I couldn’t afford to buy anything new. I really didn’t like the tank top and didn’t want to wear it. But I forced myself to come up with an outfit, because, hey! I had to stick with my OCD plan, and everything had to be worn equally! As it turned out, I pulled a black cardigan, berry colored denim leggings, and a black, beige, and berry colored paisley print scarf, and together with my black snow booties, it made a really cute outfit, one of my favorites, in fact.

The lesson I learned here was that even though I disliked the top on its own merits, when I had to be creative with it, I liked the blouse again, and it has stayed in my closet and not the “give away” pile.

Women's Plus Size Outfits

The dreaded and unloved beige tank top

Women's Plus Size Outfits

The cute outfit I made with the dreaded beige tank top, that as now a favorite outfit

No Worries

So don’t fret! There are times when you have to wear something different than what you pull. Sometimes you just don’t like the item that much or it doesn’t fit anymore, or you can’t come up with an idea (like on Mondays). In that case, you make a note of it, or put a tag on it, then hang it on the left with the last load of laundry you did, but turn the hanger backwards in the closet. That will be your clue that you didn’t wear it the last time it came around. If you don’t wear it 3 or 4 more times, then it needs to go to the recycle bin.

Also, if you really want to wear your favorite blouse for a special occasion, just do it. There’s no hard rule that you can’t wear what you want once in a while. Just wash it when you’re done, and stick it in the back of the line.

Also, when I’m packing for travel, this method goes out the window for me. I pack only my most favorite outfits when I travel. So when I get back, I wash them up and intersperse them through the line of clothing, so my favorites aren’t in one bunch.

So, Give it a Try

I shared this method with a couple of my friends. At first, they thought I was nuts. But some of them tried it, and found that it really works! So give it a try. You might like the results.

==>Do you have any questions or comments? Or do you have closet tricks or an outfit strategy that you want to share? Please comment below!<==

(Pssst!  Where Did You Get Those Clothes?)

  • Pearl gray fine gauge sweater, Target off the rack
  • Braided leather tie belt with tassels, Lane Bryant online
  • Skinny black jeggings, Walmart off the rack
  • Black Flats, Target online
  • Lacy shoulder paisley kimono, Lane Bryant online
  • Polka dot/striped scarf, Lane Bryant online
  • White sandal mules, Woman Within online
  • White canvas shorts, local second hand store
  • Striped 3/4 Sleeve T-Shirt, Target off the rack
  • Black Maxi Skirt, Amazon online
  • Long black camisole with lace trim, Woman Within (Ellos line) online
  • Berry Colored skinny jeans, Walmart off the rack
  • Tan skirt, Target online
  • Brown flats, Target online
  • Black snow booties, Target online
  • Floral Scarf, from my grandmother
  • Black open cardigan, Walmart off the rack
  • Beige tank top, Jessica London online
  • Black/beige/berry paisley scarf, Christmas present from my daughter

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8 Comments

  1. Olanike

    Hey, thanks for this article, for sometimes now I was short of ideas on how to update my wardrobe. The fashion world is moving as fast as the technology word in my opinion. It very good to have a review of various wardrobe arrangement methods.

    This article has really helped me to correct some of the mistakes am making with my wardrobe. Thanks for this invaluable information update. 

    • admin

      Thank you Olanike!  Ya, even though I thought I knew a lot about plus size fashion, I am learning how much I really don’t know!  And the industry is growing in leaps and bounds, as you were saying.  I’m glad that this article helped you!  I have had so many people tell me, “That’s crazy!” but then they try it and find out it’s not that crazy after all.  Anyway, thank you again for reading and commenting.  RhondaLeigh

  2. Etah

    Thanks for this, I really needed this post how to have fun with our wardrobe.

    I find that I wear certain clothes often because it is easy to match with everything and I am always in a hurry to go through various outfit options.The methods you mentioned here, will be very helpful, especially planning my outfits weekly, it will also help me save lots of time. 

    Thanks

    • admin

      Thank you Etah, for your comment!  Yes, this method really does save time, and a lot of aggravation.  At one point in my life, I was leaving my house at 4:30 in the morning.  It sure helped to have everything I was going to wear on one hanger (even the socks!  hahaha) when my coffee had not kicked in yet.  Great to not have to think and be creative and answer the “What am I gonna wear?” question so early in the morning.  Thanks again, Etah, and glad you read my post!  

  3. Koda

    Awesome post, Rhonda! My mom (who is a plus sized woman) was talking about this very topic the other day! I love your rule of thumb that is to hang solid, then print, then solid, then print, and so on from left to right. as for your “Hang ’em Left to Right” method, I definitely think it sounds a little OCD, but that’ just because i’m not used to sorting my clothes as such! lol I’m sure it would be fun if I tried it though, might be able to warm up to it. If you can do it effectively maybe I can too ! 😀 Thanks for the post, though, much appreciated! It was an interesting read. Look forward to reading more interesting content from you in the future! 

    • admin

      Thank you Koda, for reading and sending a comment.  Yes, it’s a little crazy to get your head around, but it really works.  I have been doing this method for 10 years now, and I am still enjoying the benefits.  It’s great to still have fun with your wardrobe after that many years.  I’m not a rich person, so I really can’t afford to buy new clothes all the time, and some of my pieces are over 10 years old.  So it’s nice that I still love my clothes after so long. Thanks again for your comment, and thanks for planning on sticking around with me!  RhondaLeigh 

  4. Topazdude

    Wow, Interesting! I really love reading helpful articles on women habits and way of life including their fashion. I really appreciate this interesting review article of Women’s Plus Size Outfits. Although am not a woman, but I had a sister that usually practice the habit mentioned in the article, as she is fond of wearing the same blouse a couple times per week, because it’s just your go-to especially the newly bought ones. I can categorically say if the tips in this article is sincerely adopt by women, things will be better with clothes selection, as they many out there with this same issue.

    • admin

      Thank you Topazdude, for your comment!  Yup, on the surface it seems a little obsessive, but when you think about it, you realize you’re wearing your favorite blouse and ignoring the rest.  Amazing how many people have told me, yes, they have this same habit.  Anyway, this is a fun way to cure it.  Thanks again for your comment!  RhondaLeigh

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