LOFT – My 5 Favorite Capsule Pieces

By
Laura
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26
3222

Closet cleaning and capsule wardrobes are always hot topics during the first of the year. I am horrible at official capsule wardrobes, but am starting to get better at getting the overall concept of them…buy go-to pieces that can be workhorses in your closet. Having a sense of your own style sure helps when choosing these pieces and though I don’t own a ton of LOFT pieces, I find myself lately being drawn to some of their stuff online. I decided to head over to their brick and mortar and give them another try in person.

What I found? Pairing some of my own tough-girl pieces with their more refined, workwear items creates a combo I am loving right now. I found 5 pieces that could create a solid start to a capsule wardrobe. Check it.

The Interesting Tee


Lace Yoke Tee – I adore this black lace tee. It’s flattering, has a shirttail hem to cover the mama tummy, it’s soft and it’s easy to wear with a variety of pieces. It’s a great work tee because the lace adds interest and makes it dressier, but it’s comfy enough to wear everyday with jeans. (Apparently, I should travel with a dust cloth in tow…geez. Sorry about that mirror!) Wearing size Small regular, for reference.

The Sexy Cami

Strappy Cami – I recently realized in my continual closet purging, I had gotten rid of all of my dressy camis. This is a tragedy. A nice flowy cami is such a great go-to piece for work and/or date night. It’s easy to cover with a cardigan or blazer and then you have a beautiful sexy piece underneath for hot temps or a hot date. Never fear if you’ve done the same as I have. LOFT has this beauty to fill the gap. I love the fit on this and the racerback straps are very flattering. Thumbs up. Wearing size Regular Small, for reference.

The Modern Cardigan



boots (similar) | black jeans | graphic tank

Striped Belted Cardigan – Cardigans are making a shift these days and I’m so glad. I was sooooo bored with the drapey swing cardigans and the sweater set fitted cardigans of a few years ago. They are pretty uninteresting. But you know what is interesting? An updated cardigan! You know we all love long cardigans over here at TME and I was excited to find another style I liked (I may have over-purchased long cardigans during holiday sales!) This striped cardigan that borders every so slightly on robe status has a cool artisan clothing vibe that I’m loving. The key is to pair it with tougher items like black jeans and a graphic tee. I prefer it open, tied in back best. Moto details, faux leather and high tops would also be great to wear with it. It’s so soft and comfy and would double as a great swim coverup, too.

The Versatile Pant


boots (similar)

Pindot Essential Ankle Pants in Marisa Fit – These pants are the jam. They have a tiny dot print, are ankle length (in both petites and regular) and have a really comfy waistband. This fit was a tiny bit tight in the thighs for me, but I was in a 4P and generally go up a pant size when wearing petites, but they didn’t have a 6P in store. I cannot say how much I loved these as a nice jean alternative. I’d wear them with a cozy gray sweater or a, yeah, graphic tee, too. Pop a cute chambray bomber or jean jacket over this cami for spring, a warmer long cardi or turtleneck for now.

The Everyday Jean

Modern Skinny Jeans in Mid Vintage Wash – I really liked these jeans. I hadn’t tried LOFT jeans maybe ever. These are a great mid rise, soft and fit well. They are a good choice, especially for under $100. Wearing size 27, for reference. True to size fit.

A Few Honorable Mentions

boots (similar)

Plush Lined Hoodie – I couldn’t really pick 2 cardigans for the ‘capsule’ choices, but this one is sooooo lovely and soft. It’s a little athleisure-y for me to wear outside the house, but soooo cozy. And very cute. Wearing size Small, for reference.

boots (similar) | black jeans

Leopard Turtleneck Sweater – There’s just something about animal print that I love. This print is a little larger than I typically go for, but I’m still somehow really liking it. I’d definitely pair it with busted-knee skinnies and either Chuck Taylor hi tops or black moto boots. If an overall sweater is too much for you? Try these mitts or this cowl for a little pop of print.

Striped Back Mixed Media Sweater – There was just something I really loved about this top. The front is a typical crew neck navy sweater and the back is this lovely pinstriped oxford fabric. I think some type of layering underneath would make it more interesting, like a collared button down shirt. It’s quite preppy, so I would pair it with some ripped denim (I think I’d pair ripped denim with just about everything).

Shop These and Other Favorites

So there ya have it. So glad I took this little trip to the (gasp) mall. Worth it. Any favorite pieces you like to include in a capsule collection? Any successes with actually sticking to a capsule wardrobe? Do you get bored? This artist needs all the inspiration, all the tools all the time, but I so appreciate those who can live more minimally when it comes to clothing. I would love to hear about your experiences!

And speaking of the new year and new practices, I’ve started the Barre3 B3 ALL IN program this month! I’ve previously done some of their workouts online, but I took my first in-studio class today and it was amazing (and tough!) I’m really enjoying their recipes, so far, too. If you want to follow my journey through it this month, follow my IG stories over @elletrain.

Until next time…

L

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26 COMMENTS

  1. I love the cami! I bought one from The Limited Scandal collection a few years ago and have worn it on repeat ever since. I have also desperately tried to find other colors/patterns since then to no avail. I updated my “fancy cami” wardrobe this summer but love the idea of more!

  2. I love everything you picked. Loft is so good right now. I’m 28 weeks pregnant so I can basically only look and plan what I’ll wear in a few months.

    • Congrats, mama!! Snag that cozy fuzzy lined cardigan! I would’ve lived in that pregnant. Best of everything to you and your new little!

  4. I’m not usually a Loft person either, but this lace business they’re doing of late – I bought the allover black lace tee version they had in before the holidays and teamed it with coated skinnies and cropped flares and ripped jeans and tuxedo jackets and and and loved every freaking minute of it.

    I think having flexible pieces like that is what makes a capsule/lean closet successful – they allow you to be creative with what you’ve got. And as a mama to 4 living in a 120 year old house with almost no closets…you gotta have not a lot! I also think learning from that framework helps you to be unreasonably picky with what you do buy. It has to work 6 ways to the weekend, it has to look great (not good, not good if I lost 5 lbs, not good if I bought a different pair of…), and it has to FEEL great – fit, fabric, all of it.

    And you know what I would LOVE to see from TME? A mini capsule series. Could be something like the 10×10 that’s raging on Insta…but looking at S’s post about workhorses (LOVED IT!) I’d really like to see the handful of pieces each of you can’t live without AND how you put them together in ways that keep it interesting. Thanks for considering!!

    • Ditto! More capsule wardrobes and can’t live without pieces. Or how to wear one workhorse 7 different ways. Stuff like that.

      • Yes to this! I am getting off the fast fashion train so each item needs to be versatile because sustainable/ethical clothes add up fast (CPW is great but all the C is up front!). My pre-mama wardrobe was so random and I love that a minimal wardrobe encourages you to have a more defined style.

  5. What size did you try in the leopard sweater and belted sweater? Also – not to be the enabler, but everything at LOFT is now 40% off…

  7. Agree totally that LOFT works well with other, tougher pieces in one’s wardrobe, Laura – well put. I hadn’t thought about it until I read your words, but that’s exactly how I style LOFT pieces too.

    Love the cami and the black lace tee on you! So cute! I bought a couple of the camis after Shana wrote about them a few months ago and I LOVE them. Wear them at least twice a week either by themselves or under other stuff.

    Thanks for the great picks at the end of the post too – Black Watch plaid has been my favorite since I was in high school – but you rarely see it! Thanks for the tip. And I hear you on the lace dress too … where did it go? I bought it for a Christmas party and it’s beautiful. Fits perfectly too.

    Thanks for the thoughtful picks!

    • Oh yes, I don’t know where it went :/ I loved that dress!! Wish I had bought it. I’m so glad you found some great stuff! LOVE blackwatch plaid!! 🙂

  9. Just bought the lace tee and the pindot pants, might have to go back for the cami! The 40-60% off doesn’t hurt:). Thx for awesome suggestions! Love the momedit, and your style speaks the most to me so I’m just gonna be copying you over here on the east coast ?

    • Hi Addie! Oh, I don’t think that’s a dumb question at all — it’s tricky! 🙂 And it’s probably specific to each person, so I’ll chime in with my deal.
      For me, it depends on the cami’s straps. By and large, I wear strapless bras with camis; that way, I don’t have to think about it. And definitely with these awesome LOFT camis Laura wore and raved about above, I do strapless, because they have the racerback and an unusual front. I like just having the line of the racerback without seeing extra straps of a regular bra underneath.
      Sometimes with camis that have regular (non-racerback) straps, even if they’re spaghetti straps, I’ll do a regular bra underneath (you see the straps, but they follow the lines of the cami’s straps, so it’s not a big deal). I’ll usually pick a bra that’s the same color and with thin straps. Bralettes could work beautifully too (I don’t have one, but I think they’d be great under camis) — either you’d see the straps or not, but again, they’re thin, so no biggie.

  11. love the look, i know you posted similar shoe to your boots where do you mind me asking where you bought the boots you have on in the pictures?

  12. Loved this post! Just got my Loft items per your recommendation: pindot pants, eyelash button down, and black yoke tee…love them all! Thanks for the inspiration!

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