Karen also credits “repetitious wardrobe complex” — the idea of repeating outfits or a color/color scheme, a central part of a capsule closet, to increase productivity and maintain your mood — to the rise of the trend. Simply put, having an edited closet of essentials, and wearing the same things on repeat, takes the day-to-day stress out of getting dressed. (Sounds about right to me, who has worn nothing but crewnecks and jeans for the past year.) While this method of simplification also worked in a pre-pandemic world, back when we worked in offices five days a week or had a slew of IRL events to attend, for many, it took losing that to realize that it’s the same 10 (or, according to Warburton, 27 pieces) things that they wear on repeat.
