I admit it...I'm immensely jealous of women who have successfully created for themselves the "capsule wardrobes" discussed in so many magazines. Women who've been able to distill their style into a magical handful of pieces that work together to create numerous looks. I've tried hard in the last few years, and instead of being drawn...like the proverbial moth who's about to get her wings singed...to things that make statements but don't actually go with anything else I own I've tried (really) to mentally take a step back and say "what do I own that I can wear this with?". If I can come up with a couple of answers, I'll go ahead and buy it. If I have problems coming up with one thing...well, it's just not meant to be (except in rare instances when I'll figure something out if it kills me).

As far as the capsule ideal goes these pictures of Irina Lazareanu are inspirational. The majority of items are the same...bag, boots, shirt, belt...even the quirky bow-tie which you'd assume would be the one item that you'd change if you were trying to make two outfits out of the least number of pieces. And yet, two distinctly different looks.