Building a tailored capsule wardrobe for men

A tailored capsule wardrobe for men starts with two suits, one navy and one charcoal or grey, then adds an odd jacket, two pairs of trousers, a handful of shirts, some fine knitwear, one good overcoat and two or three pairs of shoes. Chosen in colours that work together, those pieces give you dozens of combinations for work, weekends and events, without a crowded wardrobe.

The idea: fewer, better

A capsule is a small set of clothes that all work with one another. Instead of buying often and cheaply, you buy less, buy well and wear everything. Each piece earns its place. The result is a wardrobe that is easier to dress from every morning, travels well and lasts, because good cloth that is cared for and rotated wears slowly.

The core pieces

A navy suit

The most useful suit a man can own. Navy suits almost every complexion, works in the office, at a wedding or at dinner, and the jacket can be worn alone with grey trousers or chinos. Choose a year round wool in a solid colour or a very quiet pattern.

A charcoal or mid grey suit

Your second suit should be different enough to feel like a change. Charcoal is a little more formal; mid grey is softer and pairs beautifully with brown shoes. Either gives you a second business suit, and its trousers work with the navy jacket too.

An odd jacket

A jacket made to be worn without matching trousers, in a cloth with more texture: a hopsack, a check, or a flannel or tweed for winter. It dresses up jeans or chinos and carries you through a Friday in the city, a long lunch or a weekend away.

Trousers

Two pairs of odd trousers, typically mid grey wool and a stone or tan cotton, extend everything. Grey flannel trousers with a navy jacket is one of the great combinations.

Shirts

Start with white and pale blue, in a mix of poplin for the office and oxford for weekends. Add a fine stripe or check once the basics are in place. Five to seven shirts let you rotate through a working week.

Knitwear

A fine merino crew neck or roll neck in navy, grey or camel can stand in for a shirt and tie under a jacket. A heavier knit works on its own on a cold weekend. Knitwear is how a capsule bends to Melbourne's changeable weather, adding or taking away a layer as the day turns.

An overcoat

One well cut overcoat in charcoal, navy or camel covers every outfit through the cold months. Make sure it is long enough to cover your jacket and roomy enough to wear over a suit. A tailored wool or cashmere coat is the piece you will reach for every cold, wet morning, and our overcoats and outerwear page has more on choosing one.

Shoes

Black Oxfords for formal occasions and business, a dark brown Double Monk or loafer for everything else, and one relaxed pair for weekends. Good shoes, rotated and kept on shoe trees, last for years.

How the pieces mix

The secret is a narrow palette: navy, grey, white, light blue, brown and one or two accents. When every piece sits inside that palette, almost anything goes with anything. A few examples:

• Navy suit, white shirt, dark tie and black Oxfords for a client meeting.
• Navy jacket, grey trousers, blue oxford shirt and brown loafers for a Friday in the city.
• Grey suit trousers with a roll neck and the odd jacket for dinner.
• Odd jacket, knit and chinos, with the overcoat on top, for a winter weekend.

Keep patterns quiet in the suits and let texture, shirts and knitwear add interest. Loud pieces are memorable, which is the opposite of what a capsule needs.

Build it over time

Few men build a capsule in one go. Start with the navy suit and a few shirts, then add the grey suit, then the odd jacket and trousers, then the coat. Every addition multiplies what you already own.

This is where made to measure helps most. Once your pattern is on file, built from more than 25 measurements, adding a piece is simple: you choose the cloth and the details, and we work from the pattern we already hold. Your second and third pieces fit as well as your first, and they are designed to sit together.

YB Wardrobe

For our most valued clients we offer YB Wardrobe, an annual collection from $30,000 that is curated and designed with you. A full year of pieces, such as shirts, made to measure suits, coats, leather jackets, bomber jackets and knitwear, is planned together as one wardrobe rather than bought piece by piece.

Start with one piece

Every capsule begins with the first suit. To see how YB could look on you, step into our virtual fitting room and see yourself in YB first, in six looks across the city, a dinner and a meeting. When you are ready, book a fitting and we will start with the piece your wardrobe needs most.

Questions