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Allthatisshe is a blog ran by super lady & girl boss Dominique. Her down to earth personality, beautiful Instagram’s and cosy home is a Nordic dream. A mother, full time blogger and UK capsule wardrobe coach, Dominique shows others how living with capsule wardrobes can change your lifestyle, while being an inspiration to thousands of her followers. Frequently writing about sustainable living on her blog, and publishing her own e-books online, we spoke to Dominique to find out her thoughts on capsule wardrobes and the future of sustainable fashion.
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What inspired you to start writing about capsule wardrobes? “I’d toyed with the idea of starting a capsule wardrobe for months, so when we sold our house and moved in with my mother for almost a year, it gave me the perfect excuse to finally do it. I decided to share my capsule wardrobe experience really to show everyone else that if I - a sale shopping, impulse buying addict - could do it, then
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an interview with dominique
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an interview with dominique
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What is your favourite part of living the capsule wardrobe lifestyle? “The small amount of shopping I do. It’s so refreshing to visit a supermarket or the local shopping centre without browsing through every item of clothing while I’m there. I don’t even think about clothes for the majority of the year and I love it. Plus, as everything in my wardrobe has been carefully considered and chosen with thought, I love wearing it all. The sale items that sit with the tags attached for months are long gone.” an interview with dominique
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Did you find there are any setbacks or ‘con’s to this lifestyle?
“For me, personally, no - it suits my lifestyle perfectly. I’m always running late, so it’s a great advantage that the daily stress over what I’m going to wear has vanished. I feel now that I’m so into it (after doing it for almost 2 years) that I can’t ever imagine going back to my old ways.”
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What did you learn from your experience?
“In the early days I struggled to figure out my ‘style’ and would still buy and include items of clothing that weren’t really ‘me’. After two years of working on it, I now know what items of clothing I wear and what I don’t. So, for example, I never wear v-necks, I like material that need little ironing, and I don’t wear anything too short in length - yes, this can mean I avoid on trend items but that’s not what a capsule is about. I know now that they items that have the best longevity, and can be carried over from season to season, are timeless pieces, so that’s what I tend to build my wardrobes from.”
an interview with dominique
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Do you believe that the fashion industry will ever change to be more sustainable? “Probably not. As awful as it is to admit, there’s too much temptation in the form of cheap, fast-fashion stores. The media forces us to believe that the only way to stay relevant in the fashion world is to regularly update our wardrobes and it’s almost seen as ‘cool’ to wear something once and never again. Until we start changing these views, then the fashion industry will just continue to pump out new, ‘must-have’ fashion for us all to rush out and buy.”
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Do you feel you consume less now you’re aware of consumerism? “I am, yes. I don’t have a huge budget for my clothing so I can only go so far with this, but I do try and buy more mindfully. It can mean you spend more on one piece, but ultimately , you’re buying less as it’ll made to last. I’m so deep into my capsule living now, that I’m often shocked when I see other peoples attitude to buying clothes.”
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Do you prefer to spend more on quality items as opposed to cheaper items? an interview with dominique
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an interview with dominique
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“It’s taken me nearly two years to get my head around this myself, but yes, I do. When we have the likes of Primark selling on-trend pieces for less than £10, it is incredibly difficult to go away to somewhere like Cos then to buy almost the identical piece but for 3x the price. It does take time, but when you’re working with a small wardrobe, a one that you want to reuse repeatedly, then you need to start putting your hand in your pocket otherwise, the clothing just doesn’t last, and you only end up buying more in the long run. Plus, I always find that if I’m going to spend £100 on a pair of jeans, then it’s not going to be an impulse buy or a rash decision. I can spend days, sometimes weeks, making this sort of decision which means that my expensive items are usually the ones I wear and love the most - there’s been a great deal of thought behind them. Compare that to a £10 pair of jeans from Primark, and it’s an entirely different story - you don’t consider your purchase, they might not even fit well, you just buy them because they’re cheap which usually means they’ll be worn once and never again.”
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What advice would you offer to someone wanting to try out a more sustainable wardrobe? an interview with dominique
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an interview with dominique
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“Take your time when building it, the most successful capsule wardrobes are the ones that have had a great time of time and effort invested in them. You want your wardrobe to flow well, you want to be able to create the maximum amount of outfits you can from a small amount of clothes, and most importantly you need to put on each individual item and feel great in it. If you don’t love it when you first try it on, then you never will.”
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