Capsule Wardrobe Step 1: The Foundation

Step 1 of a capsule wardrobe is two suits, a vest and five shirts. The suits are navy and charcoal, the vest is cut from the navy suit cloth, and the shirts are white, a white pattern, light blue, light pink and light grey. That is a full working week, plus an interview, a big client meeting, a wedding and a funeral, and every step after this one is built around it.

If you have not read the overview, the full capsule wardrobe guide lays out all four steps. This page goes into the first one.

What You Own Going In

Usually one of two things. Either nothing formal at all, or an old suit that sort of fits and gets worn because there is no alternative.

If the old suit still fits through the shoulders and the colour works on you, keep it as a backup. If it pulls at the button, the sleeves cover your shirt cuffs, or it is black, it does not count toward the capsule. Step 1 assumes you are starting clean, and you should buy as if you are.

The Step 1 List

| Piece | Count | Colours | |---|---|---| | Suits | 2 | Navy, charcoal | | Vest | 1 | Navy, cut from the navy suit cloth | | Dress shirts | 5 | White, white pattern, light blue, light pink, light grey |

Eight garments, and every one of them goes with every other one. That is the whole idea behind starting here rather than with one suit and hoping.

Ties and pocket squares are not counted in the step. They are add-ons, priced separately, and you can take as many or as few as you want. The ones we would suggest alongside this step are further down the page.

This Step Is a Starting Point

The list above is where we start, not a rule you have to follow. Change a colour, put the two suits in different cloths, take the shirts in a different set, or build a first step of your own with us. What matters is that the pieces you start with all work with each other, because everything you add later hangs off them.

*A note on the cloth: the fabrics and linings in these photographs are examples, not a fixed menu. Every lining is chosen for the man it is made for, so yours will be its own. Our books also change as mills come and go, and they change without notice. If a cloth you have chosen is unavailable when your order is placed, we replace it with one of the same quality or better, as close to the colour as we can get, and we tell you before anything is cut.*

Why Navy and Charcoal, and Why Both

Navy and charcoal are the two colours that go everywhere, and they do different jobs.

Navy is the easier colour for most men. It looks sharp on fair and dark complexions, works in daylight and at night, and reads approachable rather than stern. Charcoal is more formal and more serious. It suits men with strong contrast between hair and skin, and it is the one you want for a funeral or a courtroom.

Both beat black. A black suit belongs at night and looks flat in an office. Navy vs charcoal goes deeper on what each one does, and suit colour for your complexion covers the palette side.

Owning both from the start is also what makes a five-day week possible. Alternating two suits gives each one a day to recover between wears, and that single habit does more for how a suit holds its shape than anything else you can do. A suit that never gets a day off has no chance to recover its shape.

The Vest

The vest is navy, cut from the same cloth as the navy suit, and it is ordered at the same time as that suit. That is not a preference, it is the only way it matches. Cloth comes on bolts, the bolt changes, and a suit that has been worn and dry cleaned shifts slightly in colour. A vest added a year later will be close and still wrong, and close is worse than not having one.

What it buys you is a three-piece without a third garment. Navy goes up a notch for a wedding, an awards night or a big presentation, and you can take the jacket off in a warm room and still look dressed. When to add a vest covers where it earns its place, how a waistcoat should fit covers the fit, and how to wear a three-piece suit covers the rest.

The Cloth and the Cut

Cloth depends on how often you will wear it.

Our wool blend starts at $899 and handles a couple of days a week without complaint. If you are in a suit most days, a Super 120s wool at $1,299 drapes better, breathes better, and recovers overnight between wears. Wool blend vs pure wool explains the trade-off, and Super 120 vs Super 150 covers the finer end if you are curious. The vest is priced from the cloth its suit is in, from $315 on the wool blend and $455 on a Super 120s.

You do not have to put both suits in the same cloth. Plenty of men take the navy in a Super 120s because it is the one they reach for, and the charcoal in the wool blend because it comes out once or twice a week.

Keep both cloths solid or with a very quiet texture, in a mid weight you can wear most of the year. The cut stays classic: single-breasted, two buttons, notch lapels, flap pockets, plain-hemmed trousers with no cuffs. These suits have to go everywhere, so nothing on them should date them.

The Five Shirts

White and light blue are the two you will wear most, and they are the reason the rest of the step works. White is the most formal shirt you can own and the one you reach for at interviews, weddings and funerals. Light blue is the everyday one. It softens either suit and looks good on nearly everyone.

The other three give the week some variety without leaving the palette. A white pattern, a fine stripe or a small check, reads as a white shirt from across a room and as something more up close. Light pink is the one men flinch at and then wear constantly, because it warms up navy and charcoal in a way blue does not. Light grey is the quiet one that sits under charcoal without the hard white contrast.

All five are two-ply cotton with a Kent or classic collar, and dress shirts start at $199. I would skip the button-down collar here: a Kent or classic collar goes all the same places and looks right under a tie and without one. Five shirts is a clean one for every workday, which is where how many dress shirts a man needs lands too.

Ties and Pocket Squares, If You Want Them

Neither is part of the step, and neither is counted in it. They are add-ons, and they are the least expensive way to make eight garments look like a lot more than eight.

If you are adding some here, five ties cover almost everything this step will do: black, red, a navy pattern, maroon and a deep blue pattern. Black is the funeral and black tie adjacent one. Red and maroon carry the meetings where you want some authority. The two patterns are the everyday ones, and they sit quietly under both suits. How to match a tie to your suit covers the pairings.

Two squares, white and light blue, both cotton, will cover the same ground. Keep the tie and the pocket square different in colour and in pattern. A maroon tie with a white pocket square works. A maroon tie with a maroon pocket square looks like a set someone bought you. How to wear a pocket square has the folds. When you skip the tie, undo the top button of the shirt and leave the rest fastened.

Wearing the Navy Jacket with the Charcoal Trousers

This is worth doing, and you do not have to buy anything extra for it. The navy jacket over the charcoal trousers reads as a jacket and trousers to almost everyone who sees it, and it saves you the price of a separate jacket at the stage where that money is better spent elsewhere. The trousers do not need to be made for it.

Owning a real sport coat is the better version, and that is what Step 4 is for. Until then, use the jacket you already have.

How the Pieces Combine

| Configuration | Works with | Outfits | |---|---|---| | Navy suit | All 5 shirts | 5 | | Charcoal suit | All 5 shirts | 5 | | Navy three-piece, suit with its vest | All 5 shirts | 5 | | Navy vest and trousers, jacket off | All 5 shirts | 5 | | Navy jacket over charcoal trousers | All 5 shirts | 5 |

Twenty-five outfits from eight garments, before a tie changes anything. In practice not every shirt is at its best under every suit, so call it a couple of months of workdays without repeating yourself. That covers the occasions you will ever need them for and a five-day week, which is why the first step is bigger than most men expect. How many suits a man actually needs goes into the rotation maths.

One Suit and One Shirt First

Eight garments is a lot to order at once, so we do not make them at once. We produce one suit and one shirt first, and you confirm the fit on those before the rest of the order is made. The second suit, the vest and the other four shirts are then cut to a fit you have already seen on yourself.

That is also why the vest is not a risk even though it has to be ordered with its suit: the fit is settled before it is cut.

Payment plans are available, and you set the pace. Some men take Step 1 in two halves.

When You Are Ready for Step 2

You are ready when the two suits start feeling like a uniform, when you want a colour that is not dark, or when you are in front of the same people often enough that they have seen navy and charcoal plenty of times.

Step 2 adds a blue suit and a mid grey windowpane with three more shirts, which takes you to four suits and eight shirts. Because Step 1 was chosen to coordinate, every one of those pieces works with what you own the day it arrives.

If you are not sure where you land, a Wardrobe Plan with our Owner and Founder, Derek Burbidge, works it out with you: your palette, what you already own that still works, and the order to buy the rest in. There is no measuring on the call. If you order afterwards, measuring happens separately, in our studio or online with a short form and two photos.

Each order takes five to six weeks to make, so if you have an interview or a wedding coming up, start well ahead of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first step of a capsule wardrobe for men?

A navy suit, a charcoal suit, a navy vest cut from the navy suit cloth, and five shirts: white, a white pattern, light blue, light pink and light grey. That covers the occasions that matter and a full working week, and everything added later pairs with it.

Why does Step 1 include two suits instead of one?

Because one suit cannot do a five-day week. Alternating two gives each suit a day to recover, which is what makes a suit last, and navy and charcoal between them cover almost every situation you will meet.

Should I start with navy or charcoal if I can only take one?

Navy for most men, because it works on almost every complexion and in almost every setting. Charcoal first if you have strong contrast in your colouring or your first real need is formal. Take the other one as soon as you can. The step is a starting structure, so we are happy to split it.

Can my first capsule suit be black?

We would not recommend it. Black looks flat in daylight and in an office, and it does less at interviews and client meetings than navy or charcoal. It is also harder to put a shirt with: black usually wants a white shirt, a black tie and a white pocket square, and you cannot wear that every day.

Why does the vest have to be ordered with the suit?

Because it has to match. Cloth comes on bolts and the bolt changes, and a suit that has been worn and dry cleaned shifts slightly in colour. A vest ordered later will be close, and close looks like a mistake.

How much does Step 1 cost?

Pricing is per piece. Suits start at $899 in our wool blend, $1,299 in Super 120s and $1,699 in Super 150s, shirts start at $199, and the vest is priced from its suit cloth, from $315. Ties and pocket squares are priced separately as add-ons. We are total changes with the cloth and with what you actually need, so ask us for the current figure. Our suit price calculator prices an outfit in about ten seconds.

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Next: Step 2: The Core. Back to the full capsule wardrobe guide.