Honey, I shrunk my wardrobe

Recently, upon peering into the tangled graveyard of clothes past that my wardrobe had somehow become, I decided I needed to lay some fashion ghosts to rest. Getting dressed every morning was becoming a lengthy process, while my 'look' was defaulting into the kind of fashion mish-mash that Helena Bonham Carter might struggle to get away with. The time had come, I realised, to create a 'capsule wardrobe' .

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The thing is, I have a bad reaction to that bandied-about phrase, with its bland commandments about the 'ultimate' mac, the 'classic' white shirt, the 'perfect' pair of jeans. Like constant references to Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly as style icons, it just seems so dated. In this era of fast fashion, wedding dresses that mix of haute and high-street fashion we're all meant to aspire to, can there be such a thing as a capsule wardrobe? Is it really possible to depend on a select number of garments without looking - or feeling - the same every day? After all, dressing up and being inventive with clothes is a daily mood enhancer.

But the mélange of cotton wedding gowns , leather, silk and goodness-knows-what facing me every day forced me to put the notion to the test. Pushing through the rails, I decided there was still a lot in there that was wearable. The glaringly obvious candidates for the charity shop were the high-street pieces that have not stood the test of time. But the mid-market basics and 20 years of cherished designer pieces proved much harder to sort.

I remembered Gok Wan, whose Channel 4 show,
Gok's Fashion Fix
, revolved around devising a capsule wardrobe of 24 pieces for a style-confused guest each week. Was honing my wardrobe down to a magic number the way to do it?

'Devising that capsule wardrobe was one of the hardest things I've ever done,' the stylist admits when I track him down. 'And that was because we were trying to break down old notions of basic style - the mac, the white shirt homecoming dresses homecoming dresses, the little black dress - which seem to me to have been around since the 1960s. Fashion has changed so much in the past 10 years, with layering and trends hitting the high street super fast - there's so much choice now that the capsule wardrobe is a really tricky thing to pin down.'

But Wan maintains that it's still style-savvy to pare back the number of garments you have at your disposal. 'The idea of a list of basic items has its place,' he says, 'but see them as the foundation of your wardrobe not of your style because if you simply stick to them you will end up with a very generic look. The way to do it is to pick one or two trends every season and introduce elements of these to your wardrobe to bring your key pieces up to date.'

Wan's advice makes my task seem less overwhelming and reassures me that my wardrobe doesn't have to be made up of boring, do-all classics. But still, is it really possible to pare back to only 24 pieces?

I ask a couple of women with what I'd consider a signature style how they put their looks together and what their magic capsule number might be. Alex Dimitriu, 40, a buying director for House of Fraser, claims that the number on her items-

I-couldn't-do-without-list was an impressively lean 16.

'I've never owned any of those basic style items that people talk about - the pencil skirt, the little black dress black dress , great jeans,' she says. 'But I do have quality pieces that I bought five or 10 years ago and that I always get use from, such as a pair of palazzo pants from Joseph, which I pulled out again last week.' Dimitriu's way of dressing also adds an important creative touch: 'Rather than start with a piece of clothing, I'll pick a colour or a favourite accessory and build around that.'

Another friend, Helen Hibbird, 34, the merchandise editor of
Vogue
, works a luxuriously casual look. Her uniform of well-cut jeans, shirts and knits mixed with carefully chosen high-street finds has that soupçon of French chic that seems so effortless. Not only is it stylish, it works on a day-to-day level, so I am not surprised when Helen comes in with a relatively skinny list of 19.

So how does she do it? 'I spend as much as I can afford on the simple, foundation pieces, such as a coat, black trousers and knitwear, because the fabric and cut will be so much better and stand the test of time,' she says. 'The outlay might seem steep, but if you think in terms of cost-per-wear it makes sense. I go back to these pieces year after year. Also, as I've got older I've worked out what works for me, which means each season I only buy things that are my style and avoid fashion pitfalls.'

As long as I have known her, Hibbird has had a knack for discovering those Topshop and H & M gems that look like designer labels and that fit in effortlessly with her style. Her secret? 'I'd say just because high-street pieces seem affordable don't feel the need to go in and buy everything. Have the patience to seek out the one thing that chimes with you. If you like something don't buy it there and then. Have a think and go back if you really want it.' Another of Helen's high-street tips is to head for the menswear department. 'You'll often find simpler, cleaner-cut shirts and jackets there with less fussy details, which might otherwise make them recognisable as a current fashion item.'

Time to go back to my wardrobes and have another look. I start with a general clear-out of anything too old, cheap-looking, ill-fitting or not in tune with my current style. Then, like all the other women I've spoken to, I make a list of the pieces that I really do go back to and look at my signature style on the page. Luxurious fabric is key - there are a couple of silk pieces that I wear from season to season and have had for about five years. And, like Alex Dimitriu, I'm surprised at how colour is more of a benchmark of my look than I realised. Writing it all down is a brilliantly revealing way to learn about your own style, while giving you a better idea of what to hang on to and let go of.

My final count? 20. Not bad. I realise that I do actually shop quite well - I buy mostly all my quality designer pieces, such as dresses dresses and shoes, at the sales. And, rather than stick to the old adage of opting for neutrals that you can 'wear every day' , I have trained myself to go for bold colours, such as a turquoise Miu Miu dress or a lilac silk Whistles blouse that are a look in themselves.

Shoes are also an important element. My trick is to pick the styles that most people would deem a bit off-key - such as Christian Louboutin yellow-gold T-bars and Prussian-blue lace-ups with gold heels - which I then offset with casual pieces, cocktail party dresses

such as jeans.

Ultimately, it is these elements that give my foundations a personal kick; it's the basics that I have been hanging on to that look tired and in need of the bin. And while I don't know if I'll ever stick to wearing only 20 pieces for the rest of my life, so far I'm pleased by how much wear I actually get out of my new, capsule look. And my wardrobes look blissfully organised, too.

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