What the tool computes, and what it does not
The checklist has six categories — tops, bottoms, dresses, layers, shoes, accessories — and the split between them is the real work:
- Lifestyle sets the proportions. A casual week carries more tops; an office week more dresses and tailored bottoms; an active week more shoes and training pieces.
- Season shifts the mix. Fall/winter adds two layers and drops a bottom and a dress; spring/summer does the reverse. Nothing else changes.
- Size scales every category together — 25, 33, 40 or 50 pieces — with rounding that keeps the total exact, so a 25-piece capsule is not a 40-piece list with half the shoes missing.
What it does not do: it does not know your body, your climate zone or your laundry rhythm beyond the season choice, and it cannot see your closet. The piece counts are a starting structure drawn from how real capsules are usually weighted, not a personal styling verdict. The named items are the versatile core — swap any line for your own equivalent.
The outfit count is the part worth trusting: it is computed from the actual counts in your checklist, with the formula printed on the sheet. A wardrobe of 40 mixed pieces with no palette discipline gives you far fewer wearable outfits than the number suggests — that is the whole argument for a capsule, and the number is honest about what it assumes.
Why print, and why not an app
A checklist you cannot print is a checklist you check once and lose. Outfit and wardrobe apps are built around accounts, subscriptions and photos of your clothes; the capsule question — what should actually be in my wardrobe? — is answered better by one sheet of paper on the wardrobe door, ticked off over a season. Every interaction on this page, including the PDF, happens locally in your browser.
The longer walk-through — how big a capsule should be, why the palette does the combining, and how to build one from clothes you already own before buying anything — is in the guide How do you build a capsule wardrobe you will actually wear?. The tool is part of the fashion hub, where the wardrobe printables collect.
Before planning any capsule, clear out what should not stay: the guide How do you clean out your wardrobe? walks the count-first clean-out, and the closet inventory sheet is the sheet that counts it.
Nothing you type leaves this page: the computation, the print and the PDF all happen locally in your browser.
Questions
How is the number of outfits calculated?
Honestly, and from your own capsule: the tool multiplies your tops by your bottoms (that is what a tight palette buys you — nearly every top works with nearly every bottom), adds the dresses, and multiplies by the number of layer options plus one (a layer, or no layer). For the standard 40-piece casual capsule that is 12 tops × 7 bottoms = 84 pairs, plus 2 dresses = 86, × 6 layer options = 516 outfits. Shoes and accessories are deliberately not counted: they change a look, but this tool counts garments only, and says so on the sheet.
How are the piece counts worked out?
Each lifestyle has a base composition at the 40-piece standard — a casual week gets more tops and fewer dresses, an office week more dresses and trousers. The season shifts it (fall/winter adds two layers and drops a bottom and a dress; spring/summer does the reverse), and your capsule size scales every category proportionally, rounded so the counts always add up to your exact number of pieces. The rule is stated on the page and the printout — it is this tool's own arithmetic, not a fashion rule.
Is the checklist really free to print?
Yes. One page, A4 or US Letter, black on white with colour chips for your palette, no watermark, no account, no email address. The PDF is built on your device, and the print button uses your browser's own print dialog.
Can I edit the checklist?
The checklist names the pieces, but it is a starting point, not a shopping order — the counts and the formula are the useful part. Print it, cross out what you already own in another colour, and write your own items next to the blanks. Nothing is stored anywhere; changing the selects rebuilds the sheet.
What is Project 333?
A capsule method where you dress from 33 pieces (including shoes) for three months. The 33-piece option in this tool follows that count. The piece mix this tool computes for 33 is its own arithmetic; Project 333 as a method belongs to its author, Courtney Carver.
Is anything uploaded from this page?
No. The counts, the checklist and the PDF are all computed inside your browser. No account, no watermark, and no request carries anything you typed.