The VICE Capsule Wardrobe
January 8, 2024As the editors of VICE’s shopping section, we are staunch believers in the quest for personal style sauce. In the words of Carl Jung (maybe), “That’s not just a Rick Owens boot. That’s a symbol of your emerging individuation, fam, and it sure would look fire with that Junya Watanabe coat that you ripped out of someone’s hands found at the Dover Market Sample Sale last summer.” Our style evolution has been a decades-long journey; a procession of tiny Roxy backpacks, side-swept bangs, Doc Martens, and perfectly worn-in Deadhead tees. Now that we’re older and more mature (mattress = off the floor) we have a newfound yearning to fortify our closets with timeless capsule pieces.
So, what is a capsule wardrobe? Think of it as the apparel version of Avengers: End Game. The perfect capsule wardrobe for men, women, and everyone else should include a cross-seasonal, versatile lineup of jackets, pants, hats, tees, and more wardrobe essentials with timeless appeal that can be mixed and matched year-round. True capsule pieces will be the first things you reach for when you’re feeling lazy but still want to look put together, or when you’re too burnt out to curate a Jeremy Scott-esque ‘fit for the day. Above all, capsule wardrobe essentials should make you feel like a put-together star who understands the power of quality over quantity.
Don’t get it twisted: We love a novelty sartorial treat. We will never regret splurging on that Issey Miyake neck gaiter mask in lockdown for a little serotonin, even if it felt extra. But now, we’re outfitting our lives with investment pieces that truly go the distance. We’re looking for some deliverance from the plight of unflattering jeans, lumpy sweaters, and other closet slackers that stopped pulling their weight in our everyday lives.
If you have made it this far in our credo, you probably feel the same way. That’s why we have shortlisted a ride-or-die rotation of timeless jean jackets, all-season button-ups, comfortable beanies, and nine more must-have items that will make getting dressed (and looking good) one less thing to worry about. And don’t be fooled by the binary breakdown; these delectable jawns are for men, women, and everyone else. Mix them, match them, and consider them the quintessential packing list for the journey of modern life (even if you’re just traveling to the corner store).
Now that we have unfurled the shag carpet, let’s unpack the 12 essential items that make up the VICE capsule wardrobe.
A trucker jacket
Jerry Garcia wasn’t kidding when he sang “Truckin,’' even if he wasn’t necessarily singing about Lee’s denim chore coats. A trucker jacket is a must-have year-round, because it can be layered with a normcore turtleneck and a little gold chain, paired with a vintage tee, or styled with a white A-line tee and Adidas tracksuit pants to realize your chav/chavette fantasy. We have comprehensive guides to the best men’s and women’s denim jackets, but if we had to narrow down a handful into our yeehawsexual lineup, we would snag classic light and dark wash ‘fits from beloved brands such as Wrangler, Levi’s, Lee, and Calvin Klein. You never know when you’ll be invited to a casual, non-traditional wedding, and all of their denim staples, from cropped cuts to oversized chore coats, would look excellent with a crisp white dress shirt and a bolo tie.
A cool button-up
If there is one thing we have learned over the years—or at least from Jeff Goldblum’s Prada-obsessed stylist—it’s that a sick button-up can make you look incredibly cool and put-together. Pair a graphic yeehaw button-up with cargo pants, or a Tombolo top with some basketball shorts; style these suckers up, down, or with nothing but your Lululemon boxers. SSENSE (currently in the midst of its incredible winter sale) is always a reliable emporium for VICE editors to find internet-core button-ups and tops from brands with bold graphics such as Stüssy and Jacquemus. Bold button-ups function similarly to statement jewelry, because they can singlehandedly and effortlessly pull focus, but there’s also a lot of versatility in workwear-inspired staples by brands such as Dickies, or an oversized poplin button-up from Simon Miller that can be styled down/bro-ified with beanies and baseball hats or styled up for Thanksgiving at your judgemental relative’s house.
A broken-in vintage band T-shirt
Listen, there’s a reason the sleep industry makes entire sheet sets out of the jersey material that is designed to feel like your favorite, well-worn vintage T-shirt. Oversized, perfectly worn-in T-shirts can be worn in what we like to call “rise and grind format.” Meaning, you can swaddle yourself in a 1994 Metallica T-shirt for bed, and style it the next morning with some jeans to hit the streets. Peep secondhand and vintage sites such as eBay, Grailed, Etsy, and 1stDibs for plenty of rare tees to prove your fealty to the Grateful Dead, Iron Maiden, Sonic Youth, Aaliyah, and any other musical artist that shaped most of your personality. Also, please purchase this almost confusingly patriotic vintage Vanilla Ice T-shirt before we do.
A cozy sweater for layering
‘Tis the season. Although, honestly, when is it not? A comfortable, cozy sweater is always a must-have, whether we’re schlepping it to the bar in frigid temps or singing sea shanties in the San Francisco harbor. Look to brands such as Quince and Everlane for more understated basics, and then drop all of your casino money on a statement-making sweater that says “I own a very serious Eames chair, but I’m also a very un-serious hot person.” We invited you to peruse the VICE guide to the best sweaters for men to soak up all of your jawnage options, but if you’re too lazy (same), we highly recommend equipping yourself with wool fisherman’s knit sweaters fresh from the Aran Islands, which have been worn by everyone from Irish lighthouse guards to Edward Gorey (who paired his with a massive vintage fur coat) and Steve McQueen, or else reaching for versatile, cozy sweaters from brands such as Acne Studios and Quince, the latter of which boasts direct-to-consumer prices for Mongolian cashmere that are often under a hundo.
A basic white tank
Whether you’re Mark McGrath, Sarah Connor, or literally any queer person, the perfect white tank is a must. We went on a mission to find the perfect A-line tank in this VICE article, but consider the challenge an ongoing pleasure quest. The ideal white tank will be able to form the basis of any outfit, whether we’re heading out in peak summertime heat with little more than our five-inch inseam shorts, or layering up for fall and winter. Inside you, there are two wolves: One that wears a loose-fitting tank, and another that reaches for a Tony Soprano-tight tee. Fruit of the Loom’s multipack of snug-fitting white tanks has over 47,300 Amazon reviews and that highly-coveted badabing-badaboom-fuhgeddaboudit energy, while American Apparel Los Angeles Apparel’s loose tank has plenty of room from cross air ventilation. SKIMS makes a VICE editor-loved cotton rib tank with a square neck and a compressive, stretchy fit for extra support, while Everlane’s loose-fit muscle tee has a high-neck cut for even more coverage.
The perfect-fitting jeans (for you)
Ah, jeans. Beloved by 19th-century prospectors and your skate-park crush alike (so, people with jobs and people with rich parents), jeans are as essential to any wardrobe as cracked pepper is to every Subway sandwich. There are the undisputed, all-gender classics, from Levi’s 501s to Lee’s iconic straight fit jean, but we believe that your capsule wardrobe has room for both the big icons in the denim game as well as some more splurgy ‘fits with Japanese-inspired tailoring. You are looking to literally cover your ass, after all.
We have a comprehensive guide to the best jeans for men, but we’ll showcase a couple of top options here for men, women, and everyone in need of the perfect capsule jean. Wrangler is a crucial denim legacy brand thanks to its timeless cuts and durable weaves, and these Authentic Comfort Flex jeans have a horny 69,000+ reviews on Amazon thanks to their versatility and easy wearin’. If you’re looking for the right pants to smoke in outside of Saint Vitus, toss some Levi’s 517 jeans—which have a modern bootcut that flatters the leg, adds height, and looks great with all types of footwear—into your cart. For women, the AGOLDE’s “Dame” jean features a mid-to-high waist and a wider leg to form a cool oversized silhouette. Finally, if you’re looking for the torch-bearer of the women’s skinny jean, look no further than these $29 TikTok-viral Stradivarius jeans. As our staff writer wrote in her review of the bewilderingly great pants, “[The] Slim Mom Jeans are perfect for those of us who don't know where to go from skinnies and still want a form-fitting, super-flattering pant.”
Comfortable sneakers with a little edge
Unless you’re an aspiring cult leader, you’re going to need some sneakers to protect those sweet toes. VICE editors are out here wearing everything from Nikes and Hokas to New Balances 990s and blokecore Adidas Sambas, and you should be, too—when you’re not wearing the new cowboy boot Crocs, that is. When building out a capsule wardrobe, the goal is to cop sneakers that you could wear to the bar, on the trail, or to a non-traditional wedding or event. We tend to opt for gray, white, and black colorways for that reason, but if you’re the kind of person who rarely waits in line at Berghain, bring home a pair of fiery, faded-red Salomons to pair with some frosted wrap shades.
A durable pair of boots
What do Nancy Sinatra and Flo Rida have in common? They fuckin’ love boots, man. We get the hype, too, and not just because we’re New York City folk who need a pair of Doc Martens to curb-stomp those rude lantern flies. Boots are, quite simply, the closest thing we have to foot armor [rips joint], and that’s pretty tight. Plus, they can be dressed up or down, and if you invest in a high-quality pair, they can last a literal lifetime.
To curate the best rotation boots for a capsule wardrobe, we will be looking for iconic clompers by brands such as Harley-Davidson (a must-have, when you’re looking for a 1970s-esque black boot) and Timberland, both of which have kept our toes toasty and secure at hardcore shows, on dates, and on the trail over the years. After all, you can’t spell “timeless” without “Tim,” which is why Timberlands remain a staple of men’s boots decade after decade. You’ll also find us slipping into women’s and men’s Chelsea boots—another inter-seasonal staple—by heritage brands such as Franco Sarto, whose founder grew up cobbling shoes in Venezia.
A quality coat
As much as we have been enjoying the light-jacket-fall-Bob-Dylan TikTok roasts, it would be nice to find a new and improved coat for our wardrobe that will actually keep us warm. Sure, that might mean spending a little more than we typically would have in the past, but the right piece is worth it. Our quest for some quality coverage reaped a veritable “It’s a Small World” array of coats from iconic French, Italian, American, and British brands such as Barbour (the king of the trench), Le Mont Saint Michel (a workwear-inspired coat worthy of its northern French island namesake), Isabel Marant Étoile (a master of intriguing patterns), and Quince, whose affordable Italian wool overcoat has a 4.9-star average rating on the site. As one reviewer writes, “An absolute steal for the quality. Would be [three] times the cost elsewhere.”
A real leather jacket
Have you ever worn a really nice leather jacket? As in, the kind you inherit from a parent who “got a lot of mileage out of it in the 80s”? The best leather jackets and coats should feel buttery-smooth yet impenetrable, especially when it comes to wind, and run the design gamut of traditional biker jackets to minimalist, vegan leather trucker ‘fits. Brands such as Overland, J.Crew, Wilson’s, and GRLFRND offer leather jackets for a range of timeless aesthetics and budgets, whether you’re on the prowl for a more minimalist coat or a distressed leather bomber that would make Dennis Hopper proud.
A beanie for fall and winter
We’re not saying you should only wear beanies in the winter, but you won’t really find us sipping our frozen marg with a wool Arc'teryx beanie on in July (unless you live in San Francisco). We have lassoed together some of our favorite beanies of all time in this VICE guide to the trusty cotton toupé, but beanies are also like Pokémon: You’ve gotta catch ‘em all. Find us on the streets in the often imitated and rarely equaled beanies from Carhartt, Patagonia, and The North Face that have a tried-and-true reputation for keeping folks’ heads warm on the slopes and at the local wine bar. Go for neutral tones to match that will be able to go with your entire ‘fit, but make an exception for Arc’teryx’s graphic print beanie; That fossil logo has truly solidified its place in gorpcore fashion and design, and we ain’t mad about it.
A baseball hat for spring and summer
Again, when and where you choose to wear a baseball cap is up to you—but there’s nothing quite like hitting your strawberry vape at Venice Beach in the summer and locking eyes with a dolphin while wearing your The Da Vinci Code baseball hat. You can go many different routes when selecting the perfect capsule wardrobe baseball hat, but we suggest repping a hometown team or favorite streetwear/workwear brand or blockbuster film. Again, don’t forget to peep Etsy, eBay, and Grailed for second-hand and vintage caps that pay homage to, say, Dan Brown, Wonder Woman, Incubus, and whatever else gets you out of bed in the morning.
Now go forth, and be a well-dressed person.
The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.