Build a capsule wardrobe for your climate

Each climate type has a typical high and low for every month, close to one representative US city's 1991–2020 averages. For every month we dress two or three sample days with the same rules as our daily outfit: a sunny afternoon at the month's high; a morning or evening halfway between the high and the low; and, in the months when rain or snow is common, that in-between temperature with a 50% chance of rain where rain gear is a must (25% where it's only needed now and then), or snow at 32°F (0°C) and below.

Everything those outfits wear or carry goes on the list, with the months it's needed. Then we share out the pieces by how many months each item is worn, aiming for 8 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 pairs of shoes, 3 mid layers and 2 outer layers. Every item gets at least one piece but never more than the number of months it's worn, so a group can end up a little over or under. When a climate needs just one kind of mid layer or outer layer, you get one of it. Accessories are one of each.

The list assumes an ordinary day: walking between places and about 2 hours outside, not whatever Activity or Time outside you may have set on the daily pages — those describe one particular day, not a year of them, so this list leaves them out. If you run cold, every month is dressed as if it were 7°F (4°C) colder; if you run warm, 7°F (4°C) warmer, the same shift as the daily outfit.

Your own town may run a few degrees warmer or colder than its climate type. If the list looks off, try a warmer or colder climate type or change You run. That setting is saved in this browser only, and there is no account to create.

For a particular day, the daily outfit works from your city's forecast instead.