COSH! digital wardrobe review: Verena’s minimalist wardrobe during vanlife

Vanlife is becoming increasingly popular. More and more people are choosing the free and adventurous life in a camper, both permanent or just for holidays. Our copywriter Verena Asser is one of them – she has been living in her self-built camper for a year now and travels all around Europe with it. While going on an adventure in the mountains of Norway, discovering the desert in Morocco or surfing on a beach in Portugal, she writes weekly articles for COSH! about a more sustainable lifestyle and where you can find the best, more sustainable shops near you.

In her camper, she only has limited space to take clothes with her, so she naturally created her own capsule wardrobe. To ensure that she can still get the most out of her wardrobe with a minimalist travel wardrobe, she uses the handy COSH! Digital Wardrobe app. This way, she can see all the items in her wardrobe at once, put together different outfits and look stylish every day.

What is the COSH! Digital Wardrobe app?

The fashion industry likes to make us believe that you always have to buy something new to look stylish. And while it’s great fun to occasionally add some second-hand/vintage items or clothing from more sustainable fashion brands (which you can easily find near you via COSH!) to your wardrobe, it’s time to break this trend and inexhaustible hunger for buying.

COSH! and the Acquired team joined forces to create the COSH! Digital Wardrobe app, a handy app that digitizes your wardrobe and gives you a clear picture of what’s in it. This makes it easier to see which items you wear often and which you don’t, and inspires you to create different (and new) outfits with the clothes you already have. Shop in your own wardrobe, wear what you already have and rediscover your love for the garments you already own.

Verena’s vanlife wardrobe: get the most out of your minimalist wardrobe with the COSH! Digital Wardrobe app

Vanlife capsule wardrobe

Vanlife has helped me to create a minimalist wardrobe – after all, I only have 2 shelves to store my clothes. Luckily, my boyfriend gave me some extra space, because with a wardrobe that has to be suitable for all seasons, it is a matter of using every inch. Although I couldn’t take all the gems from my wardrobe with me during vanlife, I still want to look stylish every day. This is possible with my carefully put together capsule wardrobe, which I can see at a glance with the COSH! digital wardrobe app and create fun and new outfits every day.

When you think of a capsule wardrobe, you might think of a closet full of basics in black or white. At least, that was my image of it. But I discovered that it didn’t have to be that way! My wardrobe is minimalistic in numbers, but not in style. I love color, earth tones, prints, unique crop tops and dungarees. A mix of bohemian, cool and comfortable. My vanlife wardrobe is a colorful and diverse mix that I can wear all year round – it is suitable for all seasons. Because during the day it can be warm and sunny, but in the evening I often need a warm sweater.

Bottoms

For me, trousers are the basis of my outfit. I like it when it has a colour and above all it has to be comfortable – after all, in a camper you are outside a lot and always on the move! For my capsule wardrobe I have chosen 4 denim trousers: a dungaree, a wide pair of jeans and 2 coloured denim trousers. I mainly wear these when I travel in colder areas, or on a chilly evening. For warmer areas I also have 4 airier trousers in my wardrobe: a yoga trousers, a dungaree, one with a nice print and a black linen trousers for a neater look. I also have a pair of short denim jeans, always handy! Unfortunately I had to get rid of my other short linen trousers last autumn, because I had worn them so often that they were completely worn out (a very low cost per wear, yay!). So I am looking for a ​‘new’ one (can also be second-hand!), but I always find this quite a search, because they have to be so nice that I want to wear them every day.

Tops

After choosing a pair of pants, I choose a top to wear on top. These also need to be comfortable, colorful, and I prefer to work with layers. The mornings in the camper are often chilly, so I put on a warm sweater as another layer. When the sun comes out, it warms up a bit, but I’m outside 24/7 and the weather can vary quite a bit. Layers are therefore the ideal solution, because then I’m prepared for everything!

For my capsule wardrobe, I chose basics with long and short sleeves in black and white. Not the most original choice, but you can really combine this with anything! I’m also a fan of crop tops, I can never have enough of them. They’re great to wear on a warm summer day, but I also combine them with high-waisted pants and a colorful jacket or vest – with which I can make endless combinations. This way I look a little different every day, without taking too many clothes with me. ;-)

Knitwear 

This is the part of my wardrobe that I wear the most – all year round. We often are chasing the sun with our camper, but even in winter the south of Europe can be a bit chilly. A warm sweater or knitted cardigan always keeps me warm! I wear them in the morning, in the evening or use them as a jacket when I go out during the day. I have a weakness for beige sweaters and cardigans (don’t ask me why), but for this category I have tried to make a variation in terms of color, material and fit, so that I always look different. I also prefer (merino) wool cardigans and sweaters, because this is much warmer, more durable and of higher quality than a synthetic variant. You also hardly have to wash wool, ideal for in the camper! The only polyester sweater in my wardrobe is a fleece sweater from Patagonia, which is also perfect for hikes.

Shoes 

It is often a struggle when traveling: which shoes do I take with me?! They take up a lot of space and it sounds fun to take different shoes with you, but in reality you often wear the same shoes every day. This is also the case for me: I live in my Birkenstock clogs. I have had them for years, they are very comfortable and I can easily take them off when I enter the camper. I also wear my Dr. Martens boots – which I also have for years already – on colder days or when it is muddy. My comfortable Teva sandals are the least fashionable shoes in my wardrobe, but I wear them every day in warmer areas. I can go into the water with them, they walk like clouds and I can even do day hikes on them. My Dr. Martens sandals have been one of my favorite items every summer for years, but I wear them less in the camper. But they are very perfect for making a summer outfit stylish, so they can stay. The yellow Vans and dark red Dr. Martens shoes are very nice, but to be honest they always gather dust in the back of the van. I will leave these at home next time!