I have made it clear so far in class that I am not formulaic about my style choices, nor should you be.

However, an understanding of clothing capsules as a method of building your closet one small step at a time, benefits everyone. Are you on a budget? Capsules will help you build your clothing choices in easily affordable steps.

Do you find yourself with a closet of clothing and nothing to wear? Garments that look great but don’t match? Clothing capsules will ground your wardrobe in reality, and allow you to enjoy your prints and special items.

Tees and Tanks can really expand your wardrobe inexpensively. Not only do they come in a myriad of fabrics, trims and color options, but year after year they stay in style.

The keys to recognizing good Tees or Tanks are:

1. Fit like a dream - not too big and bulky, gently skimming your curves, and wearable on their own (covering what needs to be covered), as well as under other items.

2. Wearable in places other than the couch. No stains, holes, weird stretched places, etc.

3. In a color that looks great on you.

Black clothing is something many women come to rely on, while others shun it like the plague. It can make you look thin, sexy and mysterious. It can also make you look boring and dipped in lint. You choose.

Entire wardrobes in NYC rise and fall on this single shade, according to what is available in the stores each season.

I suggest than rather than going to the extremes of relying on black or avoiding it, that you begin to look at it as a useful and sometimes quirky tool.

Many of the women I work with have body image and self-confidence issues, and I find that although they say they are trying to look and feel better, they have deeply ingrained habits of self-sabotage.

Do you let yourself down when you are trying to improve? Do you punish yourself for not being perfect?