If we take a good and honest look at our wardrobes and consider the clothes that we have worn and worn again, it’s often the case that they might not be the most exciting or flamboyant of designs. But what they do offer is quality, fit, reliability and an ability to mutate through a variety of work, social and climatic environments.

Think of a capsule wardrobe as the canvas to any artwork that can be painted and adorned at will. Each piece, be it a bomber or a midi skirt, should be the best in class of its type and prove compatible with those more characterful pieces. With these stiff criteria in mind, we think the following fits the bill and delivers with bells on.

Let’s start from the top down. These four styles transit through the rigours of the office and out to the leisure life beyond. First, comes the blazer with a slim, lean fit and sharp shoulders: a style that Ellery does very well. Next up is the ‘travel-everywhere’ trench and the bomber jacket in a lightweight nylon silk. Right now, there’s a treasure trove of badges and pins to jazz these items up. And lastly, comes the oversize edge-to-edge coat such as Acne’s rose pink version that will soon become your autumnal and inflight best friend.

For dresses, the ruling is simple: take one LBD (with a mid-calf length) and one LWD (sacai’s shirt dress is nearly as useful as a smart phone) - and the job is done. With trousers, it’s all in the fit. 3.1 Philip Lim is a go-to for that versatile black trouser while for denim, consider a gently flaring crop style in a true blue hue. Noting the evergreen black skirt, hem lengths are still on the midi to maxi range so skip those pencil styles.

The test will be fitting all of the above into a small cabin bag. When packing, consider three tops to one bottom. The hit list is a soft T-shirt, a brilliant white shirt and a V-neck knit. Add a stiletto, a white sneaker and a chunky-heeled ankle boot and capsule nirvana might well be in reach.

This might be geeky, but if you want to measure the success of said capsule, simply create a score chart and mark off the wears per item/per month. Now that’s what we call efficiency.