In 1973, Susie Faux opened a London shop called Wardrobe and revived a term American magazines had been using since the 1940s. Her capsule wardrobe was a collection of a few essential pieces that do not go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers and coats, which you add to each season. In 1985, Donna Karan turned it into a collection, Seven Easy Pieces, which Vogue listed as a bodysuit, skirt, tailored jacket, dress, something leather, white shirt and cashmere sweater, meant to take a woman from day to night and office to party.

My fall capsule wardrobe borrows her logic with a few updates. The bodysuit becomes a good T-shirt or tank, the dress becomes a slip, and the tailored jacket stays exactly where she put it, at the center. A blazer changes the meaning of everything under it: over a tank it is work, over a slip dress it is dinner, over a T-shirt on a Sunday it is just a nicer cardigan.

Picture Monday, coffee in one hand and laptop under the arm: the Totême herringbone wool blazer in dark gray, open over a light gray knit tank, with gray pleated trousers and black pumps. If you want one jacket for everything, the Theory crepe blazer in black is the plainest and the easiest over a slip at night. The Another Tomorrow wool blazer in brown and the Victoria Beckham Katherine twill blazer in green add color without losing the shape, and the Giuliva Heritage Andrea in a taupe Prince of Wales check has the most character. For weekends, the Polo Ralph Lauren corduroy blazer in tan is softer and more forgiving.

Try any blazer on over the thickest sweater you plan to wear with it. If you can still lift your arms, it belongs in the capsule.

The slip has been a capsule piece for longer than the word capsule has. In July 1938, Vogue suggested beginning with a really good black crepe slip and adding different tops over it, from a camisole to a sweater, and the idea still holds. In our fashion dreams it is Thursday dinner by candlelight, and she is in the Comme Si bias slip in red silk charmeuse with a black Theory blazer over her shoulders and beige pumps.

The Joseph Cloe in black silk satin and the Stella McCartney lace-trimmed midi in black will get the most wear, because black takes every jacket and every knit. The Lauren Manoogian paneled satin dress in gray is quieter and looks great with a cream sweater over it, while the Miguelina lace-trimmed midi in burgundy brings the fall color. The Simone Rocha lace-trimmed satin midi in off-white is the most romantic, and the Isabel Marant Nevana maxi in beige reaches the ankle, so it pairs best with a cropped jacket.

Hold the dress up to daylight before you decide. A slip that is sheer at the hip will need another slip under it, and that is not the plan.

What I would skip: the Dôen Penelope mini in cream as your only dress. It is lovely, but in October a midi does more with tights and boots.

Trousers are where a capsule either works or falls apart, because they have to go under every jacket and over every shoe. Saturday, in my head, is a slow gallery visit in the Róhe Daria tapered trousers in beige, a navy T-shirt, the Another Tomorrow brown wool blazer with the sleeves pushed up, and brown suede ankle boots.

Gray is the color I would buy first. The Almada Amel pleated twill straight leg and the CO pleated wool and cashmere tapered pants are both gray, both tailored, and both look right with every blazer here. The TWP Ivy in charcoal wool blend is a little sharper for the office. For a wide leg, the St. Agni pleated shell pants in anthracite are light enough for a mild October, and the Eres Access in cream wool and cashmere is the dressiest pair, made for a black top and pumps.

Check the hem while wearing the shoes you reach for most. A tailored trouser should just touch the top of the shoe, and a tailor can only take length away.

What I would skip: a blue trouser as your first pair. The Tibi Sid in blue is great, but it asks for more thought than gray or beige.

Donna Karan's seven pieces began with a bodysuit, and the modern version of that is a good T-shirt. It is the layer that sits under the blazer on Monday and stands alone on Sunday. Sunday is a farmers market daydream with leeks poking out of a tote: the Arch4 cashmere T-shirt in sky blue with taupe wide-leg wool trousers, a green twill blazer and black leather ankle boots.

The James Perse Vintage Boy in dark gray is soft and slightly worn in by design, best untucked. The Leset Margo in navy is a cleaner crew neck that tucks neatly into trousers, the Nili Lotan Lana in dark brown is a good color for fall, and the Khaite Emmylou in black is the one to wear under a black blazer when you want the whole outfit to read as one color. For tanks, the Lisa Yang Amaya in light gray cotton and cashmere is what the Monday look is built on, and the Another Tomorrow tank in white organic cotton goes under the slip dresses on cooler nights.

Pull the neckline gently and let go. A good jersey snaps back, and a weak one stays stretched.

What I would skip: a T-shirt so thin you can see the seams through it. Under a blazer it shows every line.

A capsule needs two kinds of shoes, one for the office and dinner and one for the walk in between. The heels here sit low to middle, which is where most of real life happens. The Khaite Valerie 55 in black leather is the classic pointed pump, the Jude Blade 60 in brown is a warmer alternative with tailored trousers, and the Le Monde Beryl Babouche 40 in army green suede has a lower heel and a color that goes with everything brown and gray. For one pair with a bit of drama, the Roger Vivier Trompette 70 in burgundy has a buckle detail at the toe.

The Jil Sander Alma in beige patent is what our Thursday dinner date wears with the red slip, and a beige pump makes legs look longer under a midi.

For boots, the Totême 55 suede ankle boots in black, The Row Uxor in brown suede and the Jamie Haller Lennon in black leather all sit close to the ankle, so trousers fall over them cleanly.

Walk on a hard floor before you take the tags off. If the heel slides, add a sole protector now rather than later.

What I would skip: a very high stiletto. None of these looks need one, and a capsule only works if you actually wear it.

If I were building a fall capsule wardrobe from zero, my seven would be a gray or dark blazer, a black slip dress, gray tailored trousers, one T-shirt, one tank, a black pump and a brown suede boot. That covers every day from Monday's lobby to Sunday's market. Everything else in this edit is a swap rather than an addition: green for gray, burgundy for black, boots for pumps.

Susie Faux called it a wardrobe of essentials you add to each season. Donna Karan called it easy. I would just call it getting dressed faster, which in October is its own small luxury. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Slip Dress Is Still The Easiest Elegant Option and The Sculpted Blazer.