Totême is the easiest brand in the world to build a capsule from, because the house already did it. The collections are a wardrobe system by design: a coat, a scarf jacket, a trench, tailored trousers, a pair of jeans, a shirt, a tank, a knit, a dress, one bag, two pairs of shoes. This page is that system in twelve pieces from the current Luxury Handbags catalogue, with the price of the whole and the order to buy it in if the budget arrives one piece at a time. It follows the brand’s own advice to buy better and less and wear more.
“We believe in offering a streamlined wardrobe that is upgraded and complemented as opposed to reinvented, and present our collections through styling that expresses their full potential to encourage our customers to buy better and less, and wear more,” the house writes on its sustainability page.
Key facts
- Twelve pieces: three outerwear, two trousers, two tops, one knit, one dress, one blazer, one skirt, one bag
- Palette: black, ecru and one neutral; every piece goes with every other
- Order of purchase if buying slowly: coat, trousers, knit, bag, then the rest
- The tank and the jeans are the least expensive pieces and the most worn
The twelve
1. Technical scarf jacket in Black, $1,070
Made from 100% organic cotton, shown in black.
2. Signature trench in Khaki, $1,660
Made from 75% organic cotton, 25% recycled polyester, shown in khaki.
3. Open collar wool coat in Black, $2,420
Made from 100% RWS wool, shown in black.
4. Tee knit in Black, $710
Made from 90% lyocell, 10% cashmere, shown in black.
5. Double-pleat summer trousers in Black, $640
Made from 40% viscose, 38% viscose ecovero, 13% wool, 9% viscose circulose, shown in black.
6. Curved rib tank in Black, $260
Made from 93% organic cotton, 7% elastane, shown in black.
7. Scoop poplin tank in Black, $570
Made from 100% organic cotton, shown in black.
8. Scoop neck rib tank black, $164
An earlier-season piece, still in stock, shown in black.
9. Tie-waist jersey dress in Black, $660
Made from 100% organic GOTS cotton, shown in black.
10. Ribbed bow blouse in Black, $680
Made from 69% lyocell, 29% wool, 2% elastane, shown in black.
11. Classic compact knit tank in Black, $610
Made from 53% viscose, 45% polyamide, 2% elastane, shown in black.
12. Belted leather crossbody in Black, $960
Made from 100% cow leather, made in Italy, shown in black.
How it works
The coat goes over everything from the shirt and jeans to the dress. The scarf jacket is the second layer for spring and autumn and the piece people will ask about. The trench covers the rain and the plane. The double-pleat trousers and the jeans are the two bottoms, one for the office and one for the weekend, and both take the tank, the shirt and the knit. The dress is the one-piece answer for the days when there is no time, and the blazer turns any of it into a meeting. Add a flat shoe and a heel from the shoe guide and the belted tote to carry it all.
What to add in year two
A second coat in camel, a leather piece, the T-Lock clutch for evening, a cashmere cardigan, a pair of the Contour slingbacks and one seasonal colour, the way the house adds one accent each season. The Signatures are the pieces to add first because they repeat, so a year-two purchase still matches year one.
“It’s not about changing your wardrobe every year,” Elin Kling told The Telegraph in February 2025, “but about small tweaks of newness that give life to your existing clothes.”
“The Totême woman doesn’t like to swap her style or wardrobe each season, she has a certain uniform that she sticks to. But then everyone wants something unique and new each season, and so does the Totême woman,” Elin Kling told WWD when the house took on Altor as a minority investor in 2021.
Frequently asked questions
How many pieces make a Totême capsule?
Twelve covers a working wardrobe: three outerwear, two trousers, two tops, a knit, a dress, a blazer, a skirt and a bag. Add two pairs of shoes.
What colours should a Totême capsule use?
Black, ecru and one neutral such as camel, and grey works as well. The house builds its collections on exactly that palette with one accent a season.
Which piece first?
The coat. It is the most visible, the most worn in a cold climate and the piece the house does best.
Is the capsule work-appropriate?
Yes. The double-pleat trousers, the shirt, the blazer and the belted tote are office pieces; the jeans and tank are the weekend.
Can I do it on a smaller budget?
Start with the tank, the jeans and the cashmere crew, then save for the coat. The Signature pieces repeat, so nothing you buy first goes out of step.
Do I need the bag?
One bag carried every day is part of the system. The belted tote is the one to start with; the T-Lock clutch comes later for evening.
Read next
How to style Totême The Signatures Totême coats The bag guide
More Totême guides
Every Totême page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Is it a luxury brand?, How to style, Brands like Totême, The edit, Who is Totême?, History timeline, Size guide, Shoe size guide, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Real vs fake, Materials and care, Glossary, Who wears it, vs The Row, vs Khaite, The Signatures, Fall winter 2026, Spring summer 2026, Coats, Scarf jackets and coats, Jackets and blazers, Shearling, Knitwear, Dresses, Trousers, Jeans and denim, Skirts, Tops and shirts, Swim and beachwear, Leather, Bag guide, T-Lock bags, Belted tote, Shoe guide, Boots, Flip flops, Sneakers, Jewellery guide, Sunglasses, Scarves, Black, Camel, beige and brown, White and ivory.
Sources and method
Checked on 18 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the compositions, care lines, dimensions, heel heights and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the founders’ biography and the house history come from the brand’s own pages and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above; the size scales are the brand’s own. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.
- toteme.com, About: the house’s own description of itself, its founders and the atelier in Stockholm
- toteme.com, Sustainability: the Signatures, the design principles, the Milkywire partnership and the 2024/25 report
- toteme.com, FAQ: shipping countries, duties, payment and returns on the brand’s own store
- toteme.com, Stores: the flagship list by country
- Totême product pages: the description, composition, care, size-guide and country-of-manufacture lines of every style (1,297 pages saved between June and September 2026)
- Elin Kling on Wikipedia
- Karl Lindman on Wikipedia
- Wikidata Q4959117
- WWD, With New Investment, Totême Shoots for the Stars (2021): the Altor minority investment, growth and margin figures and the founders’ quotes
- The Telegraph, Lisa Armstrong, 24 February 2025 (via Yahoo Life): revenue, headcount, the Paris show and Elin Kling’s quotes
- Vogue Scandinavia: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s favourite Nordic brands
- The Business of Fashion, BoF 500: Elin Kling and Karl Lindman
- toteme.com, Garderob: the house’s curation of permanent wardrobe pieces
- Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 18 September 2026: prices, sizes and stock
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