Category Archives: 30 for 30

The 30 for 30 challenge is over. In a way, it flew by. I enjoyed it immensely. At first it was exciting, somewhere in the middle I started feeling restricted by my wardrobe limitations, and finally, I hit my stride. I felt like I could keep remixing those items forever. I’ll definitely do the challenge again, and I encourage you to try it.

Now, I feel like I have too many options. My wardrobe seems daunting. And in spite of having a multitude of choices today, I ended up wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I’m like a vegetarian who’s used to ordering the only veggie item on the menu—and then she goes to a vegetarian restaurant and can’t decide what to eat. There are too many choices! They all look good. I’ll be looking for ways to trim the fat, so to speak, from my closet so I know what I have and I wear them.

What did I learn? Well, I regret adding the lace tank to the mix. Winter in Seattle was not a good time for that piece. I wore it only once (and as a cami under a blazer). I needed more tops to match all the green bottoms (or perhaps I should have chosen less green). Only two tops matched the plaid skirt so I felt I didn’t put it to good use. I should have chosen another pair of flats. All my shoes but one pair were heels!

Here are a few interesting stats:

Items: 30
Times I wore pants: 14
Times I added a scarf as an accessory: 11
Number of items over $100: 4
Cheapest (non-thrifted) item: $5 (the yellow top)
Most expensive item: $400 (the black Fluevog boots)
Number of items from thrift stores: 5
Number of items from clothing exchanges: 3

Day 28: This gold sweater is making its third appearance today. It’s really comfortable but I have a feeling it’s becoming recognizable. Time to retire it for a while. I decided to wear my tan boots with these jeans. I never do, but tan and denim look so nice together.

Sweater: Papaya
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Earrings: Target

Day 29: The black pants are back! These are so comfortable; they’re elastic-waisted and feel like sweat pants. I hope they look better than that though! This is a neat scarf I picked up on Portland’s trendy 23rd Ave. I wish I could remember the name of the store.

Top: Love Culture
Scarf: Boutique in Portland, OR
Pants: New York & Co.
Shoes: John Fluevog
Laptop bag: Solo

Day 30: I did it! I made it through the challenge. My friend Laura suggested I layer a blazer over the dress. I said, “Consider it done!” I’m glad I took her advice; the jacket changes up the look of the dress quite a bit. Tomorrow I’ll write a recap of all the things I learned by taking part in this event. Today, I give you: The final photo.

Blazer: Laundry by Shelli Segal (thrifted)
Dress: Nordstrom
Scarf: Fred Meyer’s
Tights: Target
Shoes: Seychelles
Soy Latté: Starbucks (this is Seattle after all)

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Day 25: I’ve been wearing this blazer a lot more than I’d planned. It’s coming in handy as a nice neutral top for all the green bottoms I’ve chosen. Today, I paired it with snap wrap skirt by Portland designer, Erin MacLeod. I love her skirts. They are one size and have a row of snaps along the entire waistband. Just pick a snap and they fit. It’s hard to find her stuff though. I bought this at the Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle last year.

Blazer: Joe’s Jeans (thrifted)
Skirt: Erin MacLeod
Scarf: Michael Stars
Tights: Nordstrom
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Cuff: Street vendor in Pittsburgh

Day 26: It’s still colder than it looks, so after I took this photo, I bundled up again. The cardigan, tank and jeans combo is almost identical as Day 20 but I have a different tank, jeans, and boots. The jeans and tank are the same as my blazer challenge. This is a bit more casual than either of those days, I think. Perfect for walking the dogs.

Cardigan: Ross Dress For Less
Tank: Old Navy
Jeans: The Gap
Boots: Dr. Martens
Rat Terrier: Adopted
Shih Tsu: Borrowed

Day 27: I can’t believe the challenge is almost over. At first it was fun, then it got difficult, then I got sick of it, but now I’m in a groove. Part of me feels like I can rework my 30 items indefinitely. But another part of me feels like a person who’s “taken a break” from her boyfriend. And when we get back together, I promise never to take you for granted. I’ll treat you well and shower you with attention. I’ll give you the respect you deserve. We were meant to be together. I’m sorry I left…oh, wait. We’re talking about clothes.

Blazer: Laundry by Shelli Segal
Tank: Wet Seal
Scarf: Thrifted
Skirt: Forever 21
Watch: Emily the Strange
Boots: Dr. Martens

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Day 22: When I found this clothing donation box I knew it would be a great prop for today’s photo. I can get behind (or in this case, beside) this message. I paired my Fluevog boots with my cargo pants. Normally I wouldn’t have put these two items together but I wanted to make the pants look different from the last time I wore them. I have to say—I like it! I felt very Mad Max (even though I probably don’t look it).

Top: Love Culture
Scarf: Thrifted
Beaded cuff: Street Vendor in Pittsburgh
Pants: Macy’s
Boots: John Fluevog

Day 23: Here’s another combination I wouldn’t usually try, but the challenge has got me thinking in new ways. Black and gray stripes? Check. Red belt? Check. Green skirt? Why not? Same boots two days in a row though. I’m definitely not used to doing that! I know, I know. Poor me.

Sweater: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Earrings: Claire’s
Watch: Emily the Strange
Skirt: Forever 21
Boots: John Fluevog

Day 24: I awoke to several inches of snow. Reminded me of my Canadian roots. I loved it! And even though I worked at home today, I wore a skirt. I’m glad I included a turtleneck in the mix—I needed it today! I don’t usually go for a monochromatic look but I like how the same color top and bottom makes this look like a dress. I’ll be doing this again.

Sweater: Victoria’s Secret
Skirt: New York City Design Co. (gifted)
Necklace: Claire’s
Belt: Thrifted
Tights: Roots Canada
Legwarmers: Punk Rock Flea Market
Boots: Dr. Martens

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Day 19: The plaid pants from day 3 are back! I tried to make the look different by mixing them with the corduroy blazer and red shoes. I wore this cap to keep the sun out of my eyes. Sun? In Seattle? In February? Crazy stuff!

Cap: Bluenotes
Blazer: Joe’s Jeans (thrifted)
Tank: Wet Seal
Pants: Sears
Shoes: John Fluevog

Day 20: I’m having a lazy Sunday so I threw on my COH jeans and a tank top. What you don’t see is the parka I dumped off by the tripod. It’s cold today! I found this neat staircase at the college by my house and thought it would make a good background. I’m seeing a pattern; there are a lot of staircases in my shots. Something about them I guess that makes things interesting.

Tank: Wet Seal
Cardigan: Ross Dress For Less
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Shoes: Seychelles
Necklace: Fred Meyer’s

Day 21: In the spirit of President’s Day, I wore red, white, and blue. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? I’m not an American; I’m just trying to fit in. I had to work today and part way through the day I realized that I wore this skirt last Friday. Do you think my coworkers noticed? I hope not. In fact, today, someone asked if I was still doing the 30 for 30 challenge. She said it looked like I always wore something different.

Top: Old Navy
Scarf: Gifted
Skirt: Dress Barn
Tights: Target
Shoes: John Fluevog
Clutch: Vamp Bags

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Day 16: Today I decided to wear the gray skirt again but with shoes, not boots. I also haven’t worn this gray cardigan for the challenge yet so I layered it over a tank. To add a bit of color, I chose a muted grayed-down pair of purply tights. With my hair so short, I’ve been choosing big earrings. I like these gray and black hoops because they’re really lightweight.

Cardigan: Gifted
Tank: Papaya
Skirt: New York City Design & Co. (gifted)
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Seychelles
Earrings: Claire’s

Day 17: I brought out the pink skirt again today. I usually don’t wear such short skirts to work, but with the blazer and tights, I felt pulled together. Plus, I went dancing in the evening and wanted something fun to wear. Ditch the blazer, and this is a dance-worthy outfit. I like how the lining of the blazer matches my top and skirt. I had to show it off! The earrings are hard to see, but I made them myself! I have two other pairs for sale on Etsy.

Tank: Wet Seal
Blazer: Laundry by Shelli Segal (thrifted)
Skirt: Ross Dress For Less
Tights: Kushyfoot
Boots: John Fluevog
Earrings: DIY (made by me)

Day 18: TGIF! I don’t say that often, but after staying up late to go dancing last night and attending a plethora of meetings today, I’m glad it’s Friday. I wore denim (casual Friday, and all – even though I don’t have a dress code at work), but I fancied it up by choosing a denim skirt and adding gold accents. I tucked in the sweater to make this look more dress-like. I would normally have worn this with brown boots and a brown belt, but since I didn’t have those in my 30 items, I opted for black. I think it works.

Sweater: Papaya
Scarf: Michael Stars
Skirt: Dress Barn
Belt: Gifted
Boots: Liz & Co.
Earrings: Target

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Day 13: I’m bringing out the blue dress again. My coworkers saw it once already so I thought it would be nice to wear around the Sunday brunch crowd. To make it different from day one, I added a lavender scarf and fishnets, and paired it with different boots. I think I can get one more use of it before the challenge is over.

Dress: Nordstrom
Scarf: Gifted
Fishnets: Sock Dreams
Boots: Liz & Co.
Clutch: The Seatbelt Bag Company
Earrings: Gifted

Day 14: I never wear all black and white, even though I like that combo. So today, I grabbed my black pants and threw on my white top. I usually save neutrals and pair them with crazy colors and patterns that won’t match much else, but I like the simplicity of the B&W palette. I spiced it up with a scarf with skulls. Not really Valentines-y, but I’m okay with that.

Top: Old Navy
Pants: New York and Co.
Boots: John Fluevog
Scarf: Love Culture
Umbrella: Gifted

Day 15: The challenge is halfway done, and while it’s fun, I’m looking forward to getting back into my closet and having more to choose from. That’s partially my fault for choosing weird challenge pieces. I do miss my other clothes, as might be apparent from my uninspiring outfit today. I promise to do better tomorrow.

Top: Suzy Shier
Jeans: The Gap
Boots: Seychelles
Earrings: Claire’s
Necklace: Gifted
Kindle E-reader: Amazon

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Day 10: It’s another wonderful sunny day in Seattle. It’s cold though, so I wore a turtleneck sweater. I reused the CoH jeans from last week and wore my boots under them. I would have never normally worn tall boots under jeans, but in the interest of repurposing my 30 items, I tried it. I’m glad I did; I have a feeling I’m about to get twice as much use out of these boots now.

Sweater: Victoria’s Secret
Necklace: Stella & Dot
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Boots: John Fluevog

Day 11: My striped sweater is making another appearance and so are the gray boots. I thought the red scarf added the necessary pop of color and will distract my coworkers so they don’t realize I’m wearing the same top twice in two weeks.

Scarf: Gifted
Sweater: Thrifted
Skirt: Dress Barn
Tights: Roots Canada
Boots: Dr. Martens
Earrings: Something Silver

Day 12: I got a spiffy haircut today at my friend Shelly’s salon. She helped me grow my hair in the past without having too many awkward stages. And she helped me take the plunge last summer when I decided to go short again. I wore this gold sweater to my appointment and paired it with cargo pants for a casual, comfortable look.

Sweater: Papaya
Pants: Macy’s
Necklace (as bracelet): Mary Kay
Knee socks (scrunched): Sock it to Me
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Cat: Thrifted (er, rescued)

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Day 7: Back to work. My employer doesn’t have a dress code, but I like being pulled together so I paired this sunny sweater with a gray skirt. To me, the top has a retro feel. I got it for a song too. The skirt is from a clothing exchange. If you’ve never hosted one or been to one, you’ve got to try it! I’ll post on that topic separately soon.

Top: Suzy Shier
Skirt: New York City Design Co. (gifted)
Boots: Liz & Co.
Watch: Kenneth cole (gifted)
Earrings: Stella & Dot

Day 8: Today is Blazer Day! The brainchild of Everybody, Everywear. What a super idea. I love blazers anyway, but it was great to make sure I included at least one blazer in the 30 for 30 Challenge. I paired mine with long and lean jeans. I think they work: They really create a nice long, lean silouette.

Blazer: Laundry by Shelli Segal (thrifted)
Tank top: Old Navy
Jeans: The Gap
Shoes: Seychelle’s
Necklace: Gifted
Bag: Nine West (thrifted)

Day 9: Today I awoke to something bright shining in my eyes. I looked outside and there was a glowing yellow ball in the sky—oh, it’s the sun! It made a rare appearance; the sun doesn’t visit Seattle much this time of year. To celebrate, I wore a 3/4-length sleeve—you guessed it—blazer! I’m still on my blazer high from yesterday and thought I’d make it two for two.

Blazer: Joe’s Jeans (thrifted)
Lace tank: Gifted
Skirt: Forever 21
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Bracelet: Thrifted
Earrings: Target

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