jeanofalltrades

Day 4: It’s casual Friday. I thought this scarf dressed up what would otherwise be a plain ol’ t-shirt and jeans. And for some reason, when I wear these earrings, I feel elegant. I love this scarf – I have it in four or five colors. I can wear it several different ways, including as a shawl. When I fly, I’m never without a scarf like this. It doubles as a blanket on those cold, transcontinental flights.

Shirt: Old Navy
Scarf: Street vendor in NYC
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Earrings: Target

Day 5: I’m starting to wonder why I chose so many skirts and pants for the challenge. I mean, no one would notice how many times I wore a pair of jeans, but they are sure going to notice if I wear the same shirt over and over (which I am starting to do). This is my first repeat in the challenge. It’s also one of the few tops that matches my cargo pants and olive skirt. It would go nicely with jeans and my gray skirt too. Basically, this top matches everything I have in the challenge. Perhaps I should own more burgundy items in my wardrobe. It’s surprisingly versatile.

Sweater: Love Culture
Skirt: Erin MacLeod
Scarf: Michael Stars
Tights: Hue
Earrings: Fremont Sunday Market
Shoes: John Fluevog

Day 6: It’s Super Bowl Sunday and I will be nowhere near a TV today. I’ll be having a girls’ day out. The no-shopping part of the challenge it going to be tested today; there’s a colossal sale happening at Mario’s. I don’t usually spring for spendy designer names, but “half off the lowest sale price” sounds tempting. I could really use a Prada skirt. Here’s the low-down on what I’m wearing to the upscale boutique.

Sweater: Victoria’s Secret
Skirt: Ross Dress For Less
Tights: Target
Earrings: Claire’s
Necklace: eBay
Shoes: Seychelle’s

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Day One: I was really excited to pick out my clothes today and start the 30 for 30 challenge. I started simple and went with the peacock blue dress. I added tights, socks and boots in shades of gray to dress the outfit down a bit (and keep warm!).

Dress: Nordstrom
Tights: Kushyfoot
Over-the-knee socks (scrunched): Sock Dreams
Boots: Dr. Martens

Day Two: I panicked when I saw this striped sweater. What was I thinking? It’s only going to go with my black pants and gray jeans – and everything goes with those two items. I could have been a lot bolder in my choices if I knew I was going to have something without a lot of options. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I’m staying warm and having fun with the challenge.

Sweater: Thrifted
Pants: New York & Co.
Shoes: John Fluevog
Earrings and bracelet: Gifted

Day Three: How excited am I to keep the momentum of the challenge? Well, it’s 12:05 am and that means it’s day three! Since tomorrow, er, today will be busy, I thought I’d get a head start and try on my outfit now (don’t worry – I won’t sleep in it). These pants are a decade old and I still love ’em. Despite being a wild pattern, I know I’ll be able to make a couple of outfits with them this month. I love their punk rock vibe.

Sweater: Love Culture
Pants: LEI (Sears)
Boots: John Fluevog
Earrings: Claire’s

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Here they are: my pieces for the 30 for 30 challenge! What I’ve learned so far is that a) to compensate for a lack of black, I picked a lot of gray. I put some of the gray pieces back, but you can see I still have a fair amount; b) I don’t have a lot of patterned clothes in my closet. I have a few patterned dresses, and some t-shirts, but overall, I have a very solid wardrobe.

I’m slightly concerned that I don’t have one base color. I’m not sure I can necessarily rock fuchsia with khaki or teal with burgundy. I hope my color choices don’t limit the number of acceptable combinations. But I did make sure that every piece could go with at least two other pieces.

I’m thrilled to have shopped my own closet. The lace tank and gray skirt are as-of-yet unworn! No need to buy new things if I haven’t used the things I own (In my defense, these were both thrifted, but still).

I love the 30 for 30 idea on another level too. It’s upcycling and recycling and green. I enjoy shopping, don’t get me wrong, but I also know that I don’t need to buy, buy, buy all the time. It’s easy to look like a million bucks if you actually spend a million bucks; it’s more creative and challenging to “make-do” and still look amazing. So, I’ll see what I can do.

On another note, I asked my husband to join me in the challenge. His words: “I don’t even own 30 pieces of clothing.” That sort of put things in perspective for me. I feel like I have an advantage already.

In the days ahead, you’ll see these items in combinations I haven’t yet tried. Until then, here’s a taste of what’s to come:

A drawer full of shoes

A dress in the cupboard

Nuked cardigans and a blazer

Freshly baked sweaters

A fridge full of skirts

Icy cold pants

A boiling pot of tanks

I’m off and running! Fellow blogger Kendi Everyday has a fashion challenge, and I signed up. You can read all the details on her blog, but basically, I’ll be picking 30 pieces of clothing (including shoes) and mixing and matching the items – and only them – for 30 days!

I have to get creative with my wardrobe choices to make the items look fresh and different each day. And I’m adding an additional challenge: I’m limiting black to the bare minimum. An all-black 30-day wardrobe is too easy. Everything matches and no one would really know how many times I repurposed a piece of clothing.

Whenever I travel, I play a version of this game. I never carry a suitcase bigger than the carry-on size/weight, so getting the most mileage out of my travel attire is essential. I start with a couple of basic outfits and add items into the mix that match all my core pieces. I bring a few statement pieces (like a scarf or chunky necklace) to make an outfit feel different. I layer. Tanks and cardigans are my friends.

Last summer, when I travelled for ten days, I packed a black skirt, a black and gray skirt (jersey so they wouldn’t get wrinkled) and a denim skirt. I packed a black tank top to make the black skirt look like a dress. I packed three bright t-shirts that matched all the skirts and the bottoms: a pair of denim capris and a pair of cream trousers. A black cardigan and green scarf finished the job. I added jewelry, a couple of belts, wedge sandals, packed ballet flats, and kitten heels.

But this is 30 days! I don’t travel that long, and I definitely don’t plan my wardrobe that far ahead. It’s another rainy day in Seattle. Perfect excuse to stay in and look through my closet. I’ll be making my selections soon, so stay tuned for photos of what I choose. I need work clothes (fortunately that can be as casual or dressy as I want), and I need some mix of items that can take me from a Saturday night round of cocktails to a Sunday morning brunch.

Care to join me in the 30 for 30 challenge?