Monday, January 23, 2017

Micro Wardrobe Challenge: Update.

So, based on this entry from last week I rashly volunteered myself to do this challenge. It didn't seem like it would be that hard to pick nine or ten items of clothing to wear for two weeks. But, um, it is. It is hard. I actually feel bad for making fun of culotte girl because this shit is hard, especially if you don't have a fairly traditional wardrobe and you've committed to showing everyone on the internet your clever outfits.

The rules (as per the article): 

1. Choose a selection of items and wear only those for the next two weeks. (She chose nine but the original concept includes ten items. I'm doing ten because who cares.) 
 
2. Mix and match them however I like and wear them with whatever accessories or shoes I wanted.

3. Seasonal necessities (like winter coats) and special-occasion wear (like a dress you'd wear to a wedding) wouldn't count toward the core mix. (WHAT ABOUT CARDIGANS. HALP.) 

I put my cardigan panic aside and started out strong: 




Madewell black coated skinny jeans


Then I hit a wall. I have gaping holes in my closet that I've been ignoring for way too long. Like, I only own three skirts, one of which hasn't fit me in a while and the other two are pretty specific looks - pencil skirts in bright red and leopard print. Cute but not terribly versatile. The leopard print might make the cut though. It's cute and I haven't worn it in a while. 

Also not very versatile are my dresses. I don't have a skinny strap dress that can be layered in a cute way, instead I have (mostly) print dresses that can be worn as what they are. Maybe I'm not being creative enough? I thought maybe a solid wrap dress would be a good addition but it's not like I can mix and match with that. Man, why is this so hard? 

Other things I don't own: dress pants, culottes, a job where I can wear a sheer blouse like, nbd. WHY IS THIS SO HARD. 

So, on the "maybe" list: 

- black or purple wrap dress

black boatneck top (instead of the black silk blouse?) 

a striped tee? Or maybe this one



*And seriously, what about cardigans? I mostly wear them for warmth, not really for style, but I feel like it would be cheating to not count them. And can I really get away with one? And I've only include one dress. Do I need two dresses? What about a little jacket? Why are my clothes so boring? Why am I trying to fit skirts in when I don't really wear them much to begin with? Can I just wear a dusty gin sack and call it done?

To conclude, I thought I'd be starting this challenge today but I am woefully unprepared. I'm going to take some time to figure things out and I'll report back with the final list. 

11 comments:

  1. Can you wear a dress as a dress one day and as a skirt another? Like with a full sweater/top/shirt over it so that the top part of the dress doesn't show? Just a thought for the skirt issue...

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    1. I thought about that but I'm just not sure that I can pull it off without it looking really weird. We'll see!

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  2. I would sub the boatneck for the black silk, add the cardigan, add the skirt and the dress and you could still pick a striped tee and another cardigan to hit 10! You've got this and will look easy better than a lot of other attempts I've seen at this.

    I can see the argument for picking weirder peices as part of the "fun" but classics are classics for great reasons :)

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    1. Thank you! I think part of my struggle was to try to work in some things I haven't been wearing but that is a totally different challenge, right?

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  3. I would nix either the skirt or dress for another cardigan. With the exception of the cashmere sweater, you could layer the cardigans with everything else on the list.

    Have your coated Madewell jeans faded at all? I need a black jean that doesn't look grey after a few washes.

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    1. Thanks for the ideas! Definitely helpful.

      And no, they haven't faded much at all but I also don't wash them very often. (Same with all my jeans.)

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  4. What about adding a long sleeve, black stretchy dress to the mix? You can wear a blouse or v-neck sweater over it to vary the look, or wear it alone with cool accessories. I have this one, and it's not nearly as body con or short as it looks on the model (I sized up from small to medium, and it is fitted but not tight, and hits just below my knee). I'm 5'3" for reference.

    http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/leith-ruched-long-sleeve-dress-nordstrom-online-exclusive/3738991?cm_mmc=google-_-productads-_-Women%3ADresses%3ADress-_-899515&rkg_id=h-4cef09dd817f397a4becd515732a7fce_t-1485203302&adpos=1o2&creative=57181589273&device=c&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiA8JbEBRCz2szzhqrx7H8SJAC6FjXXq-j2Z0PCSEg9knHFy50yuEhcolzSJrWkt64ubaDTKhoCVpLw_wcB

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    1. I just really wanted to do this with my existing wardrobe, not buy new things just to have pieces that would work. (That said, the dress you linked is REALLY cute.)

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  5. They're only gaping holes if you look in your closet on the regular and think: I really need X to get dressed this morning. It seems to me like your style is pretty defined and you have a lot of nice pieces that fit what you wear already. If you don't wear skirts regularly, then don't include them in your capsule. If you do wear cardigans, include two or three. I do Project 333 and I have three or four cardigans for my whole winter rotation. I wear a lot of dresses with a t shirt layered underneath, as well as sweaters and skirts (no pants), but I don't feel that I need to change out what I actually wear for things that might be "interesting" or different. I try to choose or make pieces that I find interesting for whatever reason (the print or some design detail) and work with it. I'm eager to see where this project takes you!

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  6. good report! I wouldn't worry about the skirts lol.

    but yeah, it must be hard! every one else on the internet world makes it look so easy! thanks for the honesty!

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  7. I realize that for this challenge, you want to use the clothes you have but this is the type of dress that would make this challenge alot easier because you could wear it on its own, or with a blouse or other top underneath it, or with a sweater or top over it so it looks like a skirt.
    http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/tahari-seamed-knit-fit-flare-dress/4361365?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&fashioncolor=BLACK

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