I am interested in Sustainable Fashion, and as such have been following Style Bee (www.stylebee.ca) blog recently. One idea struck me as something I would like to try was the 10 x 10 challenge, where you choose 10 items from your wardrobe ad wear them over 10 days. I didn't really have a clue about how to start this, so I downloaded Style Bee's helpful checklist, and jumped right in! I picked 2 pairs of jeans, one black and 1 blue, a pinafore dress, one skirt, 5 tops and 1 cardigan, I cheated a little in that I din't include outerwear or shoes in my 10 items. I did actually only wear 2 items of outerwear, my black leather jacket and my black denim jacket. I mostly wore the same black boots. I did have to change one of the tops as I realised I didn't have much to wear with the pinafore dress. I changed a red and white striped top for a black top.
Here are my 10 outfits:
Day 1: leopard print knit top with me-made black jeans. Accessorised with long gold pendant.
Day 2: Me-made green handkerchief hem top with blue jeans. I had not worn this top before as I wasn't sure about it, which is why I included it in my 10. I am still not sure I like it! It's made of a cheap fabric that doesn't drape well, and the neckline is not good. Accessorized with dark red beads.
Day 3: Me-made skirt with red top. (Leather jacket on top). I quite liked this combination, nice and bright for spring. This picture shows my black ankle boots too.
Day 4: Me-made orange 'butterfly' shirt with blue jeans. I love this shirt! I still can't get over the fact that it fits because I made it to fit my body shape. Second picture shows my me-made black denim jacket over this combo. Blog post on the jacket coming soon!
Day 5: Half way through! Black jumper over blue jeans, accessorized with long gold and green necklace. Very comfortable combination.
Day 6: Same black jumper with me-made black jeans. Looks a bit bare without the necklace don't you think?
Day 7: Red top with blue jeans. Black cardigan over the top. This is the only time I wore the black cardigan. Love this accessorized with this colourful scarf. I put some red lippy on for this photo, something I don't usually like, but I have to admit it looks OK here!
Day 8: Going out to lunch and a sewing class, so wore the orange shirt, blue jeans and black denim jacket again.
Day 9: I had better wear the me-made pinafore dress! Here it is with the red top.
Day 10: Leopard print top with me-made black denim jeans
I have just finished my first 10 x 10, and have learned a lot about my style and my wardrobe. I have followed the headings on Style Bee to write my report:
What were my Goals?
I wanted to wear more of my wardrobe, and to find different styles and pairings, so that I felt more 'put together', and mindful about what I was wearing.. I wanted to wear more than 'dog-walking clothes' when I was at home, and not to gravitate to my fleece jackets!
What did I learn about my personal style?
Nothing brand new, but it did consolidate ideas. I love bright colours. I like simple dressing, not too many layers. I like to pair bright colours with neutrals, rather than wear all over bright. I love to sew and make my own clothes with bright colourful, patterned fabric, so maybe I need to temper that a little in the future and make more neutrals..
What was my MVP?
My new blue jeans - a real success!
Did I make any mistakes?
OMG YES! I didn't make my 10 a capsule wardrobe, so there were things that didn't go with each other. eg leopard print top didn't go with skirt or pinafore dress. I did cheat a little and didn't include outerwear or shoes as I was worried about having enough choice. In fact, I had plenty of choice, so next time I will include jackets and shoes. I wore 2 different jackets and mostly the same pair of black boots.
My favourite outfit
The orange butterfly shirt, blue jeans and black denim jacket
items not paired
See above!
Hardest part
Choosing my 10 items. In the end I just jumped right in, and decided that I could always stop or add something else in if it was too hard. I surprised my self in that it wasn't hard to keep to the 10. I did swap a patterned top for the black top as I realised I didn't have much to wear with the pinafore dress. In fact, I only wore it once in the end.
Going forward:
I want to buy and make more good quality, good fitting plain neutral staples, jeans, tops etc leading to a more 'capsule' wardrobe. I don't need loads of new different clothes, and would like to invest in some staples that will last a long time.
Shoes! I would like to find something to wear in between boots and sandals.
I will have another go at a Summer 10 x 10 wardrobe challenge.
