Monday, November 15, 2010

30 for 30, Days 5, 6 & 7

Day 5 - Saturday
Cardigan (item #3): Target
Tank (item #10): New York & Company
Jeans (item #16): Gap
Shoes (item #29): Loft
Earrings: Embellish Chicago
Watch: Anne Klein, gifted

Day 6 - Sunday
Cardigan (item #4): Loft
Tee (item #13): Loft
Pants (item #15): Loft
Note: I totally didn't realize I was wearing an all-Loft outfit until I started writing this up!
Shoes (item #24): Puma
Earrings: The Limited
Watch: Kohl's (2004)

Day 7 - Monday
Sweater (item #7): Limited
Skirt (item #17): Target
Shoes (item #28): Naturalizer
Tights: Target
Earrings & headband: The Limited

Happy Monday, Stylenation!  We're now a week into the 30 for 30 challenge.  If you're participating along with me, how's it going?  I think the longer that the challenge goes on, the crazier I'm starting to get about planning outfits for the entire week or perhaps even remainder of the month.  I'm trying to take things such as days I'll be in the office, social commitments, errands that need to be run, etc. into account while not just repeating outfits, or repeating pieces too soon.  So yeah, my previous musings about how much of a planner I can be are definitely coming true, and it's getting annoying.  I like the challenge's idea of shopping my own closet, and certainly I know a shopping ban is a good thing for me, but at the same time, it's getting hard to look at all of the other cute clothes that I own but am not supposed to wear for another 23 days.  What's the point of having all of this stuff but not being able to wear it?  I think a better idea for me in the future would be to remix more items into unique outfits (creating unique outfits has pretty much been the outcome of me style-blogging anyway), while still banning myself from shopping.  Or something like that.

But then on the other hand, if not for the challenge and the idea of remixing things, I might not have paired today's skirt and sweater together.  A quick search of past posts would probably show that anytime I've ever worn this skirt in the past, it's been a skirt + tank + cardigan combo.  But as you can see, I've worn nothing but cardigans since Friday, so I needed a break.  It's supposed to be in the mid-50's today, so I didn't want to wear pants (I'm trying to enjoy above-freezing weather as much as I can since it'll be gone before we know it here in Chicago), but I wasn't in the mood for a dress.  This is a great compromise.

What are your thoughts on challenges such as these?  How is your pre-Thanksgiving week shaping up?
 hello

26 comments:

  1. That's a great outfit, and it features purple. I like the tights, and the headband with your new hair. All win.

    I like challenges. I'd probably be doing 30 for 30 if I wasn't doing my own "wear all the little jackets" challenge.

    Another type of challenge I'm thinking of is "you can't wear anything you've worn in the last 30". That would force me to explore the depths of my closet and pull out items like the weird little blue blouse I wore on Saturday. Which turned out not to be so weird after all.

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  2. Woo, today's outfit is hot. (I hope that's not too sleazy). You look great. The green cardi with the red flats is also classic Anne. I love the mixed metal earrings too!
    I like challenges, but I didn't like the one month with 6 items. Sometimes, I want more variety. I like challenges when folks try to remix pieces they don't wear often. Cynthia's challenge sounds fun.

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  3. Rad: You can call my outfits hot anytime! There's nothing sleazy about that. And actually, I bought those earrings to wear to your wedding! Then I changed dresses at the last minute, so I ended up not wearing them. They're 100% recycled aluminum though, and they jingle whenever I move, so I really like them.

    Cynthia: I like this challenge, so I think we should run with it!

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  4. I like today's outfit. That sweater is lovely!

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  5. I think it would be a fun challenge for post 30x30 and over the holidays, because those are times when we might have an opportunity to wear some unusual items.

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  6. Cynthia: It's done around Dec. 7th, depending on whether or not you skip days (as I have). So maybe start it around mid-December? I think it'd be super fun to have it over the holidays, and especially New Years! And it'd help me ease into January, as I tend to have some serious seasonal blahs after the holidays are all over.

    And I suppose we need a better name too.
    How about "Cynthia and Anne want to wear all the unusual stuff that's hiding in the back of their closet, so you should too!"

    Or, to be more concise, "The Uniquely 30 Challenge?"

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  7. I was thinking something like "No More Heavy Rotation" -- which is the DJ term for playing the same 10 songs over and over again.

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  8. Sounds good! Let's stop dressing like Kiss FM (there must be a Kiss FM near you, right?).

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  9. Hee hee! I think so. Though I don't listen to much radio now that I have my iPhone/car bluetooth/Pandora thing going on. I'll make a little graphic or something and we can start generating some hype in the Style Nation.

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  10. Oh, I don't actually listen to it either - I just know it exists. But YAY for a graphic and Style Nation hype! I'm excited to see what all of these creative and stylish ladies can do with 30 days and no repeating outfits. How about the week of December 13th for a suggested start date?

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  11. I'm in. Although I won't post all 30 days (PJs for writing get repeated alot) but I will totes be up for it!

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  12. Ha, wait until you see my day 8. It looks much like your day 7...only in camel and black. I should rewrite my post to say I've copy-catted you! And the headbands--that may be the solution to my "mullet" problem.

    I really like the color combination in #2, aw well.

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  13. Yeah, that would be a good date.

    Do we want the rule to be no repeating outfits, though, or no repeating *items*? If I'm allowed to use my black Boden skirt and just make different outfits, it's not much of a challenge :)

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  14. Rad: That should work! We'll have to firm up the details to take stuff like that into account.

    Cynthia: I like the idea of no repeating items in theory, BUT I'm having a hard time with the idea that I can't wear jeans more than once in a month! I don't think I own enough pants/skirts to support that. I wish we could do something like 1 unique item a day, or something like that. Hmm....

    Terri: Ooh, I'm excited to see tomorrow's outfit! I'm a huge fan of headbands - it's amazing what a difference they make!

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  15. 1 unique item a day would work. Or, we can have 2 ways to do the challenge. Either, one unique item per day or, for the ones who want to be forced to mine their closets really really deeply, all unique items.

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  16. So the Anne way would be 30 unique outfits in 30 days, using at least 1 unique item a day (not including accessories/shoes - that'd be way too easy for me); and the Cynthia way would be 30 unique outfits in 30 days using all unique pieces each day. Right?

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  17. I love Cynthia's challenge--"no repeat workdays and weekends," and definitely a few from the oldies channel will see inclusion in this one. I think it might make one more aware of the 'heavy rotation" items as well--the things you're desperate to wear, but can't because you've already worn them this month. That way, when the shopping ban's lifted in 2012, you'll have a better idea of what actually gets worn most once you've bought it.

    Anne, I love the purple sweater with the dado on the collar. Very spiffy!

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  18. I tell you, I will be saving that delicious, delicious Boden skirt for the very last day. Like the dark chocolate truffle with raspberry filling.

    I found a little free graphic of a turntable. And "no repeat workdays and weekends" would also be an awesome name. When I'm vertical again I will whip something up.

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  19. Yep, Charlotte came up with an awesome name! I can't wait to see 30 completely unique outfits from you, Cynthia! I, on the other hand, am going to have to repeat bottoms with totally unique stuff on top - I did a quick mental inventory, and I can only come up with 15 pairs of pants or skirts (including fat jeans, which I should probably leave out of that count), and I know I don't own 15 dresses for the rest of the month (and that may not be practical as winter sets in here).

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  20. Yeah, I may in fact be totally crazy. We'll see. I feel like I have so much stuff though. Maybe I'll discover that some of it really isn't usable and really has been kept too long and should go to donation.

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  21. I think it's good that the challenge is helping you get out of outfit creation habits, sometimes you have to push your personal comfort zone a little!

    I'll lament you neglected clothes with you.

    Chic on the Cheap

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  22. Those mixed-metallic earrings are fantastic!

    No repeating would be hard for me, I think, yet I know I too need to push my remixing skills. Possibly there's a happy medium?

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  23. Loving all three of these outfits. I too am enjoying the way the challenge forces me to look at my clothes differently -- relying on remixing, rather than new or different pieces. Though I also totally understand the lament for cute items already owned that can't be worn!

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  24. Loving all three of these outfits. I too am enjoying the way the challenge forces me to look at my clothes differently -- relying on remixing, rather than new or different pieces. Though I also totally understand the lament for cute items already owned that can't be worn!

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  25. Yeah, I may in fact be totally crazy. We'll see. I feel like I have so much stuff though. Maybe I'll discover that some of it really isn't usable and really has been kept too long and should go to donation.

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  26. I love Cynthia's challenge--"no repeat workdays and weekends," and definitely a few from the oldies channel will see inclusion in this one. I think it might make one more aware of the 'heavy rotation" items as well--the things you're desperate to wear, but can't because you've already worn them this month. That way, when the shopping ban's lifted in 2012, you'll have a better idea of what actually gets worn most once you've bought it.

    Anne, I love the purple sweater with the dado on the collar. Very spiffy!

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