An Inadvertent 30x30

My family and I went camping from Memorial Day to July 4th.  (34 days, and no, not "real" camping - we stayed in our camper, which has electricity and a flushable toilet, with a bath house nearby for water.  We also used the camp kitchen).  We had a great time, learned some lessons, and sorely missed the internet.

Upon returning, I checked in here, and noticed all the talk about 30x30.  It made me decide to count.  I had taken (and worn) 32 pieces for the 5 weeks.  Granted, I had only two lifestyle needs to cover: getting dirty playing in nature, and seeing-people casual.  (There was one wedding, but it was also casual).  The weather varied from in the 40s F to in the 90s F.

I didn't get much for outfit pictures, but did have some thoughts on the experiment.

  • 30 pieces was close to enough.  With less variance in the weather and a more casual than "grubby" lifestyle, I think I would have loved it.
  • I will no longer wear seven pieces
  • Nine pieces were only worn once
  • My clothes included:
    • 2 blouses
    • 4 shirts
    • 1 dress
    • 10 tee shirts and 1 jersey tank (that's a bit dressier than a tee)
    • 1 sweatshirt, 2 sweaters and a jacket
    • 4 pairs of shorts
    • 2 cropped jeans (one flares and one jeggins)
    • 3 skirts
    • 1 pair jean culottes
  • I didn't count one scarf and two pairs shoes.  If I had, it would be 35x34, I guess.
  • I also took along a few things I didn't wear (black shorts and black crops)
  • My ratio is about twice as many tops as bottoms.  I think this is a good ratio for me.
When we returned home, I gasped in delight when I caught site of my shoe rack.  Endless options!  (But in real life, I've continued wearing the two pair I wore camping).

Now that I'm recovering and returning to a more normal-for-me lifestyle, I want to try it again.  I have picked out my favorites from last month and started.  But I still haven't taken outfit photos.  I'll have to work my way back into that.

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WIW: playing with patterns and brights

Here's a few outfits from the past week - I've been playing with pairing brights with black in search of the perfect 'business casual' capsule (note: in my company 'business casual' means black jeans.  I know, that's super casual, but it truly is what they expect us to wear.)

I've also been playing with pattern mixing just to have fun.  

So here's what I've tried.

#1-2 black with lace, pearls and a floral scarf (in #1) The shell under the lace is purple, but I don't think you could tell even in real life - so much for adding that bright.

#3 Instead of black jeans, how about a black asymmetrical sweater with hot pink corduroys?  I think it's just as professional looking as the black jeans, personally....

#4 This one was a brights-mixing failure in my book.  The skinnies are too tight ( sad face ), and the mixed brights didn't look as intentional as I'd hoped.

#5-6 Valentine's day pattern mixing with floral pants and a window-pane sheer top.  I liked it better with the cardigan (in #5).  Pardon the tag showing in the picture.

#7 A bright pattern with black.  I like this - does it actually work, or am I kidding myself?  Is it worthy of putting in my biz-caz capsule?

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WIW: bold color pattern mixing

Here's my "kitchen-sink-lite" pattern mixing fun.  I've liked bright and bold colors recently, so this combo made me happy even if it's not the most put-together look.

Cobalt cords, bright stripes sweater with bold black/white zig zag cardigan.  Cardigan is bookended with black/white printed shoes.

#2 is how I intended to wear it
#1 is how I actually wore it, because I was chilly and liked the print combo of the black and white zig zag over the bold stripes.

It's not my favorite outfit ever, but it was comfy and cheery, and that's good enough at the moment :)

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WIW: more crops

I'm still working through how to wear (or, whether to wear) crops.  Today is the first outing for a newly-cropped pair of too-short jeans that were too comfy to toss.

I think I got the length right, but I don't feel like they're at all flattering.  Is my eye just slow to adjust, or is there something else going on that I could fix and make them work better?

(The outfit is the same in all three photos - I'm trying to figure out lighting and camera angles for when it's too cold for outdoor photos - see me shivering in #1?)

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WIW: Late to the cropped pants bandwagon

My eye has been really slow to adjust to cropped pants, and I still don't have it figured out, but I'm starting to try.

I realize that this outfit would probably be more flattering if my boots were white or my pants black, so that they elongated my leg line.  In spite of this, I still liked the outfit pretty well.  I may try it next time with a shorter, less drapey top.

What would you change?
(pic 2 shows the shape of the top better)

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WIW: Artsy Audrey (and pants length question)

Trying out two new pieces today - one in the black assymetrical tunic, that you can't see well in the picture.  I'm impressed with how warm it is, which thrills me!

The second is the crazy vest that was just so crazy I had to have it.  I'm still trying to decide if I like it.  It's subbing for a scarf, though the scarf would have been much more sophisticated.

I like the formula.

My question is with these pants (black jeans).  As is, they're just a smidge short, I think.  (Though they don't really look it in the pics, hmm... Maybe it's just me?).  I'm considering cropping them (as shown on the left).  Is that the proper length?  And would these look weird cropped to that length?

I'd also want to wear these with booties, as shown in pic 2 (and that's the length that they usually scrunch up to on my calf, shown on the right, also).

Apologies for the lack of hair care - I'm fresh out of the shower and forgot to add my headband before the pics.  Hair cut is scheduled for Wednesday!

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WIW: Attempts at maximalixm

I must admit, I'm enjoying the maximalism trend more than I thought I would already.  I was already adding color back in to my wardrobe, and now I'm experimenting with more pattern and texture, and with wearing lots of statement items at once (which is my attempt at maximalism).

Today is a low-key day, so I decided to take the free time and upload a few photos.

#1 pink paisley with harems and leather.  The pink top is huge on me, but I like the drapey-ness, and looking at the picture makes me want to wear it again.

#2 blush top (with a ruffled back), brown plush vest and pearls.  The jeans are caught on my boot - they really are long enough.

#3 hot pink pants (may be becoming work horses) with black and white pattern mixing.

#4 just a basic asymmetrical sweater with cropped pants.  Added jewelry to increase maximalism.

#5 caramel sweater, with jacket.  Not too maximal, but comfortable for me.

#6 dark floral, cream plush vest. Tried tucking and adding a belt.

#7 This year's plaid shirt (brown, navy and cream) and cream plush vest.  Should have tucked....

All feedback is welcome - especially suggestions for improvement.

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Transitional Black/white/grey pattern mixing

I was inspired by Aida's black/white/grey pattern and texture mixing, so tried something similar (well, as similar as I had in my closet anyway).  I ended up liking it pretty well.  Do you think it works?

I paired a black and white striped tube skirt with a marled grey swingy top. Topped it with the spiegel lemming black leather jacket (that I ended up wearing all day in the chilly A/C).  I had on a silver bracelet and brogues with ribbon ties shoes to make it more maximal.  But the color pallette kept it still almost minimal at the same time.

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17 comments

WIW: summer patterns

Summer is ending, and even though it's still getting up to 90 degrees, the evenings and mornings are gloriously cool.

Here's a few late-summer outfits.  I realized that my summer style almost always involved a pattern this summer.  Stripes and tribal prints got the most play.  Here's some stripes (and a check and leopard print included for fun).

Soon I need to cull my wardrobe of the worn out items and make space for fall/winter clothing.  All comments - especially suggestions for improvement - are welcome.

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FFBO: Tunic and cropped pants

This is another summer favorite formula for me, and I loved it in these super-hero colors.

You can tell that I'm enjoying brights lately - especially with my short hair.  

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