summer 10 x 10 wardrobe challenge

It's that time of year again, my friends! It's time for another 10 x 10 challenge. In case you don't know what the 10 x 10 challenge is, it was created by Lee Vosburgh of Style Bee as a way to challenge herself to style 10 looks over the course of 10 days with just 10 items from her closet. It's totally in line with my own values and the vision behind my business: we can do more with less. It does seem like a lot of the folks who participate in this challenge are a part of the slow fashion movement, as well. They support brands who consider the social environmental impact of the garments they're wearing. Pretty cool. Oh and Caroline of Un-fancy is co-hosting the challenge again and I've already heard from quite a few of you that you'll be participating (I'm looking at you Brianna and Leslie.) I remember feeling totally inspired and connected to my community last time I did this challenge, which made me want to do this all over again! 

Once again, and to no one's surprise, I have created a simple color palette with my 10 selections from my closet. The stripes make this mini capsule feel full-on summer. And, just like last time, I'll be sharing day-to-day reflections and outfits on my Instagram during the challenge and I'll do another round-up post when everything is said and done. If you're curious, you can check out what I selected for the winter 10 x 10 challenge here. I'm so excited to participate again and I can't wait to see what you all put together! Without further ado, here are my 10 items.

1. eli & barry tank 1 in "foam" linen (launching 8/8/18).

2. everlane cotton crew.

3. lotta from stockholm braided clogs (discontinued style).

4. beatrice valenzuela sandalias in nude (maybe my most worn shoe besides my Blundstones).

5. state the label smock.

6. me-made japanese linen cotton dress.

7. eli & barry pant 2 in "tea stripe" hemp organic cotton (launching 8/8/18).

8. eli & barry pant 1 in "tea" organic linen cotton. 

9. eli & barry dress 1 in "tea" organic linen cotton.

10. elizabeth suzann harper tunic in ivory linen (arrives to my doorstep by TODAY so this is an image from ES's website.)

Good luck, all! 

10 x 10 winter wardrobe challenge round- up

As I mentioned a couple of weeks back now, I decided to participate in the winter 10 x 10 challenge. This exercise was created by one of my favorite bloggers, Lee Vosburgh of Style Bee. To recap, we took 10 items from our wardrobe and styled 10 different looks to be worn over the course of 10 days. 

I was a little nervous to do this challenge. I was worried that I wouldn't have time to style and document 10 looks and it was also super nerve-wracking to share videos/photos of myself on Instagram. But, boy, am I glad I did this. 

Things I learned over the course of this challenge:

- I feel a lot better when I get dressed. A lot of times since I work for myself and from home, it's easy for me to stay in my workout clothes all day. This challenge made me get dressed after my morning work out and I felt fantastic! Taking the time to get myself ready felt, in the past, like a waste of time. Like I could be spending that time on getting more things done. But taking the time to get dressed just felt like I was putting my best foot forward.

- You can style some many looks with ten neutral pieces. I know you math-oriented people probably could have told me that, but I sort of felt like I could keep going with this challenge after the ten days were up! I think the key there was to select styles I'm loving right now and keep with a neutral color palette. 

- I'll never look at packing for a trip the same way. I've gotten better in recent years, but I used to be a notorious over-packer. I feel like for my next trip I would limit myself to ten pieces. If the trip was a short one, It could cut a few things out. And I believe I could fit all of these items in a carry-on suitcase. Then I'd feel impossibly clever and chic with my pared down wardrobe. 

-I'm not much of an accessory wearer, but they can totally change a look. On the days I felt like an outfit I was wearing wasn't super different from one I'd worn before, I'd just add a bandana or a hat! 

To recap, here were the 10 items I chose...

10 x 10 items

I ended up making a swap in my original selects a few days in to the challenge. I had included a wool jacket in the mix (pictured bottom right), but realized that I was photographing these looks indoors. So, instead, I included a navy jumpsuit. 

And here are my 10 looks in the order that I wore them...

day 1: me-made cardigan (it's the uniform cardigan by madder made), everlane t-shirt, vintage jeans from meek vintage, and troentorp clogs. 

day 2: eli & barry t-shirt 2 in hemp organic cotton (from last summer, but a similar version will be launching this spring), me-made cardigan, me-made jeans, thrifted beret, blundstones. 

day 3: me-made sweater (it's the knit wit x nido turtleneck), me-made jeans, see eyewear glasses, and blundstones. 

day 4: vintage jumpsuit from stressed, me-made cardigan, and blundstones.

day 5: eli & barry smock top (launching spring 2018 in a different color/fabric), vintage jeans, and troentorp clogs.

day 6: vintage jumpsuit (worn as pants), everlane t-shirt and troentorp clogs.

day 7: eli & barry smock top, me-made jeans and blundstones.

day 8: me-made sweater, vintage jeans, troentorp clogs, bandana from madewell (old) and slide (the bead around the bandana) from last chance textiles. 

day 9: vintage jumpsuit and troentorp clogs.

day 10: me-made cardigan, eli & barry t-shirt 2, vintage jeans and blundstones. 

I want to thank everyone who took the initiate to engage with me and follow along while I participated in this challenge! I felt super connected to my Instagram community and my only wish is that I could keep that kind of momentum and inspiration going. I guess there's always the next 10 x 10 challenge. :)

10 x 10 wardrobe challenge

I'm so excited to be participating in the winter 10 x 10 wardrobe challenge, which was created by Lee Vosburgh of one of my favorite style blogs, Style Bee. She co-hosts this challenge with fellow blogger, Caroline, of Un-Fancy. It begins this Friday, January 19th (tomorrow) and a few of my Insta-buds (Claire of @clairemadeit and Allison of @thethoughtfulcloset) are doing it, as well. I'm really looking forward to connecting with this community of conscious women and see everyone's styled looks!

In this challenge, we'll be taking 10 items from our closets and styling 10 different looks over the course of 10 days. Accessories are unlimited and things like workout clothes and loungewear won't count towards our 10 pieces (whew!) 

It's that simple and I think it's a great creative challenge, as well as a practice in looking to what you already have in your wardrobe instead of buying something new. I love this idea because we live in a culture that encourages a "buy, buy, buy" mentality that often leaves us drained and hollow. I want to continue down this path of consuming less and coming up with more ways to wear what I already own. I also feel like this challenge will help me get dressed for the day. Since I work for myself AND from home, I don't always have the motivation to get gussied up. And I often get my morning workout in and end up in workout clothes for the rest of the day. I'm hoping this challenge will help me make the transition from workout gear to beautiful styled looks.

I realize this post is not good timing if you, dear reader, want to join in. BUT this challenge happens once a season, so if it interests you there will be more chances!

Without further ado, here are my 10 items...

eli & barry t-shirt 2 in hemp organic cotton (from last summer, but this is another good option), eli & barry smock 1 (launching fall 2018), everlane striped long-sleeve tee, me-made knit sweater (the pattern is the knit wit x nido turtleneck), me-made knit cardigan (pattern is uniform cardigan by madder made), me-made wool jacket (berlin jacket from tessuti fabrics), vintage levis from meek vintage, me-made wide-leg jeans, troentorp clogs, blundstones.

After selecting these items, I realized that most of them are handmade or vintage! That feels pretty cool. :) I wanted to choose items that I'm feeling excited about, that felt practical in terms of the weather and my lifestyle (those were great tips from Lee and Caroline), and stick to a neutral color scheme. Although, if you haven't noticed, I rarely skew from a neutral color scheme. Hey, I know what works for me, you know?

I'll be posting my 10 outfits and spur of the moment reflections on the challenge on my Instagram, so be sure to follow me there if you'd like to see this unfolding in real time. I'll also be doing a round up post at the end of the challenge on this blog to see how it all went.