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my unintentional 10 x 120 (+ counting) challenge

8/23/2018

4 Comments

 
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No doubt you've come across Lee Vosburgh's 10x10 challenge in which people choose ten items of clothing to wear for ten days. This summer, without meaning to, I pretty much did a 10x something like 120 (so far) challenge. No bragging at all...I had all the feels + don't exactly feel like a winner (not that any of this is about winning or losing...just learning).  :) What I will say is that I found dressing with a small number of pieces 100% manageable.

Strategy ::
​-Stick with my list.
-Use what I have...tweak slowly + only if necessary.
-Keep it fair.
-Goal: all tops go with all bottoms.

Reality ::
-Voile tank was packed away, since it only matched one pair of shorts.
-My shorts felt too big to wear out of the house...so often I changed into pants to go out.
-Clog sandals are not comfortable for walking long distances (for me).
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A few of my surprising (good) discoveries:
-Four tops are enough :: I still don't really know how this works, but that's the magic of it. With four people to do laundry for, I always have a clean top to wear!
-I don't have to wash my tops after every wear, even though it's hot. Thank you, deodorant.
-The clothes that I already have (+ think I don't love) are usually better than the clothes that I think I want.

Some other (not so positive) discoveries:
-Shorts that I feel good about wearing in public are hard to find...but would be so beneficial.
-Finally found some more comfortable sandals...and then never wore my clog sandals again.
-Online shopping sometimes (really) stinks. This summer brought out all the worst in my hopeful online purchases...vintage with undisclosed issues, sandals that made me feel like I have crazy feet, and all the things with unpredictable sizing.
-Sewing doesn't always yield what I want to wear. (Although 3 of my pieces are last year's makes.)

​Switches I'd very much like to make/made ::

olive shorts out (too big) :: would like a pair of high-waisted, comfy, good looking shorts
voile tank out (only matched olive shorts) :: would like a top that makes shorts wearable out
clog sandals out (not comfortable for walking) :: comfortable sandals in
​
What did you learn from your relationship with your wardrobe this season?

Love,
Jane

P.S. If I don't say this often enough, I apologize. I want to be clear that there is no perfect number of pieces of clothing to own...there is no race to the least number of pieces possible. What I share here is just my own journey toward finding my personal sweet spot of enough.  :)
4 Comments
Gunn
8/23/2018 04:51:53 am

That sounds like my summer too, completly unintentional but it’s so obvious in retrospect. I splurged last summer and bought three dresses and three tops (same model, different colors) from NotPerfectLinen on Etsy and since then I have lived in them.

When it had been nice weather here in Northen Norway I pair them with a highwaist jeansshorts (3% elastan so supercomfy!). The shorts are a bit shorter than I would prefer, but I found a knitted cardigan in viscose and a tencel kimonojacket secondhand before summer so when I throw one of them on I feel a bit more dressed and then ok for the public eye. Both light as a breeze so have worked really well here even around 30 degrees celcius, but here the air is very dry. No humidity at all.

Now when it’s colder I use the linen tops/dresses with a longsleeved cotton top and jeans. When it gets colder still I use wool under.

Best buy ever!

So now I think I will sew some lingeriebags for traveling of the few polyestertops I have in my wardrobe since I didn’t use them at all this summer.

Reply
Jane link
8/23/2018 02:22:55 pm

Oh, I love all of this...sounds wonderful! Your pieces sound like just the sort of thing that feel good, appropriate + beautiful! I look at NotPerfectLinen + often it's hard to choose...so I like your strategy + knowing that they adapt seasonally as well! Thank you so much for sharing!! :)

Reply
Linda
8/23/2018 06:07:39 am

Amen to your statement, "the clothes that I already have (& think I don't love) are usually better than the clothes I think I want." Often times this is the case for me as well.
Thanks, Jane for your wardrobe update.

Reply
Jane link
8/23/2018 02:19:11 pm

Glad that resonated with you as well. Every time I read this over, I wanted to put stars by that...so I wouldn't forget! :)

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