30 for 30: Days 25-30

Let me just preface this post with a few facts: I was really sick of the 30 for 30 challenge this week. It also rained and got cold, I had limited time to take photos, and I wasn't in the best mood to be photographed... I wore my hair up or didn't style it, and I couldn't get out of bed in time to work out, let alone make my hair and makeup look nice. Excuses, excuses... I just want you to know that I'm human and not always as bright and cheery as my posts might seem :) I'm glad it's over!  In lieu of a Sunday Snapshot, here's the last six days of the challenge:

Day 25: Tan cardi, long sleeve white shirt, gap jeans accessorized with turquoise necklace (gift from Sean, purchased on Etsy) LeSportsac purse and black moccasins from Old Navy.

Day 26: long fuschia cardi, gold blouse, banana republic jeans accessorized with black Nine West flats, beaded clutch (NY Chinatown)

Day 27: White handmade skirt, short purple cardi, grey tank and black leggings accessorized with Old Navy boots, madebyhank bag and necklace (gift from mom, used to be my grandma's)

Day 28: Blue cardi, purple dress, floral tights accessorized with tan boots from Macy's, thin blue belt, brown Nine West purse, gold bracelet from Etsy and pearl earrings

Day 29: tan cords, burgundy long sleeve top accessorized with black coat, black Old Navy moccasins, Target scarf, glasses

Day 30: black skirt, mint long sleeve shirt, grey cardi, tan textured tights accessorized with white necklace- gift from MOH Emily, silver bracelet- gift from mom, black purse from H & M, black Nine West flats and pearl earrings

• I'm so glad this is over, as I've missed my closet and am looking forward to wearing a new (to me) skirt and dress that were given to me by my maid of honor Emily last week.

• I'm about to do a major closet cleanout

• I can't wait for consistent Spring/Summer weather after the ups and downs of the past few weeks... 70 one day, 30 the next!

• I'm not going to feel bad about spending money on quality pieces from the stores that I always thought I couldn't shop at due to their prices. I'll be looking for more things that can be remixed and will probably end up spending less (gasp!) at places like Target and Old Navy. Quality over quantity.

• I'll be back tomorrow to share more details about this challenge!

30 for 30: Days 19-24

Day 19: I thought you might enjoy my goofy expression in this photo. Finally got around to adding the tan textured tights, though you can't see the texture in the photo... sorry. Accessorized with thin blue belt, silver dangle earrings and tan ruffle heels.

Day 20: Blue sweater, white tank, grey pants. Accessorized with peach enamel necklace, black purse, plaid flats.

Day 21: Mint green skirt, blazer, grey/lace tank. Accessorized with orange drop necklace and nude heels.

Day 22: Black pencil skirt and 3/4 sleeve cardi. Accessorized with floral and gold belt, black purse, gold bracelet and nude heels. I always get lots of compliments when I wear this skirt... which makes me want to wear it more!

Day 23: Gold blouse, grey cardi, white pinstripe pants. Accessorized with Nine West bag, black flats, pearl earrings.

Day 24: Champagne blouse, Banana jeans, cream lace tank. Accessorized with Nine West bag, grey heels, thrifted belt and pearl earrings.

Findings:
• I'm ready to wear my other clothes.
• I need to hem the dress mentioned in this post if I want to wear it again during this challenge.
• I've worn almost everything at least twice, except for my floral leggings (haven't worn them at all) the other two leggings/tights (once each) and the blue dress white skirt (once each)
• I don't know what I'd do without my Banana jeans. I've worn them a total of 6 times so far, the most out of any piece in this challenge. The Gap jeans are a close second. Weekends = jeans for me!
• Only one more week...

30 for 30: Days 13-18

Day 13: Jeans- Banana Republic, long sleeved tee- Target, sweater vest- Target with nude kitten heels-thrifted, peach bag-madebyhank, peach earrings-World Market, bracelet-World Market

Day 14: black pinstripe skirt- Ann Taylor LOFT, champagne blouse- H & M, long purple cardi- Old Navy with grey heels- Off Broadway Shoes, peach bag- madebyhank and gold/pink necklace- gift from mom

Day 15: white pinstripe pants-Gap, blue cardi-Target, grey tank- Target with yellow sandals-Gap, silver necklace-vintage from Miss Ohio Vintage

Day 16: khaki cords- American Eagle, white blouse- Old Navy, floral cardi- Old Navy with brown flats- hand me down from my MOH Emily!, belt-thrifted (Express), gold earrings- gift (World Market), glasses

Day 17: jeans-Gap, tee-Target, tan cardigan-Gap with boots-Old Navy, necklace-Etsy, headband- Clever Betty

Day 18: jeans- Banana Republic, tee- H & M, sweater vest- Target with boots-Old Navy, black cord jacket with printed lining-Target, red beaded necklace- JC Penney

What I've learned:
• Still thinking I could have included shoes instead of leggings and tanks.
• I'm going to be doing a massive closet clean out sometime this month.
• I tend to pose the same way every day without even realizing it.
• I'm ready for it to be warm for good. No more of this snow one day, sun the next, tornadoes the following...
• Need. More. Accessories.
• I'm running out of good ideas for outfits.
• The closer we get to 0 days left, the closer we are to this lady leaving me :(
• All of this talk about fashion and remixing clothes really makes me want to break out the dress form and sewing machine and make a ton of skirts for Spring!

30 for 30: Days 7-12

Day 7: skirt-handmade by me, tee-Target, cardi-Target, with textured bag-Fossil, brown/orange buckle flats- Target, gold pendant necklace- New York and Company and glasses

Day 8: grey pants- Old Navy, white tank- Target, purple cardi- Target with grey heels- Off Broadway Shoes, charm necklace- Forever 21, white gridded trench- Target

Day 9: mint pencil skirt- thrifted, white blouse- Old Navy, grey lace tank- Target, with brown/orange buckle flats- Target, tan belt-thrifted (Express), textured bag- Fossil, gold earrings- gift (World Market)

Day 10: jeans-Gap, gold blouse-Target, blazer-Forever 21 with gold bracelet- gift (World Market), teal purse- Old Navy, ruffle kitten heels- the best shoe store in the world, Granada, Spain

Day 11: jeans- Gap, white tee- H & M, cardi- Old Navy, with peach purse- madebyhank, paisley scarf- Target, ruffle kitten heels- the best shoe store in the world, Granada, Spain

Day 12: jeans- Banana Republic, white blouse- Old Navy, cardi- Gap, with belt-thrifted, yellow peep toe flats- Gap, necklace, gift from Sean's parents (via Etsy) and clutch, Clever Betty

What I've learned:
• Still, drooling for more accessories.
• I have my favorites, especially when it comes to shoes.
• Putting three pairs of tights in my 30 for 30 was probably not the best idea so far.
• We really did pick an odd time to do this challenge. During days 1-6 there was still snow on the ground and I was wearing a winter coat. During days 7-12 I wasn't even wearing tights or jackets with my skirts it was so warm! Gotta love Missouri weather.
• I feel a lot better when I style my hair. (unlike days 8 and 9, when I was running late for a couple of appointments, obviously...)
• I have a feeling this is going to start getting harder once we hit the halfway point...

Which one's your fave? Only 18 days left!

30 for 30: Days 1-6

Day 1: Cords- American Eagle, Tee- H&M, Blazer- Forever 21, with plaid flats-Target and gold/pink necklace-gift from mom

 

Day 2: Dress-Dillard's, Tights-Target, with boots-Macy's, belt-thrifted, and earrings-gift (World Market)

Day 3: Jeans-Gap, Tank-Target, Cardi-Old Navy, with boots-Old Navy and necklace-Forever 21

Day 4: Jeans-Banana Republic, Tee-Target, Tank-Target, with boots-Old Navy, Scarf-gift from mom and silver earrings- Forever 21

Day 5: Jeans-Banana Republic, Tank-TJ Maxx, Cardi-Target with plaid flats-Target, red beaded necklace-JC Penney

Day 6: Blue dress-Dillard's with gold bird necklace- Forever 21, Grey heels- Off Broadway Shoes, and Tote-Paperchase, gift from mom

What I've learned: 

1. I'm really itching to buy more accessories. Not really shoes, though I always want to buy those, but jewelry and bags. I have my fair share, but I tend to go back to my favorites because they work so well with everything. 

2. This is easier than I thought... so far. I probably could have done the shoes if I hadn't included tights and tanks. I've used four in the first six days, and these are the shoes that I tend to wear the most, so we'll see how the remaining 24 days go! 

3. I need more pattern in my life. I don't know whether I've mentioned this on my blog before but... I once won a contest to do a $500 shopping spree with Clinton Kelly at a local Macy's store. He taught me to make an outfit, you should always include color, texture, pattern and shine. There is indeed a bit of all four of those in each of my outfits- but I'd like to make pattern more obvious.

4. I remembered to start including my purse on day 6. I'll be better at this from now on.

30 for 30

I've been chatting with a few friends lately about how we enjoy the "30 for 30" posts we see at some of our favorite blogs. Though it's kind of an awkward time of year in Missouri to take on such a challenge, we're totally up for it!

The rules:
> 30 items of clothing
> 30 different outfits
> 30 different days
> no new purchases
> items of clothing do not include coats, undies, jewelry, handbags, belts, other accessories or shoes (we're doing this because the seasons this time of year in Missouri are totally unpredictable; many 30 for 30 bloggers do count shoes and I probably will if I try this again in the summer!)
>Pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, blazers, blouses, tanks and leggings DO count
>Post outfits on our blogs to share. I plan on doing a weekly post, so check back around this time each week!

The point:
>Working with what we've got; this is especially handy right now as I'm trying to save for a lot instead of spending on clothing!
>Creativity
>Being aware of what we have versus what we need; the fun of figuring out outfits we never knew existed in our own closets
>A much needed self-esteem boost. This time of year I get so tired of being cold I tend to give up on how I look. Taking photos of my outfits everyday to share with you means I'll put in the effort to look good!
>Something new that I've not really shared with you before... fashion!
>One last hurrah as this lady leaves St. Louis for her new job... we're oh so conveniently starting this challenge 30 days from her last day of work.

The picks:

One vest (Target), one blazer (Forever 21)

Three blouses (Old Navy-white, Target-gold, H & M-champagne)

Six cardigans (clockwise from top left: Old Navy, Gap, Target, Target, Target, Old Navy)

Two dresses (left to right: Jessica Howard, Jones New York)

Five pants (left to right, Old Navy, Banana Republic, American Eagle, Gap, Gap)

Three skirts (left to right: handmade, Ann Taylor Loft, thrifted)

Three tanks (left to right: Target, Target, TJ Maxx)

Three long-sleeve tees (H & M, Target, Target)

Not pictured: Black leggings, tan textured leggings, and floral leggings. Leggings just look weird when they aren't on a body, so I spared you the photo.

Things I've already learned:
>It's no surprise to me that much of my wardrobe comes from Target but wow, can they get a frequent shopper card?
>I wear/buy a lot of neutrals. They're safe. I seem to like myself in purple and blue shades as well. We'll just have to see how accessories can spice everything up!
>I have a lot more clothing than I thought I did, and lots of it I rarely wear. I clean out my closet (5-6 items) about every 5-6 months, but I have a feeling this will give me a good reason to want to do that more often. Or the opposite. We'll find out.

Want to participate? I'd love to share your challenge with my readers as well! Send me your blog info and I'll add it to my 30 for 30 page.