Here I am again talking about a capsule wardrobe, a capsule wardrobe challenge, and discarding clothes. Clothing is something we wear every single day. Whether we like it or not, we have to make decisions on what to put on our bodies. Capsule wardrobes make things easier and more simple.
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Why do a capsule wardrobe challenge?
I’ve built a fall/winter capsule and a spring/summer capsule, but yet, I want a new challenge. Culling my wardrobe back in the summer of 2018 did me some good. But, after revisiting what I kept from last year I was less than satisfied.
I broke my “no-buy” list rules and purchased new clothes. Two t-shirts and a pair of jeans. They rounded out my wardrobe. My jeans had seen better days (also known as “I got a giant hole in them”) so it was time. Still, I feel like I have too much going on in my wardrobe.
Just this morning, I changed my outfit three times. THREE. All with my little one-year-old running around our bedroom and opening drawers he shouldn’t have. My mind cleared from my “it’s too early for this, I haven’t had coffee yet” fog and it clicked. I need to be even simpler with my wardrobe.
Searching for the right capsule wardrobe challenge
A quick search on Pinterest of “capsule wardrobe challenge” gave me food for thought. I’m very familiar with Project 333 which is what my regular, seasonal wardrobes are based on. But I stumbled across the “10×10” challenge. I have no idea who originally came up with this idea as every blogger referenced someone different. No matter the originator, I was very intrigued.
In the 10×10 challenge, you select ten items of clothing and only wear those ten items for the next ten days. That seems a little too easy for me. It’s like what I pack for a week of vacation!
So I’m going to expand this challenge to a full month.
That’s right. One month of only wearing ten articles of clothing. Here are some of my rules:
- Ten articles of clothing will be chosen from my current wardrobe – no shopping allowed!
- Within the ten articles, shoes will be included.
- Workout clothing and clothing worn to get dirty in outside will not be counted in this “ten”. Same goes for underpants, socks, and bras.
- Accessories are limited to one necklace in addition to my wedding ring, silver ring worn on my right hand, and stud earrings.
- The rest of my clothing that I did not select to be a part of this challenge are to be put away until the challenge is over.
I’m a SAHM so this works quite well for me. If you work outside the home in a business professional environment, you can still do this too! Try five items for work and five items that are casual. Or maybe just have one outfit for home and on the weekends and use the others for work. You get the idea!
What I’ve chosen as my ten items.
Thanks to my KonMari folding, I was able to see exactly what I have in my wardrobe without digging around. I do have some items hung in our closet. With not a whole lot in my capsule wardrobe, it was easy to see what is there too!
I’ve chosen items that will be cohesive and provide numerous outfit options. My pallet is black, white, and warm tones. These are honestly the pieces I wear most often anyways!
- Grey v-neck t-shirt
- Bright red v-neck t-shirt
- White and black stripe v-neck t-shirt
- Pink jeresy-knit tunic top (similar)
- Skinny jeans
- Black maxi skirt (similar)
- Polka-dot shorts (similar)
- Black and white stripe dress (similar)
- White Converse sneakers
- Chaco’s sandals
Outfit options
I have thirteen outfit options from ten items. Wow! I’m actually a little amazed. With shoes added into the mix it could be even more, however I regularly change shoes halfway through the day. This is mostly due to the crazy weather!
In a way I have limited myself in choosing a dress that cannot be layered with anything. However, I love this dress. It’s casual but also appropriate for date night.
Unlike the 10×10 challenge where you have ten pieces and create ten new outfits to wear for ten days, we are going for thirty days. With accessories, I’m sure that I could put together thirty different outfits but it would be a stretch!
Listed below are the outfits without accessories:
1 – White and black stripe t-shirt with black maxi skirt
2 – White and black stripe t-shirt with jeans
3 – Red t-shirt with black maxi skirt
4 – Red t-shirt with polka-dot shorts
5 – Red t-shirt with jeans
6 – Grey t-shirt with black maxi skirt
7 – Grey t-shirt with polka-dot shorts
8 – Grey t-shirt with jeans
9 – Pink top with black maxi skirt
10 – Pink top with polka-dot shorts
11 – Pink top with jeans
12 – Pink top over black and white stripe dress *possibility but it may look terrible!*
13 – Black and white stripe dress on its own
Follow through
In order to hold myself accountable, I will post the results of this challenge on June 4th! This gives me a full thirty days from May 1st to use this tiny capsule wardrobe.
Want to join me in this challenge? Let me know in the comments! Also subscribe to my mailing list (you’ll get a freebie) for updates on this challenge.
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