5 of 30 - Can we have one do-over?

Five days in and I'm already having regrets. Eeep! I would kill to have one more piece of neutral outwear right now. Sigh. I guess this is a good thing. One of the goals of this challenge is to make you long for things you already own, but that are not included in your 30 items. Grey Cardigan, I'm longing for you, even though you are on a shelf mere inches away. Oh well, see you (and gladly wear you) in twenty-five days.

Day 5: Meeting with students and other academic activities.

Teal Tank: Heather Kelly (Now Defunct Etsy Site)
Black Legging Jeans: Gap
Stripe Cardigan: Old Navy
Black Flats: Banana Republic
Woven Belt: Don't remember, Target?
Watch: Skagen
Bracelets: Both Vintage


Anybody else having regrets? If you could have one do-over at the moment, what would it be?

4 of 30 - Thoughts on Temptation

For me, the temptation is not really in the mall, at the Gap, or even in those Anthropologie emails. I try to make that kind of shopping the exception and not the rule (some who know me might say otherwise, but that's why I'm doing this challenge in the first place). For me the real temptation is thrift stores and other places of that nature. I drove past my Goodwill twice yesterday and both times felt a pull at my heart. I could go in and buy vintage fabric and that wouldn't be explicitly against the rules, but I'm afraid that if I saw the perfect vintage jacket, I wouldn't be able to resist.

Vintage is hard. Each piece is pretty much one of a kind. That sweater at the Gap will probably be there next month (and 50% off at that), but that vintage piece may not be there tomorrow. And that, my friends, is why I'm avoiding all situations in which I might find myself in close proximity to vintage including, but not limited to: thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, etc. $3.00 here, $5.00 there seems harmless enough, but it does start to add up. Hopefully this challenge will make me more mindful in my thrifting as well. I need to do it thoughtfully and with intention, not just as a passtime.

Day 4: Teaching (English Gothic), grading and other school related activities.
Printed Top - Banana Republic (via consignment)
Black Legging Jeans - Gap
Yellow Sweater - Loft
Black Flats - Banana Republic
Stud Earrings - Simply Vera Vera Wang
Multi-Chain Necklace - Charlotte Russe
Watch - Skagen
Bracelet - Vintage (Great Aunt's)

Don't mind me, I'm just learning HTML.

3 of 30

Day 3 and I'm already making a list of possible purchases after the 30 days are up. At this rate, it could be a pretty long list by then. I will persevere and make it until the end of this challenge.

Day 3. Errands, grading student assignments, etc.
Stripe Top - J.Crew
Navy Ruffle Top - Gap
Skinny Jeans - Banana Republic
Flats - Banana Republic
Turquoise Earrings - Crafts Person in Mexico
Gold Necklace - Vintage, $0.25 at a yard sale!
Watch - Skagen
Bracelet - Vintage (on loan from cousin)
Belt - Vintage (Antique Mall)

As I'm thinking of outfits to wear, certain combinations are striking me as "good" ones that I should save for days when I have something "important" to do, meaning days when I'm not just hanging around my apartment or running errands. I needed to be able to make up some cute, stylish outfits for just chilling. Enter outfit chart as seen above. I started out by writing down all the shirts I picked. Then for each one, I wrote down which bottoms it would work with. Just doing this gave me over 60 combinations, and that's not even factoring in dresses or jackets. I think I'm good needless to say.

2 of 30 - Disaster Strikes

Soooo, today right after I got to school, I managed to spill coffee on this yellow skirt. When the item in question is one of hundreds, no big deal, there's plenty more to wear. However, when it is one of thirty, that is a much bigger deal. Needless to say, this baby went straight to the dry cleaners.



I wore this for a day of teaching (High Gothic Architecture). The yellow skirt is one that I picked up a Goodwill for $4. It was a little on the long side (read dowdy) so I took it to the seamstress to be hemmed. I normal hem up my own skirts, but I wanted this one to have an invisible hem, which my sewing machine either doesn't do, or I haven't figured out how to do. It was a little expensive, but the skirt still ended up being well under $20. I think that's still a bargain.

Chambray Shirt - Gap
Yellow Skirt - Vintage, Thrifted, Altered
Scarf (Above) - Banana Republic
Tall Socks - Target
Boots - Frye
Starburst Necklace - Vintage
Leather Belt - Thrifted
Watch - Skagen
Cuff Bracelet - Vintage (from Great Aunt)

1 of 30

Let the remixing begin!


Grey Blazer - Banana Republic
Black Tank - Target
Skinny Jeans - Banana Republic
Slouch Boots - Vintage
Necklace - Simply Vera Vera Wang

30 Items

Without further ado, the 30 items I will be mixing, matching, and living in for the next 30 days.

Neutral Woven Tops L-R
1. Grey Ruffle Tank - Anthropologie
2. Print Tank - Old Navy
3. Black Tank with Lace - Target

Colorful Woven Tops
4. Teal Bow Tank - Heather Kelley (defunct Etsy site)
5. Abstract Print Tank - Anthropologie
6. Honey Comb Print Top - Banana Republic (via consignment)

Knit Tops
7. Stripe Tee - J. Crew
8. Grey Pocket Tee - Gap
9. Navy Ruffle Tank - Gap

Button Up Tops
10. Print Blouse - Tucker for Target
11. Chambray Shirt - Gap

Cardigans
12. Stripes - Old Navy
13. Deep Red - Banana Republic
14. Mustard - Loft

Jackets
15. Lace - LC Lauren Conrad
16. Navy Blazer - Gap
17. Grey Blazer - Banana Republic

Dresses
18. Black Sheath - Banana Republic
19. Ruffle Print - LC Lauren Conrad

Pants
20. Skinny Jeans - Banana Republic
21. Dark Skinny Jeans - Anthropologie
22. Black Skinny Pants - Gap

Skirts
23. Black Pencil - Banana Republic
24. Polka Dot - Thrifted ($0.50!!!)
25. Yellow - Vintage, Thrifted, Altered
26. Maroon Print - Vintage, Thrifted, Altered

Shoes
27. Black Slouch Boots - Vintage
28. Brown Boots - Frye (via consignment)
29. Patent Leather Mary Janes - Gianni Bini
30. Black Flats - Banana Republic

Let the Madness Begin

30 for 30 is officially underway. For a list of all the participants visit here. Also be sure and check out the Flickr Group. It's only Monday, and I've already had my first brush with temptation. I had to go into Target to buy a tripod (to take all my outfit photos!). I kept my eyes straight ahead, marched right past the clothing section, and due to my steely resolve made it out of the store with the one item I came in for. Trust me. I will not be putting myself in many other tempting situations this month.

Closet before. In this pic, I've already removed my 30 for 30 items. It's sad to say, but this is about 1/10 of the clothing I own. I have a serious problem and this month is much needed anti-retail therapy.

All my clothes have been moved to another location and now my closet only holds my 30 for 30 items (plus some shoes, but they were never much of a temptation to me.) The clothing certainly has more breathing room.

30 for 30

I'm starting a new style venture on Monday. It's called 30 for 30 and it is the brainchild of blogger Kendi of Kendi Everyday. The premise is simple really. 30 pieces of clothing mixed and matched into 30 outfits, all over the course of 30 days, but here's the kicker: No Shopping. It will definitely be a challenge for me. I'm not sure I've ever gone 30 days without shopping, which is sad really. Hopefully this will be the start of better habits where shopping is concerned. I have more than enough clothes to last me a life time, I just need to get more creative with what's already in my closet.

30 for 30

Above is a rough draft of what items I will be choosing. Everything you see above is something I actually own, or an approximation of something I already own. Above there are only 24 items pictured, so I can add 6 more items! Seems like plenty of clothes now, but I may be singing a different tune by day 29. I'll put up the actual clothes I'm using on Monday. Stay tuned to this blog to see how my progress goes. It can be done. Kendi has actually done it quite successfully two times now as seen here and here. She did it (twice!) and so can I. Wish me luck.

Pouches....

I am doing a trial run on Christmas presents. I won't tell you which one I decided on in case any of my relatives actually read my blog.

The big daddy, a dopp kit. This was a deceptively simple tutorial that I found on the Purl Bee. A dopp kit and you only have to cut one piece of fabric! Sign me up. Unfortunately, my sewing machine and the fabric I chose for this project did not get along at all. The needle didn't want to go through multiple layers of this fabric, so I had to give it some muscle and manually turn the wheel on the machine, quite forcefully, to get it to go through at some points. That can't be good for my machine.

The tutorial called for bias tape to finish the edges on the interior. I didn't have bias tape, nor did I want to make any so I managed to figure out how to line it myself. I do wonder if the bias tape would have given it more structure. Oh well that's another project for another day. Exterior fabric vintage, thrifted. Interior fabric vintage, thrifted bed sheet.

The next pouch for the day is the handy, dandy pencil case from my Home Ec class. I've already completed one of these before. I'm getting better at the whole zipper thing, but I could use some practice with my zipper foot.

The fabric is the same as above. A matched set. Awwww.

Lastly, but not leastly, a quick and simple project. A card holder. This seriously took me 30 minutes tops and that includes sewing the curved top. I found this tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop. The directions were a little vague (maybe geared towards more experienced sewers?). FYI for anyone attempting this project, the two fabric strips you start with measure 5" x 10".

I need to add some kind of closure device. Probably a snap once I am able to procure one. Both the exterior and interior fabric is thrifted. I've used the red fabric previously in this skirt project.