Fashion Minimalism: 10 by 10 Fall 2018 Challenge

Fashion is one area of my life where adopting a minimalist approach has been difficult.  Even though I was mostly unsuccessful in my first attempt to reduce my wardrobe earlier this year, I want to give it another go.  Lately, I have been reading a lot about capsule wardrobes.  Did you know that the average woman in the US has over 100 pieces in her wardrobe, of which half is not wearable due to size (too big or too small) or style (unwearable).  Women in the 1940s and 1950s had dramatically smaller  wardrobes consisting of 30 to 50 pieces, of which about 3 to 7 were evening dresses (!).   Today, most people with capsule wardrobes have between 33 and 36 items, many including shoes.  I decided to tip my toe into capsule wardrobe living by trying a 10 x 10 challenge.  What is a 10 by 10 challenge?  It is wearing the same 10 pieces for 10 days.  I identified my 10 pieces as follows:

 

and

Since I love color, I incorporated pieces with coordinating tones of purple and burgundy.  I knew that I was going to have a hard time if the wardrobe I selected was only gray, black and white.

Off I went.

Day 1, I wore the black pants with a silk printed black and white silk blouse that I purchased in Hawaii of all places:

Can you believe that I had only worn this blouse a few times before?  Somehow, I rarely reached for it but it became a favorite in this challenge.

Day 2, I woke up to a forecast of 26 C.  Uh oh.  Those boots were going to be challenge.  I went ahead and wore the purple wrap dress with the black three quarter sleeve top and the boots too.  I accessorized the outfit with a chunky necklace:

It turned out to be perfect for the office but a little hot for our day of Indian summer.

On Day 3 (a Friday), the weather cooled and I went for a more casual look:  burgundy jeans, jean shirt and the cardigan:

Since I had to be at the office at 6:30 AM to give some training, it was great to be comfortable.  Plus, I wore two “rejected” items from my daughters (burgundy jeans and jean shirt).  I am really lucky to be the same size as my daughters!

On Day 4, I wore head to toe black:

I am not a fan of all black so I added a black and white scarf.  I felt very comfortable to do my cleaning and cooking on Saturday.  Don’t I Iead such a glamorous life?

On Day 5, I had to do laundry and I turned to my yet unworn items:

I was comfortable but I did feel a little dressed up for a Sunday.

On Thanksgiving Monday, I decided to go a little kooky and try out a combination that I had seen on Kathryn from Zero Waste Living.  It consisted of a skirt over a wrap dress:

This was definitely my least favorite outfit:  a lot of layers, hot and not especially comfortable.

On Tuesday, it was back to work. I went with a comfortable outfit, jean shirt over black top and pants:

On Wednesday, I again tried a combination that was a little funky: print top and print skirt.  After I put it on, I was felt very nervous.  This was way out of my comfort zone and I wasn’t sure what my colleagues would think.  But I was late for work and there was no time to change:

Surprisingly, most people told me that they thought this combination worked.  It was deemed artistic and creative.  I honestly enjoyed wearing this outfit.  This exercise made me realize that even with few pieces, we can be quite creative and come up with combinations that we would not have thought of if we were using our other items of clothing.

 

Day 9 was a fairly unexciting combination:

But I felt comfortable on this cool, fall day.  The accessories (gold necklace and leopard belt) made this outfit feel special.

On Day 10, I used the purple dress as a coat over the black turtleneck and black pants:

I loved wearing this outfit.  It was comfortable and using the dress as a jacket made the ensemble feel completely new.  While I was happy that the challenge was over, I realized that I still enjoyed wearing all the items that I had selected.  Even the boots that I wore every day for 10 days still made me happy!

Observations from my 10 by 10 Challenge

My daughters tell me that I am an outfit repeater, but not in a good sense.  I always tend to wear the same combination of pieces.  With this exercise, I was able to see that I could create a wide range of outfits with a small number of pieces.

Selecting a limited color scheme for the challenge allowed me to mix and match pieces.  I think that this rule applies to your global wardrobe as well.  By having a color palette that is harmonized, it is easier to mix and match.   I like color so it was good to have color pieces in the capsule.  I would have been depressed wearing only gray, black and white.

I still like the pieces that I selected.  Even though I won’t continue wearing them tomorrow, I enjoyed wearing the pieces that I selected.  I got so many compliments about my flower skirt that I realize that I should wear it more often.

Although I was excited going back to my full wardrobe, strangely, it was more difficult to decide to wear because there were more options.  The following Tuesday, I looked in my closet and thought, what the heck am I going to wear?  Could it be that reducing my wardrobe will make my life easier? To my surprise, I am starting to think that it will.

Challenge for the Week:  Do you want to try a 10 x 10 challenge?  It is a good way to reinvent combinations in your wardrobe using existing pieces and make your realize that you really don’t need a lot of clothing.   This has helped me realize that I have a lot of (too much?) clothing and strengthens my resolve not to shop!