April 30x30 Week One - YouLookFab Forum

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April 30x30 Week One

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I thought I'd start a new thread for those of us doing the April 30x30, whether you started on Monday or are starting today. Everyone is welcome no matter what variation you're doing (or just want to cheer us along!).

If you're still deciding on what pieces you might want to include and want some inspiration, the items of participants in the reddit FFA 30x30 were posted here.

I've been taking pictures as I go but probably will post them this weekend or next Monday for a weekly wrap-up. One thing I hadn't considered before I started was how I was going to deal with the items I have on loan with Gwynnie Bee. I don't want to let them sit unworn all month without sending them back, because that's a waste of my subscription money. So I'm thinking that I'll just track them separately and see how much they make me go over 30, if they do.

Here's what I've worn so far:

By day:
Monday - violet knit tee, {GB gray/black full skirt}, (leggings), black ankle boots = 2 items, 1 GB
Tuesday - chambray shirt, black floral knit skirt, black plain loafers = 3 new items
Wednesday - blush sweater, light gray jeans, white Birks = 3 new items

By item:
tops: violet tee, chambray shirt, pink sweater = 3 items
bottoms: {GB black/gray skirt}, black floral skirt, light gray jeans = 2 items, 1 GB
shoes: black ankle boots, black loafers, white birks = 3 items
total = 8 items, 1 GB

9 items in three days is...not great. I've gotta start remixing (and doing laundry!)

26 replies

Latest reply was from Laura (rhubarbgirl)

carter

Veteran

Off to a good start, Laura! I *forgot* this morning. Had I remembered, I may not have chosen the top I did. But, I'll just start from where I am.

April 1: ON Straight BF jeans / navy & white Foxcroft tunic / black AK Sport wide strap sandals.

My thought is that I would build my 30 as I go, rather than try to predict weather and work requirements. We'll see....

I should also confess that I might have done some online shopping this morning;-) Can't remember if your plan precluded shopping or not, but there you have it.

Anonymous

Day 1 (March 30): White jeans; grey stripped sweater top; black ballet slippers. Three items.

Day 2 (March 31): Grey ponte pants; white tee shirt; black ballet slippers; black belt. Three new items added to the three from Day 1 (total = 6).

Day 3 (April 1): Grey ponte pants, white dress shirt with polka dots, black ballet slippers, black belt. One new item (total =7).

I am up to 7 items. I will wear the grey ponte pants and white jeans as my base for the rest of the month (plus one other basic bottom). I will add various tops. I will try to keep shoes and belts to the ones I listed here. Yay.

Thanks for starting a new thread. It makes it easier for me.

carter

Veteran

Whoa! Sterling, did I read that right? You're planning to use only 3 bottoms for the month?? And I'm only counting one pair of shoes and one belt listed above. What am I missing?

Anonymous

You read it right. I was feeling really ambitious (I love a challenge). I'll have to add at least one additional bottom (probably black) to make it though the month.

I don't think you are missing anything. The fun of the challenge is to set our own goals. I have a curiosity as to whether I can go 30 days with only 30 items (I'm including shoes and jewelry right now). I may come to hate these 30 items, but it will be fun for me.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Wow, Sterling. Your washing machine will be kept busy!

Carter, I'm not shopping in April, but that's because I've spent my spring budget already. I'm still waiting for one thing I ordered in March to arrive, though, I must confess...

Anonymous

Day 4 (April 2): Grey ponte pants; white tee shirt; black ballet slippers; black belt. Nothing added so the total remains at 7.

Anonymous

I lied.

Day 4: Gap Super Skinny Khakis in Stone, white tee shirt, blush ballet slippers, no belt (added in two new items bringing the total to 9). I needed some variety. I don't want to feel the urge to burn my grey ponte pants after just four days.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

LOL, Sterling. Yeah, you don't want to get to the point where you want to set your clothes on fire you're so sick of them. (I totally got that way the last time I was traveling in Europe with a limited wardrobe.)

My Thursday: magenta knit top, indigo skinny jeans, b/w print flats, b/w floral jacket - 4 new items, 12 items total (+1 GB).

Not minimalist but I figure the remixing will start in week two, mostly.

carter

Veteran

April 2 (day 2) for me: ON BF jeans, white cotton BP sweater, gray slip on sneaks.

That adds 2 to yesterday's 3, bringing me to 5 total.

Are you giving any thought to why you're choosing the items you're choosing? I had quite a debate with myself this morning about which top to choose since I was making a 30 day commitment to forsake another;-)

kellygirl

Veteran

I'm glad you posted and am looking forward to the pictures. While I'm not participating per the rules exactly, I did decide to track my outfits and see the numbers. I figured that even I can manage this for a month! Of course, I had a number of wrenches thrown into my plans but that's usually how it goes, eh? My plan is to test for a month and then maybe actually be able to come up with a 30x30! I do think this will be easier when the weather is more uniform. We've had some blustery days lately--not as mild as I was planning for!

Anonymous

Day 5 (April 3): Grey ponte pants, pink tee shirt, black belt, flip flops (added in two new items bringing the total to 11). I realize I am reaching for my grey ponte pants often. They go with everything. They are incredibly comfortable. I feel pretty good wearing them. I wear the same belt with the grey pants. The pink tee shirt and the flip flops are new items. It turned hot and humid over night.

I can't say I have given any planning to my 30 items. Our weather changes so dramatically that it would be asking for failure. I am picking items I really like wearing and function for gardening or cleaning or errands. Right now, those are the agenda items. I will be returning to work on Monday and my items will change dramatically. THAT is when I will have start planning ahead and be mindful of the fact that I can't wear the same thing day in and day out.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Carter, I chose my fifteen 'seed items' in a coordinating color palatte, based in the cabi fifteen for thirty set from their blog (link in the previous 30x30 thread). Then I've just been adding shoes, and other items that fit in reasonably well.

KG, that sounds like a good plan, and one that will help you plan for the future. Unsurprisingly I've had the same issues with weather. I thought it'd be hot most of the month but it cooled down and got windy, so I've had to go with more sweaters and layers than I expected.

sterling, you will have a challenge when you go back to work - but I'm sure you can make it work.

My Friday: blush top, white jeans, white Birks - two new items. Laundry is already becoming an issue - I've only got two light colored camisoles and both my blush sweater and blush top are sheer enough I prefer to wear them with camisoles. After today I won't be able to wear any of my sheerer tops until I do laundry. Usually I'd just wait to wear that outfit for a few days until my camisoles are clean again, but that's not so easy if I'm trying to stick to a limited number of items.

Anonymous

Hi Laura. Hi Carter. I hope you are both having a good weekend.

Day 6 (April 4): Gap Super Skinny Khakis in Stone, white tee shirt, blush ballet slippers, no belt (added in 0 new items). Total remains at 11.

Will probably wear this tomorrow as well because It seems sufficiently dressy to meet friends and family for dinner. Might add a light scarf in pink to dress it up more.

Talk to you both tomorrow. Have a good day.

Oh, and about laundry. I usually do one load of wash per day. Lights one day, Darks the second day. This is a habit I got into years ago and it works really well for me.

carter

Veteran

April 3 (day 3): ON BF jeans, gray cami, faded navy linen shirt, black AKS sandals.

April 4 (day 4): White denim Boden crops, gray cami, Foxcroft tencel tunic, gray slip on sneaks.

I'm now up to 9 items for the first 4 days. Here's what I find most interesting so far...Had I pulled my 30 items at the beginning, only 3 of these items would have been in the capsule. What does that mean?? Maybe the planning side of my brain is living a fantasy life? Maybe I'm saving my favorite items rather than wearing them? Maybe it's just that I haven't seen my Spring clothes in many months? I've been quite happy with my outfits so far, so I'm not wearing things I don't like.

I should say that yesterday's faded linen shirt was in the donate pile. It's too faded to look crisp enough for work (even after dry cleaning), so I had just washed it and hung to dry for the Goodwill pile. Well...it was so soft yesterday and really suited my relaxed-but-pulled-together requirements for the day. It's earned it's way out of the donate pile, and now I'm eyeing some other "high maintenance" linen shirts in the pile.

I confessed early on that I had placed some orders on April 1. I now have packages due today, Monday and Tuesday. 7 items total in the orders, so we'll have to see what happens.

Another wrinkle for me. We leave for the beach on Wednesday. Typically, my beach wear looks very different from my Atlanta wear. So...will I take my usual shorts, tees, maxis, faded jeans and button up shirts, even though they likely won't get worn the rest of the month? I don't know.

Anonymous

I think we are going to learn a lot about selves during these 30 days. I am finding that repeats don't bother me a bit.

What beach? My last vacation was Hilton Head. It was amazing. I wish I golfed, but I don't really ...... Well, I do drive a mean golf cart, but that doesn't really count.

I am actively looking for linen tee shirts. If I find any, I will include them as part of my 30 items. I am not not shopping.

Sal

Veteran

I am going okay....but think I will run out of options......

Day one: black popover shirt, blue coated straight legs, Peeptoe bootie sandals
Day two: cream thick sculptured tee, blue straight jeans, Peeptoe booties
Day three: pink silky patterned tee, black skinnies, Peeptoe booties
Day four: bright pink jacket, black high- low tee, black skinnies, black heels
Day five: Charcoal merino, pink tank, black and cream soft pants, black flat sandals
Day Six: charcoal merino, striped tank, blue straight jeans, pink sneakers...then at night added red leather jacket and camel ankle boots
Day Seven: Coral mesh sweatshirt, black tank, black harem Capri, pink sneakers
So I am up to 21 already!!!

Three jeans
One patterned pants
One black Capri
Two jackets
Two sweaters/sweatshirts
Three tanks
Three different short sleeve tops
One long sleeve shirt
Five footwear

This does include three layering tanks but they were an integral part of the look and part visible, either the hem or through the mesh.

These days have been a mix of working at home, working in the office, athletics sports viewing, errand running, and going out with friends. It makes me realise that whilst I can do capsules I actually like a few more bold items, and I like to add one per outfit. But many of these don't really go together...here my bright pink jacket, my red leather jacket, bright pink sneakers and patterned soft pants are statement items but none really go together. Today the mesh sweatshirt and pink sneakers are both bold but everything else is very basic.

I will need some luck moving forward!!!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Wow, Sterling, laundry every day, now that's dedication! Interesting that you've enjoying the repetition of items. Have you repeated whole outfits yet, or just pieces?

Carter, have a great vacation - sounds like you need a capsule inside a capsule... I've noticed something similar in that all the items that I pulled out to be part of the clothes for this month are smart casual and I'm feeling the urge for some items that are more casual/weekend. I think I overestimated how many days per week I really need to be pulled together. It's like Suz's thread today - I mean, I could wear a skirt and jacket to work at home all day on the computer, but it's not as comfy and sometimes I just want to wear a tshirt, jeans and sneakers, especially if I'm on deadline or not feeling great.

Kiwigal, you're doing great - I think that the second week will be where the rubber meets the road for most of us.

Friday evening I changed shoes to my black loafers and added the floral jacket, for more warmth to go to a movie. No new items. To be completely honest, I'm still in my pjs today. I'm feeling a tad under the weather and I don't have to be anywhere, so I'm vegging on the couch watching hockey and browsing YLF. We'll see if I end up actually getting dressed today!

Anonymous

Hi Kiwigal. I think you are doing great too. I have managed to keep my numbers down this week because I've been on vacation and haven't had any real plans. When I return to work on Monday I expect the challenge to kick into high gear because I won't want to repeat outfits. My goal is to keep the bottoms very limited and change tops/toppers as needed.

Hey Laura. This week I have repeated entire outfits. The same exact outfit. I never thought it would be something I could do, but I have been feeling really lazy and the less thought, the better. Feel better.

Anonymous

Day 7 (April 5): Gap Super Skinny Khakis in Stone, white tee shirt, blush ballet slippers, pink scarf, no belt (added in 1 new item). Total is 12.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I actually did end up putting on clothes for a few hours yesterday, which is what I was also wearing earlier today, until I spilled lunch on myself, sigh:
Saturday/Sunday: blue/white tile print knit dress, blue boyfriend cardigan (two new items)
Sunday afternoon: distressed bf jeans, blue colorblock sweater (two new items)

By day:

Day 1- violet knit tee, {GB gray/black full skirt}, (leggings), black ankle boots = 2 new items, 1 GB
2 - chambray shirt, black floral knit skirt, black plain loafers = 3 new items
3 - blush sweater, light gray jeans, white Birks = 3 new items

4 - magenta knit top, indigo skinny jeans, b/w print flats, b/w floral jacket - 4 new items

5 - blush top, white jeans, white Birks - 2 new items

6 - blue/white tile print knit dress, blue boyfriend cardigan = 2 new items
7 - distressed bf jeans, blue colorblock sweater = 2 new items

By item:
tops: violet tee, chambray shirt, magenta tee, blush top = 4 items

jackets/sweaters: blush sweater, b/w floral jacket, blue bf cardigan, blue colorblock sweater = 4 items

dresses: blue/white tile knit dress = 1 item
bottoms: {GB black/gray skirt}, black floral skirt, light gray jeans, indigo skinny jeans, white jeans, distressed bf jeans = 5 items (+ 1 GB)
shoes: black ankle boots, black loafers, white birks, b/w print flats = 4 items
total = 18 items (+ 1 GB)

I've got all my capsule items hanging in one area of my closet. I went through and put red rubber bands on the hangers of the ones I've already worn, to remind me to try to use those ones first. Since I've managed to wear 18 items in only one week, I might be in trouble here. Let the remixing begin!

carter

Veteran

I'm still at 9 items since today was a repeat of day 2. However, I haven't finished my week yet, so we'll see where I end up.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Pictures, at long last. Week 1, in order, days 1-7.

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Anonymous

PICTURES!!! I think the tops do go well with the bottoms, but YOU have to think so. My favorite is number 4. I also really like numbers 3and 5.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

4 was probably my favorite too (although my hair in that pic, wth!). 2 was probably my least favorite, it felt very frumpy.

Anonymous

I have worn proportions similar to number 2 in the past. I felt frumpy too.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I think the flat loafers made it even frumpier. Pointy toe ballet flats would have worked better, maybe, but would have been less remix able with the rest of the 30x30.

I'm starting to wonder why I ever bought that skirt, actually. The only thing it seems to look decent with is a plain tee in a shorter length, but 75% of the time if I'm casual enough to wear a plain tee, I'll just wear jeans.