April 30x30 - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing

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April 30x30

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I've been wanting to do something to keep me entertained with my clothes without buying more stuff, and so I've decided to do a 30x30 challenge for April (inspired by the one that will be happening on the Reddit female fashion advice community). I'm not going to be too doctrinaire about it, but I'm starting with two structures to get me going:

Bridgette Raes' recent post about a spring capsule wardrobe for business casual: [3 tops, 1 pair pants, 1 skirt, 1 blazer, 1 cardigan, 1 dress, plus shoes & accessories]

the spring fifteen for thirty capsule/outfits on the Cabi blog
[6 tops, 2 jackets, 2 cardigans, 3 pairs pants, 2 skirts]

I've picked out a few pieces to start with in a general color scheme, and will pick the rest as I go, including shoes and basic jeans. If I go over 30 pieces, and I likely will given past attempts, that's OK - I just want to see how much is enough variety for me, and enough repetition.

If anyone else wants to join in on something similar, that would be awesome.

Oh yeah, also meant to mention that I'll probably start tomorrow with the start of the work week, rather than waiting until Wednesday.

Dressing

25 replies

Latest reply was from annabelle

Anonymous

So 30 pieces for 30 days? I'm in.

Sal

Veteran

So you include shoes and handbags but not scarves or jewellery or gym gear?
It will be school holidays here so a very casual capsule might be in order for me!! Will give it some thought!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I personally am going to count clothes and shoes, but not any kind of accessories, and obviously not count undergarments, gym wear, PJs, etc. Every group seems to have slightly different rules but those are the ones I'm going with.

Staysfit

Veteran

Do you count outdoor gear, like coats? If that's the case, I'm not sure how I could manage it with our crazy weather!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

No, I wouldn't count anything that's just outerwear that you wouldn't wear indoors. Just the basic building blocks of an outfit.

merwoman

Veteran

This sounds like a great diversion Laura. Good luck with the challenge - and stay strong!

Sal

Veteran

I will give it a go too...and take as many pics as I can.

It is still warmish here but at the end of April it will be cooling down significantly. I have never really tracked what I wear but it is a chance to do this.

I also will start today although I am wearing my least favourite jeans. It is a chance to put them through their paces in April I guess!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Awesome, kiwigal! Glad you're joining in. April is one of those months that's pretty changeable weather wise in both hemispheres, so it's gonna be challenging for sure.

carter

Veteran

I'm in! I'll start on the 1st. Great idea, Laura!

Windchime

Veteran

Sounds like a neat challenge and a good idea. I probably won't do it myself--I already have my early spring capsules in place, and they contain more than 30 items--but I'll be interested to read about your experience. These kinds of challenges are wonderful to keep things interesting and to spark creativity.

I took a look at Bridgette Rae's capsule and really like how she uses accessories to change the look and feel of an outfit.

anne

Veteran

I'm thinking of doing it in reverse - i e just wearing my usual stuff but keeping count and seeing what number I come up with! So you're including loungewear?

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

Laura, that is such fun. I did something similar this fall when I packed up at least half of my wardrobe because of our move, and I learned quite a lot from it. But Anne gave me an idea: I have been counting my wears for some time now. Today I checked how many pieces I wear during a month, including shoes, belts and scarves, and the number is consistently between 50 and 60 every month. Interesting!

Summer

Veteran

Good luck with the challenge, Laura. I think these challenges can often lead to valuable insights. I think you're right to include other items if they are definitely needed - to finish a particular outfit, for example. Your wardrobe is there to work for you, after all.

I will be joining you by default, since my own wardrobe is always very small!

Anonymous

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

amiable

Veteran

Thanks for the links - it sounds like fun. I may join in, even though I'm going shopping April 2nd, so probably won't choose my 30 items until after that

AM

Veteran

Good luck on your challenge! Sounds like a nice way to shake things up. And it looks like you are inspiring others.

kellygirl

Veteran

I find the thought of picking 30 items too overwhelming for my little brain right now but I would love to try this at some point. I'm down to one dog right now--so I might change my mind Can't wait to see your posts!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

So glad this has caught on with so many, whether you are joining in or just cheering us along. On FFA, many of the participants have made their 30 selections and posted their items today - browse from the first link in my first post and you can find it. I myself pulled out some items I want to include but I'm allowing myself to change my mind anytime before I wear something.

lngunn, that is interesting - part of the reason I want to try this is that I've utterly failed at 30x30s before. Is it just that I need the number higher, or what? I haven't kept track enough to know exactly how many items I wear in the average month.

I haven't started that well. I really dislike the outfit I'm wearing today; I had a Gwynnie Bee skirt I needed to wear before sending back, which ended up requiring a certain type of top, and also leggings, which thus meant ankle boots, none of which I had planned to include in the capsule. Sigh!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I've been counting, like Ingunn, and I discovered that I consistently wear about what she wears for items. 30 wouldn't be enough for me. But she and I live in a climate where layering is often necessary for warmth. And even not counting outerwear, we need to wear a lot of pieces just to manage (at least in winter). I think in summer I wear fewer pieces and could contemplate 30 for 30. But I wouldn't really want to, since my summer is essentially 60-75 days, and I have about 65 summer wardrobe items. Which makes it 30 for 30 in fact -- it's just that I get the full range to choose from during the summer months, and like that option.

Sal

Veteran

Day two here. I will try and post some outfits and photograph.
So far

Day One: Black Popover shirt, blue coated straight jeans.
Day Two: Cream sculpted tee, Mid blue skinny jeans.
Both days: Tan peeptoe boots, Tan handbag.

I think it will be good for picking my versatile items, but I do like to keep a variety of wildcards that I don't wear frequently but wear to mix things up maybe twice or three times a season. I will try and mix one or two of these in anyway just for fun.

anne

Veteran

Heavens there's no way I am going to keep to 30 items (not that I'm trying to).
I'll leave aside the jumper I put on for a bit in the night when I got up because I couldn't sleep...

Monday

Grey dress

Black l/s tee (dotti)

Pink cardi

Black booties

Baggy pants (for lounging, when I got home)

New bag

Tuesday

Suit jacket

Picture skirt

Pink drapy top

Red shoes

10 items in 2 days!!!

Anonymous

Cheering you on from the sidelines. April can run from very cold and snow to very hot, even in the same day or week. There is no way to attempt it with just 30 clothing items going from casual to dressy in such fickle climate. It is the time when my closet is most stuffed, so I am hoping to deal with that by making some versatile capsules.

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

Laura, I'm with Suz. While I know I can manage very well with fewer pieces, I prefer to have all of it available. I have a short summer, too, and need to make the most of it:) So, a 50-60 pieces wardrobe is good for my needs, but that includes everything but gear, underwear and sleepwear.

But - I highly recommend playing with a smaller part of your wardrobe if you are interested in learning more about what you like (as you've stated already), and perhaps stretch your styling abilities a bit. It is great fun.

Anonymous

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

Shall we start a new thread?

annabelle

Veteran

I just want to thank you, Laura, and everyone who has participated in the 30 x 30 Spring edition. I didn't think to participate, but I've been reading the archive of threads, and I am learning so much from you guys' and the reddit posts of their chosen 30 items. Thank you for sharing. I've been inspired!