I learned a lot during this challenge. First, I always imagined myself to be a minimalist. And I still think I am to some extent, but not as much as I thought.
My 30 x 32 capsule consisted of really basic, utilitarian pieces that matched everything else. My color palette was confined to black, white, grey, with the occasional color thrown in. It is odd, but I wore the brightly colored pieces minimally. I guess I thought people would notice frequent repeats of the same red blouse.
I kept a photo log of outfits worn to remind me what pieces were in the capsule. I rated each outfit in terms of event-appropriateness, comfort, and style.
My comfort level for our 30 x 30 challenge averaged around 9 or 10. Yay. That was great, but very few outfits were rated as stylish. Most of them were utilitarian (aka meh). I sacrificed style and interest to achieve the goal. As the challenge wore one, I got really lazy and reached for the same things over and over again. I am certain my CPW for the grey ponte pants has to be in the pennies.
The second thing this challenge taught me is that my spring/summer style is really boring. It all comes down to a lack of interesting tops and the absence of a third piece.
I read a post today about bloggers that develop capsules of 12, 33, or 37 pieces and wear them for three months time. The third thing I learned is that I could not live with such a restricted capsule for three full months. I love variety. I love color. Some days as I reached past my red floral skirt for my grey ponte or black dress pants, my heart questioned "why?"
The remaining four days of the challenge have me either in meetings or the field. I have event-appropriate clothes for the next four days, but I can hardly wait to revisit other pieces in my closet.
Did this challenge keep me from shopping? I bought two pairs of new shoes. I wore one pair during the challenge and will wear the second pair on May 1st.
