Determining “enough” & wardrobe joy- my 30 x 30 challenge

I signed up for the 30 x 30 challenge without a clear goal at the time. Then La Belle Demimondaine wrote her wardrobe goals of “streamlined, joyful, and with a purpose” and these
really resonated with me.

Streamlined because I have become increasingly interested in minimalism and sustainability. I want to use this challenge to help define what is “enough” for me -for how I want to dress, how many options I am satisfied with, and my lifestyle needs.

With purpose– I want to be more thoughtful about my wardrobe instead of just buying what fits and is serviceable. I would like to develop a structure for my wardrobe. But first I need to figure out what I really want to wear which brings me to .....

Joyful- that was the kicker. I have been so focused on thinking about wardrobe structure that I haven’t really focused on how I feel both emotionally and physically in my clothes. So I am going to track my outfits each day focusing specifically on those issues.

As far as process goes- I am going to build as I go up to 30 items then live with that number for several weeks.

Included will be – all clothing including at home wear (a large component of my wardrobe now) & shoes. I included what I wore for Christmas events, as those items will need to be part of my winter wardrobe.

Excluded will be- accessories, work out wear, and outerwear (including snow boots).

I plan to repeat this process in spring, summer, and fall to really define my year-round needs.

So far I have: (14 items)

- Pants: Medium dark jeans & red jeans (worn @ Christmas), black ponte pant (worn @ Christmas) + 2 yoga pants (1 in tech fabric, the other cotton lycra), 1 pair of heavy weight leggings (it was
COLD and snowy)

- Tops for home/errands: Black/Grey/Red flannel
shirt, tie-dyed cotton tunic, tunic length black/white speckled sweatshirt

- Tops worn @ Christmas: red sweater, black/white dot sweater

- Shoes: Born booties, Blondo suede booties, (dressier), Clark’s high top sneakers,

Outerwear (not counted in 30): Black down coat (both light and heavy weight), Sorel snow boots

What I have learned so far:

- For at home wear- I will always reach for yoga pants over jeans & I much prefer cotton/lycra over tech fabrics for the yoga pants.

- I prefer slimmer cut pants with longer length tops. (The ponte pants and 1 pair of yoga pants are too wide)

- I would like a basic bracelet to wear with my watch everyday to elevate my outfits.

- I felt OK but not great in my Christmas outfits. These were casual events but I would like to have some more polished options.

6 years ago

Liz A.

Veteran

Hi Lynn. I have a question about your capsule. You stated that you included red jeans, because you wore them at Christmas, but are you wearing red jeans on a regular basis? If not, would you really need the red jeans in order to have "enough"?

Anonymous

What a great and inspirational post. I doubt very much I could have written those thoughtful words, but they are the reason I challenge myself as well.

If you have time, perhaps you could link this post to Angie's question: https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....-challenge

I am sure Angie would find your post exceptionally interesting.

Katerina

I love your rules and goals Lynn. You clearly know what you want to achieve and how you want to go about it. My own goals for the challenge are quite different from yours, but that is what makes participation so interesting.

Lynn

Thanks everyone for your replies.
Liz- Good point. I do wear the red jeans occasionally and like them. I will keep them in the 30 for now to challenge me to wear them more.

Sterling- thanks so much for your reply and for starting this challenge. I will post something in Angie's thread.

Katerina- thanks. I am enjoying your threads also.

I will update this thread every 4-5 days with my additions and thoughts about them.

Toban

Thanks for sharing your cohesive set of goals for this challenge. The streamlined, purposeful, joyful goal resonates with me, too.

Bonnie

Great post and I really liked reading about what you have learned so far.

LaPed

Thanks for your thoughts! All of this feels so relevant to me -- sounds like you and I live similarly casual lives in similar climates. I've reached a wardrobe size I'm very satisfied with, so now I'm trying to be brutally honest about needs, and not add things just for the sake of adding things. One of the greatest things about Angie's style advice is the emphasis on intuition and emotion. No matter how suitable something may seem, it has no place in your closet if it makes you unhappy.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES. Your wardrobe items should spark joy - as La Ped stated - I am a big proponent of listening to for feelings. Don't take the emotion out of your style.

Going forward, you might to look for items that make more of a statement to complement the basics.

Joy

You have expressed your goals so well. From earlier challenges I have learned that I need more than minimal basics to spark joy. Also consider your climate.
If you have several seasons, enough may mean more items than someone living in one climate.

rachylou

I like your word ‘serviceable’ - merely serviceable is not serviceable! That’s been a problem of mine in the past...

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I am already learning a lot with this challenge. Will post an update weekly with my updated capsule and my learnings. This is fun!

Style Fan

Great post. I look forward to your future posts.

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