January no-repeat challenge, week 1: so far, so good

A recap of outfits from the past week:

Monday (1): mid-wash skinny jeans, polar bear tee, gray long cardi. Simple and comfortable to start out the new year. I admit that this card is no longer my favorite — it’s not as structured as I would prefer these days. And, I have it in two colors (speaking of pitfalls of duplication.)

Tuesday (2-4): charcoal velvet trousers, rose jacquard vest (I’m wearing a heattech long sleeve underneath for warmth), black cardi, black patent tassel loafers. I liked this outfit a lot better once I put on outside shoes. Something about the loafers helped the pants stand up a bit straighter, and I liked that the socks were more visible — a subtle detail, but I think the peek of the socks lent the outfit an element of juxtaposition that I felt was missing before.

Wednesday (5): navy velvet straight-leg jeans, blue/black/white Nordic pullover, black stompy boots.

Thursday (6-7): black ponte leggings, pale blue tunic, burgundy/fuchsia cardi. (I am having trouble capturing the colors of this outfit, even in the close-up photo, but the top really is an icy shade of blue.) I wore this with my cognac riding boots.

Friday (8): teal velvet skinnies, light blue pullover, also added cognac riding boots for outdoors. I love the color scheme of this outfit and the color and texture of the sweater, but the cut is not my best (dropped shoulders, v-neck, weird stuff going on at the hips).

Saturday (9): My version of the denim blue, pink, lilac, and bone outfit from Angie’s Friday post. Mid-wash boyfriend jeans, lilac turtleneck, pale pink puffer vest, white/bone boots, pink floral scarf in my hair and pink pearl/stone drop earrings. My eye is still getting used to the white boots, to be honest. And speaking of being honest, time to admit that these jeans are really too big for me now.

Sunday (10): gray skinny/legging jeans, plum tunic sweater. Hard to see in the photo but I’m wearing gray and aqua Nordic patterned socks, and abalone jewelry (ring and earrings). Did not go outside once dressed for the day (I went swimming this morning, but wore gym kit to and from the pool) so the version with inside shoes is the final version!

A few quick observations from week 1 of my challenge:

I did not have any trouble making outfits or avoiding wearing the same item twice in one week. We’ll see if it gets harder as the challenge goes on.
I felt comfortable and appropriately dressed for my activities each day. Are these groundbreaking or super striking outfits? No, but I do feel that I am somewhere in the vicinity of expressing my style while dressing for my REAL life.
The above is a point in favor of the current size and composition of my wardrobe. However, my wardrobe is not perfectly curated — there are still pieces that are suboptimal for whatever reason.
I really enjoyed leaning into fair isle socks as a signature…I mean they kind of already were but I am really running with it here!
Adding jewelry/accessories was a “bonus points” challenge but I managed this every day and am realizing that I really enjoy adding a piece of jewelry or two to finish my outfits. My jewelry is not particularly trendy, flashy, or valuable for the most part but it has a HIGH happiness factor for me.
I like to plan outfits ahead, but not that much ahead. In the past I have always imagined that the key to dressing better was planning a week’s worth of outfits ahead of time. I’ve tried and failed so many times! I just could not stick to a routine, and it always seemed hard to plan lots of outfits at once…too many moving parts, or something. This week, I found myself planning *one* day ahead, and I really liked having “what should I wear tomorrow” as a little puzzle to noodle on in the back of my mind. I also really liked already knowing what I was going to wear when I woke up in the morning! On Friday, I read Angie’s post about colorful outfits and realized that I could do a version of the last outfit formula. But I did not want to wear it on Friday, I wanted to wear the outfit I had already planned for the day! I am not a mood dresser, I guess. So I wore it Saturday instead, quite happily.

OK, that’s it for now! I am looking forward to finding out what Week 2 brings, and am grateful for any thoughts or suggestions you care to share.

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3 months ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Yay! Congrats on a successful week! I love that you have already identified two signatures (the Fair Isle socks and the special bits of jewellery added to outfits.) It sounds like you are finding extra pleasure in the details, which is a wonderful bonus of this challenge and feels especially appropriate on those WFH days when comfort is so important yet at the same time you want to feel you are expressing your style in some way.

I feel as if you are really making great use of the winter motifs, the sweaters, and the cozy items here in mid-winter.

I did the challenge, too and felt exactly the same way -- it was really fun to plan my outfit the night before! I usually don't plan but go by mood in the morning but this was better. I got the pleasure of anticipation as well as the pleasure of wearing. I did change my mind a few times but that was based on weather and a change of activities more than anything, and I still plan to wear those outfits.

A great first week!

Your signature socks with the loafers are cute! You got me thinking that I should coordinate my fun socks with specific shoes.

Star

Now I want fair isle socks for my loafers!

Bijou

A spectacular start - details such as the coordinating Fair Isle socks and interesting jewellery pack a stylish punch, adding a touch of whimsy which is signature to your style. I love that the polar bear kicked off the challenge. Those teal velvet pants are beautiful and fit you perfectly.

kkards

I love the way that you use texture. You really lean into making texture an important and key aspect of your outfits!

Like you, I find some outfits kinda flat without “outdoor” shoes. Over time, I’ve just found that on my WFH days there are just some pants (and by extension, outfits) that I don’t wear because I felt they need shoes to complete them. It was eye opening and really helped me to realize this and now I plan and dress accordingly.

Irina

Nice! My favorite is #5.
I probably missed the beginning there you talked about this challenge last year. Are these outfits for WFH and daily chores? Do you have online meetings with a camera on?
Asking for a friend who exclusively wears sweatpants inside the house.

Dee

These are some nice WFH combos, especially loving the fair isle elements.

cat2

What a great challenge. I am with you on a bit of jewelry making me feel pulled together, I have been putting a couple of pieces in a dish on my dresser to remind me to wear them.

ChristelJ

That polar bear top is adorable!
I like your formula of cozy elements such as the cardis and socks, combined with the jewelry and easy, non tucked tops. You keep it interesting while remaining unfussy, which speaks to me. Intrigued by your ability to plan outfits. I am such a mood dresser it seems like the planning approach is worlds apart but I see how it could be creative and useful.

Roberta

Fair Isle socks with shiny loafers are the best! I just got a pair of white loafers and I must dig out my patterned socks.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Looking fab, SarahD8!

#6 and #9 are my faves! Queen Fair Isle KNOWS how to wear those socks with panache, and you had me with the white boots

Is it worth altering the jeans that are too big?

SarahD8

Suz, thanks so much! I am so glad to be doing this challenge with you!

AJ and Star and Roberta, staying tuned for your sock experiments!

Bijou thank you for appreciating the polar bear, he really did set a good tone for the start of the challenge, didn't he?

kkards, thank you! I do appreciate texture, especially in the winter -- adds more warmth. I think I am using texture rather unconsciously but will try to ponder it more going forward. Interesting about your non-WFH pants. I have not noticed these feeling dumpy in at-home outfits before, but I'll think more about this. It might be the combination of items in this particular outfit...or the pants might just need a trip through the wash to smarten up!

Thanks Irina! Oops, sorry, the challenge intro post is here. Yes, these are outfits for WFH and daily errands (grocery store, school run, and the like). I occasionally have online meetings on camera -- I had one last week, and at least one this week. Next week I'll have an in-person meeting. I'm a freelance journalist, so most of my meetings are with sources (who mostly tend to dress quite casually) -- rather than the same group of colleagues/bosses over time.

Thank you Dee!

Cat2 that is a great idea to highlight a few pieces of jewelry in a dish for a reminder and easy access. That sounds super charming, I might try it!

ChristelJ my sense that I am NOT a mood dresser was reaffirmed this morning when I had two potential outfits in mind and asked myself, "which one do I feel like wearing today?" and answered, "how the heck should I know???" lol. Horses for courses!

Angie, thank you! I appreciate your encouragement about the white boots. Good thought re altering the jeans -- although the main problem is that they are too wide in the leg, I get this odd little bump at the hip that then runs down the outside of the leg, hard to describe but I think it would be a tough alteration. Probably easier to just scare up the next size down on Ebay? (They're by Pilcro, so by no means an obscure brand...)

Jaime

Great job! And you have already gleaned some excellent insights. I think part of what is so useful about this exercise is you are being so thoughtful about what is working for you. Love the fair isle motif throughout. (I am working on my coat challenge and hope it will amp up a bit when the temperatures go down a bit next week.)

Thanks Jaime! So far I feel like I'm doing really well with my "curiosity, not self-improvement" approach and it's paying dividends. I am looking forward to your coats, not that I am wishing you chilly weather or anything!

Cardiff girl

What l find really interesting is that you have only done a week and already it’s given some valuable insights as well as encouraging you to shop your closet.You are doing a great job ,l look forward to seeing what happens over the weeks that you do this challenge.

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