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My January 30x30, ETA Finds for majority of items

Toban

Veteran

ETA: Finds for most items added, as well as Days 4-6 are towards the bottom of the thread.

Overarching goal is to make it through January with a very small wardrobe (weight loss transition period) without buying new clothes. My current wardrobe is ~24 pieces that fit, 8 pairs of shoes that are in rotation for winter (5 booties, 3 pumps). Without a doubt, I will be repeating outfits over the 30 days, but my main aim is to change up an accessory (scarf or necklace) or shoes and to maximize variety within my current wardrobe, especially for in office days (4 days per week). Work is mostly business casual and I will wear dark jeans if the rest of the outfit is elevated. I have no big meetings that require more formal outfits this month, but I do currently have a couple outfits that could be dressed up. I will list my 30ish pieces as I go, updating every few days in this post. I am not counting scarves, jewelry or outerwear.

Days 1-3 have been very cold and I have relied heavily on my jeans.

Day 1 (weekend 'uniform')

1. Straight dark jeans, cuffed to just overlap boots (Talbots)

2. Teal cowl neck tunic (JJill)

3. Chelsea matte burgundy boots (Clarks UK)

Day 2 (received lots of compliments as it showed off my slimmer self)

4. Boot cut dark jeans (JJill)

5. Purple/black V-neck top, body skimming, untucked, hip length (Macys)

6. Black asymmetric cardigan (?)

7. Black dressy 3.5" booties (Clarks USA)

X Purple pendant necklace

Day 3 (first wearing of a dress over jeans -- too cold to wear a dress otherwise)

1. Straight dark jeans (repeat from Day 1)

8. Navy COS boiled wool dress

9. Burgundy suede black heel booties

X Burgundy fringe scarf

ETA: Days 4-5 are included in posts below.

33 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

Katerina

Veteran

Hi Toban! You have a very good and clear goal with this challenge - I like your strategy. You can achieve a lot with relatively small means, such as changing a scarf or a necklace. The outfits for the first three days sound excellent. Looking forward to your next update.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You can use your entire wardrobe for this challenge!

Joy

Veteran

Your outfits sound lovely. You seem to have a burgundy, black and dark denim theme going, punched up with teal and purple, which are nearly denim and burgundy. Congratulations on the weight loss. You are wise to take your time with rebuilding a wardrobe and this challenge is perfect for seeing where you are and what you may need.

Toban

Veteran

Thanks everyone! Yes, I am working from my entire wardrobe and hope to learn how to maximize it. It’s interesting that this week I’ve been gravitating to some colors that are not in my primary color capsule, but in my secondary color schemes. Most of my wardrobe is burgundy, navy/dark denim, rust, and cream, but I do have a few toppers in teal and purple that I could not resist. The black is remnants from my earlier wardrobe, but is not the direction that I plan to go in the future. I can only wear it in small doses. I think teal and purple might be additional color capsules that I would like my spring/summer wardrobe to include. I included aqua and teal in my previous summer wardrobe and enjoyed them a lot.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sounds like a well-thought out plan so far!

Lynn

Veteran

These all sound lovely. Congrats on the weight loss.

Anonymous

Your first few days are definitely winners in the style category. Using jeans as your foundation is an excellent plan until you decide to buy a few additional pieces.

Do you think are reaching for the purple to offset Winter Doldrums? My color schemes fall to pieces during the Winter and all rules are off.

Toban

Veteran

Sterling, I think I grabbed the purple top because it has 3/4 sleeves so I could take the cardigan off if the office was hot, but mostly because the fit of it is exceptionally flattering. I almost didn’t buy it because of the black in the print, and because it doesn’t play well with any of my bottoms except my jeans. I don’t plan on reintroducing black bottoms. But the purple flatters my green eyes and I feel tall and slim in the outfit and it was on sale, so I broke my color capsule rules for it. So, I guess my lesson learned in this one is that for me it’s okay to have the occasional piece that doesn’t mix and match well when the emotional value is high. My husband LOVED Day 2’s look. Also, all through my weight loss I’ve ensured that I have 1-2 pairs of perfectly fitting jeans, though I’ve relied more on skirts and dresses which fit well for longer periods of time. Amazing how great fitting jeans are confidence boosters.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Those sound like great outfits. I'm surprised at the jeans throughout your weight loss. That's the one item I've avoided during this excursion into being overweight. I am so impressed at your continued progress!

These sound like great outfits.I bet it felt great to wear the body-skimming top. Can you give us a find for the boiled wool dress?

I'm not sure why you don't post photos--there are many reasons people don't--but if it was a decision made because of body image concerns, I hope you feel confidant enough to do so soon, perhaps without your face.

rachylou

Veteran

I love that you’re doing dresses over jeans. A cool look and extends the possibilities. Smart.

Anonymous

Toban -- how are you ensuring that you have one-two pairs of perfectly fitting jeans through your weight loss journey? Do you have a brand that fits you and you just downsize? Do you thrift? Do you bite the bullet and pay for premium jeans knowing how important they are to self esteem.

I had a friend that lost a substantial amount of weight. She bought all of her transition clothes at the Good Will. It took patience, but she too always had a few perfectly fitting pieces that she wore on repeat until she needed to downsize another time. She has since stabilized her weight loss, but her shopping habits have not changed because she got really good at thrift shopping and found she liked it.

Toban

Veteran

Rachylou, I would never have thought to put a dress over jeans without YLF and it was my first time doing so. I did wear it as a column of color, bookended with burgundy scarf and boots to add interest. I quite like it and will wear it again.

FashIntern, Thanks for asking these questions. It comes down to a philosophy that I learned from my mom and from What Not To Wear, from Angie, and on the forum. That is, whatever your body shape and size, you can look amazing. You don't have to wait until you're the perfect weight. Learning the features to play up/deemphasize, your own personal rules on silhouettes and colors, etc... are crucial to that. And when you wear the right clothes for you, you will look amazing whatever your shape. I dressed well at all my various lifelong weight fluctuations and have (almost) always felt good about myself regardless of weight. As a result, I knew it was important to how I felt about myself to have good fitting clothes at all sizes during this transition. I chose to use a perfectly fitting jean as a measure of my weight loss progress and, as mentioned above, because it is a wonderful confidence builder (jeans with a bit of tummy control and stretch are amazing). The weight loss is occurring because I undertook a major nutritional change to avoid diabetes, which runs in my family, so I decided to eat as if I'm diabetic before I ended up diabetic and to increase my exercise. I don't include photos because, at this time, I do not feel that it is essential for my personal style journey. We all need something different from this forum. At this time I am focused on learning about new ways to put things together, new color combinations, and wardrobe building. I "know" emotionally when something works or looks good (and it's okay if I'm wrong) and have some good friends and co-workers to discuss outfits in real 3D life, so at this time I have opted out of WIW photos. I am considering, however, building a Finds collection when I rebuild my spring/summer wardrobe. If my needs change, I may post WIW in the future.

The weblink for the dress is: https://www.cosstores.com/us/W.....c-15133331

Anonymous

Your post above is so well presented and inspiring. I applaud all of the life choices you made.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks for the link, thorough response, and demonstration of a healthy attitude! Personally, I find control top anything too uncomfortable to wear, but now I understand your thinking. I look forward to more of your posts.

Toban

Veteran

Sterling, regarding jeans, I had fewer options at my heavier weights because I needed the petite rise and length, so I primarily bought from Talbots (straight leg) and JJill ('barely bootcut' and weekender), which carries higher sizes for petites. I find these jeans very flattering and super comfy, so on my weight loss journey I would buy a pair in the next size down whenever they came on sale and wait until they fit. My weight loss has been proportional, so this strategy has worked so far. However, my lower weight has opened up many more clothing options, especially from brands that only carry petite sizes up to size 10 or 12. I've dropped from a size 16 to size 10 (56 lbs lost) in pants in the last 9 months! I'm looking forward to exploring new brands and options this spring. I do not enjoy thrifting and purchase only new clothes. I am fortunate that I could create room in my budget for new clothes -- I prioritize good quality over price and keep my wardrobe size small during the transition. My husband has concurrently lost 30 lbs and has had to replace most of his winter clothes and will need a new wardrobe in the spring. We've decided to reduce our personal travel this year to make budgetary room for wardrobe rebuilding. We're fortunate that we have the financial flexibility to do this.

I appreciate this 30x30 challenge as it shows how doable it is to have a small wardrobe and still look great!

Toban

Veteran

Day 4, first non-jean day this week.

7. Black dressy 3.5" booties (Clarks USA), repeat from Day 2
10. Burgundy rose ankle pants (WHBM)
11. Burgundy shell (Talbots)
12. Burgundy waterfall cardigan (WHBM)
X Multi strand necklace with beads in a variety of colors. The strands are super thin and almost disappear, highlighting the small beads.

I recall making a comment on another thread about how I don't wear columns of color, but looking back on what I've worn I realize that I was very wrong. I actually wear it frequently and I enjoy it. I think I was defining a column of color as a more matchy/matchy look. When I wear a column of color, it has to have low contrast that incorporates tonal variation and/or textural variety, not matching top to bottom, and almost always there's another medium to low contrast color included. Another lesson learned in documenting my wardrobe!
- Day 1's teal and dark denim are almost a column of color, with low contrast between the tonal/indigo colors, and textural differences between the slub tunic and denim
- Day 2's, while it would not be considered a column of color, it was low contrast and had textural variation
- Day 3's navy dress with dark denim would absolutely be a column of color, but the textures are very different, the "dress top" had lots of volume, and I bookended with medium contrast Burgundy suede booties and a Burgundy scarf with shine and fringe to add interest
- Day 4's was also a column of color, but the three burgundies were a tonal, not exact match, and there was low contrast pattern in the pants, and asymmetric draping in the top.

Toban

Veteran

Day 5, telework and date night cooking class with my husband. Theme is Date Night in Paris, and includes steak and pommes frites, pear and hazelnut salad, and chocolate mousse.

4. Boot cut dark jeans (JJill)
13. Teal cashmere sweater with rolled scoop necklace (Talbots)
14. Bronze booties (Marmi)
X Raven necklace from Iceland (https://aurum.is/jewellery-col.....lone-en-3/)

"Team Bronze" today.

I chose this outfit because my husband loves it, it's comfortable, warm, and cozy, and is elevated enough for a special, but casual evening out. The booties are somewhat a questionable choice since I'll be on my feet for a couple hours and the heels are 3" high, but they are a comfortable block heel.

Anonymous

Hi Toban. Congratulations to you and your husband. I very much like your strategy to buy the next size down in a brand that you are familiar with and comfortable wearing. Talbots and JJill have great products and they do have frequent sales so that helps with the transition. I commend you for finding a strategy to supports your journey. I only mentioned thrifted clothes because I have had friends that used that strategy and it did work for them. I hope I am part of your journey as you experiment with new brands and options this coming Spring.

The comment you made on Day 4 regarding "not wearing columns of color" interested me because I have said the exact same thing and yet I seem to be dressing in columns of color during this Challenge. And yes I am trying hard to incorporate tonal variation and/or textural variety into each outfit. I'll be paying attention to the my dressing style with that in mind. Thank you.

Bonnie

Veteran

You have a well thought out plan and it should work well for this transitioning period of your life.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Toban, could you provide some type of visual of your outfits?

Toban

Veteran

3 of the 4 booties. I don't have the black 3.5" booties in finds yet.

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Toban

Veteran

Day 6, brunch, shopping

3. Chelsea matte burgundy boots (Clarks UK)
4. Boot cut dark jeans (JJill)
15. COS rust jersey top
X Rust infinity scarf

Finds attached for everyone but the scarf.

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Smooth-Fit barely boot-cut jeans

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Top Pick

2

Stretch jersey top with seam detail

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2

Toban

Veteran

Day 4's Burgundy outfit, excluding black booties.

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White House Black Market

Petite Waterfall Midi Cover-Up

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Top Pick

3

Scallop-Trim Tank

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Top Pick

1

White House Black Market

Petite Rose-Print Jacquard Slim Ankle Pants

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Top Pick

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Toban

Veteran

Some other items from this week, including the COS dress, but excluding the above mentioned items, and a few items that I haven't made custom finds for yet (black cardigan, Burgundy scarf, teal cashmere sweater).

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Boiled wool jumper dress

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Top Pick

3

Denim Straight Leg - Empire Blue Wash

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7

pima cowl-neck tunic

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2

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks for posting finds—it helps.

Anonymous

Love those suede burgundy booties.
The Talbots jeans look like the perfect straight leg Jean.

Toban

Veteran

Angie, FashIntern, I agree that photos help, but I participate in YLF almost exclusively on my iPad or iPhone, so adding Finds had to wait until I had time on my home computer. Unless there's a way to add Finds on my iPad that I am unaware of?

Toban

Veteran

Smittie, I've been super impressed by the Talbots jeans. Just the right amount of stretch, they don't bag out, a nice consistent dark wash, the right length for me, and most importantly a great fit.

Mainelady

Veteran

Congratulations on your weight loss and a well thought out plan. I appreciate the visuals. You have many great pieces to work with. I have good luck with the Talbots jeans also. Have you tried the jeggings? I find the fit to be excellent and have them in luxe black and burgundy. They are seeing frequent rotation in my outfits,

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