Last week I posted that I’ve rearranged my closet according to my style moniker: Gritty Pretty Bold. I divided my closet into three different sections, one for each word in the moniker, and placed each item in my wardrobe in the section I felt it fit into. My hope is that having such clear divisions will help me incorporate all of my moniker adjectives into each of my outfits-I’m trying to pull something from each category as I dress. I often feel good about the pretty and bold aspects of my outfits, but feel like I’m lacking the gritty element.

A week into the experiment, I am not much better at including gritty in my daily look, but I’ve gained some good insight into why. Seeing my “gritty” clothing items together made me realize that most of them actually read as pretty neutral/basic. A khaki skirt, olive pants, black jeans- items like these definitely aren’t pretty or bold, but they also don’t say “gritty” very loudly.

The strongest gritty pieces in my wardrobe are accessories- I have some great rings, watches and bracelets that suit my gritty style well. However, a lot of days I don’t quite muster the energy to wear those statement pieces. They languish in my drawer unworn, while I feel like I’m missing a major part of my style statement. Lose/lose situation!

I see a couple ways to improve. One is to wear the gorgeous gritty accessories I already own!! An absolutely free way to increase my satisfaction with my look and get better use out of my wardrobe.

Another is to make sure any new gritty clothing items I buy make a stronger statement. I’m planning to buy a new pair of sandals for the summer, and I am going to be extra careful that they read loud and clear as gritty.

Here are some outfits from the week. In the first, I’ve got pretty (polka dots, floaty skirt) and bold (graphic cardigan, bright bag, pattern mixing) but the shoes I think of as gritty are almost invisible in the outfit.

The second and third are a little better. The graphic blouse is soft and flowy and the zippers on the pants and shoes add some grit. Not particularly bold, though. The next outfit has pattern mix with camo pants and plaid shirt, pretty blue cardigan, and gritty zippers on the jeans and shoes and the leather bracelet. My wrist tattoo adds a little grit to every outfit.

The next two are only pretty, although the blue and coral sandals are a little bold I think? Today’s outfit was probably the grittiest- plaid, black, zippers and a leather bracelet.

Looking forward to your comments!