The Summer 10x10 starts Friday, so I’ve picked my 10 items of clothing out to get ready to make my outfits. Here are my picks (some not pictured):
-4 tops (boho, knit tank, tie t-shirt: all thrifted, and chambray: J Crew investment)
-3 bottoms (linen pants, white midi skirt: thrifted, jean cut offs: here)
-1 dress (here, on sale for $40)
-2 pairs of shoes (converse, sandals thrifted)
No black clothes!
I tried to pick lighter colors this time around and gave myself the challenge to pick no black clothes. Black is my go-to neutral color and I’m trying to move toward tan and white in the summer.
On my agenda
My 10x10 this time consists of nothing but dissertation writing and social time. I need outfits that are appropriate for field work (I am doing qualitative research in a casual, but masculine, environment--I usually opt for muted colors and pants in that situation), but that’s my only constraint. I tried to pick fun items to remind me to go outside, downtown, and away from my laptop in general.
The other challenge of my 10x10 is that it’s so hot that all clothes seem like bad options. I picked linen and other soft, breezy items for that purpose.
That’s my 10x10 kick off--see you on Friday with the first outfit.
Happy Tuesday IAMOSsquad!✨ - I mentioned in my stories yesterday that I will push myself into participating in the #20in2020summer10x10 or #summer10x10 challenge hosted by @dressing_dawn where you choose 10 pieces and style them over a course of 10 days! - I’m keeping my word ya’ll! I missed day 1, but I’m here for day 2! For my first item I’m going with this perfect Little white dress for summer paired with a cutsie straw hat and bag for the perfect summer look! 😊 For each look I will be tagging the details in the photo as well as in the caption. BTW let me know what y’all think about this look in the comments! #iammyownstyle #IAMOS FiT Deets: Hat: @forever21 Dress: @forever21 Shoes: I purchased them from Lanatria aka @shopcaribbeancowgirl and the brand is @caperobbin ! Bag: I purchased on my trip in Ghana 🇬🇭 (at Bronx, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEl4QAlyRh/?igshid=1drgu4v4wz0nv
From July 17-29th, I participated in a special wardrobe challenge created by Lee of StyleBee called a “10x10,” and in this case, a #Summer10x10. The rules of the challenge are to wear only 10 items for 10 days, with no repeat outfits. These limitations tend to bring forth increased style creativity, mixing items you would’ve never thought to match together before. It’s fun, and it gets your fashion brain wheels turning. Also, summer is my fav season for dressing, so, easy sell!
If you do the math on those dates, you’ll count 13 days, so it was really my #Summer13x13. I knew I had a back-to-back trip planned when this season’s challenge was due to begin so I packed my suitcase accordingly. I know the temperature would vary between 65°-90°, and that I would be mostly doing “city life” activities (concerts, museums, theatre, dining out). Commonly, the 10x10 includes shoes and outerwear; I did not count these items. I used 3 pairs of shoes and a jean jacket in addition to the following 13 items:
v-neck cardigan
black collared tank
striped collared shirt
solid collared tank
striped crop top
floral shirt
leopard crop top
floral kimono dress
floral maxi skirt
black silk dress
lasercut eyelet leather skirt
high waist jeans
high waist brocade shorts
I actually ended up changing clothes on two occasions to go from day to night activities, so these 13 pieces actually yielded 15 outfits! I’ve outlined them below, along with my rating of how comfortable/stylish/utilitarian they felt:
Day 1: 3+12 (+1, as needed)
The first day was a travel day, so I knew I needed to be comfortable, limited accessories for the metal detectors. So I chose a shirt with a pattern, unbuttoned the bottom of the blouse and tied it up crop-style, which worked great with my high-waist jeans. I wore my knockoff “Crocs” sandals for easy-off for airport security.
Rating: 7/10
Day 2: 2+11
I spent my first day in town just walking around. I tied up this black shirt in front like the other, because the skirt is high-waisted as well. I wore this with my black Bernie Mev wedges and felt high-style, but still ultra comfortable.
Rating: 9/10
Day 3: 6+9 (+1 as needed)
Movie theatres are cold! But girls nights call for floral, so I went all out. Wore my tan fisherman sandals, and a tan belt to tie it all together.
Rating: 8/10
Day 4: 4+12
A chill house party called for a chill outfit. I wore that blouse knotted at the front like the others, and put a matching bandana in my hair, vintage-style. Shoes were my fisherman sandals, which were perfect for my long walk home. Knocked off a point only because I wish I would’ve brought #1, my sweater!
Rating: 7/10
Day 5 (day): 8
I found a secret beach in a middle of a park, complete with a lifeguard and everything. I wore my itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini underneath this dress, and it was the perfect easy-on, easy-off outfit, especially with my Crocs.
Rating: 10/10
Day 5 (night): 2+12
After the beach I went to co-work with my friend at a rock gym, so I needed to be a bit less dressy than my fab kimono. Wore a hair turban to up the style game, and my Crocs, to stay cajz.
Rating: 6/10
Day 6: 1+5+12
This was my debut singing at a jazz club in a new city. I had a matching blue flower in my hair, and Ramsey Lewis’s drummer told me I sounded just like Billie Holiday--and that I was the only one “doing her right.” I only wish I would’ve worn the white skirt, as it would’ve photographed better, and my Bernie Mevs instead of my sandals, to give me some height!
Rating: 9/10
Day 7: 7+13
I was surprised that it took my a whole week to wear either of these items, because I really default to them at home. But I’d never worn them together, so this was a new combo for me! For short-shorts mixed with leopard, I wore my fisherman sandals as not to look like a streetwalker (especially as I was walking the streets in a pretty shady part of town so as to find the best Asian food!). Wore my hair in a black turban to cover my rollers.
Rating: 7/10
Day 8: 10
Another plane night to another new city, and wanted to be comfortable, but also not be krinkled when I arrived because we were going straight to the theatre. I wore this dress with my jean jacket, and my Crocs (damn security checkpoints!). Tied my hair up in a leopard turban to keep the pincurls in check, and took it off and set the curls free for the show!
Rating: 10/10
Day 9 (day): 4+13
It rained this day :( We had planned to go to the beach but it wasn’t in the cards, so before it got too wet, we went to the park, did cartwheels, and then hung around the house all day. I tied the blouse up in a crop-knot as before. Fisherman sandals were king on a slippery day like that, and I matched them with some natural wood jewelry to pull in the brown tones.
Rating: 6/10
Day 9 (night): 1+3+13
Went to an intimate music venue to see my two favorite artists play some jazz, and this outfit was perfection with my fisherman sandals and matching tan vintage Coach purse.
Rating: 9/10
Day 10, or The Day I Saw Hillary Clinton: 1+5+11
I ended up with free tickets to Hello Dolly on Broadway with theoneandonly Bette Midler, and Hillary Clinton sat in my row, a few seats away. The entire theatre was enraptured, standing ovations for both Hill and Bette… but I digress: I loved this outfit. Wore the skirt and wedges I wished I’d worn to the jazz club, but this time the combo of legs showing + higher heels made me feel too exposed, so my new rule is one or the other!
Rating: 8/10
Day 11: 3+9
Stripes and florals are a match made in heaven. On July 4th I wore 5+9, and I loved it, so I tried with a subtler, fatter stripe, #3, and loved it. I was also having dinner with a friend who long hence told me never to wear black because my soul was too colorful to be clothed in such a dark color. He was right then, and I still try to adhere to his wish to this day! Crocs sandals because much more rain.
Rating: 9/10
Day 12: 2+12
I was supposed to go a barbeque, but actually ended up at a long-lost-family dinner. This was professional enough (once I tucked the shirt in) for that. Fisherman sandals and wooden jewelry and leopard turban to add color.
Rating: 7/10
Day 13: 6+12
Comfort was key because I spent 6 unanticipated hours on a bus. Thank you, stretch jeans, thank you breezy tunic, thank you Crocs sandals.
Rating: 6/10
Things I Learned:
I love mixing patterns and textures - stripes + florals, floral print + floral brocade, small floral + big floral, lasercut + stripes. The trick is to do 2 patterns, not 3. 3 is possible, but really hard to pull off.
I gravitate towards dresses, and I will feel underdressed in anything else, even skirts.
I’m into the crop top + high-waisted bottoms trend. If the top isn’t cropped, I will “cropify” it by tying it up somehow.
Holdover lesson from last 10x10: Accessories are everything. Do not misunderstand; if I were to wear Day 12’s outfit again with no wooden accessories, or black shoes, or no leopard turban, it would have gotten a 3/10… maybe. Accessories can transform. Don’t forget them!
Favorite Outfit:
Definite tie between my two dress days (Day 5 and Day 8). I didn’t think that silk dress would be on the map at all, but with that leopard turban, anything can become my favorite outfit… ;)
Power Item:
My jeans were definitely my most used item. Had they not been high-waisted, however, I would’ve assuredly worn them half as much, because I was really into the crop tops this time.
Could’ve Left At Home:
It was nice to have the variety of multiple colors and patterns, because I tend to get bored really easily, but since I had more access to laundry/drying spaces than I anticipated, I think I could’ve left two items at home and yielded similar (or more interesting!) results: my leopard crop top (#7) and my solid blue collared tank (#4). The leopard turban gave me the animal print I crave in my life, and the blue striped crop top and the solid one seemed redundant since I was cropping the latter as well.
_____
You can see all of my outfits under the Instagram hashtag “#summer13x13″ and see everyone’s items under #summer10x10 or #10x10friends.
Did you do the #Summer10x10? What were your favorite outfits? What did you learn? Are you going to participate in the 10x10 fall edition?
Outfit 9 of the #summer10x10 wardrobe challenge! Wearing the blush pink tee, white twill shorts and strap sandals. My outfit details are in “Shop My Instagram” with the link in my profile. #capsulewardrobe #capsulewardrobeblogger #dressbetterwithless #leancloset #capsulecloset @shopstyle #shopstyle #summerstyle #summerfashion #everydaystyle #casuallook #casualoutfit #effortlessstyle #10x10friends #10x10challenge #momswithstyle #stylebee10x10
Outfit 7 of the #summer10x10 wardrobe challenge! We’re going out of town on a much-needed weekend vacation. Looking forward to good food, shopping, relaxation and family time! Packing was a breeze with my 10x10 challenge outfits. Wearing the striped tee, denim shorts and strap sandals. My outfit details are in “Shop My Instagram” with the link in my profile. #capsulewardrobe #capsulewardrobeblogger #dressbetterwithless #leancloset #capsulecloset @shopstyle #shopstyle #summerstyle #summerfashion #everydaystyle #casuallook #casualoutfit #effortlessstyle #10x10friends #10x10challenge #momswithstyle #stylebee10x10
What is a 10x10 Challenge and why is it useful as a grad student or busy person?
The Summer 10x10 challenge is fast-approaching (start date: July 27th) and while my Instagram is abuzz with participants, I would like to make a quick invite to grad students/academics out there. A 10x10 is a 10-day challenge where you pick 10 items of clothes and remix them into 10 days of outfits. (More on that here!). I’ve completed 4 challenges now and I think they’re a great opportunity for grad students in particular! Here’s why:
Use what you’ve got
It’s no secret that grad school is a time for budgeting. As someone who loves clothes, the 10x10 reminds me that re-wearing clothes can still be creative and fun (instead of shopping for new stuff, a true hobby of mine...).
Discover wardrobe VIPS
The 10x10 reminds me of what clothing items are true workhorses in my closet--stuff that goes with everything. And that helps me to not get too clean-out happy and donate that stuff when I’m tired of it. Instead, I stash those items in storage until I want to grab them again. This chambray shirt is one great example.
Figure out your style
I don’t think I usually wear ‘stylish’ items, but the 10x10 tends to remind me that there are ways to dress up jeans and a t-shirt. With a limited wardrobe, I have to get creative. It’s a good way to reach for accessories, try tucking/rolling/tying garments due to day-9 desperation, etc. Like this shirtdress, which became a shirt when I was out of other ideas. It also turned me into a hat person for the first time last spring.
Identify wardrobe gaps
Truly, the best part of the 10x10 is that it helps me shop better for the upcoming season. Want to know what you need for Fall? Try the summer 10x10. If I find myself thinking repeatedly during the challenge “gee, I wish I had ____”, that’s usually a good sign and helps me make better decisions than just going shopping and guessing. This green jacket is one of those items. I realized after the spring 10x10 last year that I needed a lighter layer for spring that wasn’t denim. And then I found it at a thrift store.
If you want to join in this time, message me! I would love to see your outfits! And use the tag #summer10x10 on instagram and tumblr.
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