Tag: minimalism

This is a follow up post to this post I made last week. If you haven’t read that post, you should definitely do so.

This week really started to highlight my greatest struggle with the concept behind the 10 x 10 Challenge: I wear so many articles of clothing every single time I wear clothes. For each of these days I’m wearing at least 5-6 items out of 10, making it so that you can only combine them into new outfits so many times.

Don’t worry – I actually had Oliver do the math – and apparently even with all the restrictions I can technically make 100’s of “different” outfits with the items I had. But did they really all feel different and unique?

While these limitations are usually fine on vacation, and even then I allow myself a clothing purchase while on vacation just to throw something new in the mix, it just feels bad when I’m looking at a whole closet filled with interesting clothes and here I am, wearing these same uninspiring items. There are definitely benefits to this challenge, though, and I’ll get into those at the end.

The Sunday before week two was spent lovingly in all grey sweats. We didn’t go out much – made a quick excursion to the beach for some exercise, and found some free stuff (hooray!) but somehow spending the entire day in cozy, colorless clothing felt right. Laying in bed Sunday night, thinking on the week ahead, I worried that I would be able to find new and interesting combinations wearing these same clothes yet again…

— DAY SIX —

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Waking up this morning, I did not want to wear these clothes again, for a couple of reasons:

1. Today I am starting to mix and match the same outfits again
2. It’s been pretty chilly lately and will continue to be chilly this week which opens up new wardrobe options I didn’t previously have (and because of the challenge, still cannot wear).
3. I recently got two new dresses in fall colors that I wanted to wear.

Plus I forgot to fix my shoes over the weekend, so the cheat black boots stay! Somehow it made it better to keep cheating a little bit.

Also learned this day that chair posing is not my strong suit, and definitely needs some work.

— DAY SEVEN —

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I didn’t take any notes on Day Seven, partially because I had a crazy awful day at work this day, but also partially because this outfit wasn’t super notable.

It was comfortable, and I felt good wearing it. Honestly, I’d probably wear this again outside of the context of the challenge. I like the way the colors and patterns play in the outfit; I liked the layered options keeping me the right temperature throughout the day.

My friends called this my “Ted Talk” outfit, and I feel like it’s the perfect name for this one – but also kind of describes the entire vibe of my 10 x 10 wardrobe: the weird mixture of cool/casual/professional.

— DAY EIGHT —

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I honestly really liked this outfit, and it was one of the highlights. I started the day as that cool new headmistress at the private school that teaches everyone deep lessons and probably plays in a jazz band… and ended the day as weird-vacation-bro on top and princess on the bottom. Still loved it.

This day highlighted what one of my friends pointed out as an interesting problem I have through this 10 x 10: my pattern maximalism makes it hard for outfits to feel fresh without being able to easily change out details. Because I lean so hard into patterns, I want them to be front and center of the outfit. This makes it even more obvious when I’m wearing the same ones over and over again, and then they slowly start to fade as background noise instead of being the stars of the show I want them to be.

— DAY NINE —

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Hit full ambivalence on this day. I have to wear clothes, and I have to wear these clothes, so just put some on. It was helpful that I’d taken pictures for all of the days, so I could scroll through and see which combinations I hadn’t done yet, and this was one of them.

Honestly, not my favorite outfit. I struggled with the button down – I preferred it buttoned all the way to the top under the blazer, but preferred it open a bit at the top without the blazer. The amount of times I went back and forth between blazer and not blazer throughout the day is why the buttons are just unbuttoned in the picture.

Throughout the week, but especially this day, I found it interesting how much longer it took me to get dressed when I wasn’t fully invested in the outfit. It takes longer to get the details just right – this day I went through several pairs of earrings and three or four different hairstyles before I felt good enough to go to work.

— DAY TEN —

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I’ll admit that I phoned the final look in a bit, but at the end of a very long week of work, that was filled with after work social events, and the end of the challenge, I really just wanted to wear the most comfortable outfit I could, and so I did.

My head was in the clouds this day – cloud themed socks, the t-shirt I lovingly call “Sky Whale” shirt, my sunshine earrings… head in the clouds but heart and body firmly grounded. Also pardon my hair – it went from up to down several times throughout the day. I tried to give it a bit of life before the photo session.

— FINAL THOUGHTS —

On the final day of the challenge, a friend asked if I would do it again to which I replied:

“No. Well… maybe. I think I need some distance from it. Some time. And maybe in a warmer season – summer? Where I don’t have to wear as many layers. Maybe.”

Here’s what I learned:

• The blue shirt with the black pattern is underrated as an under layer in my closet, and I should wear it a lot more
• The tulle skirt always makes me feel magical and elegant, but is quite warm when I’m moving around a lot. Better as a winter layer than I originally thought.
• Short sleeve or no sleeve button downs should be a basic in my wardrobe, and I should own more of them. They make an easy addition to any outfit.
• It is definitely worth investing in a few solid pairs of shoes that are of good make and quality and can be worn in the rain.
• There’s a really nice feeling to wearing a clean black blazer. Even if I don’t work in a super professional environment, it’s nice to feel a little professional.
• Jeans that fit well are CLUTCH and worth the time it takes to find them
• My accessorizing game is lacking, as are my accessories in general. Throughout the challenge, accessories were an easy way to change the feel of the entire outfit – I should work to both get better at using the ones I have, and adding accessories that I can use.

What I think this challenge does really well:

• Pushed me out of several comfort zones – I was forced to wear clothes I wouldn’t normally wear together during times or for events when I wouldn’t normally wear them. Through this, I learned several outfit recipes of sorts that I can lean on when I’m feeling uninspired or don’t know what to wear.
• Reminded me how much I love the clothes I have – the classic “don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” is definitely simulated in this challenge. I was so excited to have my full wardrobe again when all was said and done, and haven’t had any issues getting dressed this week.
• Forced me to re-evaluate my constant shopping, and gave me some clarity on what clothes I should shop for, and what clothes I really don’t need.

What this challenge did not do:

• Jump start me into a capsule wardrobe or “less is more” lifestyle – going in, I half expected to come out of the challenge ready to get rid of all my clothes and live only the small wardrobe life! But, as anticipated, I really do enjoy having a wealth of options to create the look and feel I’m trying to create each time I get dressed.
• Make getting dressed every morning super easy/less stressful/less time consuming – in my research prior to the challenge, of looking through other people who had done the challenge before and their thoughts, a common theme was that it helped reduce their anxiety of what to wear in the morning. I did not find any reduced time or anxiety, and near the end, actually had increased struggles getting dressed in the morning. I think, personally, lack of inspiration is just as problematic as decision paralysis, and it’s important to find a good balance between the two.

Overall, my feelings about this challenge were similar to my thoughts on college: I’m glad I did it, I learned a lot, I’m glad it’s done, and I don’t think it’s for everyone.

Inspired to try the 10 x 10 Challenge yourself? Or have you done one of these challenges before? I would love to hear about it!

Like what you read? Have more thoughts? Feel free to comment below!

To start, what exactly does “10 x 10 Challenge” mean? A person doing the 10 x 10 will pick out ten items of clothing from their closet, and then wear only different combinations of these clothes for ten days. My friend Eowyn asked me about it one day, and wanted to know my thoughts. The long text exchange that followed can be pretty much summed up as such: these challenges were invited by minimalists to prove how great their minimalist wardrobe is.

It presented Eowyn and I with a problem. Neither of us has a minimalist wardrobe or style (in fact I would call mine a version of maximalism) and we wondered – could a 10 x 10 be done when you wear a lot of pattern and color? Thus began our two week long experiment.

Each person who does the challenge follows their own set of rules, so here were the rules Eowyn and I settled on:

• Socks, underwear, and leggings do not count
• Tank tops count as underwear (no one sees them)
• Shoes do count
• Coats, hoodies, sweaters, jackets, etc. all count
• Accessories do not count
• Work days only (weekends were free game)

With these rules in mind, I boldly forged ahead.

— PRE-CHALLENGE THOUGHTS —

I went into this with the expectation of failure, but fully desiring to prove the failure wrong. I wanted to show that yes, this could be done by people who don’t have an entire wardrobe of neutrals. I also anticipated I would hate everything chosen by the end of the challenge. I essentially follow a similar concept when I travel – and usually by about day eight of travelling, I hate all of the clothes I brought.

As I crafted my list, I already felt dismal. How many different outfits can I really make with these items? Will I be repeating the same outfit a lot? What if the weather is _______? I find that my anxiety increases with a more restricted wardrobe. This, in turn, only makes me want to do this challenge more. Take that, anxiety.

I ended up choosing the following list:

1. black jeans – high rise
2. blue jeans – high rise
3. black tulle skirt
4. grey sweater with “Hello” on the front and “Goodbye” on the back
5. black blazer
6. cropped button down short sleeve shirt with a french bulldog print
7. floral sleeveless button down shirt
8. blue long sleeve shirt with black design
9. purple t-shirt with a whale design
10. dusty pink leather sneakers

As I lay in bed, looking at the clothes I would be wearing for the next ten workdays, I felt strangely comforted that I wouldn’t have to work as hard to choose my outfit in the morning. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all…

— DAY ONE —

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Immediately out of the gate I realized an error – I live in Seattle, and fall is the beginning of the rainy season. It poured rain the entire day and I regretted not including a rain layer. After chatting with Eowyn, we each decided that our items needed an edit – Eowyn exchanged a sweater, and I settled on raincoat being an accessory (like an umbrella). You won’t see my raincoat in any of these pictures but I ended up needing one almost every single day.

The outfit itself was great! Comfortable, warm, and easy to move around in. I felt ready to take on the work day. The outfit was funky, fresh, and professional.

— DAY TWO —

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The morning of day two, I was once again concerned. The shoes I’d chosen are starting to fall apart (very sad) and the weather said rain all week. I worried that daily wear would both ruin the shoes and make my feet cold/wet. However, after re-assessing my bookshelf of shoes, I determined that this pair really did match the best with all the items I had picked, and decided to continue on.

At work, I was in a comfortable, functional outfit yet again. I had a strange thought trickle into my brain: could this be a uniform that I could get behind? I’ve often debated the concept of wearing a uniform, which many successful people claim is a key to being successful. It’s easier to start your day if you know you’re wearing clothes you love, and you don’t have to think about it.

In this case the fun sweater over a sleeveless, printed button down with high rise, well fitting jeans, was an outfit I could imagine repeating over and over again. It was comfortable. It could be professional. It could be casual. It had layers. I didn’t have to adjust or mess with anything throughout the day. It was… perfect?

— DAY THREE —

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A day of firsts – first go round of the blazer, first outfit with the tulle skirt, and first day that it was genuinely cold on my way to work. Hence the scarf (accessory…)

Once again, the joy and whimsy of my clothing was fresh. I was comfortable for a full day of work, and even after work activities! Day three was full blown confidence at its height. I was not only doing this challenge, but I was owning this challenge.

— DAY FOUR —

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This was the first day where I really wanted to add, change, or swap items. I kept thinking, “Oh this outfit would look so cute with these brown shoes.” But I pushed through the desire and decided to jazz it up with some adorable sheep socks. The socks helped.

The struggle with a 10 x 10 challenge is the rigidness – there is, quite intentionally, no flexibility built in. What if it’s actually much colder than anticipated (which happened) or what if you have a work event where you have to be dressier than your ten items allow?

On day four I pondered more about the 10 x 10 and it’s long-term friend, the capsule wardrobe. Is this something I could really do long-term? I think perhaps I could but I would need more than ten items. I think I would land somewhere in the 15-20 range to be really comfortable, and even then, I wonder if the lack of variation would get to me?

— DAY FIVE —

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I cheated this day, and wore a new par of shoes for two reasons:

1. I was really going for a #lewk with this outfit that could not be achieved with sneakers.
2. This challenge is supposed to be fun and I just. couldn’t. put. the. sneakers. on. another. day.

This was the first day where it felt really silly to force myself to wear something I dread whilst staring at an entire bookshelf of shoes that I own and could wear at any time…

The outfit itself was super fun! I felt magical and witchy, like I had just stepped out of a Ghibli film and would be whisked away to a fantastical adventure at any moment. Also the cute dessert socks matched perfect with the shirt so #win.

— END OF WEEK ONE THOUGHTS —

Something that no one talks about when they do one of these challenges is the surprise laundry. Maybe I’m just not accustomed to doing laundry very often (I am not) or maybe I’m just messier/sweatier than most fashionistas (I probably am) but twice this week I had to wash the floral shirt and sweater because I was too smelly or dropped some food on them. I would look with dismay, then go scrambling through my house to find viable other things to wash with them (one day it was towels) because I just can’t bear to run a load of laundry for only two items. And what if I had to pay for laundry?

It’s interesting, both the freedoms and limitations offered by this 10 x 10 challenge. On one hand, you’re forced to be more creative with outfit pairings and how/when/how often you’ll wear specific articles of clothing. In a way, this is freeing. Yet the limitations always came like a slap in the face. I can definitely say I was looking forward to wearing whatever I wanted that weekend.

This is a two part post. Next week I will go into week two – the last half of the challenge. Be sure to check back in for my final conclusions!

Like what you read? Have more thoughts? Feel free to comment below!