Wednesday, January 11, 2017

How I Wore Something Different Every Single Day for an Entire Year

Well you guys, I did it!  I actually did it.  In 2016 I challenged myself to wear something different every single day all 366 days (let’s not forget that leap day) and I actually succeeded.  At least I think I did, anyway.  It was a ton to keep up with.

So why, you probably ask?  Why would I want to bother doing a challenge like this?  Well, I have always always loved fashion, but for several years I felt like I was in a clothing rut.  My closet consisted of mostly whites, blacks, greys, and other neutrals with a few pops of color here and there, and the majority of the pieces were monochromatic with no patterns or interesting textures.  I was pretty much wearing the same stuff over and over again and it was making me bored.

I blame corporate America.  Hehe.

Over the last few years I started taking more risks and adding more fun pieces to my wardrobe – bright colors and fun patterns like stripes, polka dots, and plaid, and I loved it!  I did, however, notice that I would always wear the same tops with the same bottoms and the same accessories so each of my looks were always the same.  Because of this, I decided to challenge myself to try to wear a different combination of clothing every single day for a whole year.  Because a) I thought it would be fun to document, and b) because I’m crazy!  Haha. 

The Goal:

Be bolder with my wardrobe choices and find new combinations to love.

The Rules:

Wear 366 different combinations of clothes in one year.

I was allowed to repeat articles of clothing as many times as I wanted but I was never allowed to wear an entire same outfit from head to toe twice.

How I Did It:

Mixing and matching like a boss.

Obviously I don’t have 366 different tops and 366 different bottoms, so it was all about the mixing and matching.  Most tops could be paired with many different bottoms to create new combinations.  A few examples:





Hoarding clothes.

I have a really hard time getting rid of clothes, so I do have a lot of them.  Probably more than the average person at least, but it’s because I hang onto everything for so long.  For example, just look how flipping old some of these things are in my closet:


I’m not even kidding about that skirt, y’all.  I’ve had it for-eh-vurrrr and I love it just as much now as the day that I got it... when I was a teenager.  Eek!

Changing the accessories.

Different necklaces, belts, scarves, and shoes can change up a look very easily.  Dresses, for example were really hard to change because they are all one piece, no mixing and matching tops and bottoms.  However, by changing up the accessories, I was able to make different combinations.


Adding a cardigan to transform summer tops into winter tops.

I was pretty much able to wear my entire selection of summer blouses again in the winter by… throwing a cardigan on over it!  So easy and so cute!  I have quite a collection of granny cardigans (Brian’s words, not mine) and I love them all so much!


Accepting hand-me-downs.

I got really, really lucky last year because my aunt and my cousin both cleaned out their closets twice and sent two bags my way!  I was able to take away several new-to-me pieces to add to my collection… and it was free!  Thanks, Aunt Joy and Shelby!  ;o)


Buying a few new pieces each season.

Each spring and each fall I always add a few new pieces to my wardrobe.  I love fashion, and I just can’t resist new trends, so I always like to have some of the latest trends in my closet.  However, for super trendy things that I know will go out of style quickly, I’m not afraid to shop at Ross, Wal-mart (hello printed shorts that everyone had last summer!) and other bargain stores.  There’s no point on spending $80 on a pair of shorts that you’re only going to wear for one or two seasons.  For more classic pieces that I know I will wear for years, I am willing to pay a bit more.  Nordstrom, anyone?


And now for a few nicer pieces that I purchased this year:



Asking for clothes for gifts.

My mom and my friends are always great at picking out things that I love.  I received a couple of new things for my birthday and I was happy to put them to work for this challenge. 


The Verdict:

Using all of these steps helped me to achieve this goal for 2016.  As for keeping track of what I had already worn, I actually have a really good memory when it comes to stuff like this so the first couple of months of each of the seasons wasn’t very hard.  As for times when I needed to know if I had repeated something, I kept pictures on my phone and I also referred to my monthly recaps on the blog.  Toward the end of the summer it was taking forever each morning to figure out what I was allowed to wear.  I had completely exhausted the summer wardrobe… probably because it was boiling hot here for almost eight months this past year. 

I loved this challenge and I’m so glad that I did it!  I feel like I took more risks than I normally do, and I also found some amazing combos that I would have never normally paired together if I hadn’t done the challenge. 

Will I be doing it again?  Nope.  Been there, done that, and it’s too much work!  Ha!

To see every single outfit that I wore this year, click the links below.  You can even shop some of the looks!  Just click the links provided under each picture.  



And I get many questions about where I like to shop.  I would say that my top three favorite places are Old Navy, Target, and Kohl's, but I shop all over.  A few things I have my eye on right now are this dressthis tunic (it has pockets!), and this jacket... I already have it in black and I LOVE it so I really would love one in brown.  And for only $37.90, why not??

Another question that I get asked a lot is, "How do you take your OOTD pictures?"  Well friends, you'll just have to stay tuned because next week I'm finally going to give you guys a tutorial!  

So what about you, friends?  Would you try to take on this challenge?  Just me?


*Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I What I Wore, Life in the Green House and Taz and Belly for Wardrobe WednesdaySydney Fashion Hunter for Fresh Fashion Forum, Pumps & Push Ups for Oh, Hey Girl! Link-Up, The Mummy ChroniclesTucker UpShopping My Closet for Style Me Wednesday, Classy Yet Trendy for Trendy Wednesday Link-Up, The Blended Blog and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.

*This post may contain affiliate links.






35 comments:

  1. I'm still impressed you didn't wear the exact same thing twice. I would have forgotten what I'd wore already and put the exact same thing on. Ha ha!

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  2. This still amazes me!!!! People at work say I never wear the same thing twice but I think I do, lol. YOU rock the BEST style in da house....so fresh, so fun, so pretty!!! Proud as a peacock of you cutie, such a fun challenge!!

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    1. Thank you thank you, Andrea! And I would have to argue that YOU rock the best style in da house! I always love every single thing you wear!

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  3. Same as Andrea - it amazes me that you did this!!! I could never!!! Major props for doing it!!

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  4. Still so impressed you did this! But I don't blame you for not wanting to repeat it!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  5. I loved reading how you did this, makes it seem not that hard but for me totally unattainable LOL. I have been wanting that tunic with pockets for a couple of years and everytime it goes on sale I say I'm going to snag it then don't.

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  6. Round of applause for you! I would love to do this but would never stick to taking a picture every day.

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    1. Thank you, Deena! Yeah, in the beginning it was tough to remember, but after the first month or so it became second nature to take the picture. There were a couple of days where I forgot and then I had to go put the outfit on from the day prior to take the picture, but that only happened two or three times the whole year!

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  7. Love love love this still. I would totally be inspired to attempt this (or at least expand where I'm at) if I wasn't pregnant and already struggling with finding things that fit haha

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  8. Wow...what a challenge. I know I have enough clothes to do something like this, but....
    I do love the idea of remixing...it makes getting dressed so much more fun!
    jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  9. I loved following this challenge! I love your outfit posts. I also love me some Old Navy. I wish I had a Target closer, we have one 2.5 hours away, but I always find cute stuff when I do go there. I am excited for your tutorial for next week as well. Great job!

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    1. I would DIE if the nearest Target was 2.5 hours away! That is just crazy! And thank you so much for all of your sweet words. You made my day. :o)

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  10. That is so awesome that you wore a different outfit every day! Amazing! Way to go! I bet it was a challenge! But you rocked it!

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    1. Thank you, Heather! It was a lot of work, but also really fun!

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  11. Nailed it! So fab - get it girl!

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  12. You totally rocked this challenge friend! And you looked so cute and so well put together every single day! You impress me. I loved getting a behind the scenes look at how you accomplished this!

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  13. You rocked this challenge, girl! I could never do this. I also tend to hoard clothing for years...I can't let go of things. LOL! I always try to clean out my closet to donate some clothes and I end up giving up 1 or 2 things...so I find It pointless and stick them back in the closet. Hahaha! Ridiculous.
    xo, Lily
    Beauty With Lily

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  14. Such a great challenge! I seriously rarely wear the same outfit twice but then find old pictures under my hashtag and think to myself "why in the world have I NOT worn that?" I'm about to do a major closet clean out! I finally got rid of a black blazer this fall that I bought in 2004 so I totally have the same problem getting rid of clothes.

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  15. That is insane and inspiring!!! Oh my word! You're outfits rocked. Maybe I'll tryba water downed version...like a month...

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    1. You totally should! You'll end up coming up with combos that you never would have though of otherwise. I really enjoyed it!

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  16. I love seeing your posts on IG but SOMEHOW did not realize you were doing this as a challenge! You have great style and I LOVE LOVE how you mix and match!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Erica! Yep, 366 days! CA-RAZY, right?!

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  17. Color me impressed! Not only that you made sure you didn't repeat (how did you make sure btw?) but that you did it for the entire year!!

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  18. I am truly amazed by this! Talk about dedication. I would never be able to accomplish this...simply because I would forget what I wore!

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    1. Thank you, Stef! It was pretty easy to keep track of at first, but toward the end of the summer I was on the struggle-bus for sure. Every morning I had to scroll through my monthly recaps to make sure I wasn't repeating anything!

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  19. Such a great idea! It doesn't take a ton of clothes to get multiple outfits out of them. Such a fun idea!

    http://www.mylittlenest.org

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    1. Exactly! I was ALWAYS combining the same things over and over again, so this was a great way to get out of that rut!

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  20. I had so much fun following along with this! No way I could have done it though. I think I'd be too forgetful. You have such amazing style, and you looked awesome in everything! GREAT JOB!!! Wahoo!

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  21. You rocked this girl!! I still can't believe you did and you had a great time too! What a fun way to mix and match all your clothes! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston

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  22. LOL at blaming corporate America! You are a rockstar gurlie! And I love all the pics with your mini fashionista <3
    Green Fashionista

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  23. This is so friggin' impressive! I'm not sure I have enough clothes to do a whole year but I will tell you I am really good about not wearing the same thing to church. Every Sunday it's a something new (as in the combination, I don't buy new pieces each week!).

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  24. Oh my gosh!!!! I LOVED this post! I also now have someone who would care - I did the same thing one of my student teaching semesters! That was only a semester, but not as impressive, but I just felt like with having the dress professionally I really was just wearing the same things over and over and I wasn't being very creative! Great post! And I've already started looking at all the recaps!

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    1. That's so awesome! You should totally try to do it for a year... it was really easy in the beginning, but toward the end it got VERRRRY time consuming because I couldn't remember what all I had worn. Every morning I was frantically scrolling through all of my past recaps to see if I had already worn something. Haha. Have a great weekend, girl!

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  25. I can't believe you did that. Way to go. I would love to try it, but I would need to add more bolder pieces to my collection and really work at it.

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