Pages

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!

    ReplyDelete
  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!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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!

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  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.

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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!

      Delete
  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

    ReplyDelete
  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

    ReplyDelete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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)

      Delete
  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!

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
  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

    ReplyDelete
  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.

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

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

      Delete
  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!!

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

      Delete
  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!!

    ReplyDelete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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!

      Delete
  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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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!

      Delete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
  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

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

    ReplyDelete
  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!).

    ReplyDelete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    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!

      Delete
  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.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment... I read and respond to each and every one! However, if you are a no-reply blogger (meaning that your email address is not connected to your Blogger account), I will not be able to reply to you directly via email... you will have to check back on the blog post for a response!