Tag: Style

Posted in 30 Days, Lifestyle, Style

What I Learned from Letting Other People Pick My Clothes

Posted on by JJ

When I gave my mom, sisters and best friend access to my closet and complete autonomy over the outfits I would wear for the month, I didn’t go into the challenge with a lot of expectations.  As I reflect on the last 30 days of new styles and fashion related adventures, I really enjoyed the experience and recommend it to others who want to see their clothes in a different way.  Here are my biggest takeaways and discoveries from the month…

  • Break up the Routine-  My inspiration for this challenge stemmed from boredom.  At the start of this challenge, my clothes bored me and I was always circulating through the same 10 or so outfits.  Having new eyes to carefully examine the clothes I look at everyday was a fantastic way to revitalize a seemingly boring closet.
  • Mix it Up! I have items in my closet that for one reason or another always get paired together. Admittedly, there isn’t really anything wrong with the pairings but they are also not very inspired.  However, when my ‘special stylists’ saw these seem items- a pink striped cardigan, a brown tank top, a hounds-tooth sweater– all of the sudden they found new combinations I never would have thought of on my own.
  • Pay Attention to the Details- It was really fun watching each of my ‘stylists’ take great detail combing through my closet, each harping on their own details that I personally had never really thought about.  My sister really focused on what items provided the best overall palette while my best friend chose combinations that provided the best way to showcase complimenting colors.
  • Revitalize Rarely Used Clothes- I have a gray pencil skirt that I have owned for years and have never really worn.  My reasoning has always been that it doesn’t seem like me.  My ‘stylists’ selected several outfits that featured this skirt and it pushed me outside of my fashion comfort zone.
  • Re-evaluate What You Have- This challenge also revealed the clothes that I should probably say goodbye to.  Having people look through your closet is pretty revealing, and over the years, I have developed blind spots to the clothes that I know don’t fit, look weird or that I just don’t like anymore.  Having people less familiar with the backstory of my clothes revealed the clothes I no longer need to hold on to… Looking at you: acid-washed jeans, dress that I last wore 10 years ago and layered tank top.
  • Accessorize!  If I thought my clothes were boring prior to this challenge my accessories were even less imagined and creative.  Perhaps the single biggest takeaway from this whole experience is how the right necklace or set of earrings can change an outfit.

Overall Challenge Enjoyment: 4 new necklaces and an infinity scarf (I have no idea what that means, but I liked the challenge a lot).

Would I Do This Again? YES! Just need some new willing stylists. 🙂  

Posted in 30 Challenges, Lifestyle, Style

Week 1 Recap of New Style

Posted on by JJ

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Last week I gave my sister and mother full access to my closet and asked that they pick out my outfits for two weeks.  I have wanted to do something different with my style or at least be a little more explorative with my fashion choices for sometime.  Even after going through the KonMari method of minimalism a few months ago, I would admit that my closet still has a lot of clothing options but inevitably I seem to always go for the same 10 outfits.

The actual inspiration for this challenge came from an article I read a while ago, where a mom let her toddler pick out her clothes.  It was an adorable story and her style that week, was not surprisingly very different from her typical fashion choices.  Since I don’t have access to a toddler and my dog is pretty much only motivated by food and could care less about clothes, I thought it would be fun to see what would happen if other people styled me.

My 2 Guest Stylists

My younger sister is a clothes horse.  She takes solace in shopping trips, has stacks of fashion magazines and seems to always have an inherent understanding of what is ‘in fashion’.  She is basically the polar opposite of me when it comes to style.  But over the years my fashion has slowly morphed into hers, where she periodically clears out her closet for updated styles and subsequently fills my closet with her clothes that have lapsed a season or two.  My sister looked at my closet like a puzzle to be solved, looking at patterns and prospective pieces that could best compliment one another.

My mother on the other hand is much more of a creature of comfort.  She loves her Birkenstock sandals and comfortably fitted clothes.  For my mom this was an opportunity to finally influence more color into my wardrobe.  ‘You never wear any colors,’ she insisted as she made a bee-line for the pinks, greens and blues in my closet.

Week 1 Takeaways

  • Jewelry and Accessories– From this first week there were some outfits that were pretty similar to my typical choices (a comfortable cotton dress and cardigan) but where that deviated was with lots of jewelry that almost never sees the light of day.  The same outfit all of the sudden feels really different with a necklace and set of earrings.
  • It’s just clothes– I think it is easy to get stuck in a rut for comfort and consistency. I am also guilty of feeling a little self conscious at the thought of going outside my comfort zone of style, so this week has been a nice reminder that style is supposed to be fun.

 

Posted in 30 Challenges, 30 Days, Fitness, Getting Started, Lifestyle, Style

Strength Conditioning and Style Changes

Posted on by JJ

Tomorrow starts a new month and two new 30 Day Challenges!  The first challenge is a fitness based challenge: 30 Days of Strength Conditioning.  The second challenge is more of a new lifestyle challenge: 30 Days of Style Changes.

30 Days of Strength Conditioning

The inspiration for this challenge came as a direct result of my experience from Swimming Around Lido Key last week.  After some post-swim reflection, I realized that while I was happy that I accomplished my ultimate goal of completing the swim, I felt a little disappointed with my overall performance.

When it came down to it, I felt pretty physically and mentally defeated by the ocean current.  So this month I am looking to focus on a physical fitness challenge that will be spent predominately out of the water in the hopes that I have more physical strength to tackle future endurance swim challenges.  For 30 days, I will dedicate myself to strength conditioning of my core, my arms and my back.  Specifically, I have downloaded a 30 Day Ab Challenge, a 30 Day Push-Up Challenge and 30 Days of Arm Workouts.

30 Days of Style Changes

This challenge is a pretty big departure for me from a lot of the challenges I have done up to this point as the majority have been focused on new fitness routines, personal growth or diet. That being said, I have been really looking forward to this.

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For the next 30 days, I will be changing up my style.  I probably spend an average of about 4 minutes deciding what I am going to wear in the morning and it never really deviates much.  This month I am mixing up what I wear and how I think about my clothes and overall style.  I will be integrating new wardrobe pieces into my normal week of outfits, asking for new weekly ‘stylists’ and playing with new styles and clothing combinations.

To get me started, I have enlisted the help of my first two ‘guest stylists’, granting my mom and younger sister full access to my closet to each pick out a week’s worth of clothes for me.  Their combinations of my clothes were unexpected and in many cases not what I would have put together for myself.  It feels a little nerve wracking to go outside my clothing comfort zone but it should be a fun few weeks of new style choices and hopefully it sheds some of my self consciousness about what I wear.