The #spring10x10 is all wrapped up and it was fun to have it hosted not only by our normal fearless leaders, Caroline of Un-fancy and Lee of Stylebee, but also by Elizabeth from Elizabeth Suzann. It was amazing to see all of the different outfits and so many women interested in minimizing and being intentional about their wardrobes!
I decided to do more of a progressive approach rather than figuring it all out from the beginning. I had work, casual weekend wear, and one night out at the symphony that I wanted to cover. I repeated my pattern of choosing 10 items of clothing and letting shoes sort themselves out.
By the end of the 10 days, I had worn 12 items, but I decided to count all of the black skinnies / leggings as 1, which then collapsed me down to 9 😉 Here are my 10-ish items and the number of times I wore each:
- #memade Black linen Eva-like top 1
- J+J T sweater 3
- ES charcoal linen Harper 2
- J+J blush silk crepe top 3
- Gray cowl neck cashmere sweater 2
- Poetry cardigan 3
- Gray jeggings 1
- Boyfriend jeans 3
- Faux leather black leggings 1, regular black leggings 1, black legging ponte pants 2, black jeggings 3
1 | How did this 10×10 compare to previous ones?
The spring 10×10 was an interesting one. I had such success with the summer and fall ones last year, I thought it would be another home run. What I found was a little different. The truth is, my cold weather wardrobe isn’t as fun as my warm weather clothing. There are practical matters like keeping my legs and feet warm (I ride the bus, and this includes waiting 10+ minutes in potentially subzero temperatures.)
Because of that, I tend to rely on skinnies (mostly black), leggings (also black), and my one pair of wool trousers which, for some reason, I sometimes love and sometimes can’t quite get the hang of. I didn’t include them for this reason. I’m never quite sure they look right with boots, or with boxy tops. They do make a good variation on the skinny bottoms.
Overall, I was definitely comfortable and felt good, but I was a little bothered by the lack of variety in shapes. It was all boxy tops with skinny bottoms. Of course, that’s my favorite silhouette, so I guess that’s not a bad thing 🙂 I was at least able to wear flats a few times, breaking up the boot monotony.
2 | Did you have a goal for this 10×10?
Honestly no, other than to have fun and participate 🙂 So I did meet those goals. I find that the getting dressed during the 10×10 challenges isn’t any easier or faster for me than any other day. I really do feel like I’ve finally got the wardrobe thing figured out, so even when I have my whole closet to choose from, I get dressed quickly and feel great in whatever I choose. I do prefer having my whole closet available rather than just a 10×10 because I dress to both my mood and the weather, and I like having the flexibility to choose anything.
3 | Did any new pieces get integrated into this 10×10?
The J+J silk crepe top and the cashmere cowl neck sweater were both new additions. As it turns out, I have bought more than a single dress this year. I think I’ll do a separate post on my purchases for the first quarter of 2018. I was somewhat hoping I wouldn’t feel the urge to buy anything else, but I’m quite happy with my purchases so far, so I’m not going to sweat it. Still, I’d like to be intentional about it, so I’ll do a post on what I’ve bought.
Anyway, I love both pieces and there fit well into the challenge. The J+J silk crepe is really nice! And it was heavy enough to wear despite the cold weather, giving a welcome touch of spring color to the selection.
I’m glad I included the cashmere sweater since it was still quite chilly for most of the challenge.
4 | What was your 10×10 MVP?
From the standpoint of injecting some color and lusciousness to my outfits, it had to be the J+J blush top. I wore it Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the second week! However, from the standpoint of being the perfect backdrop for any of my tops, it was my black skinnies, as usual!
5 | What was your favorite outfit?
No surprise, my favorite outfit was the one that paired my two MVP’s – the J+J blush top and black skinnies. I wore this outfit twice during the challenge and loved it both times!
6 | What items didn’t get paired?
I really wanted to wear the J+J top with my gray skinnies, but I wasn’t able to during the actual 10 days because of weather and meeting. However, I did wear that combo on the Friday after the challenge and loved it 🙂
Final thoughts
Thanks again to our lovely hosts, Caroline, Lee and Elizabeth. And thanks to everyone in the community for their inspiration and energy!
