My Winter 10 x 10: Part Two
The past year and a half, I have taken part in four 10x10 capsule mini wardrobe challenges and it is always such a blast! What's the 10x10 challenge you ask? It's basically a challenge where you choose only 10 pieces of clothing, creating 10 different outfits for 10 days. All accessories are fair game. Lee Vosburgh from Style Bee is basically the brainchild behind it all, along with her co-host Caroline from Unfancy. In order to document it and join the community, you post daily pictures of yourself (lots of selfies) wearing your outfits that you've created on Instagram, and then you use the hashtags #winter10x10 (or #fall10x10, #spring10x10, #summer10x10) and #10x10friends.
My first 10x10 challenge was actually last winter, which is why this blog post is titled part two. I learn something new every time I do this challenge. However, this time around, I already knew what I wanted to change about my capsule for winter. I basically want more color in my wardrobe, which I already mentioned a few posts ago. My style is evolving, and participating in the 10x10 helps me figure out what I want to tweak in my wardrobe. Overall, I was pretty happy with this wardrobe challenge, except for outfit 1. That one was a doozie, but I'll explain here in a minute.
Alright, here is a breakdown of my winter 10x10.
My 10 items (not including accessories):
Chambray, puffer vest, gray long-sleeved shirt, black leggings, black wide-leg trousers, navy blue blouse, white tee, black cardigan, black chelsea boots, polka dot rain boots.
Outfit 1
Alright, so with outfit 1 I cringe and look away every time I see this oufit. I totally screwed this one up because my son was throwing a fit that morning and had to scramble to get ready. I barely made it to the train in order to get to work on time. I got part of the outfit right, but it wasn't what I was hoping for, and I think I even forgot to wear makeup that day. Yikes. Anyway, it's really an outfit I would wear lounging around the house on a weekend. Not really my typical casual Friday work outfit.
So here it goes...
wait for it...
Um yeah...
Outfit 2
I wore outfit 2 on Saturday running errands and whatnot. Although it was still a very casual outfit, it's more my speed. I'm a Bay Area girl, so my style is extremely relaxed. Plus, I knew I was going to be wearing the same pieces for 10 days, which meant I had to throw something comfortable that I could also mix up with nice blouses and cardigans for work. Wearing my puffer vest over my chambray is one of my favorite combo pieces. It's just enough to keep me warm midday during Bay Area winters.
I really like this outfit, but the fact that my rainboots were a part of my winter10x10 (and it wasn't raining that day) didn't give me the option to wear more comfortable shoes. I would have preferred to just wear my tennies. Next winter, I'm going to leave the rain boots out of the challenge, but will add them only if I need them because I really love my sneakers.
Outfit 3
I wore outfit 3 on a Sunday. I basically just threw on the gray shirt that I wore for work Friday and the puffer vest I wore the day before, and the leggings again. It did rain, and I had to run more errands, so the rain boots were essential.
Outfit 4
Outfit 4 was basically my going back to work outfit. I needed something to spice up my navy blue blouse and black wide leg trousers. Because accessories are unlimited in the challenge, I threw in some cheetah print. Why not, right?
I've never actually worn the cheetah print scarf with this outfit before, and was very happy with it. That's one thing this challenge does. It helps you with creativity.
Outfit 5
Outfit 5 was super simple. I love to chambrays and the black scarf helped keep me warm and cozy in the cold.
Outfit 6
Outfit 6 is basically just my same black leggings, boots, gray long sleeved tee, and my black cardigan. This cardigan is one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe because it's so soft and of excellent quality.
Outfit 7
Outfit 7 was just like the others. Super simple. Just a white tee, my black scarf, black trousers and boots. There's nothing special about these pieces, but together, they look classy and polished. I wouldn't typically wear a white tee to work on a day that wasn't casual Friday, but I threw on the scarf, and added my trousers and it was perfect.
Outfit 8
Outfit 8 looks almost identical to outfit 7. I just changed shirts, but ultimately, this is pretty much my style. These are the pieces that I reach for almost every time I walk out of the door for work.
Outfit 9
Outfit 9 was on a Saturday, and because I only had two outfits left that I hadn't worn, I was a little more dressed up than a typical Saturday. I'm wore my navy blue blouse, which is something my mom would have referred to as a "school outfit" if you know what I mean. I don't typically wear a work blouse on the weekends, but this top was casual enough with my leggings that I didn't feel too overdressed.
Outfit 10
And last, but not least, outfit 10. I tucked my white t-shirt into my black leggings, threw on my black cardigan and necklace and voila. My was feeling like brining my inner Flashdance vibes out, so I did it, and I even had a couple dance moves too.
My takeaways from this challenge were that I have a lot of basic pieces that are perfect for a mini capsule wardrobe challenge just like the 10x10. Other than outift 1, I was pretty satisfied with all of my outfits. Would I wear these pieces all winter and nothing else? No, because that would be too boring. However, I have the basic pieces to get me through a 10x10 and these basic pieces work as the "base" of any outfit.
Did you by chance partake in the winter 10x10 challenge? If so, did you have any takeaways? If so, leave a comment!
Cheers,
Shelbi
p.s. If you don't have a capsule wardrobe but you've been wanting to give it a try, here is a downloadable guide to help you get started with the basics. I think it's the best way to help you create your own personal style. It's just the beginning, but it will help you break down the process! Good luck!