Develop creative fashion skills with the 15:30 Challenge

Selecting only 15 garments involves a lot of thought and planning -- you're got to make every item count and be sure the pieces are versatile enough to mix with each other. The new jacket I'd worn constantly got sidelined when I realized it was too casual to use with my dressier items. And any top that didn't work with 4 out of 5 bottoms was automatically out.

I also limited my color palette to maximize the mixing possibilities. I originally planned to stick with blacks, grays, reds and pinks. But once I realized that navy works like a charm with gray, I expanded my options to include some blues as well.

Here's the list of items that made the final cut:

TOPS:
Navy ruffled cami (LOFT)
Navy floral top (LOFT)
Black lace accent tee (LOFT)
Gray peasant tee (LOFT)
Red cap-sleeve sweater (LOFT)
Pink satiny blouse (LOFT)
Black satin-trim tee (Coldwater Creek)
Blue and black NY print top (Nygard)

BOTTOMS:
Black pants (Eddie Bauer)
Charcoal trouser jeans (LOFT)
Charcoal flared skirt (Nygard)
Denim pencil skirt (Spiegel)
Denim jeans (Lucky)

LAYERS:
Black long-sleeve ruffled cardigan (LOFT)
Navy three-quarter sleeve ruffled cardigan (LOFT)

Only one piece (the gray skirt) was purchased for the challenge. Another note: I chose a piece I'd never worn (the navy camisole) to force myself to do the alterations it needed.

Trying on my clothes was an invaluable step in preparing for the fashion challenge; it helped me pick my pieces and decide which tops and bottoms looked best together. As Karen and I discovered, the outfit that looks adorable in your head doesn't always work in reality, so I tested almost every combination. (Be warned, trying on a ton of clothes can be a workout in itself! Expect to be tired and a little sweaty by the time you're done.) There were a few things I didn't test because I'd worn them together before, but I realized during week 1 that I should have tried them again anyway; I wasn't crazy about the denim skirt with the peasant top and I reconsidered some of my later outfits as a result.

Karen and I also went shopping to prepare, which might sound counter-intuitive since the challenge is about making the most of what you have. But we both felt deficient in the accessories category, so we hit the mall the Saturday before September 1. We spent a few hours going from one shop to the next, trying on scarves, belts, headbands, and jewelry, and we each came away with some great sale finds.

Lastly, I sat down with a spreadsheet and mapped out my outfits; not the accessories, but the clothing combinations. It might seem like overkill, but it was something I felt like I had to do -- otherwise I'd end up wearing certain pieces (like my jeans) too many times, or I wouldn't have something clean and ready when I needed it. So I made columns for "top", "bottom", and "layering option", listed each top 3 to 4 times, and matched them with different bottoms. Then I sorted the list by bottom, discovered that I'd booked the gray skirt and trouser jeans with every single top, made some substitutions, and started matching outfits to days, with dressier options for Sunday and casual choices for Saturday and Wednesday (my longest day). I ended up mapping out the first 3 weeks and leaving it there, which was good since I sat down at the end of week one and changed things again. I only scheduled one week ahead that time, but I'll probably plan the rest together to avoid any problems, like needing the same piece a couple of days apart.

1. I actually used an iron! I can't remember the last time this happened.
2. I wore a pair of heels that haven't gotten out of the closet in at least 3 years. I took them off by lunchtime, but it's a start.
3. I wore jewelry (more than just earrings) every day. I even pulled out the watch that lives in my purse and the lovely gold-tone bracelet that I never remember to wear.
4. I used different purses -- another important accessory I tend to neglect. I don't usually bother to change purses except on special occasions, but I made the effort this week and felt good about it.
5. I finally sat down with needle, thread and my navy camisole and altered the straps, which were too long.
6. I had hoped to complete some beading projects so I'd have additional jewelry options, but it didn't happen. Maybe in week 2...

1. Another round of ironing! It's like a fashion miracle.
2. Day 9: it finally happened -- something I needed wasn't clean (namely, the only bra that doesn't show through the pink top). Argh!!! Luckily, I did a quick substitution, which worked out nicely since it meant I wore Saints black on game day.
3. Day 10: another substitution, since I couldn't face a skirt on the last workday of the week. Pulled out the jeans instead. But I'm still wearing them less than I normally would.
4. I had NO idea belts could do so much to visually slim a body down! I continue to be surprised by how much better my tops look with a nice belt to nip in the waist. (Thanks go to Mom for finding me the awesome black braided belt on the sale rack at The Limited.)
5. I've been inspired to sort out my jewelry and store it so I can see what I have at a glance -- and in the process I found a few pieces I'd forgotten.
6. I've also taken up my beading tools again and made progress on some projects..

1. Day 13: I read an adage somewhere that said "If your work clothes are the same as your play clothes, how do you know when you're at work?" Today, my giant pearls seem to be giving me a much needed business-girl vibe. Maybe there's something to the idea of "dress for success"!
2. I also pulled out the needle and thread again to add snaps to my camisole, since the straps tend to wander.
3. Day 14: I sat down with the spreadsheet and rearranged my outfit schedule again (hopefully for the last time). I took out the 4th wear for a couple of tops and substituted others that were originally scheduled for only 3 appearances. And I did some shuffling in an effort to better distribute my pieces through the remaining 16 days.
4. Clearly I need stronger thread -- one of my cami snaps already broke free. :-(
5. Day 15: Discovered that it's possible to wash and dry a small batch of clothes in the time it takes to eat breakfast and get showered and dressed. Keeping current on laundry is vital in this challenge! It's kind of nice, though, because when I had the whole closet to choose from, it was too easy to let the laundry pile up in great heaps of doom.
6. Day 17: Part of me can't believe we're past the halfway mark and part of me feels like I've been doing this challenge forever. But I'm excited to find that I'm starting to feel more at ease in my skirts. I still look at my jeans longingly, but I'm not feeling as uncomfortable on the days I wear nicer bottoms.
7. The other cami snap broke off in the wash. Apparently, it's really important to snap those puppies together before laundering.
8. Day 19: I seem to have developed some wardrobe restraint! Mom asked me to go shopping with her and I saw a top I really liked -- a fluid black short-sleeved tee with trim at the neck. But I thought about it and realized it too much like the top I was wearing, so I resisted the temptation to buy. Another fashion miracle!

Week 4 proved to be a hard one for my wardrobe -- I found a HOLE in my red sweater, broke my strand of blue-gray pearls, and broke one of my bracelets from The Limited. I know I can fix the jewelry but I'm not so sure about the red sweater. :-(

I also decided to throw out my plans for two of the week 5 outfits. I had hoped to avoid matching the same top with the same bottom during the challenge, but on Sunday night, I decided I couldn't face the navy cami or the skirts. (Picking up the iron again just wasn't going to happen.) So two of the week 5 outfits will be recycled from prior weeks.

This week, being so close to the end of the challenge, I gave some thought to what I'd do differently if I could start fresh. I decided I'd definitely eliminate the denim pencil skirt in favor of my floor-length denim skirt, pictured above; the romantic sweep of the longer skirt would have coordinated better with my tops and would have been more comfortable. I also would have substituted the blue tee above for the navy camisole. While I had good reasons for including the cami (namely, I needed incentive to alter it), it was a mistake to include an untested garment in the mix.

I did give a lot of thought to whether I would have traded in one bottom for an extra top, since one more top would have gone a long way towards alleviating the wardrobe fatigue I'm feeling at this point. (I've been looking at my schedule and regularly thinking, "Again?!? I just wore that top!") With another top in the mix, only a few would have gotten a fourth wear instead of most of them being used that extra time. But it was hard to figure what bottom I'd eliminate without either denying myself a casual option or upsetting the balance between casual and dressy. I finally decided that I'd probably invest in a gray sweater that I could layer over anything, thus eliminating the need for two layering pieces. Since it's still pretty warm down here, the cardis didn't see a lot of use anyway.

It's hard to put into words what the last 30 days have been like and what they've done for me. Yes, the challenge was hard, but not for the reasons you might think. Putting together 30 days of outfits from 15 pieces wasn't really hard once I had the right core group of clothes: use each top three to four times, with a different bottom each time. Apply color-appropriate sweater as needed. Done.

Well, not entirely done -- and that was some of the hard part: standing in front of the mirror with a pile of belts and scarves and jewelry, trying to find the accessories that worked, that made the outfit go ZING! And then there was the daily routine of smiling for the camera. I am not a person who naturally smiles at a camera. I'm the person who runs from the camera. Smiling for the camera 30 days in a row was HARD.

Following the schedule was hard too, but again, not for the reasons you might think. It was actually kind of nice to have my clothes planned out, to be able to refer to the schedule in the morning instead of staring into the closet, looking at all those clothes and trying to pick something. No, the hard part was trusting the schedule, going out of my comfort zone and wearing those skirts when I really just wanted my comfy jeans again. The challenge was in trying to do better, trying to stretch, trying to grow.

Was it a success? I think so. I'm still not eager to pick up a skirt, but I did it, a lot of times. I've discovered that I like having something sparkly on my wrist, and I love how pretty and confident I feel in a scarf. And it's gotten a lot easier to smile for the camera.

Will I do the 15:30 fashion challenge again? Maybe. A week ago I would have said definitely, but the last week proved to be tough -- I was truly tired of those tops by the final days. But this was such a useful exercise. It made me really focus on my appearance, be aware of it in a conscious way and work every day to present myself well. And it made me very aware of my clothes: how important it is to have things you really want to wear, things that flatter you and make you feel good about yourself, and how disheartening it is to wear something you don't like, something that isn't you. I purged my closet before the challenge, eliminating 20 pieces. I have a strong feeling I'm going to purge again this weekend. After a fashion fast, so to speak, any new clothes should make your heart flutter, even if "new" just means you haven't worn for 30 days or more. But looking at my wardrobe this morning, there were too many things that I simply had no desire to even consider wearing. And life is too short not to be true to yourself.

Even if you aren't interested in doing the 15:30 challenge yourself, you can still learn from it! Here's some tips based on my experience:

1. Don't narrowly define your clothes! I have tops that I'd only worn with jeans and tops that I'd only worn with dress pants. Because I had categorized these pieces in my mind as casual or dressy, I never even considered using them in other ways. But when I tried new combinations, I was surprised to discover that some pieces were a lot more versatile than I'd imagined. Experiment with your clothes and see what you discover.
2. When you take the time to really dig through your closet, you find things you'd forgotten you had -- truly. Felicia and I both had this experience.
3. Assessing your wardrobe also reveals the things you don't have but need. When I was choosing my 15 pieces, I realized that I've barely worn a pair of navy stripe pants that I love because I didn't have comfortable navy shoes. I immediately ordered a pair from shoes.com and I'm wearing them with my navy tops and gray bottoms.
4. If you need a multitasking purse, gray works with just about everything. (See my go-to bag pictured above.)
5. Accessories don't have to cost a fortune. My gray purse was a steal at $20 from Stein-Mart. Thanks to Karen, I found adorable braided headbands at Forever 21 for $2.50 a pair! And Target regularly has cute scarves, hats, and totes in the $10-15 range. Not to mention the fact that sales are your friend -- I got a couple of great clearance belts from The Limited for $15 each.
6. While a print cardigan may be gorgeous, you can't beat solid black or navy. One or the other should complement nearly any outfit you put together.
7. You really don't need ALL of your clothes. I didn't realize how much those so-so pieces -- slightly worn, faded or too small -- were pulling me down mentally. I bundled up a stack for Goodwill and felt SO much better for purging those things from my closet. And now, I can see my best pieces more easily!
8. Even if you think you're a fashion dunce, you CAN learn to accessorize. It's all about trying different options until you find one that works, and the more you do it, the easier it gets.