Wear Your Wardrobe - Week 4 Recap

I'm pretty sure that now this challenge is coming to a close.  It has been 4 weeks and I only have about enough clothes for one more sparse week!

If you missed any of this, check out what it's all about:

Wear Your Wardrobe Challenge

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

This week's lesson: I started getting ruthless with stuff I wanted to get rid of!  I would look at things and think "I really don't want to wear that...ever" so out it would go!

Monday - Remembrance Day

I went into the office for a little while on Monday, so I wanted something comfy.  Yoga pants and sweater dress did the trick! Smart Set white long sleeved tee, Smart Set navy sweater dress, lululemon pants.

Tuesday

This outfit was a bit cool for the weather, but it looked really cute! :P  I love this black tube dress from H&M.  I realized that I really need new tall boots!  Target mustard bolero, H&M black dress, Target brown tights, H&M belt, boots...from the Bay?

Wednesday

The weather continued to be warm, so I continued to wear skirts.  This is the purple pencil skirt's second appearance, once again a pin-spired look.  

Ricki's purple skirt, Forever 21 striped grey long-sleeved tee, Smart Set scarf, Old Navy boots.

From Keni Everyday

Thursday

This is actually one of my favourite outfits for sure!!  Super comfy, and I look pretty darn skinny - WINNING!

I bought this black tunic top when I worked at Lush cosmetics.  I don't even remember where it's from, but I went to work one day, hating what I was wearing, so I went and bought something new to wear instead! 

Black tunic ??, Target grey leggings, Aldo black boots, Smart Set scarf.

Friday

Friday was to be a casual day again (first day of jeans this week!)

Old Navy coral cardi, ricki's mint tee, Smart Set jeans.  

Week at a glance:

Wear Your Wardrobe - Week 3 Recap

Another week, still clothes in my closet, but getting closer! I've started doing some laundry, but it's not going back in the closet yet.  If you've missed any of this so far, check out the details of 

Wear Your Wardrobe challenge

Week 1

Week 2

The biggest revelation I had this week was that as I'm doing this, I'm starting to be more ruthless getting rid of my clothes.  Some stuff I'm looking at, not wanting to wear, and having no second thoughts about tossing it!  I'll take a picture of my "discard" pile when I'm all done!

Monday

I liked this outfit quite a bit. :) I realized I need more of a boot selection though.  It killed me to wear my black boots with navy tights!  

Old Navy cardigan, Ricki's skirt, scarf??, Aldo boots, and tights from Target (love shopping there for tights!)

Tuesday

I like all of these pieces alone, but wasn't a fan of it together.  I have a tough time wearing something over shirts like this red one that puff because I feel I just look really wide.  Anyway, keeping the red top because I like it. 

Red top...last year's clothing swap, Smart Set black sweater, Ricki's scarf (super pretty, doesn't really show in this picture!) 

Wednesday

H&M brown sweater, Smart Set long sleeved tee (I LOVE their long sleeved tees!), Smart Set jeans, Suzy Shier necklace? 

Thursday

Old Navy long sleeved tee, Smart Set black sweater, Smart Set jeans, Ricki's scarf

Friday

H&M brown sweater, Joe fresh striped 3/4 length tee, Smart Set jeans, Sketchers boots, can't remember where the necklace came from! 

Don't forget to follow along or join on instagram! @jbean86  #wearyourwardrobe

Definitely nearing the end! Here's the week in review:

Wear Your Wardrobe - Week 2 Recap

I'm still making out fairly well!  This was a rough week for me (on top of my full time job, I was teaching 7 fitness classes in 4 days - bad idea, btw). So this week's outfits are less inspired that I would have liked, but here they are regardless!

Things I learned this week:

1) Your family and friends will get bored of your daily instagrams of your less than spectacular fashion sense - too bad for them.

2) When I'm done this challenge, I'm going to have a whole hamper full of dirty laundry and will be living indoors for a weekend doing laundry so that I can again leave the house!

Monday

Smart Set outfit! Smart Set 3/4 purple tee, Smart Set black sweater, Smart Set jeans, Urban Outfitters Scarf (picked up when I was in Vegas!!) Aldo boots.  Quite liked this outfit!  

 Tuesday

This outfit is a total miss.  I'm not a fan of any of the pieces...and I'm not sure what my hair is doing.  Purple sweater - not sure where it's from, besides my sister as a gift.  I always found the sleeves really tight and have had a hard time finding things to wear under it.  I sounds like it will find a good home at the next clothing swap! 

Reitmans ruffle top, Smart Set button-and-fly-less stretch jeans (too much pulling up!).

You can't see them very well, but I'm wearing navy leather shoes.  I'm over them, so they'll be going to a good home with my mom (handy being pretty close in shoe size to her!)

 Wednesday

Wednesday was another rush day! I slept in an hour and decided jeans and a sweater it would be.

This sweater also a Christmas gift from my sister - Old Navy, and I adore it, Smart Set jeans, Sketchers suede boots.

 Thursday

Happy Halloween!!

Yup, this is the costume I wore to work.  I made this can can costume when I was in high school or early university!! 

 Friday

Wintery love! Forever 21 sweater, Smart Set infinity scarf, Smart Set jeans, Sketchers suede boots.

Sunday 

Today was a run around, do a few errands kind of day, so I was sporting a casual lululemon yoga pant ensemble, but if you add a scarf, it's acceptable, right? Right?!  Oh yeah, the orange top is from Joe Fresh.  Sometimes I like pairing bright scarves that you wouldn't expect.  This is one of those times.  I got this scarf as a gift from my sister probably like 5 years ago, and it's still one of my favourites! 

It was a very jeans-y week.  I'll see what I can do about that next week! Here's a quick look at the week!

I dumped 2 pairs of brown pants, and a button up shirt into the clothing swap bag.  I just don't wear them, and I wasn't going to torture myself by doing it.  I tossed 2 pairs of jeans that were thoroughly worn out in the inner thighs.  I'd definitely been hanging onto them for tooooooo long!

I've been having a lot of fun with this so far.  I've done 4 loads of laundry in the last 2 weeks, 2 of which were towels.  My hamper is filling up quick, but my closet is still looking pretty full! 

Wear Your Wardrobe - Week 1 Recap

If you haven't been following what I started to do, check out this post about my Wear your Wardrobe challenge.   If you want to join up, follow me on instagram (@jbean86) and tag your photos #wearyourwardrobe

Things I have learned in the first week:

1) There's definitely items I favor more than others.  I tried to not wear all of them first so that in 2 weeks all I have left is "junk" and I quit the challenge 'cuz I hate it and throw out half my closet.  lol

2) I'm terrible at taking selfies.  They're always so blurry!!  One day I was almost late for work because I could barely get a decent picture!

3) Pinterest is a great resource when you have a piece you like but aren't sure how to wear it (check out Thursday's outfit below!)

4) It's really awkward for me to pretend to be a "fashion blogger" and talk about my clothes like I didn't buy them all off-season...on sale, 50% off!

Monday

Casual Monday office wear - Old Navy navy cardigan (2013), Smart Set sky blue basic tee (~2012), Smart Set skinny jeans (2011?), Smart Set multicolored scarf (2012 Christmas gift - I think this is the first time I've ever worn it!), Sketchers suede boots (2011)

All keepers.  Looking at this picture makes me realize I need new jeans.  These are good, but definitely getting worn - they're the current front runners.

Tuesday

Skirt day!

Smart Set black & white skirt (2012/2013), Smart Set black leggings (2011), Costco black camisole (2011), H&M mustard cardigan (2013), Smart Set necklace (2013), Aldo black boots (2012)

 Off to the Gym!

Lulu Lemon red all-sport bra (2012), Lulu Lemon Astro pants (2012) , Costco black tank (2011), Zumba-wear burnout black long sleeved tee (2013)

 Wednesday

Hooray for awkward faces!

Smart Set jeans (repeat), Reitmans pink cowl neck tank with button accent (2013), Ricki's grey 3/4 sleeve chunky knit sweater (2011 Christmas gift), Old Navy grey wanna be cowboy boots (2011)

From this outfit, I'm tossing the sweater. I don't mind how it looks in the photo, but I just don't wear it! One for the clothing swap bag!

Thursday

Alright here's my Pinterest "rip off outfit."  I bought this skirt from Ricki's on sale for about $10.  Awesome, I know, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to wear it!  So I searched pinterest for "purple pencil skirt" - score!!  I have another idea to wear this skirt coming up soon-ish.

Ricki's purple pencil skirt (2013), Ricki's tan cardigan (2012?), Smart Set green & teal scarf (2011), Payless nude pumps (all time favorite!  2012), and I'm wearing nylons...like an old lady...but it's -5 degrees C today!

It's pretty much this exact look from workclothesisupose.com 

 Thursday night I was teaching 2 classes!

1. Costco black tee, Zumba leggings, lulu lemon all-sport bra

2. Zumba instructor tank, Zumba leggings, lulu lemon all-sport bra (3. 2+Zumba long sleeved tee)

Friday

Smart Set sweater dress (2012), Target black jeggings (2013), Aldo black boots (2012)

Bonus Friday - Halloween Costume!  Details on this one later!! 

Now this weekend I did NOTHING all weekend.  Saturday I was a bum, and Sunday was grocery shopping and cooking.  So I do intend to include weekends, but this weekend really wasn't photo-worthy (yoga pants and a tank top will not be blogged!)

So there you have it, week one of my "fashion adventure!"

 

Wear your Wardrobe Challenge

Alright, over the next while (couple months) once a week I'll be updating about a self-imposed (self-created) challenge I'm doing.  I'm calling it the....

The other day I started looking through my closet and realized it's old.  Really old.  Some of the stuff in there pre-dates my last relationship (making it 5+ years old).  You know how they say "if you don't wear it in a year, toss it"? I can never manage to do this.  I look at things I rarely wear and think "it's not bad, I think I will wear it some day" and then never do. 

The really quick explanation in graphic form:

Here are the "rules" and we all know that rules in quotation marks means guidelines!

1.  Essential laundry only - this is things like socks, underwear, jeans, etc.  Obviously these things need to get done.  Additional "acceptable" laundry items include things that are required to wear other pieces - cardigans, tank tops, bottoms, etc.  Try not to just wash and wear your favorite jeans the whole time - the point is to wear all those other pants you never do! Good example of why you need to wash those jeans: "this ONE top I never wear doesn't look good with anything else" - wash the jeans.

2. Accessories don't count - scarves, necklaces, earrings, belts, shoes, etc. don't count, they can be worn as much as necessary.

3. Keep or Toss - Each piece will be evaluated keep or toss.  I can already think of one top right now that will get tossed even though it's brand new and I've NEVER worn it.  In like 2 years.  I just can't see myself wearing it.  Anything that I basically have to really fight myself to wear, or things I wear that I just don't feel comfortable in will get the boot.  I will be posting what I want to toss, and if there's an overwhelming response of "that looked good, you should keep it!" I'll give it another go.  (also, friends in the area, if you see a piece I plan to toss and you think you'd wear it, let me know and it's yours!!)    If you can't make yourself wear it - toss it!

4. Instagram - I'll be posting my outfits daily on Instagram, so feel free to follow along and give me feedback!  @jbean86

5. Blogging - each week I'll post a summary of what I wore for the past week with more details than on instagram such as where it came from  (you'll quickly learn half my closet is Smart Set), how much it cost (if I can remember?!) and *gasp* how old it is.  If anything is exceptionally old, I'll try to find an old photo of me wearing it at some point! As well as if I plan to keep it or toss it!

Side note 1. I'm also going to try to apply this to my gym clothes.  Some days you'll get bonus photos of "what I wore to teach my fitness class."  I fall into the same habits with my gym clothes too. 

Side note 2. Seasonally inappropriate clothing is excluded.  Don't wear your short shorts if it's snowing.  Unless you normally would.  HOWEVER sometimes it's fun to add leggings, sweaters and scarves to stuff that maybe you wouldn't think about wearing this late in the year.  It's up to you really. 

Side note 3. If there are questions and I need to amend/add rules I just might do that as the challenge progresses!

Here's my closet "before" shot!

 

I'm not done until most of this is empty hangers!!

Does this sound like you?! I'd love for you to join me in this quest to clean out my closet! Follow along on instagram @jbean86 OR participate by taking up the challenge and instagramming your outfits (try to get a closet before & after too!) and tag them #wearyourwardrobe   If you want to join up, leave your instagramy name (what are those called...do they have a name??) in the comment section so I can follow you!

Let the fun begin!