It’s that time!
Paige (of Style This Life) and I are kicking off our 10×10 summer closet challenge! We are taking ten items from our closets and creating ten unique looks. Honestly, it’s not as hard as it sounds. We did it in the spring, and it was an awesome experience. I was surprised at how many outfits I came up with, but what really surprised me was how much I liked my outfits. They felt so ‘me.’ And they were outfits I never would have put together looking at my full closet. Sometimes we have to prune for a bit of new growth. Even though this prune is just temporary, the results are lasting.
And, without further adieu, this season’s line up:
COBALT TANK (similar) | A long-time standby, this is one of the first items I added to my closet as a ‘gut purchase.’ It was at the beginning of when I first started discovering my style. I was shopping for a cream top to layer, but this cobalt one came home with me instead. At that time, two years ago, I never wore blue, but I just knew I loved it, and it seemed ‘right.’ Today it lives in a closet surrounded by blue!
CHAMBRAY DRESS | I just shared with you guys my thoughts on this one. It’s a light-weight summer staple with surprising versatility. I’m dreaming up new combos for it already.
CHALK CARDIGAN, c/o IMBY | I remember awhile back my friend Paige talking about how often outfits feel more complete with a ‘third piece.’ This is my summer ‘third piece.’ It’s lightweight, the perfect shade of warm ivory, and super easy to wear (as in, looks good with everything).
VINTAGE CUTOFFS (similar) | These beloveds have been style-shaping for me! They’re the same ones I had last year, and the year before. They’re endlessly comfortable and vintage-cool. I bought them from Value Village a few years back, chopped ’em and bleached ’em.
HEELED CLOGS | My recent closet addition, replacing gifted clogs that did not fit me well. The more I wear these, the more I love them!
BLACK SKIRT, c/o Bridge & Burn | Easily one of my summer staples, this casual skirt does the work of shorts and a skirt. Black shorts were on my list this summer and I got these instead. No regrets.
MICRO STRIPE TEE | This is one of those shirts that I wear every time it’s clean. So it’s rarely hanging in my closet, ha! I got it to replace my beloved gray u-neck tee that was just too big. Even though you can’t see them here the details on this shirt are fabulous! Stay tuned.
GRAPHIC TEE, c/o Bridge & Burn | Another shirt that rarely makes it in the closet, I’m either wearing it or it’s in the hamper. Gray shirts are probably my favorite thing to wear ever and the graphic element makes it a tad more visually interesting. Plus I love representing Oregon brands!
BLACK BIRKS | ‘Nuff said.
DRAPEY TOP | This lovely, raw silk number by Jamie + the Jones is one of my favorites, you might recognize it from my my spring 10×10. It’s also one of my most challenging tops, I never know what to pair it with. I am hoping to learn some new combos from this challenge.
As I was writing this post, I came across the 10×10 I put together last summer! I didn’t actually create the outfits, I just chose ten items, but it’s really fun to look back at them one year later and see what I chose. All but one of those ten items are still in my current closet, and two of them actually made it in to this summer’s 10×10. Funny stuff! I like looking at how much my personal style has come into focus even in the last year.
My goals for this round are: to engage my creativity, drive up my contentment and have fun! I am excited for all of you who are jumping on board too! If you’re blogging your experiences, please share your link down below. And Paige and I will come up with a hashtag so we can all follow each other on Instagram… any clever ideas?
Cheers,
Andrea
** edited to add: **
Outfits 1+2
Outfits 3+4
Outfits 5+6
Outfits 7+8
Outfits 9+10
Love it and can’t wait to see the outfit combos you come up with! I was staring at my closet last night thinking about this challenge and was struggling to find a way to make it work with only 10 pieces for the office and casual wear. Granted, I was feeling a little down last night, so creativity was not at its peak. I’ll be looking again this weekend to see if I can pull something together. Maybe I’ll stick to just office outfits, since that’s most of what I wear anyway!
Stacy – I hope you figure something out! Maybe you could do a 10×10 of just casual or just work outfits? I think trying to include work and casual would be tough! I am excited to see you try this out.
And I’m the same way, my creativity is like a sad balloon if/when I’m feeling off.
So much of your 10 items look like things I wear often, so I’m excited to see what you pull together! I have a turquoise drapey top and actually love how it looks with cutoffs. I didn’t think I would wear it much this summer because I thought it would only look good with skinny jeans, but it works with cutoffs. A little opposites attract kind of thing, I guess. :-) And while it may not be the most flattering on my body type I love coolness the drapey gives and a nice break from my otherwise more fitted tops.
Yay! I love to hear about you experimenting some Rebecca! :)
I think I’m going to join in here! I missed the last one and wished I had done it. Now to only get a blog post up afterwards! lol Cute pieces!!
Yay Sarah! I’ll be keeping an eye on your blog and IG posts. ;)
I can’t wait to see how you style everything! I would have loved to join you for this, but I just couldn’t pull it together enough. :) I love that cobalt tank though! The color is so fresh!
Karin | truncationblog.com
Thanks girl! Maybe in the fall?
As for the cobalt tank, it’s funny you mentioned that! It’s the item I feel least confident about in my little 10×10! It’s so colorful… ;) We’ll see what happens!
Yay!! So happy to see you and Paige both doing the 10 x 10 Challenge again! Great picks! Looking forward to seeing how you style everything. I’ll hopefully be joining you later this month! Keep up the great work Andrea. xo
Hi friend! Thanks for creating such a genius idea and letting us all run with it! It’s so much fun. :)
LOVE those clogs!
QUESTION — Are they loud when you walk? I’d love to get some for work… but I hate having shoes that make me sound like a horse clomping down the halls. :)
Hi Ali! No, I do not think they are particularly loud. They make some noise on certain surfaces, but for the most part, they are quieter than a heeled boot in my opinion.
Another thing Ali, they have rubber bottoms, so that really helps cut down on the noise (I’ve been trying to pay attention for you to notice if they’re noisy!) X)
Thanks so much! That helps a lot. You’re the best!
Yes, love these kind of challenges and would love to see what the others come up with!!!! I did a 9 pieces, 10 outfits a while back but will try and come up with a new one soon.
Hi Floor!! Just spent some time perusing your blog – love it! And your style = so good! I like your 9×10 experiment, you’re so right, it really does lend a fresh perspective to ‘old’ clothes!