I wrapped my first 10x10 Challenge close to 2 weeks ago and think that now is a good time to look back on it.
Since I've jumped into this challenge without preparation and did not plan outfits or put a lot of thought into the pieces I chose, this could have been a total disaster.
But I guess beginner's luck was with me, or the stars, or whatever else I believed in during these 10 days, everything worked out fine and I'm so glad I took that challenge.
Here are the subjects I want to cover in this article:
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My motivations to participate in the challenge
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The 10 items I selected
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Style notes
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A few takeaways
My motivations
The fact that I joined the challenge ar the very last minute explains a lot.
After an eventful summer, I was back at home, trying to find my routine, looking for content to post (somewhat regularly) on the blog, transitioning to a new season, wondering what I would wear (or more accurately fit into) during the colder months after a summer of letting go and indulging.
So there you have it. I needed structure, something regular and short-term to kickstart a new routine for a new season (of the year, of my life).
My 10 items
Here are the 10 simple items I wore for the 10 days of the challenge: 2 jackets, 2 sweaters, 1 top, 2 pairs of pants, 1 skirt, 2 pairs of shoes.
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Artist Cardigan - Vintage. Similar here.
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Leather Jacket - Old. Similar here.
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Fisherman Sweater - Old. Similar here.
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Cashmere Sweater - Everlane, made consciously in China.
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Linen Top - Handmade by my mom. Similar here.
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Wide Pants - Lauren Winter, made in Portland, OR.
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Jeans - Vintage. Similar here.
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Long Skirt - Old. Similar here.
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Clogs - Nina Z, made in NY, NY.
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Boots - Danner, made in Portland, OR.
My 10 outfits
Style notes
| HAIR | I wear my hair down 99.9% of the time. That's just how I roll. I'm slowly realizing that my hair has grown and that I can now style it, wear a ponytail if I want to (which is good for my yoga practice. No, seriously, between my hair and my glasses, it can be tricky to master the downward facing dog pose). Still, I prefer my face surrounded my hair, I don't like the way my bangs look when my hair is pulled back, and I like to wear hats. So I played a little with my styling wand, and that's enough to keep me happy for now. I take things slow, I can now style my hair in less than 3 minutes, and that's more than I care to spend on this activity. So there's room to improve, room to play, and I should start thinking about it, because this could go 2 ways: (1) I'm gonna cut my hair again (yeah, I cut my own hair, because I'm cheap and impatient); (2) I'm gonna want to dye or highlight my hair and I will regret it during the process (burnt scalp), after the first shampoo (hello dry and weakened hair) or after a couple weeks (hello regrowth). No really, it took a lot of willpower to get this far, so I'm gonna try to have a little fun with my hairstyling skills. Send Pinterest inspo or youtube tutorials my way. Thaaaaaanks!
| ACCESSORIES | I've pared down my accessories collection (I became my little cousins favorite when I brought them bags of them to chose from) a couple years ago and tend to wear the same ones over and over (family heirlooms, gifts from Octave and a couple pieces I chose for myself). Since this part of an outfit was not "regulated" by the challenge, I expected to go a little crazy but ended up wearing the same necklace twice and regretted it. It's funny how when you have freedom or too much to chose from, you get analysis paralysis and end up revolving around the same pieces. This made me realize that even though my accessories collection is minimal, there are certain pieces I have not worn in a while, so I'm slowly trying every single piece on, and making a decision to either wear it more, part with it and, for some of them, repair (I stepped on one of my rings a while ago and need to reshape it, and one necklace lost a part which I need to replace). So there's that. Always room for minimizing, reevaluating, caring, appreciating.
| TUCKS & ROLLS | The top my mom made me is a little too big, but this might make me love it more because I can tuck it, roll it and even tie a know in the back. It makes for such a versatile piece. I cannot wear a long sleeved top without rolling the sleeves. And the same thing goes with my jeans, I have to show my ankles, socks, boots. I recently cut vertically the front of a trench coat that looked too bulky on me. I never closed it, so I figured I'd make the most of it and just remove the extra fabric, tie the belt in the back rather than in the front, and, of course, roll my sleeves.
Takeaways
This was a fun experience overall.
This 10x10 has been both a styling and a blogging challenge for me, and I'm very proud I got through it. It made me realize that sometimes you shouldn't sweat it. On the one hand, you can get great results by just giving something a try. And on the other hand, it's ok to try something and fail. You'll learn something no matter what!
I have to say that I got a little anxious as, as days went by, the styling options seemed restrained.
But I found support and inspiration in the 10x10 community. Browsing through the #10x10friends and getting comments from you guys and from other participants really kept me going.
The weather also did not play in my favor at the end of the challenge, so I was afraid that if I skipped one day I would just give up.
But I was lucky to have the best supporter by my side. I really want to give a shout out to and thank Octave who's been a really good sport during those 10 days, shooting and editing every single day during those 10 days.
Conclusion
I'm not sure yet whether I'll do this again, we'll see in January 2018.
Now I'd love to know what you thought about this experiment I shared with you here. Did you get something out of it? Would you like to see more style related posts over here? Did it inspire you to give the capsule wardrobe a try? I know, so many questions at once! But I'm curious to hear from you.
Thank you for tagging along and have a wonderful rest of the week!
Pictures by Octave Zangs for Conscious by Chloé.