#Jan20x20 Wardrobe Challenge Review
From January 1-20 I participated in an online wardrobe challenge hosted by What Kate Finds. The challenge was to select 20 items from your wardrobe and wear only those items for 20 days (not including shoes, outerwear, accessories, or underwear).
The challenge wrapped up this past Monday, January 20.
I actually only had 17 items in my 20-day capsule. I wanted to leave a little room for unusual circumstances; which we had one weekend when it was unseasonably warm and I had to add in a tee-shirt. I have to say that even at 17 items I didn’t feel particularly challenged. I’m used to working with a relatively small wardrobe to begin with. I definitely could have continued on for at least a couple more days without repeating outfits. This made me feel good about my clothing selections and helps me feel that I’m on the right path.
The timing was sort of weird in that I had just gotten my January nuuly.com box, so of course I wanted to include those items in the challenge because they’d need to be returned almost as soon as the challenge was over. Two of the items from the box didn’t work for me at all so I left them out. But I did include three of the items and they fit in nicely. But it’s a shame that my lovely little capsule is now broken up as I’ve packed up my nuuly box to return tomorrow.
I think my biggest takeaway from the challenge was how much I liked the capsule I created. I liked every piece and most every outfit I came up with (rainy days and weekends at home always find me a little schlubby). It felt easy to come up with outfits for work and weekends and leisure for the three weeks…and it made me aware that I definitely have extraneous items in my closet! I always said the goal was to have two weeks’ worth of work outfits and two days’ worth of weekend/play clothes. At some point in the past year or two, though, I started to get swept up with the fun of creating outfits and I’ve bought more items than I usually do.
The 20-day challenge gave me a taste of what it’s like to like EVERYTHING in your wardrobe.
And that should be the goal, right??
To have everything you need and love everything you have.
I know there are things in my actual closet I do not love, that I pass over time after time for something else.
I think what happens – for me, at least – is this: You feel you need a medium grey boyfriend cardigan – it will go with like five different outfits and be a real asset to your wardrobe. Some outits are lacking for not having that item to wear with them. So you start looking for The Perfect Grey Cardigan. You look. And you look. One fall/winter goes by. Then another (this is a true story, my friends). And another. And finally you see a cardigan, reasonably-priced…not QUITE the right shade of grey…with those bulky cuffs you don’t like, but…It’ll Do For Now. However, when you eventually DO find The Grey Cardigan of Your Dreams (it’s out there somewhere, I just know it is), YOU’RE GONNA GET IT! It’s THE ONE. So now you have TWO pretty similar grey cardigans. And which one are you gonna reach for when you need a grey cardigan? The Good One. And the other one will just languish in a drawer or closet. And this could easily happen with 3, 4, 5 different items, and now you have doubles of so many things!
Ugh. Anyway. That’s usually how I end up with more things in my closet than I really want to wear.
So 2020 is the year I need to get myself under control (not that I’m that bad, but I can see a trend). I’m still working on my 2019 clothing purchase tracker; I just have a few months to go. Then I’ll see what my average monthly purchases were for 2019 and reduce that by ___ (I’m not sure yet – I want it to be less than this year but still reasonable) and try to live by that. There. I’ve said it out loud in public. Now I have to do it. Like the sugar detox.
Now for the fun part – the outfits! But first, because I’m a weirdo…
The spreadsheet! The first column is all 17 items…then how many times I wore each one, the dates, then the outfits for each date and what sort of day it was (workday or weekend). I know it’s hard to see, I didn’t think you’d really be interested in every little detail.
Wednesday Jan/Day 1 
Thursday Jan/Day 2 
Friday Jan /Day 3 
Sunday Jan/Day 5 
Monday Jan/Day 7
Tuesday Jan/Day 7 
Wednesday Jan/Day 8 
Thursday Jan/Day 9 
Friday Jan/Day 10
Saturday Jan/Day 11 
Sunday Jan/Day 12 
Monday Jan/Day 13 
Tuesday Jan/Day 14 
Wednesday Jan/Day 15 
Thursday Jan/Day 16 
Friday Jan/Day 17
Saturday Jan/Day 18 
Sunday Jan/Day 19 
Monday Jan/Day 20
Do you love everything in your wardrobe??
Iris
No, I don’t love everything and I’ve done “the gray cardigan” story also. I need to purge so much in my closet. Things I just don’t wear, things I look at and think, “now why did I buy that”. OI tend to wear the same things over and over again anyway. I’ll get around to doing that one day soon. 🙂
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
bettyewp
It makes me crazy seeing things hanging in my closet that I don’t love. It makes me feel guilty, like I wasted money.
Wish I could come help you, I love getting people to get rid of stuff! Probably cuz it’s so much easier than getting MYSELF to get rid of stuff!
jodie filogomo
You and I are pretty much opposites. I’m more the “let me buy something I see and love” and then figure out how to wear it later. I rarely go looking for a piece and I’m not as picky about it even when I do look for it. Maybe because I want to be open about the details. I’ve been text about certain things I didn’t think I’d like but I end up loving!
Obviously I need to learn more from you which would make my closet less crowded!!🤩
Xoxo
Jodie
bettyewp
I do LOVE my things, I’m just more invested in OUTFITS and the total wardrobe than individual items. Neither way is right or wrong, better or worse. I just like the feel of having fewer items, that I can do a lot of things with. Like the handy dandy pocket fisherman/bottle opener/poncho/knife sharpener.
Leslie Susan Clingan
So impressed. Your story of the gray cardigan is the theme of my closet. Oh, to control that urge to buy something that is only almost okay and not perfect. Or close enough and on sale.
Would never guess your 20 days of outfits are built on the same 17 pieces. That would take such planning, I would think. But you were very clever to leave yourself 3 add-ons as a buffer for unexpected circumstances like warm weather!
I am growing my hair out to its natural color. You have the best hair. Color is lovely, great style. Healthy-looking. Hope I can get there this year.
bettyewp
It’s hard to resist the “almost right” pieces when you already have items in your closet going unworn cuz they don’t have the item needed to complete that outfit. I’ve been looking for THAT grey cardigan for YEARS. It sounds like such a basic, simple, easy-to-find item, doesn’t it?? And the thing is I actually OWN one already, it’s probably closet to 15 years old…but it’s missing since two apartments ago. I’m sure it’s here SOMEWHERE, but not everything is easily accessible and I Just Can’t Find It. It WAS a mite on the small side, not sure how it would be now. Cardigans are pretty flexible.
Anyway. Yeah, I would think growing out natural hard color would be very hard…like growing out bangs but worse! I was fortunate in that I got to do it the opposite way…no hair to natural hair.
Marian
I have a pretty small wardrobe – and in CA we wear most of our garments 3 seasons. But not only do I have a few gray cardigan purchases, but I also sometimes buy that oh-so-practical-it-will-go-with-everything piece. It’s always a very good quality piece that’s now on a super extraordinary sale. Sometimes I’ve wanted it for a long time (Nic and Zoe 4 way blue cardigan) and sometimes it’s an impulse buy. And then I never wear it. But I still hang onto it during a purge because it still goes with everything and you never know when you might need it. Eventually it goes….but it could be a lot sooner.
There is justification for such purchases. I have an equal number of such items that were a real find and I wear them so often I think I can never live without them. Recent example: a black ultralight fake down vest and olive ultralight fake down jacket. Those 2 pieces get worn every day under or over other things, alone or together. My entire winter wardrobe now revolves around them. They cost about $10 each. Now the real down soft pink vest that was almost a daily wear last year ($50), hangs in the closet, never seeing the light of day. I think we are always destined to do this.
It was fun to see a capsule wardrobe on a real person for all those days. Excellent topic to share!
bettyewp
In decorating you always hear about people buying neutral pieces (sofa, carpet, wall color) that will “go with everything.” But then they do that with *everything* and never actually get The Thing that they got The Everything to go with. If that makes sense. It SOUNDS like good advice, in theory…but only works if you a) already have the “everything,” and b) don’t already have something that goes with the everything *better.”
The vest and jacket sound like really good finds!
Linda Root
Question: Are the pants all 3 or 4 season ? I get really warm so I’m limited on fabric choices. Your challenge was very helpful !
bettyewp
They’re 3-season-plus. I’ll wear them early summer until it just gets too hot. I wear dresses a lot in the summer so I don’t need as many pants…and when I do, I’m always on the lookout for well-fitting linen ones.