If you missed the introduction, please visit 12 Days of a Dress so that you can get caught up on what’s going on here. Now, I’m sure you have a few questions concerning this challenge, so let me get these out of the way. By the way, these are real questions that I was asked by my family and friends (in real life, so they are legit!)
- Are you actually wearing this dress every day? Hate to burst your bubble, but NO. I wore the dress 8 out of 12 times. I’m also a stay-at-home-mom so I didn’t need to leave the house every day.
- Did you wash the dress? I washed it and line dried it every weekend. Yes, this gal sweats, and thank you for asking instagram follwer.
- Why are you doing the dress thingy? It began as a personal challenge, and turned into a tool to help empower women on how to be creative with a basic dress, and not feel like they have nothing to wear.
- Will you do it again? Absolutely.
- Did you photograph yourself every day? Nope. My eleven year old daughter graciously shot these photos in front of our house on two different days. She rocks!
And, hopefully you will join me in trying this challenge after I show you how simple it can be. All of the extra clothes, accessories, and shoes were picked from my fall capsule wardrobe. I did NOT go and buy anything to complete any of these looks. I shopped my closet and used what I had. I will add that doing a capsule wardrobe for seven months prior to this challenge helped me to have a lot of basic capsule wardrobe necessities. Here we go!
Look 1: This outfit really lets the dress shine. All I added was a patterned scarf, suede booties, and a vintage bag. I’m starting basic with you, so that you can see that the dress really is flattering on it’s own. The lace detail on the sleeve and hemline really pop with this look.
Look 2: Here, I did a little something that got a lot of feedback. Chucks with a dress. Did you realize that chucks are a classic shoe now? It’s funny how time dictates what becomes classic and what is a fad. This whole look is taken down-to-earth with the chucks, a jean vest, sunglasses, and a tote bag. I clearly have someplace fun to go! Yeah, it was the park to watch the kiddos play. In the tote was a book for me to read. (double fun!)
Look 3: Just try it right now. Go belt your cardigan. It will feel weird at first, but I promise that it will completely change the look of your outfit. Plus, you will earn style points! Now to change the subject to my gorgeous Frye’s, which were my first investment of high quality shoes that I bought with money that I begged for, borrowed, and stole, about five years ago. I went shopping for running shoes, and left with these. It was a complete New Year’s resolution fail, but I can really run like the wind in them if I have to! I absolutely love them. Just to give you an idea of where I wear these outfits, I went to Panera to meet a client. My life isn’t glamorous, but I like to feel glamorous.
Look 4: The fourth look was one of my own personal eye-openers. Did you know that you can put a shirt over a dress and the dress magically becomes a skirt? Yes, yes! Of course, I belted this look too. (for the last time, go try it!) I chose a fitted white button down shirt with a grid (or windowpane) pattern. Usually, I go for my plain white button down, but I wanted to play with patterns a little by adding the leopard shoes. Since this style challenge was about being playful and learning new things, this look made me feel confident and is my favorite so far.
Stay tuned for eight more looks.
Which one is your favorite?