Learning How to Wear Clothes

I needed a distraction today, so I decided to share what I’ve been up to so far this year as far as clothes-wearing goes.  You would think that wearing outfits would be intuitive.  But after perusing fashion blogs the last few months, I discovered that I didn’t really know how to mix and match my clothing pieces to put outfits together.  Not only that, but I didn’t know what types of clothes flatter my body.

So in mid December, I signed up for the Putting Me Together Winter Style Challenge.  I have been admiring Audrey’s style anyways.  And work is super-busy for me in January.  Why not have a stylist tell me what to wear every day for 30 days??  After joining the challenge, I got a shopping list of items that are included in the 30 days of outfits.  I had most of the items in my closet already.  I did buy 8-10 things to round out my closet so I could mix and match better.  You can bet I was excited when January 2nd rolled around and someone else told me what outfit to wear that day!  Every day in January we get an outfit put together that we’re supposed to wear, so at least take inspiration from to put together our own outfits.  Audrey also tells you the basics of what to put together, in case you don’t have the exact pieces.

I also downloaded the Stylebook app onto my phone and put most of the clothing pieces I have into my “closet” in Stylebook, so I could put my own outfits together.  I am LOVING this app!  You can edit the categories of your “closet” to suit you better.

The below outfits are ones I created from actual items inside my closet.  Like, I really had never thought of wearing some of these pieces together until this app! 

And it has a calendar function where I can plan out my outfits day by day so I don’t even have to think about what to wear.   Of course, during January I’m just wearing the outfits suggested by the Putting Me Together Winter Style Challenge.  I really love this method of putting outfits together, because I am an analytical person and I love any sort of formula or algorithm that I can utilize to make life easier for me!

Below are my outfits every day.  I’m really enjoying getting dressed every day now.  And I really think it has helped me with keeping a positive body image and dressing myself with clothes that fit me.

Monday 1/2 – neutral button-up + black bottoms + black vest + black boots

Tuesday 1/3 – striped tee + cardigan + jeans + riding boots

Wednesday 1/4 – printed dress + blazer + riding boots (wore a vest instead of blazer)

Thursday 1/5 – colored blouse + colored jeans + white vest + gray booties (added a sweater and wore cognac booties instead)

Friday 1/6 – black jeans + dark sweater + black boots (went rogue and wore whatever, because I worked from home and made it casual Friday!

Monday 1/9 – colored jeans + light colored sweater + white vest + gray booties (wore cognac riding boots instead)

Tuesday 1/10 – neutral button-up + neutral sweater + jeans + tan booties (wore tee instead of button-up underneath sweater)

Wednesday 1/11 – colored printed button-up + black vest + black jeans + riding boots (I wore my black slip on loafers instead)

Thursday 1/12 – striped tee + colored skirt + blazer + printed scarf (I did wear the scarf, but just on the way to work)

Friday 1/13 – printed dress + cardigan + riding boots (wore vest instead of cardigan)

Monday 1/16 – solid dress + printed scarf + gray booties + tights (wore black boots instead of gray booties, and added a cardigan, since it was a sleeveless dress)

Tuesday 1/17 – white blouse + colored jeans + cardigan + mustard scarf (wore printed scarf instead, and the pants were gingham, which aren’t technically “colored”)

Wednesday 1/18 – dark sweater + printed scarf + blazer + jeans + brown booties (no scarf for me)

Thursday 1/19 – colored blouse + black vest + black jeans + black boots (wore cognac boots instead)

I used to just throw on a top and throw on a bottom and go to work.  I am really enjoying putting the pieces in my closet to use, and coming up with outfit combinations with a smaller mix-and-match wardrobe.  Both the Putting Me Together Style Challenge and the Stylebook app has made getting dressed less stressful and more fun this January!

I realize that there are more important/somber things going on in the world today, but I thought this post is fun and would make some of you smile, or inspire you to look at your own closet in a different way.  I’m new at this, but let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them.