I have been doing the 75 day hard style challenge, by Old Loser in Brooklyn, since the 2nd week of January. I have not bought any new clothing since then, I have tidied out my wardrobe and I have taken a photo of my outfit (almost) every day.
It has been 100% success, it has changed my shopping and browsing habits, it has made me be more adventurous with my style, hone in on my personal style and I diligently took a photo every single day. Well until last week.
As is the case when you have a young child, he got so sick with Strep A that it wiped us out for a lot of the week so I finish the challenge short of photographing 75 outfits, but such is life. He has back at school now and is feeling much better.
I will share some of the last outfits before we were struck down!
day 1
We went to a local restaurant to celebrate my son getting a good school report card. It is a very family friendly Italian restaurant with a soft play and an outdoor play ground. It has also recently been done up, they have put in a churro bar which we all had for dessert and it was delicious, I think churros might be my favourite treat.
I have been itching to wear this new black linen shift dress, which I talked about in one of my 1st posts. I had had this style of dress on my wish list for a while and was over the moon when I found it reduced at M&S just after Christmas. I really struggled to style it as it was too cold to wear bare legs or arms. In hindsight I should maybe have hung off wearing it for another month or so as for me this outfit was a bit of a miss.
I think in theory the white linen shirt over the black linen dress could work but it would have looked so much less corporate if I had bare legs and Birkenstocks. The tights and loafers just made this relaxed outfit look too stuffy. However, I do love this dress and cant wait to wear it as the weather gets nicer.
day 2
This was a hospital appointment day and after it I went and did some window shopping before doing the school and football run. This is an Autograph cashmere jumper which is soft, cosy and comfy. Red beaded M&S necklace again as I love it.
day 3
A wee day of running errands and hanging about a coffee shop. I had a pair of deck shoes on my wish list and I have tried on a couple of pairs of leather ones from M&S, but I just wasn’t sure of them and then I had an epiphany. I had these old ones from Clarks, which I never ever wear so I dug them out, added some new laces and they were good as new. This was a more preppy Americana vibe than I would usually go for, but it was comfortable and I felt pretty good in it.
The Top 10
So what were the top 10 most worn items from the last 75 days (well 3months as that’s how Indyx does the data)?
pre-loved grey M&S cashmere cardigan (similar)
pre-loved unbranded barn jacket
M&S navy cotton trousers (old)
vintage M&S red jumper
Next leather jacket (old)
H&M linen shirt (similar)
pre-loved cream Zara 1/4 zip
I don’t know if I want to analyse my top 10 too much,
but on 1st glace it reads like the worlds most boring capsule wardrobe. It does confirm that I do have a good back bone of basics. I could have guessed my jeans would be number 1 most worn, and at 30 wears in 3 months I have WORN these jeans. I am very keen to get my hands on the washed black colourway, and the cream, but they are sold out unfortunately.
I am pleased that 4 of the 10 items are pre-loved, only 28% of my entire wardrobe is second hand. Given that nearly half my most worn pieces are second hand has proven to me that you can get amazing items shopping second hand and the extra effort is worth it. Also interestingly 7 of the above items have been in my wardrobe for over 6months and 2 items for over 3 years, sometimes the oldies really are the goldies and if you buy great quality items that you really love they truly stand the test of time.
As I have mentioned before going forward I am going to shop for the sprinkles, the fun pieces to supplement all the great basics I already have so that hopefully going forward my most worn might contain something just a little more exciting.
Congratulations on making it!
I’m not surprised to see your leather jacket in your most worn items.