Dress, no label (thrifted); shoes. Old Navy; cardigan, J. Crew Factory; bag, Mulberry (via consignment)
With the 30 x 30 challenge fiiiinally over, of course I had to wear all the new things. I promised I would, and I’m a woman of my word. So. New things! (Just not all of them, because that would be impossible considering my, ahem, shopping habits.)
First, a maxi dress I thrifted sometime last fall; it meets my not-really-exacting maxi dress requirements by being (a) under $10, (b) bright; and (c) cotton blend. It does hug the body a little more than I’d like, so I’m officially on the lookout for a second (more hands-offish) maxi dress for days when a big lunch is on the agenda.
Second, my newish Mulberry Bayswater bag. Can you believe I bought her all the way back in February and never wore her? Well, until now. I was going to wait until September, because she’s more an office bag than a mom-of-wildlings bag, but my patience and willpower have limits. So, at the risk of looking ridiculous, I brought her out to be paired with a cheap ‘n loud maxi dress. If that’s not the epitome of hi/lo pairings, I don’t know what is. You better believe I guarded her closer than Castle Black.* I’m happy to report she suffered no ill effects on her first outing.
Oh, and this is what I wore earlier on the same day (hello, fickle Edmonton “summer” weather):
Cracking up because my husband called me an old hippie
* I’m still in the throes of Games of Thrones withdrawal. Bear with me, and if you’re feeling especially charitable, send me pics of Kit Harington. Bless.
I did a couple of these posts before (here and here), and y’all didn’t hate them so here we are: time for another round of changing room selfies. F–k yeah! It’s like we get to go shopping together. Breaking down the fourth wall, etc. This is gonna be awesome.
This time, I wanted to check out Joe Fresh. I want to do that every week when I go grocery-shopping, but usually there is no time. So, last week, when the boy was with his grandparents, I ditched my husband and the baby in the produce aisle, and made a beeline for the clothes racks. I ended up trying on a mixed bag of things, but there were a few winners in there. All of these should still be available in stores, in case you want to check them out for yourselves. (Spoiler: there are a couple you really really should.)
Joe Fresh Stripe Flare Skirt
I was drawn to this burlap-y skirt despite the fact that it is, well, a fancy burlap sack. What can I say – stripes. Vertical stripes are kinda rare, no? Anyway, the skirt was ok. Too puffy on me. It’s not a skirt for the pear-shaped, but it could be cute on the right girl. But $29? Um, nope.
(For reference, I’m wearing the medium here.*)
The top was a random pick, because I needed something to wear with all the bottoms I was trying, but it’s actually not bad. Very nice colour. Cotton, which is always nice. I can’t find it on the Joe Fresh website, which is not surprising because they have eleventy million products and zero helpful names/descriptions.
Joe Fresh Stripe Maxi Skirt
The best part about this maxi skirt is that it doesn’t come with that stupid fold-over waistband that all maxi skirts seem to possess. Am I the only person annoyed by that? My pooch doesn’t need help being poochy; it manages just fine on its own. Anyway, this skirt has a plain elastic waistband instead. And, yet, it still does weird things to my lower torso – probably because of the pockets.
Pocket-y
Oh yeah, it has pockets. Now, normally this is a good thing. I love pockets. Who doesn’t? Except, in this case, they bug. Your mileage may vary, obviously.
(I’m wearing a small, and the skirt is $29.)
Joe Fresh Soft Print Pant
Oh boy. I tried on these pants mostly as a joke, but the joke ended up being on me. These are pretty much my worst nightmare in pant form. 100% polyester. In warm weather, these are basically a sweat sack for your legs. To top it off, they are cut insanely tight across the hips … but, like, at a weird spot, which is not even my widest point. I would burn these with fire, except they’re not my property and that would be arson.
(I’m wearing a medium. The pants are $29.)
Joe Fresh Print Boatneck Dress
Very cute print, nice rayon jersey ($24). My only issue with this dress is that the waist sits a leeeeettle bit high, as if the dress was cut for petite sizing. The small fit me well otherwise, so I don’t think that sizing was the issue. I hate when dresses have too-high waists. Oh well.
Joe Fresh Stripe Boatneck dress
This was really nice. A lot of black-and-white striped dresses in this price range ($24) are made from super thin material that requires some careful selection of undergarments. Not this dress. This one had a nice opacity, top and bottom. And the waist hit the right spot on me. I didn’t end up getting because (a) I have too many dresses (although, to be fair, that has never stopped me from buying more), and (b) I was getting a wee bit of a Hamburglar vibe looking in the mirror, and I just didn’t feel adventurous enough to say “why the heck not”.
(I’m wearing a medium.)
Joe Fresh Dress
I loved this one! And this was my husband’s favourite too. But! The material is flimsier than for the previous dress, and you get those transparency issues I talked about before. Also, the medium was huuuuuge on me, and they didn’t have a small. (I can’t find this dress on the Joe Fresh website, and there were limited sizes available in the store. I’m not 100% sure of the price anymore, but it was either $19 or $24.)
The sadness
See, I had the sadz. Joe Fresh, why the hell is your sizing all over the damn place?
Joe Fresh V-Neck Dress
Ok, this dress. Is good. So good. Comfortable, flattering, perfect for summer. It’s an empire waist that will not make you look pregnant, but will, in fact, discreetly accommodate any food baby you might be gestating. For $19, it simply doesn’t get better. I hemmed and hawed over it for a good long while, and it took a supreme act of willpower to leave it behind. And that only because I already have a million summer dresses (see above) – plus, I had already completely blown my June budget by the time I found this dress. But you guys need to go buy this dress. Now. Run!
And, while you’re there, don’t forget to check out my 30 x 30 striped dress; the coral version is currently on sale for $20.
So, that’s it. You got questions, I’ll have answers for you in the comments. Hit me up!
Oh, and do let me know if you enjoy these posts, or if you’d rather gouge your own eyes with a rusty spoon than go anywhere near another changing room with me.
* To give you a sense of fit, I am 5’7, and normally wear size 6-8 in dresses, and size 10 in pants.
Look, I know you were thinking it too. I’m happy, you’re happy, everyone is happy now that this blasted challenge is over. Let us never speak of it again. But first: a quick recap. Haha! Gotcha! You thought you were home free, but you’re not. Not just yet.
Here is an abbreviated summary of my thoughts on this entire process:
Day 1: I’ve made a terrible mistake.
Day 2: I f—-g hate everything I have to wear right now.
Day 6: Gah! These pants make me look like I’m smuggling Jon Hamm’s trouser bulge. FML.
Day 9: I like blue a lot. Also red and cognac. Not the drink.
Day 10: I need a drink.
Day 15: Wait, this is still not over yet?!
Day 21: It’s been raining for 3 days, and I have no rain gear in the line-up. A pair of saggy-crotched pants, but no rain gear.
Day 22: It’s still raining. Also, I f—–g hate everything I have to wear right now.
Day 23: Sun!! I love everything! You too, saggy-crotched pants.
Day 26: When this is over, I am wearing all of my clothes. At the same time. All of them.
Day 29: I’m pretty sure I have never been more excited to be done with an arbitrary, self-imposed, completely irrelevant project than I am at this very moment.
Day 30: YESSSSSSSSSS!!!
Day 31: What the hell do I wear now?!
I have learned … basically nothing new. Working with a capsule wardrobe makes getting dressed easy, because it limits your available options thereby making them manageable. I prefer to get the same result by prepping a list of outfits ahead of time, but keeping my clothing options wide open. Can I wear the same 30 pieces over and over, without the sky falling? Well, duh! But I’m not going to enjoy it either, which … duh! Like I said, this was revelatory not at all. But I did the damn challenge, and I can now cross it off my bucket list. If I had one. Which I don’t.
Maybe I should make a bucket list next. I’m only – what? – 5 years behind the trend on that one. Ten? Perfect!
Here’s a recap of my 30 outfits, in no particular order.
I love these pants a ridiculous amount. Also, the middle pic above is my #1 favourite outfit of this entire challenge.
Skinny jeans are always a safe bet.
Ditto for Marc by Marc Jacobs bags. I have a sickness, but I ain’t looking for a cure.
This J. Crew dress is a great casual LBD. I’m not sure why I didn’t wear it more often.
Ah, the potato sack of glory!
This is one of the few pieces I can probably bring myself to wear again this summer. Oh, and the right pic below is my #2 fave outfit.
Speaking of closet workhorses, this J. Crew Factory skirt is one of the best $20 investments I ever made. Well, at J. Crew anyway.
The outfit on the left below is tied for #3 fave, but I might be biased because I wore it on a Good Hair Day.
This is the “other pants” category, which … meh. The “Jon Hamm” pants have already been relegated to playground duty, and not a moment too soon.
Last, but not least, this cute striped Joe Fresh dress is … still cute. And you can probably still find it at your local Superstore/Loblaws so, you know, think about it. [And by that I mean: buy it! Do it!!]
Have you done a 30 x 30 challenge? Did you hate it as much as I did? Would you consider doing one, or have I completely horrified you away from the mere thought of it? C’mon, spill!
I couldn’t end this post without saying: Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! This year marks the 19th anniversary of my family’s arrival in this country. My parents and I came here to start a new life, and what a crazy, wonderful adventure it has been. I am so proud to call Canada my home and native land.
