Here’s the scoop. Last year, I decided I needed a shirt dress. Why? Well, somehow I became convinced it was a classic wardrobe staple missing from my closet, and that it was imperative that I redress the oversight. Don’t ask, just go with it. Initially, I had my eye on a Sophie Theallet for Limited dress, but the bidding on eBay went above my budget, so I had to reconsider. This J. Crew dress is … nothing remotely similar, save for meeting the generic shirt dress criteria. The photos on the listing were bad, but the price was pretty good, so I took a chance.
And then.
If you guys think this dress looks borderline dowdy now, you should have seen it when I first got it. My husband took one look, and proceeded to laugh for thirty minutes, give or take. Picture it about 5 inches longer, and firmly in Duggar family territory. Still, nothing makes me want to double down on questionable fashion choices more than my husband’s ribbing. Length issues aside, the dress fit well and had a nice hand-feel (seersucker-ish, perfect for summer). I decided to have the hem taken up above the knee to try to de-dowdy-fy it as much as possible. And there you have it.
At least we’re in hausfrau territory now. I’ll take it.
Here’s a closer look at the details, and my fifty shades of mismatched brown.
It is Friday!! I still get excited about Fridays out of habit, even though, in my current life, the distinction between weekday and weekend is mostly a philosophical one. Anywaaaay, Friday – yay! Let’s take a look at what’s tormenting my poor budget this week.
Cynthia Rowley Lei T-Shirt
Cynthia Rowley Lei T-Shirt
Words cannot express how much I am crushing on this damn thing. It’s like … the Jon Snow of t-shirts.* (There is also a dress version, but it looks like the Accidental Flashing factor would be high with that one.) But … 175 American dollars for a t-shirt made in China?! Unless it comes hand-delivered by Kit Harington himself, no thanks.
* Even though I’m more of an Oberyn Martell/Petyr Baelish kind of girl, and Jon Snow is so the ultimate Mary Sue character, I just can’t quit that boy. Don’t judge me and my weakness for dark, curly-haired Brits. And outsiders with hearts of gold, and secret red-headed girlfriends. Or judge me. I revel in my basic bitch-ness.
Michael Kors Watch
Michael Kors ** Watch
I have a love/hate relationship with Michael Kors watches. I hate that every single woman here between the ages of 25 and 35 seems to wear one of them, but I genuinely love this particular version. I blame my current obsession with all things blue. Realistically, I know I shouldn’t even consider buying this; I own three watches and I wear none of them regularly, especially when I’m not at work. Buuuuuuut … maybe this could prove the exception? That perfect watch that doesn’t feel in-the-way when I’m wearing it?
There is also the cheaper Fossil version:
Fossil Cecile Watch
J. Crew Factory Peasant Blouse
J. Crew Factory Peasant Blouse
Again with my need to have all. the. blue. things. On the other hand, how cute is this? So cute, right? The white embroidery is just right – it makes a visual impact, but doesn’t clobber you over the head with its twee-ness. It is totally going on my June shopping list.
Chanel Reflets d’Ete Polishes (Summer 2014)
Chanel Summer 2014 polishes
It seems like forever since Chanel last released some new polishes … so, of course, we now get 5 at once. My self-imposed limit is 2 (because, hello, budget!), but I want at least 3 (pictured above). Ugh, decisions!
So … the title pretty much sums it up. Everybody, including your grandma, your 2-year old niece, and your cat, has already done a 30 x 30 challenge or twelve, but it seems that I’m all about chasing bandwagons that left the station 3 years ago, so here we are. In all seriousness, though, I’m working through a bit of a funk (and not of the fun, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch variety), and I thought a simple little project like this would provide some much-needed distraction. It’s actually a great time to do it, too, because my closet is at its pared-down leanest, and my day-to-day clothing needs are much simpler than before, now that I’m at home all the time.
Speaking of which, some of you may wonder why I go to trouble of getting “dressed up” (I use that term loosely here) every most days when my daily to-do list typically involves mundane errands and running after small kids. The answer is … not this blog, actually. I don’t really dress up for the blog anymore. (I find that, whenever I tried to be “creative” and “so fashun” in the past, more often than not the resulting outfits were … questionable. At this point, I’ll take boring over ridiculous-looking. I’m closer to being an old fart than a 22-year old pixie.) I dress up because not doing it makes me feel worse. Worse about myself, about whatever small annoyances creep up in my day, about the weather, you name it. It’s kind of like … taking a shower. You can probably get away with not doing it every day, and some days it might seem like a small luxury, but you feel 100% better if you take that 5 minutes all for yourself. But I digress.
I’m excited about doing the 30 x 30 challenge now (unlike before) because I’ve been working a lot lately on exploring a more minimalist approach to dressing (not just in terms of quantity, but also style); now, I see the limitations of the challenge as providing an opportunity to test my mettle, rather than an exercise in frustration. (Picking 30 items is much easier when you have 60 to choose from, as opposed to 120.)
I expect to break absolutely no new style ground with this challenge. I can promise that you will not see anything you haven’t seen before, possibly even on this very blog. In fact, if you skip this post entirely, things will seem to be pretty much business-as-usual around here. But, in case you feel like playing spot-the-repeat at home (could be a fun drinking game!), here are my 30 pieces for the next 30 days:
L to R: Old Navy; eBay; J. Crew; J. Crew Factory; Vero Moda (the 6th top (Old Navy) is not pictured because I forgot)
Three cardigans and a sweater …
All from J. Crew Factory
Three dresses and a skirt …
L to R: J. Crew Factory skirt; Joe Fresh; Old Navy; J. Crew (via eBay)
Five jackets/toppers …
L to R: Gap; Old Navy; Tommy Hilfiger Factory; Old Navy; J. Crew (via consignment)
And six pairs of shoes …
Top row (L to R): J. Crew (via consignment); Tory Burch (via Kijiji); J. Crew Factory; Old Navy Bottom row (L to R): Gap Factory; Old Navy; Mel; Converse
Um, make that 8 pairs of shoes. Also, math is hard, you guys. Yep, I managed to include 31 items in my 30 x 30 capsule. Hahahahaha! Hah! Ha! Sob! I’m laughing mostly to keep from crying because, OMG, complete fail. Head, meet desk, etc. I would take out a couple of pairs of shoes, except it’s too late now.* I need a drink.
On that successful note, let’s start this damn thing, eh!
*Quick scheduling note: I’m running the 30 x 30 posts every day starting on June 1, because it seemed sensible to do it over the course of a 30 day month; however, I actually started the project this month, because the blog runs 2 weeks behind. It’s neither here not there (except for making it impossible to fix my mathematical incompetence), but those of you who follow me on Instagram will have already seen a bunch of my outfits. Of course, you will now get my scintillating commentary so there’s that.
