Dress Your Best Week - Day 5: To lean on

Tee: J Crew
Skirt: Target
Belt: Target
Booties: Aldo
Bracelet: gift from A
Earrings: Turkey
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Hair: courtesy of this tutorial (though I couldn't quite get the video to load, so I improvised.)

I will admit that I had a hard time deciding on the fifth feature to highlight this week. I was torn between my wide hips or my equally wide shoulders, and in the end I decided there's a lot of similarity between hips and thighs, so I decided to go with the shoulders.


I've often said that I have linebacker shoulders. I don't really know what a linebacker does because I prefer my football spelled fútbol, but I've heard they have broad shoulders. I do, too, especially for a woman of my stature. My mother is so tiny up top, with delicate little shoulders. My shoulders, however, come from my dad's side of the family. There is nothing delicate about my shoulders - they're wide and strong.


And while I've often been self-conscious about most of the other features I've talked about this week, I'm strangely proud of these shoulders. So I decided to play them up with a scoop neck top that's just a little ill-fighting in precisely that area - no scarf to draw the eye down, no necklace to serve the same purpose, just me and my shoulders in a simple tee.


Everyone says I look like my dad - la misma cara (the same face) - but I just don't see it. I do see him in these shoulders, my calves, and my bellybutton, though. (Yes, I know the last one is especially weird, but it's totally true.)


And I love that, because I love my daddy. I see him in my penchant for travel, in my work ethic, in my perfectionism (though I've got that coming from both parents), in my love of music, and my need to dream big. I feel like I talk a lot about what I've learned from my mom here on the blog, and she's really taught me a lot - a whole lot - but so has my dad.


My dad taught me to fight for things, that good things are worth making a sacrifice, that sometimes peer pressure works for the best, that I should demand the best treatment in every situation and relationship, and that I should let myself be led while dancing.


So thanks, Daddy, for all those lessons and for these shoulders. Oh, and I didn't drop anything, I just don't like looking at the camera. ;)

Fall 30x30 Round Up

Let's start with the easy part. Here are my top eleven looks. It was going to be a top ten, but I couldn't choose just ten looks. In fact, I'm still thinking about some of the runner ups. Did I say easy? I meant easier. Easier. Not easy.


And in case you want to revisit those posts, that would be outfits 31, 28, 27, 23, 21, 17, 15, 12, 10, 9, and 8.

After the last 30x30 challenge back in the summer, I felt like I'd come away with some lessons learned. This time around, I'm feeling less Eureka-y and more...cold. But, that doesn't mean I haven't learned a thing or two this time around.

1. A smaller closet makes your life easier. This has been a supremely stressful time for us what with the holidays, an impending move, family stuff, work, volunteering, etc., etc., etc. It was nice to have one part of my life that was relatively uncomplicated even if it did mean that I often wished for warmer sweaters.

2. Fall is a crazy season. The temperatures ranged from the 70s to the 20s and I was so not thinking about the 20s when I was picking out my 30x30 pieces. If I do this during another indecisive month, I will try my hardest to choose my items with the coldest part of the season in mind. Part of me thinks this will be easier to do in spring when things start out cold and get warmer. Of course, I hate the cold and I'm always in denial when it comes to wintery weather, so who knows.

3. Skirts are my favorite. My basic skirts got a ton of play this time around. I wish I'd worn my patterned full skirt one more time, but it's unlined and it got way too cold for that quickly (see point #2). I'm going to wear it lots and lots this spring, though.

4. I need more color in my (cold weather) life. I chose way too many black items, which meant I was pretty bored with my options pretty quickly. Part of that is because I just really love black, part of it is because I really, really love black when it's cold out, and part of it is because I am practical. Anyway, I am not allowed to buy any more black for a good, long time.

5. I get creative when I have fewer options. My absolute favorite outfit never would've happened if it weren't for the 30x30. A super femme embellished cardi with leopard print? Black and bright yellow? But then it just worked so stinkin' well and I loved it. Yes, there were some boring outfits, but that's mostly because I am not really a risk taker when it comes to choosing items to wear for 30 days. Most days, I found myself gravitating towards the more distinctive pieces: pattern, bright colors, and embellishments, please.

6. There are so many amazing bloggers out there. This I knew before the challenge, but then, you know, I was faced with a list of over 300 fellow bloggers who were also embarking on the challenge, and I discovered so. Many. More. I've got to update my blog roll, for real. You know, sometime in January.

7. The jury is still out on whether or not it's a good idea to do a 30x30 challenge before moving out of the country. On the one hand, it's helped me to focus on the moving aspect of my life; on the other, I really have to make some decisions about my closet, and it would've been nice to see just how useful some of these cool weather pieces (which I will need in the Costa Rican rainforest) will be. Instead, I was playing with a few pieces I already knew I liked. Oh, and one never worn dress that is now in the give away pile.

So what do y'all think? Do you have any favorite 30x30 looks? Any lessons you've learned either as a participant or an observer?

Lessons and my Top Ten

So, looking back on the 30x30, it turns out it wasn't as difficult as I'd originally imagined. Yes, I had a few days when I hated all the pieces, but overall, it was pretty positive. I was amazed by the number of outfits I was able to construct and by the different combinations I tried.

I feel like I can still do a lot with the pieces, and I think I might try, but it's nice to "shop my closet".

If I could sum the whole thing up in a nice list of bullet points, it'd look a little something like this:

• I love that patterned skirt from Target more than I ever thought possible. It's way more versatile than I originally imagined and it's one of the pieces I kept going back to. Who knew?!
  
• Accessories are key - sometimes all you need is a different belt and you have a completely different outfit. Isn't it amazing how the little things can totally change the mood and the "register" of the outfit?
  
  
• I don't like pants. This is not news, but I still included four pairs - two pairs of jeans, a pair of cropped pants, and a pair of leggings. One pair of jeans would've been fine, and then I could've thrown in another skirt.
  
  
• Dresses feel like cheating - but I just can't stay away! And I discovered they work quite well as tops. In fact, I wore dresses as tops three times during the challenge, with mixed reactions from my husband.
  
  
• Shoes are my weakness. More than my summer dresses or my skirts or my tops, I missed my shoes. Next time around, I'd throw out a top and add a pair of shoes.
  
  
• I wish I'd added one additional woven shirt. No real reason other than they're pretty and professional - I ended up needing more professional looks than I'd anticipated.
  
  
• This would probably be more challenging in the winter or the fall, but it'd be more "remix-y" then, too. Layering definitely ups the creativity quotient whereas heatwaves mean all I want is a dress and bare feet.
  
  
• I'll be able to survive a wardrobe that fits in a single suitcase. A big reason for me to take on this challenge was because I knew that B. and I have a big move coming up and we'll only be able to take what fits in our suitcases. In other words, I need to downsize. And the thought totally scared me, because what if I ended up wandering the rain forest in my pajamas because I couldn't find anything to wear? The thing is, I realized I probably won't get to that. I can make things work, and make them look good, even if I only have 50 pounds of items to my name.
  

And now, here's a look at my Top Ten 30x30 looks (click to enlarge):