#13 is Lucky for Italians...I've got nothign about 14.

So I don't know about anyone else who's doing the challenge, but I feel like at the end of this I will never want to wear these pieces again. lol. I don't know... something about looking at them every day... I've sort of started to dislike getting dressed. This is probably because since it was my first time doing a challenge like this I really didn't know any better and picked some of the most BORING pieces in my closet. Good one Mel. Ah well, live and learn. And look at some outfits.

13:

5 + 15 + 29

14:

11 + 13 + 19 + 24

I have decided that at the end of this challenge I'm getting rid of those white flats. So be on the lookout in my shop or swap.

Number 12, a Casual Self

I know... it doen't quite rhyme. I was getting sick of just number titles though, haha.

Going super casual for the weekend but with a hint of my dressy self. My goodness I love these shoes, but they're starting to develop a hole on the inside where my big toe rubs against them... I'm sure it will be time to retire them soon enough, but until then I'm going to sport them constantly.

12 + 18 + 24

bangles - Vintage & Thrifted

belt - Dynamite (2007)

necklace - Gift from J (2010)

#11

Saturday night was too much fun. J and I ended up heading to the Lebanese festival, and even though it was kind of raining all night long we had a blast. Why is middle eastern food so good? We had falafel and kibbeh and of course hummus and tabouleh... and who can forget the baclava? Yes, we kind of pigged out... but so worth it!

Worn Sat, July 24th:

1 + 14 + 25

This shirt was definitely longer when I put this outfit together in my head.... in retrospect, not the greatest ensemble, but hey, we all make mistakes.

TEN

With all the hustle and bustle of leaving the old and getting settled into the new job I totally spaced on taking pictures for a few days... go team me. So there may or may not be a huge gap between dates... whoops! Ah well. I will just have to repeat some of the random outfits I threw on on my in-between days. No biggie.

Worn Fri, July 23rd:

3 + 17 + 29

I am incredibly thrilled with my acquisition of this skirt. While the colors are very "Mel", it is probably the busiest pattern I have ever owned and not something I would normally gravitate to. But isn't it preeeettttttty? They had the same skirt in black but I've made a promise to myself to not add anymore of that color to my wardrobe, and I'm quite glad I stuck with something for once or I would have never ended up with this beauty.

Changes to the 30

So I know that this is against the rules, but I figured that since I haven't actually WORN three of the items I'm switching in my capsule, it isn't TOTALLY cheating...
I just didn't want to leave yet another thing in my life incomplete, and about 50% of the items I originally selected are not office appropriate, so I figured by changing four of them I would at least be able to attempt to finish what I started :)

#8 will be changed from the blue tank from smart set to this cowl neck knit one from BCBG (purchased in 2008).

#9 is now this purple shiny button down i received as a gift for xmas, it's Dynamite.

#16, which i HAVE already worn in the challenge (see #6) is staying relatively similar but becoming longer with these dress pants I purchased last week from the Gap.

And finally, #17 is becoming a printed pencil skirt from Dynamite, which was also purchased last week.

As we can tell my shopping ban was a complete fail, haha, but I blame the random switching of jobs for that one. I'm trying again, as of today, for 30 days free of new clothes or shoes. My ban will end August 24th, just in time for me to spoil myself for my birthday on the 27th :) Hopefully I have better luck this time.

And that is that. I hope you all aren't too harsh on my for my wee bit of cheating!

Eight & Nine

I read many blogs every day and most of you are so eloquent I get wild pangs of jealousy. I wish I had the comedic timing of Kendi, or Brooke's depth, or Marie's inexhaustable optimism that rubs off on you by just reading her words... haha, but unfortunately I'm not verbally creative, nor can I show off any crazily artistic skill like Megan, Natasha, or Meghan, so I would like to thank you all for stickin' around and making me feel special :)

So now what I believe you all come here for... some outfits!

Worn Thurs, July 16th:

11 + 15 + 24

Worn Fri, July 17th:

12 + 13 + 20 + 30

Sorry for the bluriness! I didn't realize til the upload!

Six & Seven

It has definitely been a busy couple of days. I said farewell to Smart Set and my dear new friends. I will definitely miss those girls, but I just didn't fit into the retail equation. Thank goodness for facebook. In a few days I will be starting a new job as an accounts receivable clerk for a large realty company, which I am very excited about. I have no idea what it will really be like, but I look forward to the challenge. So along with this new job will come a new way of dressing, I'm sure. I'm going to try my best to complete my 30 look capsule, but I may have to do some substitution for some more professional looking clothing and get rid of the more casual items, like the abundance of tee shirts I included.

I will definitely keep you up to date on those swaps when they happen, but for now lets go back to some outfits that have already been created.

Worn Wed, July 14th:

4 + 16 + 30
belt - Smart set
bangles - vintage

Worn Thurs, July 15th:

10 + 14 + 19 + 27
owl necklace - Smart Set

Numbah Five!

Tuesday was my day off and apparently I was feeling silly... so get ready for some random poses. haha.

Worn Tues, July 13th:

6 + 18 + 19 + 26
beads - Smart Set

I can't believe I'm only at #5 and wearing #8 today... some of the girls are at 12! and 14! And it looks like they don't repeat ANYTHING! It looks like I will need to up my capsule skills in the next challenge and maybe integrate some dresses...

As for the job front, I've been looking elsewhere, so we'll see what happens. I'm actually waiting to hear back from an accounts receivable job in the near future... I know it may sound boring, but I do want to be an accountant after all! So keep your fingers crossed for me!
I've told my managers how I feel and though they're sad to see me go, they understand. Retail isn't for everyone. I will miss the girls (and the discount!) horribly though... but I guess that's what facebook is for!

Three and Four!

Thie remixing business is pretty easy so far! Hopefully I haven't spoken too soon... but besides my over-use of my beloved pencil skirt, I'm definitely wearing a variety of items :)
I really liked this next outfit... the skinny jeans made the button down super casual and comfy... even though I was dying by the end of my shift because of these heels!

Worn Fri, July 9th:

5 + 14 + 23 + 24
bracelet - Suzy Shier (2010)

And yes, as I hinted to earlier, I've already worn this skirt multiple times... but can you blame me? It's surprisingly comfy because of the stretch in it and goes with EVERYTHING! But I guess I could say that about all the bottoms I chose... I definitely wasn't very adventurous in that aspect.

Worn Mon, July 12th:

1 + 15 + 25
belt - Thrifted

On a non-capsule related note, I'm not sure how I'm feeling about the job anymore. I'm definitely having some problems. Don't get me wrong, I adore most of the girls, the company, and the clothes, but I'm not quite sure if it is a good "fit" for me and my personality.
I'm very much an introvert and being around so many people all the time is kind of difficult for me. Besides that aspect, I'm not really finding the job itself to be much of a challenge, which is something I require in my every day life. I need to feel... important? No, that's not the right word. More as if what I'm doing matters to the overall business, and at this point I'm not sure it does.
Anyhoo... thanks for listening, and I'll keep you posted on anything that may develop!

My 30 for 30 Capsule

Here are the contents of my capsule! As you know, the majority of the items were purchased within the last few months from Smart Set (hence the shopping ban now in effect!), so I will only give details on the items that aren't.

1. Blue/brown/gray blouse
2. Black & white halter
3. Gray tee
4. Green tunic
5. White dress shirt
6. Red tee

7. Green v-neck knit
8. Blue tank with flowers
9. Teal tee
10. White tee with pocket
11. Flower patterned blouse
12. Blue tee

13. White pants
14. Skinny jeans
15. Gray pencil skirt
16. Black capris - Le Chateau (2008)
17. White tennis skirt - Thrifted (2010)
18. Boyfriend jeans - Guess (2010)

19. Boyfriend blazer - Ricki's (2009)
20. Oatmeal cardigan
21. Black long sleeved cardigan
22. White jersey drapey thing
23. Black 3/4 sleeve cardigan

24. Pink heels - Guess (2007)
25. Mint green heels - Spring (2010)
26. Black cutout wedges - Chinese Laundry (2010)
27. Red wedges - Steve Madden (2006)
28. Gladiators - Spring (2009)
29. White flats - American Eagle (2010)
30. Gold flats - Aldo (2009)

I've decided to include weekends in the 30 days, so I've thrown in a few more casual pieces. As I mentioned before, accessories won't count, and I won't be counting the little tank tops I wear under everything either. So wish me luck for the next little while! I'm pretty sure the hardest part will be not being able to wear different shoes... this is only a small fraction of my collection!

Outfit #2

Just a quick little outfit post today! I have the day off tomorrow so I plan on outlining my capsule then!

Worn Thurs, July 8th-ish:

All items, including my FABULOUS new owl pendant, are from Smart Set this season, and my wedges (which gave me awful blisters on my big toes while trying to break them in!) are Chinese Laundry, which I purchased for half price last month at Urban Trade :)

Joining the Brigade & outfit #1

Dressing for work has really put a damper on my creativity and dressing-freedom. I'm only allowed to wear Smart Set clothing, and I don't have that many pieces yet, (it HAS only been three weeks!). So I've decided it's time to put a more positive spin on things and consider it a capsule.

I've compiled 30 pieces (including shoes) that I will rework 30 ways. So yes, you've guessed it, I'm joining Kendi's 30 for 30! Like hers, accessories do not count, and I probably will not post every day as I DO get days off work (thank god!) and there are bound to be a few repeats, but I will try my very best, and who knows? I may even get more than 30 out of it!

I'll post details on my capsule later on this week, but for now here's outfit #1:

Worn Wed, July 7th... or close to it:

cardi - Dynamite (2007)
blouse - Smart Set (2010)
pants - Smart Set (2010)
red wedges - Steve Madden (2006)
skinny belt - Costa Blanca (2007)

In the future (once I've outlined the items in my capsule) I will only include the number each item refers to and accessory details as I'm sure this will get incredibly repetitive!