I had no intention of participating in the challenge since I had a risk-reducing surgery on 4/30 (laparoscopic BSO) requiring days of prep and an unknown recovery period. But, alas, the ideas around the challenge have been really interesting as I've gotten "dressed" this past week while recovering with a tender belly, incisions, and restrictions around movement. With comfort as my sole priority, once I was feeling good enough to leave the safety and sanctuary of my bedroom, I really wanted to "get dressed" -- I've rediscovered so many items in my closet that formerly I didn't wear very often b/c of dumb self-imposed rules or the comments of other people. I'm talking about billowy dresses and tops, beautiful garments with volume and color. These items are now so beloved b/c they are part of my recovery as I regain strength, stamina, and a sense of being in the world again. A whole new perspective. The language around the challenge helped me so much with this transition.
May 10·edited May 10Liked by Dacy Gillespie, Virginia Sole-Smith, Corinne Fay
I must agree with Corinne that it was fun to share the outfits on social media. I shared mine on Instagram mainly so that I had a record. I don't have friends on Instagram. But on FB I was the talk of the town among friends. Everyone got a kick out of my participation in the challenge. Lots of comments on favorites and not so favorites. Overall what they saw was a definite style, which I didn't think I particularly had. I loved the reviews. Nice to step out into a world outside telework, grocery store clerks, the barber, nail salon, and the pharmacist. Friday night dress up. Symphonie Fantastique at The Kennedy Center. Ooh, what to wear?
And about those socks, Corinne. I must wear compression socks and I wear the wildest. My cardiologist loves checking my ankles for fluid so that he can see any socks. I think it's becoming a fetish! Wear the funky socks!
May 10Liked by Dacy Gillespie, Corinne Fay, Virginia Sole-Smith
Hopping in to the comments to share my discovery of the last year: the enormously freeing act of *laying out my clothes the night before*. Yes, like in kindergarten. I've started to do it even for weekend days. It's somehow so much easier for me to decide what to wear at night rather than in the morning! Then I wake up and don't have to think about it.
I didn’t do the challenge in earnest but I did try a few things that were uncomfortable, including wearing sweats/joggers out to the store, which is an internal rule I had for myself as a small/medium fat.
The Marie Kondo folding method really did transform my dresser drawer and lessened my rage when trying to find a shirt. Doesn’t work as well for my pajamas.
On Virginia’s point about moving these photos to a folder and Corinne’s about the closet set-up: coming out of the pandemic, I started snapping a photo of every outfit I put together (not throwing on whatever to do errands, but heading out to work, to meet up with ppl, etc). I now have almost three years of outfits in a folder and while this definitely wouldn’t work for some people, it’s been tremendously helpful for me. I can see my closet at a glance, see how I styled a particular piece, see what gets worn a lot and what doesn’t. I think it’s helped me get more value out of and appreciation for my existing wardrobe, but it also gives me permission to buy something I like even if I don’t “need” it because I know I’ll be wearing it for years in all different configurations. Does anyone else do anything like this? Would love to hear about people’s experiences.
Yeah I use stylebook! I’ve been recording for 1122 continuous days. It’s so, so helpful - I really make an effort to add a piece I’m considering acquiring to test how it will go with my existing clothes! Or to see…am I just drawn to something that I already have? It’s such a useful tool - you can either add pieces individually to the calendar or add them together as an outfit, and you can categorize outfits so that you can look at your office wear at a glance, for example.
May 10Liked by Corinne Fay, Virginia Sole-Smith, Dacy Gillespie
I didn't participate because I didn't see the first post for a bit (full confession). By the time I caught up I just read and appreciated. What it did make me do, though, was roll up my straight leg jeans and wear them with a cute pair of shoes and that transformed my feelings about straight leg jeans. I too prefer the skinny leg and every time I wore the straight leg I was only wearing them because that was what was clean and I needed to wear jeans or something like that. I really didn't like how I felt in them-- something about the fabric flapping around my ankles. But roll up the legs and I felt pretty cool and they looked good. Thanks for the fashion breakthrough!
Loved the challenge. It made me realize I live neutrals and stripes in top AND I ordered the Anthropologie barrel oil to pants in neutral and red. Which for me is huge. Thanks Virginia, Davy and Corrine! Can’t wait for the new Substack Corrine
Corrine, I loved those striped shorts so much I went to order a pair from old navy… to discover I had already ordered them in a different color two days before 😅 I may need to take a shopping break lol (too late for this time, already ordered lol)
I passed by the Wray store in New York last weekend and saw that dress! I really wanted it! But I didn’t try it on because there was a dog in the store and I got really distracted by how cute she was, especially when a random small child entered and proceeded to befriend the dog, and I got too distracted…. Seeing how amazing it looks on you, I really think I should go back for that dress
Virginia, can I ask what size you typically wear in Target brands? The Butter dress is sold out in plus but I'm wondering if the XXL would work if it runs large/roomy. My kids and I have waterpark season passes this year (thanks in-laws!) and I'll need something fast for heading from pool to rides, and for sun coverage.
I actually do typically wear their XXL in anything relaxed fit, (and 1X in something more form-fitting like a t-shirt.) I think it tends to be roomy and pretty on par with the 1X sizing.
I had no intention of participating in the challenge since I had a risk-reducing surgery on 4/30 (laparoscopic BSO) requiring days of prep and an unknown recovery period. But, alas, the ideas around the challenge have been really interesting as I've gotten "dressed" this past week while recovering with a tender belly, incisions, and restrictions around movement. With comfort as my sole priority, once I was feeling good enough to leave the safety and sanctuary of my bedroom, I really wanted to "get dressed" -- I've rediscovered so many items in my closet that formerly I didn't wear very often b/c of dumb self-imposed rules or the comments of other people. I'm talking about billowy dresses and tops, beautiful garments with volume and color. These items are now so beloved b/c they are part of my recovery as I regain strength, stamina, and a sense of being in the world again. A whole new perspective. The language around the challenge helped me so much with this transition.
Interesting that you were able to do that once forced into a situation where comfort was the priority!
I must agree with Corinne that it was fun to share the outfits on social media. I shared mine on Instagram mainly so that I had a record. I don't have friends on Instagram. But on FB I was the talk of the town among friends. Everyone got a kick out of my participation in the challenge. Lots of comments on favorites and not so favorites. Overall what they saw was a definite style, which I didn't think I particularly had. I loved the reviews. Nice to step out into a world outside telework, grocery store clerks, the barber, nail salon, and the pharmacist. Friday night dress up. Symphonie Fantastique at The Kennedy Center. Ooh, what to wear?
And about those socks, Corinne. I must wear compression socks and I wear the wildest. My cardiologist loves checking my ankles for fluid so that he can see any socks. I think it's becoming a fetish! Wear the funky socks!
Hopping in to the comments to share my discovery of the last year: the enormously freeing act of *laying out my clothes the night before*. Yes, like in kindergarten. I've started to do it even for weekend days. It's somehow so much easier for me to decide what to wear at night rather than in the morning! Then I wake up and don't have to think about it.
I did this for YEARS, all through school, college and my first office jobs. Honestly wonder why I stopped!
I didn’t do the challenge in earnest but I did try a few things that were uncomfortable, including wearing sweats/joggers out to the store, which is an internal rule I had for myself as a small/medium fat.
The Marie Kondo folding method really did transform my dresser drawer and lessened my rage when trying to find a shirt. Doesn’t work as well for my pajamas.
There’s a Universal Standard pair of jeans that has an elastic waist and doesn’t fall down. They are straight leg and even though I have no butt/hips and a large waist, they stay in shape pretty well, even after sitting. https://www.universalstandard.com/products/comfortdenim-stovepipe-jeans-28-inch-western-blue-wash
Ooh I have been curious to try these bc I have and love the skinny jean version!
Only complaint is that the waistband sometimes folds over. It’s easy enough to fix.
On Virginia’s point about moving these photos to a folder and Corinne’s about the closet set-up: coming out of the pandemic, I started snapping a photo of every outfit I put together (not throwing on whatever to do errands, but heading out to work, to meet up with ppl, etc). I now have almost three years of outfits in a folder and while this definitely wouldn’t work for some people, it’s been tremendously helpful for me. I can see my closet at a glance, see how I styled a particular piece, see what gets worn a lot and what doesn’t. I think it’s helped me get more value out of and appreciation for my existing wardrobe, but it also gives me permission to buy something I like even if I don’t “need” it because I know I’ll be wearing it for years in all different configurations. Does anyone else do anything like this? Would love to hear about people’s experiences.
I think that's tremendously helpful! I'm always meaning to upload everything to a closet app like stylebook but just never get around to it.
Ok this is super motivating. I really want to do this!
Yeah I use stylebook! I’ve been recording for 1122 continuous days. It’s so, so helpful - I really make an effort to add a piece I’m considering acquiring to test how it will go with my existing clothes! Or to see…am I just drawn to something that I already have? It’s such a useful tool - you can either add pieces individually to the calendar or add them together as an outfit, and you can categorize outfits so that you can look at your office wear at a glance, for example.
I didn't participate because I didn't see the first post for a bit (full confession). By the time I caught up I just read and appreciated. What it did make me do, though, was roll up my straight leg jeans and wear them with a cute pair of shoes and that transformed my feelings about straight leg jeans. I too prefer the skinny leg and every time I wore the straight leg I was only wearing them because that was what was clean and I needed to wear jeans or something like that. I really didn't like how I felt in them-- something about the fabric flapping around my ankles. But roll up the legs and I felt pretty cool and they looked good. Thanks for the fashion breakthrough!
Yay!
Loved the challenge. It made me realize I live neutrals and stripes in top AND I ordered the Anthropologie barrel oil to pants in neutral and red. Which for me is huge. Thanks Virginia, Davy and Corrine! Can’t wait for the new Substack Corrine
keep us posted about the pants!
Corrine, I loved those striped shorts so much I went to order a pair from old navy… to discover I had already ordered them in a different color two days before 😅 I may need to take a shopping break lol (too late for this time, already ordered lol)
I passed by the Wray store in New York last weekend and saw that dress! I really wanted it! But I didn’t try it on because there was a dog in the store and I got really distracted by how cute she was, especially when a random small child entered and proceeded to befriend the dog, and I got too distracted…. Seeing how amazing it looks on you, I really think I should go back for that dress
You def should!
Virginia, can I ask what size you typically wear in Target brands? The Butter dress is sold out in plus but I'm wondering if the XXL would work if it runs large/roomy. My kids and I have waterpark season passes this year (thanks in-laws!) and I'll need something fast for heading from pool to rides, and for sun coverage.
I actually do typically wear their XXL in anything relaxed fit, (and 1X in something more form-fitting like a t-shirt.) I think it tends to be roomy and pretty on par with the 1X sizing.