No Shop Summer and the Tiny Closet Challenge

I recently did a closet inventory and discovered that I have around 375 items. I was shocked! Plus, that doesn't even include all of the items that are in storage as I'm working to lose my "newlywed spread." For that reason, I want to institute "no shop summer" for myself. From June 21 to September 23, I will be giving up clothes, shoes, and accessory shopping, even if I receive gift cards for my birthday!

If you're a longtime reader or have an elephant-like memory, you may recall that I determined to stop shopping last summer. I didn't stay disciplined or committed to that plan at all! There are a few reasons why I think I'm going to be successful this year. First, this is a shorter time frame. It was unrealistic to think that I was going to go from shopping like crazy to cold turkey. That may work for some people, but I don't operate that way. Second, I'm more disciplined overall this year. I still have a long way to go and grow, but the act of getting up and working out 4-5 times a week has made me more focused in other areas. Third, we REALLY need to save money because we want to buy a house! There's nothing like knowing that a mortgage company is going to be looking at your financial history that makes you question how many times you want retail establishments appearing on your bank statements!

(I also have written a few times about shopping more ethically and have been failing at that as well. I have a couple of ideas about why I'm having trouble in that arena that I may share soon).

After I counted all of my clothes, I started thinking more about remixing. During my research, I started reading about the Tiny Closet Challenge from Alison Sherwood at fresh. The challenge runs from June 1 to July 12 and involves remixing 33 items (including shoes and jewelry- but not including jewelry you wear regularly, like your wedding ring) during this 6 week period. It took me a few days to figure out my items, but this is what I settled upon:

The jewelry

Not a great shot but my entire wardrobe!

The breakdown:

TN necklace

silver hoops

silver studs

garnet ring

silver ring

plain white tank

plain white tanks

gray lace tank

black lace tank

chevron tank

chambray tank

lacy t-shirt

graphic t-shirt

black and purple polka dot shirt

white 3/4 shirt

light red button down

chambray tunic

white cardigan

purple cardigan

black cardigan

pink shorts

green shorts

white capris

green capris

black capris

denim capris

black and white polka dot skirt

black and white maxi skirt

anchor dress

tan sandals

silver sandals

black sandals

flowered TOMS

Here's the first outfit. It was super windy, so this isn't the best picture!

Summer to-do list:
Pressure wash house
Learn to apply self tanner to legs

I am going to try to take pictures daily, but if I don't, I will at least keep a list of what I wear and have a breakdown at the end of the challenge. I'm excited about this (and a little nervous). Wish me luck! =)

The Right to Bare Arms

Bare/bear, whatever.

I'm not normally a sleeveless person, especially at work, but I've been so hot at work lately (even though it's getting a little cooler outside), that I wanted to try going sleeveless for probably the last time of this year.

Honestly, I don't really like to wear sandals either. I had that realization yesterday, so I think wearing them today was one last attempt to make myself be a sandal gal. It failed. And, these pants are kind of low rise (plus, I've gained some weight since I bought them), so they crept downward all day while my shirt crept upward. The only thing that saved all of this discomfort was knowing that it's Friday, and that I liked my jewelry.

 

 

It's the little things, right?

Have a great weekend!

Check Us Out: A Librarian Linkup!

This has been an exciting week on this little blog! I participated in two linkups, hit my 1 year blog-i-versary, and am now co-hosting my first linkup! Whew!

Since it's back to school time for nearly everyone, it seemed like the perfect time to showcase fashionable librarians, library degree holders, and anyone who just likes libraries in general!

The first submission comes from Christina at Simple Easy Style who describes herself as a "crazy cat lady" and "meticulous organizer," which are things that most of us librarians/library degree holders have been called a time or two! Christina shows how you can make a fancy piece a little more wearable by mixing in an everyday piece like a denim jacket.

Hmm, I've got a dress in mind that would work well for mixing fancy and casual. Thanks for the idea!

The second submission is Erin from Loop Looks. Here's what she had to say about her back to school style:

"I'm Erin and although I have my Master's of Library Science I don't work in a traditional librarian role. I'm the director of records management at a private university in Chicago. The office I work for has what I would call a slightly elevated business casual dress code with the occasional "suit day" thrown in. Which is why my blog, Loop Looks (looplooks.net), focuses on how to dress for the office without feeling boring. Bright colors and fun patterns paired with traditional tailored pieces are just one of the ways I do that."

I love this outfit and want to steal it from you! Nashville isn't that far from Chicago, right? =)

Next up is Jess from Animated Cardigan (who just got a promotion! Exciting!!)

Be sure to check out her post today about librarians and clothing (especially since she has the greatest black dress ever...it has pockets! Pockets!!).

For co-host Shelley from Miss Lady Librarian, the challenge was to outfit herself for an autumnal back to school link up right when the temperatures soared to over 90 degrees for only the second or third time during the summer (right there with ya, Shelley!). Her solution: deep colors, textures, and bare skin.  

These just happen to be my university's colors! Love the summer pieces in the fall tones!

Co-host Jen from Librarian for Life and Style used some transition-to-fall tricks for her outfit:

"Layering and belting a linen blazer over a tank top feels more professional -- but still bearable if you live in a hot weather locale. The same goes for open-toed wedges, but the tortoiseshell pattern feels more fall, as does the overall color palette of tan, brown, and navy."

Such a cute and easy professional outfit! Check out the mural behind her too, which is on the wall at a local day school. Her section says "dreams." Wouldn't that be so inspiring to see on your school every day? 

The final submission is from yours truly! Like Shelley, I'm currently experiencing summer temperatures during a time when everyone wants to start thinking about fall (someone on my Instagram feed was drinking a Pumpkin Spice Latte, for crying out loud!). I took a relatively casual summer outfit- a tank top, maxi skirt, and sandals- and made it more professional and fall-ish with the addition of a 3/4 sleeve blazer. I won't lie; I was still warmer in this than I wanted to be, but it'll be a nice outfit to repeat in mid-September, especially with a colorful tank top!

I don't know what's up with my snarky face here either! =)

Thank you to everyone who has submitted looks so far. I've gotten a lot of great ideas for remixing things that I already own! Special thanks to my two co-hosts, Shelley and Jen, for your support while I hammered out the details, the ideas you had, and helping spread the word. This was just a random idea I had in July, and I'm really excited to see it come to fruition!

Now, it's your turn! Submit your back-to-school look using the linkup tool below. This is my first time using it, so if anyone has any problems with it, please email me. I'm leaving it open through the weekend so get those looks in and have a great Friday!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Reversible Dress

This dress is reversible! It has polka dots on the other side, and I think it will make me feel like Minnie Mouse. =) I got it from my grandma for my birthday and really like it, but it's a little short to be worn to work without anything under it. Also, why are these legging so shiny? Is it because they're junior-sized on a not junior-sized set of legs?

 

 

Hope everyone had a great Monday! I don't want to think about July being nearly over!

What I Wore: Friday, September 14, 2012

Yay Friday!! My parents took me, my brother, and my fiance out to dinner at a mystery location to celebrate his birthday and me finally finishing grad school. This was my effort at being casual but a little dressier than normal on Fridays.

What I liked:

• I liked this outfit, especially the color of the shirt. I should wear color more often...
• No ironing needed!

What I didn't like:

• That lovely bulge in the abdominal region...
• These pants lost some length after being washed/dried a few times (despite doing it exactly like the tag instructed!), so they sometimes don't stay rolled up...and fit kind of weird.

Shirt- Gap Outlet, tank top- Old Navy, pants- Old Navy, shoes- Payless

What I Wore: Thursday, September 6, 2012

You know it's a rough day when the outfit pictures are from my bedroom instead of in my office during my lunch break. Anytime I let people get a glimpse into my real world, I think about how much I need to clean!

So this dress was worn (a) because I woke up late, didn't have clothes picked out, and didn't need to iron it, and (b) because there was a baby shower in another department at work today, and I thought it would be cute. I liked how it looked all day until I saw this picture:

I feel frumpy and round-ish in this, and it made me think about how I looked all day (and I evidently have problems keeping my eyes open...). Argh. I've got to be more committed to the gym. Also, this makes me realize how bad the lighting in my bedroom is. Hmm...

What I liked:

• The bright colors and no iron material of the dress

What I didn't like:

• The frumpiness. A little shapewear wouldn't have hurt me today

Dress- Apt. 9 via Goodwill, shoes- Payless

What I Wore: Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Alright, I'm attempting to catch up on this, so expect a flood of postings over the next few days! My camera settings got off-kilter, so these are a little weirdly washed out. Apologies.

What I liked:

• The color combo- red, black, and white
  
  
• The skirt- got it from Goodwill and can't believe I hadn't worn it before!

What I didn't like:

• I don't love the cardigan because of the weird flare out at the bottom. It's like a peplum wannabe...
  

cardigan- Gap Outlet, tank top- VF Outlet, skirt- Goodwill (didn't look at brand), shoes- Payless

What I Wore: Tuesday, August 28, 2012

This is the third pair of bottoms I tried on this morning. Don't you love those mornings? Also, I didn't have the chance to take my pics at work today, so everyone gets a glimpse of my dim, horribly messy bedroom and gets to see what I look like after a long day of liberryin'. Yay?

What I liked:

• I like pink and black together, especially since it's a bright pink.

What I didn't like:

• The shirt isn't my favorite. It's got a nice bright color (which didn't come across well in my dimly lit bedroom), but there's something about it that just doesn't look wonderful on me.

• The elephant ring attacked me all day. Guess that's why it was only $1!

Shirt- Old Navy, tank top- Walmart, shorts- Kohls, shoes- Payless