Saturday, 27 April 2013

Digging Deep



So on Monday I gave the third item from the The Zara Bag of Shame its first outing. 

A pair of black Zara Harem pants. 

Outfit No 34 Fancy Harem Pants 
Pastel Green Sheer Batwing Tee - eBay
Zara Black Floral Embossed Harem Trousers 


I've been waiting until the weather was nice enough to be able to wear pumps because I don't think they would look right with boots 

Who am I kidding? 

The real truth is they have been crushed into my seriously overloaded wardrobe since I took them out of the bag and I couldn't be bothered to iron them . 

THAT, my friends, is another reason why a lot of my stuff doesn't get worn. I discover an item hiding in the messy mass of fabric that is my closet, contemplate wearing it, realise I don't actually have time to iron it, shove it back in and pick something else. 

I REALLY need to sort out my wardrobe. 

I'm sure many of you have started cotton on to the fact that most of the stuff I have been wearing since starting The Challenge was purchased within the last few months and thus hangs out somewhere near the front of my wardrobe. You have seen some of the same pieces crop up quite a few times, such as that Miss Selfridge studded leather skirt and those amazing fringed tops

In fact, I suppose that up until recently I was technically still living out of that suitcase that I packed for Ireland.  To be honest, I just shoved its contents back into the wardrobe... (how many outfits have I made out of that now?!) I suppose in a way, and entirely by accident,  I have been demonstrating that you CAN survive on a capsule wardrobe.

But, the thing is, my wardrobe is far from capsule sized... 


I've been planning to do The Great Wardrobe Clear Out since I committed to The Challenge (I wrote a bit more about the overwhelming wardrobe situation in this post) but work and life have gotten the better of me and I haven't managed it...YET.

Anyway, since I started chronicling my endeavours on here, a number of people have suggested that I get involved with / organise a clothes swap which is something I DEFINITELY want to do. It may be my only opportunity to breathe a bit of new life into my wardrobe (Remember I'm NOT allowed to BUY but I AM allowed to SWAP and accept gifts)! Also, I could really do with giving someone else the opportunity to wear the stuff I'm not. One woman's tat is another woman's treasure, after all! 

So this weekend I WILL at least START the clear out, I promise...

Back to the harem pants: aren't they fab? 




The fabric is what makes them so, I think. 




It is just so gorgeous that it makes them dressy enough for meeting clients AND they are pelvic roll friendly so I can teach in them too! Yay!

They got a second outing on Tuesday but this time with the black version of that fringed top I love so much (Sometimes going all black is just super chic, I think), only this time I tucked the fringes in to make a feature of that nice crochet detailing at the collar. 


Outfit No 35 Chained Up Tuesday
Crochet Detail Top - Primark
Necklace - Primark

I broke up the black with an ace chained statement necklace from Primark (I got this not too long ago so it may still be in the shops).

I normally wear A LOT of black but have definitely worn less since starting The Challenge. It really has forced me to have fun with colour and my clothes again. I am actually really enjoying it! 

Over three weeks in and I haven't found myself hankering after too much at all. In fact, I dandered around the shops on a couple of separate occasions last weekend, with two different friends, both of whom looked aghast when they suddenly remembered about The Challenge and realised where I was. I quickly wiped the guilty looks off their faces and assured them that I wasn't bothered. And I'm proud to say I meant it. It was actually lovely to walk around clothing heaven and take in all the lovely, pretty things at my leisure with no ridiculous, all consuming 'I NEED to have that,' getting in the way of enjoying the company of my girlfriends.

However, at only 26 days in, I KNOW I am still very likely to be in the honeymoon period of my relationship with The Challenge. After all, we're still only getting to know each other and it's all still rather new and exciting. Give it a few weeks and I reckon you'll start to see some cracks appear...but only faint ones, I hope... 

I'm sure the sunshine has a lot to do with my chipper mood too. Crazy to think that 3 weeks ago I was wearing fur (faux) and today I'm sporting a not-so-chic sunburned neck. Got a bit over excited on  Wednesday and dug out my sandals and a kaftan: 


Outfit No 36: Summer's here! Dig out the sandals and a #Kaftan! 
Kaftan Dress - Forever 21 last year
Leggings - Primark
Sandals - Topshop


In the spirit of discovering my wardrobe I also dug out another dress from its recesses.  This beautiful pastel floral number that I picked up in the H&M sale last year: 


Outfit No 37 #PeachyPastels
Dress - H&M
Leggings - H&M

Office Phoenix Ballerina Pumps



Yesterday I was working from home, but still tried to 'shop my wardrobe' a little and wore this pretty little top for the first time in a while: 


Outfit No 38 #dressinglikekitchenchina 
Top - Primark
Denim Shorts - Topshop
Leggings - H&M


But last night I couldn't resist the chance to give the leather skirt its first night out on the town so it got ANOTHER wear.  I paired it with the black version of the Primark sheer crochet collared blouse that I also have in yellow and white:


Outfit No 39 Friday Night on Brick Lane
Blouse - Primark
Skirt - Miss Selfridge
Ring - 99p Store (!)

Tights - Primark
Boots - Aldo 


Over and out

M x


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