10 Day Challenge, Day 7; L is for Leather

Day 7: Bright Colors

Freckles in April's challenge today was to wear bright colors.  I decided to do my colors in my accessories instead of my clothing.  I'm in the process of costuming a middle school play, and had a lot of dyeing to do today - hence not wanting to dress in nice clothes.  I actually didn't walk out my front door all day, but still like feeling put together.  I even wore the tall boots all day - they are surprisingly comfortable, and my contribution to L is for (P)Leather day on My Greatest Hit's ABC's of Style.

Shirt - Kohls, $6

Jeans - Rue 21 from Ross , $10

Boots - JC Penney (in high school)

Necklace - county fair, $3

Bracelet and earrings - Made by Me

Cuff - Thrifted, $0.05!

Flower - Made by Me

Belt - Thrifted, $0.25

Close up of my biggest pop of bright colors:

This post is linked up to

and to

10 Day Challenge, Day 6; K is for Knits

Day 6: Decade or Region

For Freckles in April's 10 Day Winter Challenge, the challenge for today was to dress like a certain decade or region.  I chose to channel the 1950's.

vintage Simplicity pattern source

I thought the silhouette of this skirt was like that of the '50's, and with these accessories it made me feel straight out of Leave it to Beaver.  Wearing peep toe heels and my Grammy's vintage pearls almost made me want to vacuum!
 

Sweater - Ross, $17 (ouch - my most expensive clothing purchase in a long time)

Skirt and Flower - made by me

Hosiery - WalMart, $6 for 4 pack

Shoes - Mervyns, $10

Pearls - vintage from my Grammy

The buttons on the sleeves also make this outfit feel 1950's retro

This skirt is one of my favorite items I have made in recent months, and I didn't use a pattern.  I cut seven trapezoid shaped gores, sewed them together, added the hem and waistband, and finished it with a zipper.  It seemed too short at this point, so I added the lace and made a coordinating flower.

This sweater is also knit, so I'm linking up to the ABC's of Fashion at Fashion's Greatest Hits, too after getting such a nice comment and invite on Friday.

10 Day Challenge, Day 5

Day 5: Pattern Mixing

Before today, I had never pattern mixed. I don't have many patterned items in my closet, so this was a challenge. Most of my tops are pretty plain, but I do have a strange love for plaid and striped pants.

my collection of patterned pants

To make the pattern mixing challenge work for me, I wore my blue plaid pants with a striped shirt, then added the scarf and hat for fun.

Shirt - Kohls, $6
Vest - Kohls, free with gift card
Pants - Abercrombie (old)
Earrings - Family Dollar, $0.25
Necklace - history museum, $1
Belt - taken from Mom's DI pile
Scarf and Hat - made by me c. 1997
Boots - $13

Close up of the patterns that I mixed:

This pattern mixing outfit is part of the Winter Challenge by Freckles in April.

10 Day Challenge, Day 4

Day 4: Channel Someone

Today's challenge from Freckles in April was to channel someone's style in your outfit. I quickly decided to channel the character Nell Jones from NCIS: Los Angeles, played by Renee Felice Smith. Since the pilot episode of the series, she has had awesome fashion taste. I love her mix of dresses, cardigans, and leggings. When I saw these pictures of her, I thought, I have a dress that reminds me of this!


So, without further ado, Courtney as Nell:

Dress - Younkers, $20
Shirt - little mall store in Omaha, $9
Leggings - Younkers, $10
Shoes - Smith's Marketplace, free using rewards points
Earrings - Claires, $1 for a 3 pack
Bracelet - Gift from grandparents when I was in about fourth grade

Wow, I didn't wear any jewelry other than small silver earrings and a small bracelet. I don't remember the last day I went without a necklace. I'm kind of addicted to them. When channeling Nell, though, going necklaceless works.

Join me tomorrow at Wearing What I Want to see my take on pattern mixing.

10 Day Challenge, Day 3

Day 3: Embrace a Trend

Today I broke my own rule: the rule of wearing what I want. After I put on this outfit, I didn't love it. I have had this animal print shirt for ten years, and have never found a good way to wear it. I've tried it with blazers, with black, with brown, with pants and with skirts, all to no avail. Today, despite its glitter, I paired it with casual cargo pants and an oversized cardigan. Still, I don't care for it. This apparently isn't the trend for me. I should have stuck with colorblocking, one that I have tried so many times it hardly seems like a trend anymore.

Shirt - JC Penney (from high school)
Cardigan - Ross (old)
Pants - Old Navy, thrifted for $0.50
Necklace and Earrings - the county fair, $3
Hair Flower - I made it
Boots - Ross, $13

The hair flower is the only part of my outfit that I did like. Does that count as any sort of a trend?

Tomorrow's challenge by Freckles in April, to channel someone, should be a fun one to try.

10 Day Challenge, Day 2

Day 2: Monochromatic

When I looked in my closet to find a monochromatic outfit, my first thoughts were to use gray or black or blue. I don't have any brightly colored pants, but when I looked at the half dozen or so entries submitted to Freckles in April early this morning, I was already getting bored with those options. Then, I saw my white corduroy pants, and decided to base my outfit off of them. I usually wear those pants with bright colored tops, so wearing it with white was a new undertaking for me.

Shirt - Mervyns, $10

Sweater - Thrifted, $3
Pants - Rue 21, gift
Scarf - I made it
Pin - Claires, $1
Necklace and Earings - Family Dollar, $0.75
Boots - Kohls, $14 black friday

The white shirt I am wearing underneath is actually a cardigan that I buttoned from neck to waist and tucked in. I didn't have an off white long sleeved top, so I thought I'd try this.

Do you own white pants? If so, what do you wear them with?

10 Day Challenge, Day 1

Hi! I'm Courtney. I've been reading a lot of these fashion blogs for awhile now, and have wanted to give it a try myself. When I saw Freckles in April's 10 day challenge, I wanted to participate, but had no outlet to let others' see my outfits. So, I'm making it a double challenge

• To follow April's prompts for ten days

and

• To blog for my first ten days ever

I wear what I want, sometimes to the chagrin of my husband and mother. In my clothes I sometimes stick out in my small Utah town as much as I stuck out as a punk in high school. But, when I wear what I want I have the confidence I otherwise lack and it gives my inner costume designer / theatre geek an outlet.

So, without further ado, here is

Day 1: LAYERS

T-shirt - Kohls, gift
button-down - Ward clothing exchange, free
cardigan - JC Penney (from high school)
belt - Ross, came with dress
jeans - Kohls, $6
socks - gift
Chucks - (from high school)
necklace - Honks dollar store, $1
beads - Claires, $1

This outfit was a stretch for me because I usually don't wear more than one necklace at a time or wear 3/4 sleeves over long sleeves, even though both of them are black(so not very noticeable today).

The headband is a belt that came with the button-down shirt. I always think it disappears when I wear it with the shirt, so I thought I'd try it up top instead.


This is the first time I have ever worn this sock/shoe/tucked in pant combination. I've always loved the fuzzy texture of the socks, but have never shown them off before.

I'm looking forward to the monochromatic scheme tomorrow, and I hope you will join me in Wearing What I Want.