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Moving from conspicuous to conscious consumption and doing reviews along the way. Find plenty of unsponsored reviews of Quince, Everlane, Grana, and Cuyana on the site! I'm working towards a minimal waste lifestyle, and oh yea I love bags >.<

Winter 10x10: Look 11 & Recap

Hi y'all and happy Monday! Do you guys have the day off today? Well I kind of took a weekend off from blogging so this post is being written in real time today (ie Monday morning) so no time for edits (so please excuse any grammatical errors, lol). Anyway that brings me straight to lesson #1 learned during last week's 10x10 challenge: I am not an everyday kind of blogger. This post is a bit delayed because to be honest I think I have blogging fatigue. Even with taking all of the pictures in one setting beforehand, trying to keep up with a daily writing schedule is just way too much for me. So I'll be going back to the regularly scheduled Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting.

But what did I actually learn from this winter 10x10 challenge?

~ If you go through to all 10 looks you start coming up with interesting combos and this inspires you even more. See Look 11 below, which is sort of the next progression from Look 10 from last week. It's kind of a Southeast Asian military look, lol.

Look 11

~ Also I've learned that not all combos work. Case in point:

Sometimes you have to try different combos, and if it doesn't look right to you (or feel right to you) don't force it. Just try something else.

~ I've also learned this challenge can help you remember why you've kept some pieces in your closet for years (ie the challenge can make you fall in love with your old clothes again). The jacket above and the Steven Alan plaid shirt were not making it into rotation in my closet, but now I remember why I've held onto these items: because I love them and they truly feel like my style, no matter how old they are. They're timeless when it comes to my style, so now I just need to make more of an effort to incorporate them back into my usual outfits.

~ Also doing this challenge with a community of people on Instagram is most of the fun. The first time I learned about the 10x10, it had just completed so I tried it on my own (that's when I stopped at 10x8). But this time around I was able to join along with others doing the 10x10 and it helps to motivate and inspire you to see everyone else tackling this challenge.

~ And even if I did this challenge at my own pace (#10x10x2, lol) and bent the rules, just doing this was worthwhile. It really helped me look at my clothes a different way and come up with outfits I normally wouldn't have thought of. So thanks #10x10! I look forward to tackling you again in a couple of months!

Winter 10x10: Looks 9 & 10

Look 9

Wearing: Steven Alan plaid shirt (old) {Similar here}, Wearing Rag and Bone military jacket (old) {somewhat similar here}, Wearing Frame Le Skinny De Jeanne Cropped Jeanes {similar here}, Wearing Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here}, Bag: Saint Laurent Universite bag

Now this look is straight out of the late 2000's for me since I've had this combo since then (except for the oxfords and the saint laurent bag) and I used to wear it a lot. This outfit brings me back because it was the time I started to really enjoy fashion and style again. Before this period I had 2 years (in graduate school) when I only wore jeans, a tank top, and an Abercrombie + Fitch knit sweater. I had several pairs of jeans, a ton of tank tops (the cheap Hanes ones from Target, also affectionately termed wife-beaters to some), and 4 knit sweaters that I rotated constantly. It was my uniform. And you know what, no one ever asked me why I kept wearing the same things (actually no one ever indicated they ever noticed I kept wearing the same thing). It was kind of an experiment to me, just to see if anyone cared (and guess what, no one did lol). By the end of the 2 years, all the sweaters had holes in them and I was fairly bored with this same style so I moved on and a got a bunch of expensive clothes like those up top (I guess you could say the pendulum had swung completely in the other direction). And non-coincidentally this is also when my obsession with expensive bags began.

Look 10

Wearing: Everlane ribbed wool cashmere crew {review here}, Grana V-neck Silk slip dress {review here}, Grana Silk Ankle Pants {review here}, Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here}, (Bag: Goyard St. Louis Tote GM)

Now things are getting interesting, right? Having run out of combos I've finally came upon the dress+pants combo. And you know what, since both are black silk (and from Grana, though it's 2 different types of silk--read more about it in my review of the silk ankle pants), the look is quite cohesive. It's sort of a take on the Salwar Kameez, the Indian dress and pants combo traditional in Punjab. And with the simple Everlane grey sweater on top, I'm really liking this combo. I have yet to wear it out (since it's been raining and I don't really want to be getting the silk wet). But once I do I'll report back to let you know if I get any strange stares (not that I care as much as I use it as a barometer to what's considered 'socially acceptable fashion'). What do you think? Could I pull it off?

And that's a wrap on my 10 looks. But Monday I'll be back with a quick recap of the whole challenge, some things I learned, the looks and didn't work, and also my 11th look, which is the most interesting yet. Have a great weekend guys!

Winter 10x10: Looks 7 & 8

Look 7

Wearing: Steven Alan plaid shirt (old) {Similar here}, Everlane ribbed wool cashmere crew {review here}, Everlane Anorak {review here}, Frame Le Skinny De Jeanne Cropped Jeans {similar here}, Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here} (bag: Loewe hammock bag in aqua)

I'm already at Look 7 and I haven't worn these jeans yet. That kind of blows my mind because I've been a true jeans and tee kind of gal (and I thought I still was). But ever since I got the silk ankle pants and silk culottes from Grana (and really thanks to my explorations in style through blogging) I've been gravitating less and less to skinny jeans. I'm going to call it, 2017 is the middle of the end of skinny jeans (I think the beginning really was in 2016 or maybe 2015). And since the "river of rain" continues to flow across California (which I'm thankful for since it'll hopefully ease our drought here, but at the same time annoyed at because it foiled our Tahoe plans) this sweater plus anorak combo is easily my go-to outfit, even it I wasn't doing this 10x10 challenge.

Look 8

Wearing: Everlane ribbed wool cashmere crew {review here}, Grana V-neck Silk Dress {review here}, Rag and Bone military jacket (old) {somewhat similar here}, Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here} (bag: Loewe hammock bag in navy)

And for look 8 I'm back to my favorite silk dress from Grana and my rag and bone blazer. I'm using the navy Loewe bag here and the aqua Loewe bag up top in Look 7. I'm only planning on keeping one. Which one do you like better?

Winter 10x10: Looks 5 & 6

Look 5

Wearing: Everlane Ribbed Wool Cashmere Crew {review here}, Grana Silk Ankle Pants {review here}, M. Gemi The Dolcetto {here} (Bag: Celine small Trotteur)

I'm so glad that I'm doing this double time (on Intstagram I'm calling it #10x10x2, lol) since this is right around the time I start losing some steam. That's probably why I only did a 10x8 (only made 8 outfits) during my last challenge. But I've found out that when you keep going (and start running out of combos) interesting things start happening. In fact I got so carried away during the photo portion of this challenge that I accidentally did a 10x11 and I have to say I really like outfits #10 and #11 even though they're a bit unconventional. So stay tuned for that.

Look 6

Wearing: Steven Alan Plaid Shirt (old) {Similar here}, Grana Mockneck {review here}, Grana V-neck Silk Dress {review here}, M.Gemi The Dolcetto {here} Bag: Good West Co. {here}

I purchased this Steven Alan shirt right around 2005 from Barney's (super discounted of course). I think it was the height of the Ashley Olson and Mary Kate fashion buzz (they came out with a fashion/art coffee table book) and they were wearing a lot of plaid at the time I think. Well that's the vague memories I get when I look at this shirt. I've purchased Steven Alan button downs since but I haven't kept any of them. Only this first one. It's still going strong and actually it's softened a lot over time. Since plaid always keeps coming back (or maybe it just never really goes out of style?) I'll be keeping this one until it falls apart at the seams (and even then I might just repair it and keep on wearing it). Sometimes you only need one of something, as long as it lasts.

Winter 10x10: Looks 3 & 4

Look 3

Wearing: Rag & Bone Military blazer {somewhat similar here}, Grana Mockneck {review here}, Grana Silk Ankle Pants {review here}, Everlane Modern Oxfords{review here}

Bag: Mansur Gavriel lady bag {review coming soon}

A little bit about this rag & bone blaze: it was the first expensive item of clothing I bought myself. It's from the 2008 fall runway show from rag & bone, back when they were still making everything out of New York and before they even had their own brick and mortar store. I purchased this piece at Saks, during their end of season sale, and it was priced $350 (down for $500+). This is a girl who shopped mostly at outlets, Zara and H&M--so this was beyond a major splurge for me. But I just fell in love with this special piece and had to have it (I'll have to show you why, the specialness is really the inside of the jacket where you can see the bones of the jacket--it's beautiful). And I've worn the sh*t out of this jacket, and as you can see it's still holding up (but I definitely need to resew some of the buttons). This started a long love affair with rag and bone but I'm sorry to say their quality has gone down quite a bit since they've started mass production (it's a mix between the US and China), and they even have outlet stores now. This is one of the few things from rag & bone I still have left, but you know even 9 years later it 'sparks joy' in me and I can still style outfits with it.

Look 4

Wearing: Everlane Ribbed Wool Cashmere Crew {review here}, Grana V-neck Silk Dress {review here}, Everlane Anorak {review here}, Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here}

Bag: Mansur Gavriel Lady bag {review here}

I call this look my lady librarian look, lol. I think it's because of the hem line of the dress, the oxfords and long drapey anorak. Dresses are probably impractical in most places in the US in the winter, but for San Jose it's not that unreasonable. Temperatures are usually in the 60s if its not raining, and if I get cold I can just wear some tights. But for the most part I'm usually indoors 24/7 (from Airstream to Airstream Garage back to Airstream) so a silk dress is doable (actually I've moved a flat screen TV and Airstreams wearing this silk dress--the side slits make it super easy to walk around in.) Probably not the most appropriate clothing for manual labor but something about using my muscles while wearing silk gives me a "I'm Carrie Bradshaw wearing a tu-tu in the streets of NYC" feeling (or a "I'm in a Vogue shoot because of this impractical juxtaposition of clothing and setting" feeling). And I do get some stares but I don't care because I'm already feeling glamorous ;)

The Winter 10x10: The Clothes and Looks 1 & 2

Hi guys so now that I'm on my shopping ban, it's really about working with what I've got now (and boy I've got more than enough so really it's not any sort of deprivation at all). But I'm jumping on the 10x10 bandwagon and doing this challenge along with Andrea from Seasons +Salt (who really motivated me to do this lol, thanks Andrea) and spear-headed by Lee from Style Bee and Caroline from Un-Fancy. What is the 10x10 challenge? It's taking 10 items of clothing (well 8 items of clothing and 2 pairs of shoes) and making 10 outfits that you wear over 10 days. {Ok so I'm going to cheat here because I took all 10 outfit photos in one day because I had to set up a temporary photo studio in the Airstream garage that I could only leave up for 1 day. So I may or may not recreate these outfits over the next 10 days. Oh, but the M.Gemi shoes are totally out, i.e I can't walk in them lol, so I won't be wearing those shoes over the next 10 days. And I'm coupling up the looks so the series will only last a week instead of two--gotta get back to my back-logged reviews ya know.}

So without further ado here are my 10 items:

1) Steven Alan plaid shirt (old) {Similar here}

2) Grana Mockneck {review here}

3) Everlane Ribbed Wool Cashmere Crew {review here}

4) Rag and Bone military jacket (old) {somewhat similar here}

5) Everlane Anorak {review here}

6) Grana Silk Ankle Pants {review here}

7) Grana V-neck Silk Dress {review here}

8) Frame Le Skinny De Jeanne Cropped Jeans {similar here}

9) Everlane Modern Oxfords {review here}

10) M. Gemi The Dolcetto {here}

First a note on why I chose these clothes. Well I tried to add as many of my favorite Grana and Everlane pieces since I do so many reviews on their clothing and I truly stand behind my reviews and their products. Also wanted to add some old pieces, the things I'm debating on whether or not to keep (and after this 10x10 I fell in love with them again so they're definitely keepers). And then I went with a neutral color palate of black, navy, and gray (with the only patterned item being the plaid shirt). And I went with neutral shoes (and yes the M.Gemi shoes are too big for me. A separate review on them will be coming soon.) Last but not least, I really played around with my bags since I'm also going to be culling my collection and I wanted to see which ones were my favorites--still debating on this.

Look 1

Wearing: Grana Mockneck, Grana Silk Ankle Pants, Everlane Anorak, and Everlane Modern Oxfords {bag: Loewe Hammock}

Since it's raining like crazy here, I decided to add my favorite rain jacket to the 10x10. I've been wearing it constantly anyway so it made sense I include it. I probably won't be wearing the Modern Oxfords around the rain though--trying to keep them from getting too dirty. I don't have proper rain shoes so I've been wearing my M.Gemi Felize loafers. It keeps out most of the rain most of the time. And if you're wondering, yes that's a new Loewe Hammock bag (I also have the light blue one, but I'm going to be selling that one since I don't love the light blue color).

Look 2

Wearing: Grana Mockneck, Grana V-Neck Slip Dress, M.Gemi The Dolcetto {bag: Valentino Rockstud}

I know I know the shoes are too big. I definitely had the feeling of "little girl playing dress-up in mommy's shoes" when I was wearing these and taking pictures. Probably because I could only limp around in them. But these are my first pair of block heels and I really wanted to see how they went with my outfits. So please just ignore the ill-fit for the rest of the pictures, thanks lol.

These looks together can be title "One Mockneck, Two Ways" or maybe "Mockneck Day To Night". What do you think?

P.S. Like my new studio set-up? I figured it was time I got some well lit pictures and since it's been raining constantly in California there's no way to take pictures outside. My photo studio set-up makes me feel like a semi-professional :P

Fall 2016 10x10 Challenge Looks 7 & 8

So way to drag this challenge on right? The challenge started 3 weeks ago with Looks 1 & 2 here, and then Looks 3 & 4 here, and Looks 5 & 6 here. I now see why most people do this 10x10 challenge all at once. Because at this point I'm quite bored with it so.....I think these will be my last looks. At the very least I've learned from this challenge to flex my creativity a little and find multiple ways to wear the same item (and I'm referring back to my bell sleeves and Everlane cropped cashmere combo from Look 4). I also realized that I'm not a big fan of the motorcycle vest look, so I'll be promptly selling that back to Crossroads. I think if you love an item after doing a 10x10 challenge, then it's a definite keeper, but if you're feeling a bit "meh" about it, then it's better to let it go and make space in your closet for other items.

Look 7

I'm wearing the bomber jacket (#3), velvet dress (#5) and rag & bone booties (#2).

Accessory: Saint Laurent Universite bag

Look 8

Sorry this one is a bit hard to see but I'm wearing the Everlane cropped cashmere sweater (#10), Trouve vest (#9), Paige verdugo jeans (#7), and rag & bone booties (#2).

Accessory: Kara backpack

And for reference again (and for the last time) here are the 10 items I used for the challenge

1) Everlane Modern Oxford (review here)

2) rag & bone booties (similar here)

3) Sanctuary Bomber Jacket (similar here or here)

4) WAYF white top

5) Theory velvet dress

6) Frame le slim straight trouser jeans

7) Paige Verdugo pants (similar here)

8) Maison Labiche Mariniere shirt (similar here)

9) Trouve vest (thrifted)

10) Everlane cashmere cropped sweater (review here)

Fall 2016 10x10 Challenge Looks 5 & 6

Aaaaand we're back with looks 5 and 6 of my 10x10 Challenge. {This is the intro post with my first 2 looks here and here's the second post with Looks 3 & 4.}

The 10 items:

1) Everlane Modern Oxford (review here)

2) rag & bone booties (similar here)

3) Sanctuary Bomber Jacket (similar here or here)

4) WAYF white top

5) Theory velvet dress

6) Frame le slim straight trouser jeans

7) Paige Verdugo pants (similar here)

8) Maison Labiche Mariniere shirt (similar here)

9) Trouve vest (thrifted)

10) Everlane cashmere cropped sweater (review here

Look 5

Wearing: Everlane sweater (#10), bomber jacket (#3), Frame jeans (#6) and Everlane oxfords (#1)

Look 6

Wearing: WAYF top (#4), Theory velvet dress (#5), and rag & bone booties (#2)

The challenge I'm finding now is that, sure I can do a bunch of combos with the jacket, the vest, the cropped cashmere sweater but is each look different enough to count as a separate look? Like if I throw my jacket or vest on top of the look pictured above, does that count? It does look totally different (mostly because the jacket would hide the bell sleeves), but it feels a bit like cheating. Ah well, I gotta do what I gotta do to make it to 10 looks so I'll just keep trying different combos. But I apologize if they start blending together.

Fall 2016 10x10 Challenge and Looks 1 & 2

I've been feeling a bit blah about my closet lately even though I have a ton of stuff that I love. So I thought I would kick up my creativity a notch by doing this 10x10 Challenge inspired by Lee over at Style Bee. The rules of the challenge are 1) pick 10 items of clothing that you'll 2) style into 10 outfits over 3) ten days. I'm not going to include accessories as part of the 10, but shoes count. I'm going to fudge a little and show you Looks 1 and 2 from this past week since I love these items so much. So without further ado, my 10 items: