Day 15: Another scorcher

Today is carb day/crab day! Free bagels at work, and all I can eat crabs at Wishing Well for dinner! I am so excited! I just hope this outfit can take the heat.  I am prepared to get Old Bay seasoning on it.

Top: Betsy's, from Old Navy

Skirt: Anthropologie

Heels: Barefeet Shoes

Necklace: Ten Thousand Villages (Vancouver)

Day 13: Persistence at J. Crew

I have learned that J. Crew can be affordable if you are patient. I bought these white jeans at the end of last summer, and the shirt is from a few months ago. Total cost for the two: $34.  But this isn't a bargain blog. The important thing here is that I am wearing clothes. And that my boss has worn white jeans to work, so I can too.

Sandals are from Kohl's, shirt and pants are J. Crew

Day 12: Beach in blue

On Sunday, Dave and I had a nice little beach day in Stone Harbor. We were able to avoid disastrous sunburn, so I consider it a success. I learned that this is really the only cover-up I have. I could get creative and wear a belted, buttoned men's shirt, or I could wear something a little fancier, but nothing works as well as this. That's why I wear it every single time I go to the pool, too. That's like 4 times a week.

One side effect of this project is that it encourages me to shop less in order to make the challenge go faster. However, I do get to see where the holes in my wardrobe are. Right now, my shopping list looks like this:

Cover-up, white skirt or shorts, and white wedges or other sandals. I could also use another bikini. And, as I've known for a long time, more work-appropriate shirts.

Old Navy dress, way cute beach tag accessory, Victoria's Secret bathing suit,

and flip flops my mom bought from a store in Stone Harbor, coincidentally

Day 6: Love this skirt

I feel rejuvenated and happy after this past weekend, and it was easy to get out of bed this morning. It might have been easier because I already knew what I wanted to wear this morning.

Shirt: Banana Republic

Skirt and belt: J. Crew

Earrings and necklace: Ten Thousand Villages

Brown heels: Chinese Laundry via Macy's

Since this wardrobe challenge is my idea, I get to make my own rules. So in case you are wondering, I am going to wear everything in my closet and my dresser, as well as the hall closet, my shoe closet, and also what is currently under my bed. I will not, however, be taking pictures of myself in all of my workout clothes, pajamas, undergarments, and bathing suits. These items either go right back where they came from, or I put them in a duffel bag in the closet so I can work through everything else and only go back to them when I need them. I suppose I need to wear all of my various scarves, hats, and jewelry, as well.

July 10, 2011: Day 5

On Sunday, we woke up around 8 am to take Betsy to 30th St. Station to catch a bus to Syracuse so she can spend a week swimming and hiking in Ithaca. Then I had a date with the treadmill, and by the time we went to the Headhouse Square farmer's market, we'd already been up for hours.  In this picture, I'm wearing my navy blue keyhole dress and enjoying a fresh, cherry mango lemonade.  Yes!

Dress: Merona via Goodwill

Sunglasses: Still Gap

Shoes: Invisible, but they were my whale flip flops, which you will see sometime soon, I'm sure

July 9, 2011: Day 4

This is what I wore for a warm, summer hike at Wissahickon Valley Park. It's only our second time going there, but I am so impressed. There is a path for bikers, strollers, and walkers, and we took the rocky, hilly route to replace a trip to the gym. We still make it to the gym for a post-hike swim, however, since we skipped the Tarzan swing into Devil's Pool.

Because this shirt is also from Vancouver, I think I owe an explanation of why so much of what I wear is from there. I attended a statistics conference in Vancouver last August, and I ate at a number of good restaurants, went for morning walks, explored the market at Granville Island, biked around Stanley Park, and shopped on Robson Street. The street of stores was around the corner from my hotel, so I skipped out on an afternoon of promoting journals to take a look around the stores. I left with about 12 items of clothing, for a total of about $150. It's not that the exchange rate was all that favorable; there were just 3 stores that offered everything I wanted.  So the first day's outfit and yesterday's blue skirt (in addition to several other items) were from RW&Co, and I also got a skirt with bicycles on it from Zara that you will see at some point.  This shirt (the brand is Wilbur) and another similar one, as well as a striped dress, are from a pretty high-end store whose name I don't know. It was just the luckiest shopping day of my life, and the items are all versatile, practical, and they all still fit.

Shirt: Unknown store in Vancouver

Shorts: J. Crew

Sunglasses: Gap

Sneakers: Old classics from Nike

Envelope necklace: Gift from Dave!