30 For 30 Challenge - June Recap

Wow, five months down...7 to go! I can't believe I'm nearly halfway there. Here's my recap of the 30 For 30 For 12 challenge for June.

[Warning: this is a big post]Summary of Items with Links to Pictures

Shoes/Boots: 6 pairs

• Gladiator Kitten Heels (Enzo Angiolini, consignment)
• Cream Buckled High-Heeled Sandals (Fluevog "Listen Up O'Hara")
• Pearlized Cream Flat Sandals (Artisan by Clarks, consignment)
• Patent Leather Black Pumps (Guess)
• Black and White T-Strap Heels (Fluevog "Listen Up Harlow")
• Black Patent Leather and Cork Wedge Sandals (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment)

Skirts: 5

• Mushroom Wrinkled Maxi Skirt (Club Monaco)
• Black and White Gingham Mullet Skirt (Smoking Lily, thrifted)
• Cream High-Waisted Pencil Skirt (Bedo, thrifted)
• Striped Seersucker Swirl-Hem Skirt (Y, thrifted)
• Leopard Pencil Skirt (Club Monaco)

Tops: 7

• Black Sleeveless with White Piping (I.N. San Francisco, consignment)
• Cream Tunic with Sequins (Dex)
• Black and White Striped Top (Finnegans by Truworth, consignment)
• Black/Cream Wrap Top (Talbot's, thrifted)
• White/Taupe Button-down Shirt (Tommy Hilfiger, thrifted)
• White Micro-Leopard Shirt (Express Design Studio, consignment)
• Brown Satin Blouse (Esprit)

Sweaters/Cardigans: 4

• Cream Short-Sleeved Sweater (Trina Turk, consignment)
• White/Grey Leopard Cardigan (XXI, consignment)
• Black Puffy-Sleeved Wrap Cardigan (Noa Noa)
• Drapey Brown Cardigan (Alternative Apparel, thrifted)

Jackets/Blazers: 3

• Cream Tux Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment)
• Short-Sleeved Grey Jacket (Leshop, consignment)
• Pinstriped Swing Jacket (Willi Smith, consignment)

Pants: 2

• Cream Sail Pants (Noa Noa)
• White Denim Long Shorts (Contrast, thrifted)

Dresses: 2

• Little Black Dress (Esprit)
• Leopard Wrap Dress (Majora, thrifted)

Other: 1

• Black and White Plaid Corset Top (Le Chateau, consignment)

General Observations on June's Capsule

• Well, all neutrals was just as much of a challenge as I thought it would be...but also a lot easier than I thought! I didn't miss colour too much - being able to add it in through accessories and layering pieces like camisoles and tights really helped. FYI, I wore coloured camisoles/non-capsule layering tops in 18 of 31 outfits this month. Wow. 
• I gave myself a double challenge this month by participating in Megan and Keely's "This or That: Trends" - bonus points for me! I rarely turn down a challenge.
• 20 of the 30 items in this month's capsule were either thrifted or consignment pieces - I like that my capsules are consistently high in second-hand/new-to-me items in every category of clothing. 
• Classics (LBD, black pumps, cream/white pants, cream jacket) really showed their worth. These items pulled their weight and helped me immensely in building outfits - they don't call them classics for nothing! 
• I'm still making some of the same mistakes, like buying silhouettes that don't suit me! Sheila, be a smarter shopper! Just because it's great quality and a good name and it fits, doesn't mean you have to buy it. Pay more attention to the cut. It must make you look and feel fabulous.
• Keeping a mix of closed-toe shoes and more open shoes (like sandals) is good for cooler days and dressier days in the office. 
• "Completer" pieces like cardigans and jackets are still essential, even in the summer months. They kept me feeling covered up (and warm!), without feeling like I had too much going on.

What Got Worn the Most/Least

Shoes: Unsurprisingly, the walking shoes got the most wear. The black/cork wedges were worn 8 times (that's a Capsule Challenge record!), followed by the gladiator kitten heels at 7 times, and the cream flat sandals at 6 times. The classic black pumps were worn 5 times, which is certainly a personal record for wearing a simple shoe. The two pairs of Fluevogs were worn 3 times (the O'Hara cream sandal) and twice (the black and white T-strap), due to the height of the heel. Not the most practical shoes I own, but I love them dearly.

Skirts: All of the skirts were worn a minimum of 3 times, with the wrinkle maxi skirt coming out on top at 5 times. Holy smokes, I love that skirt! Washable, comfortable, and chic. I wore the cream pencil skirt 4 times - another instance of a classic getting its due.

Pants: I loved having my cream sail pants (worn 3 times) and the new white long denim shorts (worn 4 times) in this capsule. The only downside to light-coloured pants: they require more washing!

Tops: This is where I bombed this month; the things I lacked this most this month were classic neutral tops. I did not wear the black top with white piping at all, and the cream/white paisley shirt and the brown satin shirt (which is normally a classic for me) only got worn once each. The rest of the tops were all worn twice each.

Sweaters/Cardigans: Due to wearing more coloured camis as layering pieces in this month's capsule, I got heavy use out of all my sweaters and cardigans. The brown drapey cardigan was worn 5 times, the cream sweater (classic) was worn 4 times, the leopard cardi was worn 3 times and the black cardigan was worn twice.

Jackets/Blazers: The winner was easily the cream tux jacket, at 4 wears. I've had it for years, and it's been a classic in my wardrobe the entire time. Downside: needs cleaning frequently. I wore each of the other jackets twice each.

Dresses: I wasn't in love with either of my dresses this month. The LBD is beautiful on (wore it twice) and the leopard dress is comfy (wore it three times), but neither of them filled me with the joy of my Smoking Lily dresses from the May capsule. 

Other: Related to me "oops, I forgot to tone down the patterns in my tops" debacle, I didn't plan ahead for what I'd wear this corset top over. It was only worn once, and that's not because it's an orphan piece - my own bad planning is to blame.

What I Would Do Differently Next Month

• I think I will repeat a Neutrals Month in the Fall/Winter months, to see if I learn my lessons this month. Going back to loads of colour for July solves most of my issues, but also makes me realize that colour is very much a "masking" agent for not really putting a lot of thought into workable, functioning classic items. 
• I relied far too heavily on patterns, instead of making sure I had some good solid basics in all categories. I needed more solid/non-mixed-colour-patterned tops in particular, and two of my skirts (the Smoking Lily gingham and the swirly seersucker skirt) were very similar.
• *sigh* Again, I should have tried on the pieces that I hadn't worn for a while. I forgot how high-waisted the black/white piping top was, and it didn't work with any of my bottoms without showing belly (ugh).
• Just because they're neutrals doesn't mean they'll all work together! There are "families" of neutrals: browns/taupes, greys, creams/whites. I had issues with greys and browns not working together. I didn't plan enough for each of the grey/brown families, so didn't have enough to wear with either of them. 

What is Leaving My Closet

• The black top with white piping is gone. What a shocker. I didn't even wear it once! 
• The Noa Noa puffy-sleeved black wrap cardigan. I don't like it that much - it hits too high on my waist. Anyone interested in it? It's about a size 6-8 but is adjustable. The sleeves are real big, heh heh.
• The Willi Smith swing jacket. Wrong cut on me, but a great jacket. It's going to my girlfriend, Cat, who looks amazing in trapeze cuts.

What's on the Fence

• The white/taupe paisley shirt. I like it, but I don't love it. I think I will keep it, but maybe it just needs some colour for that awesome pattern to pop. 
• The cream sweater. Surprised? I've actually been on the fence with this since before this capsule. I've begrudgingly acknowledged that I needed a basic cream sweater, and I love the cut, but this sweater is a smidge big on me (hello, boobs!) and it's a wee bit see-through. Keeping it until I find something better.
• The LBD. It's such a great basic, and I love the shape, and how it looks on me...but...it's a black dress. So boring! Eh, back in the wardrobe it goes, until I find one that's better.
• The leopard dress. Great fabric, great pattern (although a little small of a leopard pattern for my taste), but it's a little high-waisted.

These are back in my wardrobe for now, and may be removed after I've "rested" from them.

Looking Forward to Wearing Again

• The wrinkle maxi skirt. Man, this was so awesome to wear! However, I do have a lot of other  maxi skirts.
• The gladiator kitten heel. A completely practical and yet fabulous shoe. 
• The white denim shorts. I've never had a pair of shorts that fit this well. I loved how these felt on and can't wait to bring them out again next summer. A total classic.

How I'm Feeling About the Year-Long Challenge So Far

I am actually shocked at how much fun I am having with this challenge. At nearly the halfway mark, I thought I would be getting frustrated or bored with the remixing, but I am so pumped every month! I love the planning out of the wardrobe in advanced, and I am literally spending hours in my closet, playing with combinations. 

What I'm seeing now when I'm planning out future capsules is that I'm consistently starting to pass over some of my pieces, and I'm looking for classics. I'm thinking that I may have to re-use some of my "discovered" classics in the Fall/Winter capsule months because they are so useful. 

And speaking to that, when I'm shopping now, I'm really paying attention to the "classic factor": how pieces are going to work with items I own, and how versatile they're going to be. I also noticed that I've been passing over neutrals in favour of colour when shopping; this neutrals-only month has been a good eye-opener about that habit. I don't actually have much in the way of black or white/cream basic tops, and this is something that I need to remedy.

I'm enjoying the feedback from people in real life, as well as (of course) you fellow bloggers and readers. I still feel like I'm stretching my creative muscle. This month in particular, I think I stepped up my game with accessories and camisoles.


Now...To refresh your memory, here are all the outfits together. You can click to embiggen them, and click on the dates to go to the original posts.

Jun 1st	Jun 2nd	Jun 3rd	Jun 4th
Jun 5th	Jun 6th	Jun 7th	Jun 8th
Jun 9th	Jun 10th	Jun 11th	Jun 12th
Jun 13th	Jun 14th	Jun 15th	Jun 16th
Jun 17th	Jun 18th	Jun 19th	Jun 20th
Jun 21st	Jun 22nd	Jun 23rd	Jun 24th
Jun 25th	Jun 26th	Jun 27th	Jun 28th - Pt. 1
Jun 28th - Pt. 2	Jun 29th	Jun 30th

Let's vote! You can vote for your favourite outfits here (you can select more than one outfit, it's okay!):

Vote for all your favourites!

Jun 1st Jun 2nd Jun 3rd Jun 4th Jun 5th Jun 6th Jun 7th Jun 8th Jun 9th Jun 10th Jun 11th Jun 12th Jun 13th Jun 14th Jun 15th Jun 16th Jun 17th Jun 18th Jun 19th Jun 20th Jun 21st Jun 22nd Jun 23rd Jun 24th Jun 25th Jun 26th Jun 27th Jun 28th (Pt.1 or Pt. 2 - specifiy in comments) Jun 29th Jun 30th

pollcode.com free polls

Note: I can only have 30 choices in the poll, so if you choose one of Jun 28th's outfits, please specify which one in the comments. Thanks!

What About the Wild Card Outfit?

I used my June Wild Card for this outfit here, for L's birthday party. I can't wait to wear those Fluevog boots in a capsule!

At the end of the year (next January), there will be a vote for Best Wild Card.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my capsule and reading the recap! Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Cheers,

Sheila

Jun 30th - Outfit #31 - Last Day of Neutrals

I made it! Neutrals Month is over! I can't say I'm not glad to see it finish, but it's been a good experience overall. I'll elaborate more on the Lessons Learned in my monthly wrap-up (tomorrow or Monday). 

For now, this is what I wore to go to my WW meeting and to brunch with L afterwards.

Managed to squeeze a second wear out of this grey jacket (last worn here), and another wear of my Smoking Lily skirt (last worn here). My gladiator kitten heels (last worn here) have gotten a real workout this month!

Buh-bye, neutrals!

The pink cami is not part of the capsule. I'm wearing my Audrey Hepburn Scrabble tile pendant (picture here).

My bag:

Added my new-to-me black and white scarf to the bag

I don't really have too many bags, so the ones I do have get a lot of use. My criteria: enough pockets for keys, mp3 player, lipgloss, and room for a pair of shoes.

Jacket (Leshop, consignment), cami (Jackpot), skirt (Smoking Lily, thrifted), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, consignment), scarf (Karin, thrifted), bag (consignment).

Last night when we got home from dinner, there was a package waiting for me!

Wow, Megan Mae (of MMD), you are such a sweetheart! A lovely letter, this gorgeous chocolate brown leather belt (originally from Lynne at Practical Paralegalism), 3 buttonflowers, a citrus-themed pouch with two pairs of shiny silver earrings wrapped in some parchment tissue. I am honoured - thank you for this lovely surprise!

And...here's a preview of July's capsule:

Colour! It's not in order, as I've been pulling things into outfits for my first couple of weeks already. My colour theme is orange and turquoise, with some yellow, navy and black, with grey as the neutral.

I went with 7 pairs of shoes this month.

I had to get the 80s stained-glass shoes in!

Edit: In tallying my July choices, I noticed that I have only 29 items (you can count 22 hangers/items in the picture above, plus 7 pairs of shoes), so I have added...another pair of shoes! I couldn't do a month without a pair of Fluevogs (heavens!), so these ones have been added.

I'm excited to start wearing these items. Colour! Bring it on!

Jun 29th - Outfit #30 - Day Off and Shopping

I am having a lovely day off! The weather has turned sunny and hot with a light breeze (there is always a breeze when you live on the ocean), and I thoroughly enjoyed my shopping expedition today.

I dressed for trying things on: pullover top, skirt, full slip (vintage) underneath for smoothing, slip-on shoes, one-hook belt and minimal accessories.

This is my cream sweater (last seen here), my seersucker floofy skirt (last worn here) and my cream sandals, just worn here last night to the Janelle Monae concert.

Holy smokes, that girl can sing and perform! It was amazing! L will be doing a review of the concert, along with her album, so check back at his blog for the full deal some time this weekend. Anyway, I highly recommend going to see her if you get the chance.

I felt so girly swooshing around in my skirt.

But you can never tell here - the weather can change on a dime - so I wore a light jacket over top, my denim one. Of course I had to wear my yellow flower!

Added my Aldo fruit purse and my jaunty yellow silk scarf, and I was off to two of my favourite second-hand stores in Victoria.

Jacket (Ann Taylor Loft), sweater (Trina Turk, consignment), skirt (Y, thrifted), shoes (Artisan by Clarke's, consignment), belt (Landes, thrifted), flower (Roberta's Hats), bag and earrings (Aldo), scarf (vintage, thrifted), ring (Wendy Brandes).


Five of the items in my ensemble are thrifted or consignment! I get a lot of people asking me (hi to all my Victoria readers!) where I shop that I find such cool stuff second-hand. Well, today I am going to introduce you to two of my very favourites.

Disclosure: I link because I love. I don't get any kind of kick-back or discount or free stuff from either of these stores. I get no preferential treatment, other than the awesome service that I always get. I love to support local businesses, bricks-and-mortar stores, the people who live in my town. Both of these store's managers agreed to let me take pictures. Thank you!

First up: The Victoria Hospice Thrift Boutique (Hospice link; Boutique link).

Yes, this is a thrift store! It has a skylight, a big bay window, and it's open and spacious - awesome natural light.

Boutique items are individually priced, and all the rest are grouped by type for price. All non-boutique scarves are $3.50, for example. I have bought dozens of things here in the past 4+ years that I've shopped here, including the skirt I'm wearing today. I think the most I ever paid for something here was my Danier leather shirt for $40 (worn here in the February capsule).

The clothing is grouped on racks by colour, as well as a plus size rack, and they have very high turnover here. I only saw two or three repeat items from last time I was here, a month ago.

It's entirely run by volunteers, and 100% of the profits to to the Hospice. I love that my money goes to a good cause!

Check out the change rooms!

These are the nicest change rooms in any thrift store in town. They have good sturdy rails for hanging things, a stool, a little garbage can, and a box of Kleenex with a sign asking you to remove your lipstick before trying things on.

All of the clothing here is in amazing condition - no crap, no tears or stains. I am never worried about the cleanliness of it. I have found some lovely vintage here, as well as a few great accessories/jewelry pieces.

Check out the shoe wall:

I found two great pairs here today.

Thank you to the lovely women who were working today, including Lisa, the manager (centre) who very kindly let me take pictures.

You all look radiant in your beautiful summer tops, ladies!

The other store I visited today was The Velvet Crease (Facebook page):

It's a small store, but is again well-organized by colour, as well as tagging by size. I disregard the size when shopping, but it's handy if you don't have time to go through everything.

Prices are a little higher here, but the quality is also very high. They are very fussy about the condition of clothing brought in, and it shows in the merchandise. I have consigned items here. The shoes I'm wearing today are from here.

I've bought a lot of my Smoking Lily here, some lovely dresses and they also have interesting jewelry.

I've been shopping here since before I lost weight, so about 6 years.

The fitting rooms are also awesome.

A three-way mirror in my fitting room! Wow! I love the little stool and that there are 3 sturdy hanging areas for sorting my try-ons.

Thank you to The Velvet Crease for letting me photograph your store!

I had brunch after my shopping, then got my eyebrows waxed (hi, Carol and the awesome tattooed chicks!).

Check out this gorgeous overblown garden of poppies and bachelor's buttons I saw on the way home:

Everything's so green and lush right now! I love summer.

Okay, now we're at the shopping haul part. First are the items I got at the Hospice Boutique.

80s vintage hat:

 It's emerald green. I love how it looks on.

 It was half price for $7.00.

I also spotted this amazing wallet:

The bright emerald green wasn't photographing well in the den, so I took a picture on the deck table.

It's real eelskin, and is in good condition.

I'd be likely to use it as a mini clutch. It was $6.50.

I rarely find vintage shoes in my size (9.5-10), but check these babies out.

Vizzini helped

Classic 80s!

They have a nice low vamp (the area that scoops down near the toes); many 80s shoes have a high vamp and look too chunky to my eye.

I love the stained-glass look of the snakeskin (again real, they always did real in the 80s), and that scooped heel. [edited to fix the leather from eelskin to snakeskin - thank you, "Someone"]


They appear to have been sold at the Army & Navy. The brand is Gabrielli.

They were $16.00.

They don't appear to have ever been worn:

Not a mark on the sole.

I also found these wonderful slipper-style shoes.

They have a shiny square pattern on them, and the tassels move when you walk.

They have a little bit of wear, but for $8.50 I am not complaining. The brand is Annie.

I tried on about 12 pieces of clothing, but only one came home with me:

They are Urban Haggar. I've unrolled one leg to show the convertible style. The buttons are all metal, and the khaki material is quite thick, with a silky feel. The seams down the thigh are amazingly slimming! These were $7.50. I can't believe they weren't marked as boutique items (and neither could the volunteer who rang them  in!).

I found a replacement for the cheaper quality Aldo belt I've cut a million belt holes into.

Caramel suede with a shiny gold buckle. Love! It was $3.50.

This belt was also $3.50:

The blocks are all leather, and the silver beaded trim is sewn on. I bet both of these belts are 80s vintage.

My neutrals-only capsule month (one more day!) has influenced me for the good, I think. I am definitely paying more attention to neutrals when I shop. I love this graphic black and white silk square scarf:

It was $6.00. The brand is Karin.

I also found this lovely turquoise, taupe and navy silk square scarf for $3.50.

Those colours are so inspiring! This would really perk up a neutral dress. No signature.

Not too shabby - a good haul!

At The Velvet Crease, as expected, I found a few excellent quality items, including this 100% cashmere Daniel Bishop sweater.

Eee! Look at the rhinestone buttons! It's very pin-up. I have another Daniel Bishop cashmere top, that I also bought at this store, this purple sleeveless one.

My capsule challenge is making me realize that I have a few holes; one is that I needed a light white/cream cardigan.

This one was $22.00 - no label, so I don't know the brand.

I fell in love with this glorious peach scarf with hot pink and red roses. It's a long rectangle.

Of course, it is silk. It was $14.00.

It's nice to see a good name. Lauren by Ralph Lauren is typically good quality.

I like seeing the hand-stitched rolled edge too.

I was totally hitting the 80s jackpot today. Look at this incredible stained glass rectangular silk scarf.

The fringed edge is a neat detail. It was $20.00.

Again, I like to see that mark of quality.

I know Adrienne Vittadini is a high-end brand.

Well, that's it - I had a smaller haul from The Velvet Crease, but I'm pretty happy with what I found. What do you think? What's your favourite item?