I’m going to be completely honest with you all—I am a serial outfit repeater. Whenever I put an outfit together that I really love, it’s hard for me to wear the pieces in any other way. So, I rewear and rewear and rewear that outfit until my friends ask me if I own any other clothes (thanks for holding me accountable, guys). But, because of my horrible outfit repeating habit, there are so many great pieces in my wardrobe that never reach their full potential—and that needs to change.
This summer, whenever I think about rewearing a look I wore the previous week, I try to push myself to come up with a different way to wear those pieces instead. It’s been tricky, but I’m starting to realize how versatile my wardrobe can actually be. In that spirit, I decided to force myself to create a workweek’s worth of outfits using one key piece—my favorite white blouse. The real challenge: I had to rewear the same shirt every day without repeating anything else. Figuring out how to style the top in three totally different ways was harder than I expected, but I’m pretty happy with how the outfits turned out. From my go-to jeans to leopard print accents. Keep reading to see how I used pieces in my closet to wear the same top in three totally different ways.
Day 1
I started out the week by pairing my go-to blouse with the most basic thing I could think of—my favorite pair of jeans. I love the look of the soft, ruffled blouse with structured denim and, TBH, it’s the number one way I style this shirt. However, I had yet to wear the top with these jeans, so I’m considering it a win. I’m lucky to work in an office with a casual dress code, so when paired with mules and minimal jewelry, this outfit was perfect for the start of the work week.
Day 2
By the second day of this challenge, I was feeling motivated to take things up a notch and go for a completely different vibe. I love these leopard print wide-leg pants, but they’re one of those pieces I only wear a handful of ways. Initially, I was hesitant to pair these pieces together because I feared the ruffles on the shirt and the tiers on the pants would be overpowering, but I was surprised by how chic this combo looked while still making a statement. I tried to keep the rest of my look simple, opting for my beloved white sneakers and a slicked back bun. But, as I noticed a taxi making its way down the street, I just had to reach for my yellow sunglasses—I’m all about that color coordination.
Day 3
For the final day of my little outfit challenge, I grabbed the real MVP of my wardrobe: my jean skirt. I’m telling you, this baby gets worn more than anything else I own. Yes, I wore denim earlier in the week, but I decided to play with accessories for a more casual feel. Just like my skirt, checkered slip-on Vans are one of the few items I own that I style in seemingly endless ways. I knew that these laid-back sneakers would be the perfect addition for the dressed-down vibe I was going for. For a subtle pop of color, I added blue beaded earrings as a finishing touch.
The Takeaway
As I mentioned earlier, I am an outfit repeater so this little challenge was hard. For me, it’s so much easier to come up with one outfit I absolutely love and wear it weekly than to come up with multiple great outfits from the same items. The idea of wearing the same shirt three days in a row was nerve-wracking enough but for me, but the most intimidating part of this challenge was figuring out how to style one top in a variety of ways. However, by the end of the week I was feeling comfortable in my ability to mix and match items in my closet to create unexpected looks. While I loved each of the outfits I wore throughout the week, don’t expect to see them again anytime soon—my days as an outfit repeater are O-V-E-R. From here on out I’m all about finding new ways to wear the pieces I already own.
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Opening Image by Kate Day.
