Day 10 - Friday 9/24

It is a really warm day - about 85 degrees. I don't have any plans for the night but I need to run a few errands after work.

My other short sleeve shirt is dirty so it made my choice very easy. The embellished gray t-shirt and my jeans.

I think over the weekend I am going to do a few swap-outs. I am ready to wear some different tops. I need to look at the weather forecast and think about which pieces will provide the most fashion mileage.

Day 9 - Thursday 9/23

The only time I went out today was for the ballet at Lincoln Center. (The performance was just lovely but the traffic was a disaster. The President was in town and I actually think I saw his motorcade - which was thrilling.)

I wore a black and white dress that is high waisted and has some draping on the skirt. Accessories included a black ruffle cardi and a beautiful silk scarf Michael's parents brought back from China (I hope it says things about living a long and prosperous life in Chinese, maybe I should find out before I wear it again....)

Day 8 - 9/22/10

Going in to my second week of this experiment. I think I will last about 2 weeks on this round of clothes as I am definitely bored with the 12 items today. As previously mentioned I really like getting dressed with fewer options each morning. I think the key will be to rotate in some items over time. Each day I'll have 12 items to choose from, but the items will vary over time.

Another beautiful, if not warm, September day in the city. I have a few errands to run including a vet appointment for Sadie. I've decided on jeans and my multi-print top as it is a little more dressy than a t-shirt. I don't think I'll need any kind of jacket and my heel blister has healed up enough for me to wear real shoes. Michael Kors slingbacks from my second Lucky Shops. They are super flat and super comfortable and they always seem more appropriate in the fall because they are suede.

Day 7 - Tuesday 9/21/10

Another really nice fall day in NYC - low 70s and a bright sunny blue sky.

I haven't worn the dress yet so I figure it is time to wear the little black dress. I want to keep it casual so I'm pairing it with the black tank top, denim jack, and a scarf. That pesky heel blister is still sensitive so it will most likely be "Fab Flips by Mel" on my feet again today. I don't know about jewelry - easy pieces, maybe my gold hoops and my little house necklace.

Day 6 - Monday 9/20/10

Low 70s and sunny today - just need to run a few errands around the neighborhood.

Jean, embellished gray t-shirt, drapey black cardigan. I gave myself a really bad heel blister yesterday, so embellished flip flops (Fab Flips by Mel) and simple jewelry (dangly earrings and a ring, I don't need too much else with the amount of sequins on the t-shirt).

Day 5 - Sunday 9/19

It was supposed to be in the high 70's and sunny today and it was - in fact it was pretty warm if the breeze wasn't blowing.

Saturday ended up being cooler in the afternoon than I anticipated. After changing out of my jeans and in to the skirt I when I got home from the farmer's market, I ended up getting cold. I put my jeans back on before we went out for the rest of the day.

Today I decided on the khaki skirt, gray long sleeve t-shirt, and a bright scarf.




I'm starting to get tired of the khaki skirt and I think the fit is off. I think as I keep going with this experiment I am going to end up with fewer pieces of clothing, but the clothing I wear will be better quality and have a better fit. The more I wear certain items (like the khaki skirt) the more I realize I could be wearing something that looked better on my body.

I still really enjoy how quickly I can get dressed and Michael certainly is all for that as well. Aside from yesterday when I was trying to adjust to the temperature, I have not changed outfits again and again until I finally settle on something. It's one and done!

Day 4 - Saturday

Cool and cloudy, supposed to warm up to the low 70s and be sunny in the afternoon.

I headed out relatively early to the farmer's market and it was cool. I was wearing jeans, the gray tank, the blue button down shirt, a scarf, and my dark gray converse.

The scarf is a new fall purchase - it's one big loop that you can leave long or wrap. The great thing with this particular piece is it has two sides, one is a cute print and the other is a soft gray cotton. Depending on how you wear it you can have the print side more visible or the solid side more visible.

By the time I got home with carrying a bag of food from Trader Joe's (including a bottle of olive oil) and a bag of produce from the farmer's market (6 pound of Empire apples and 3 pounds of Heirloom tomatoes) I was sweating.

I've now changed in to the khaki skirt, gray tank, and blue button down shirt. I haven't decided on the appropriate accessories, but I have an hour before we need to head out again - plenty of time to figure out shoes. I need a scarf or a great piece of jewelry - the outfit is a bland and needs something interesting to give it personality.

Day 3

Friday - I need to look nice because we go out on Friday night. I'm thinking maybe I should have selected black pants over black jeans......

I'm wearing the black jeans, the multi-print top, and my black drapey cardigan.

Day 2

Cloudy and cool with a chance of rain in the afternoon.

I wore my jeans with the long sleeve gray t-shirt and a bright scarf.

Day 1

It was a bright sunny day and I needed to run some errands.

I wore the khaki skirt, embellished gray t-shirt, and denim jacket.

Express Lane Dressing

It started with an e-mail from MomO.

She was going to do the 6 items or less challenge. The idea is you wear just 6 items of clothing to work for a month.

www.sixitemsorless.com

I don't work in an office so I combined the work week and casual clothing list and came up with 12 articles of clothing I plan to wear for the next 4 weeks.

• blue jeans
• black jeans
• khaki skirt
• black dress
• multi-print short sleeve blouse (tan is the main color)
• gray embellished short sleeve t-shirt
• gray long sleeve t-shirt
• blue oxford button down shirt
• gray tank top
• black tank top
• black drapey cardigan
• denim jacket

According to the "rules" of the challenge accessories, shoes, undergarments, work out clothes, work uniforms, and outerwear are unlimited. I like those rules and I'm sticking with them. I do have two ballet performances to attend later this month, I will be wearing different dresses to the perfomances. I have too many pretty party dresses that are perfect for the ballet not to wear them - that would just be silly.

After just two days of the challenge I realized having fewer choices in the morning makes picking an outfit a breeze. I put quite a bit of thought in to selecting my 12 pieces - they all pretty much work together and I can create an outfit perfect for just about any occasion. While I love getting ready in the morning I fear at some point I will get bored with my options. After this first month I might try picking 10-12 pieces of clothing for every two weeks. That way I still have limited choices each morning but I can work my way through more of my wardrobe.

In case you are wondering about the title, it happened when I was updating my main blog this morning. When I typed "12 items or less" it reminded me of the Express Lane in the grocery store. And then it hit me - this is perfect term to describe how I am getting dressed each day.

I plan to post a photo of my outfit each day. We'll see how I feel about this experiment in a few weeks!