1 month of sustainable fashion: week 2

Day 14

Keiara

Ah, the ascot. The comrade of Austin Powers and pretentious old men every where.
As for me, it became a great way to switch out the black tank. However, I fear for the life of my cardigan. 

The constant wear is really starting to show and the all those little fuzz balls — though a welcomed distraction during most of my political science class — are really irritating to keep picking off.

I have a feeling that after this project, this sweater will need some space. Lately I have been wearing it every day, more for function than style. However, I’m just beginning to get tired of the looking at the same fuzzy material.

However, it’s kind of interesting to see how much wear your clothing shows when you can’t switch it out.

A few more weeks, and I’ll be able to knit a hat with all the sweater residuals.


Jake

So I have had more outfits to try than I thought. Today when I woke up it hit me out of nowhere to try the button up under the sweater. I don't know I had haven't thought of it until now, because it seems obvious.

I was worried though. The plaid button-up shirt is very bold and I didn't know how the blue and red would go with the green. After putting it on, I thought it looked great. I think the plaid and the green actually mesh well together.

And the boldness of the plaid collar popping out on top of the dominant green makes the combo more than just a typically sweater and button up. I have had that sweater for a while and have worn in over more basic button ups, but like I said before, I had never thought of this combination.

While on campus a few of my friends even told me they really liked the sweater and button up together. So I think I may have to add this new combination to my everyday wardrobe once November is over.

Day 13

Keiara

I have to apologize for today.
I woke up this morning feeling like Lindsay Lohan career — lackluster and not due for a comeback until 2012. So I went back to basics and wore my jeans and a shirt, with no tricks.

I’m sure I’m not the first person to have a creativity shortage.  Ke$ha has made a career out of it.

Still, I am really disappointed that I didn’t give my full effort today. However, there’s a positive to that: I have the same options for tomorrow.  So I will just have to see what I can whip up tomorrow.

Hopefully, some more puns about Lindsay’s career. Fingers crossed.

Jake

Today was my birthday and I was meeting my parents in Indianapolis. Since I was going to get out Bloomington it wasn't a big deal to me that I would be repeating an outfit.

I wanted to put more thought into my outfit, but it was so easy to just throw on the blue V-neck and leave. But now that I am repeating multiple outfits, I'm going to start trying harder to be creative.

While in Indy though, my parents bought me a new coat and scarf. So I now at least have a new accessory to work with.

I also can't believe that it is day 13 of the challenge. It's still going really well and the time has flown by. I really thought the challenge would be wearing me down more, but I'm still going strong.

Day 12

Keiara

Today was one of those days when you just feel like wearing your clothes backwards.
That’s normal right?

I decided to try wearing my cardigan as backless sweater with my gold belt to give it some shape.  I went out to dinner with a few of my friends, and not one person seemed to notice until I showed them the buttons on the back.  Or perhaps they thought I had finally snapped, and didn’t want to make any sudden movements.
Either way, every one loved the look.

It’s sort of funny that the things we’re sure every one notices is usually the last thing that’s even on their mind. Especially when it comes to your friends. Most of the time, friendships don’t come with a wardrobe requirement, and the people who are the closest to you won’t judge you to your face. They’ll do the right thing and say it behind your back.

That’s what friends are for.

Jake

I have now started repeating outfits. What I wore today was what I wore the very first day of the challenge. Although I have repeated an outfit already (I have worn the plaid shirt twice), I am still proud that I made it 12 days without repeating this outfit.

The more this challenge goes on the happier I am that I picked the cardigan as one of my six items. I knew it would be a good piece to have, but I didn't realize just how versatile it was. Having the cardigan is really helping me make it through this challenge.

Day 11

Keiara

Since the beginning of this month, I have lived for the weekends. Mainly because it gives me chance to experiment.
 
The birth of the cardigan skirt came from a lazy afternoon, and so did the scarf tube top.   Since the I don’t have usual pressure of trying to make it on class on time, I can twirl around in the mirror and try on different looks throughout the day.

Today I tried out knotting up my shirt just to change up the look for my black flouncy top.

I think it’s always good to take some looks for a test drive before committing to them for a full day.  Especially when I’m taking cardigan and manipulating it to do something it was never intended for. It’s sort of like Paris Hilton’s singing career; it’s possible to make it happen, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t a disaster.

Jake

Today I wore my last scarf. So the time that I have feared and have been talking about for a while has come. I am out of accessories. Although I have found repeating outfits I have already worn doesn't get noticed, I still want to try as many new things as I can.

But, I also don't want to go out and buy a lot of new stuff. A big part of doing this challenge is to show that you can do a lot without having to buy a lot and contribute to the supply chain.

Like I said before I may experiment more with my shirts, but to avoid buying more accessorizes, I think I will be invading my roommates' closets.

Day 10

Keiara

The cardigan is a wonderful gift. Especially, when the temperature drops 30 degrees and you find yourself wearing a scarf as a shirt.

What I love about this cardigan is that is soft and thick, which is the perfect for this kind of weather. What I hate about this cardigan is that I am now forced to wear it every day.
No matter how complicated the relationship has gotten, I still can’t deny that
this is the most functional piece of clothing I have for this month. I ‘ve already seen I can MacGyver a skirt out it and now, I turned it in to a wrap sweater with a little elbow grease and a thick belt.    

The biggest challenge is still coming up with new ideas, but I think I’m not as worried about it. I wake up every morning with a whole new idea that I didn’t think of before.
I don’t want to give anything away but one idea may involve a scarf and lots of scotch tape. 

Jake

Today was a sweatshirt day. It was cold and I had to get up early and all I wanted to do was wear a sweatshirt. That's another thing this has taught me is not to take sweatshirts for granted.

So I went with the same ensemble as I did once before. The black cardigan buttoned up with a warm scarf. I wore a different scarf than before to make a it new and I had the green sweater on and not the purple V-neck.

When comparing my outfit from today with the previous day's I noticed that something minor such as buttoning the cardigan up can really change the outfit. So all day I wore the cardigan and scarf, but then later when I was going out I decided just to go with the sweater.

Before when I would go out I would almost always change from what I wore all day. Now since I don't have the options and I don't want to get more than one shirt dirty in a day I just went with the sweater.

But I made a simple change by loosing the cardigan and scarf and I had a completely different look. While getting ready to go out I also decided to play around with the my clothes.

Following Keiara's lead I formed my cardigan into what I am calling a kilt. It worked and stayed on, but I don't know if I will be wearing it out in public. Although if I use my plaid shirt it might give off the feeling of a kilt.

Maybe when I get really desperate. 


Day 9

Keiara

If I learned anything from Batman, it’s that a belt will do wonders.  I like to think my gold shell belt does that…or it least reminds you of your Grandma Ida’s weekend in Atlantic City.

Either way, it gives my black shirt and leggings a new silhouette. One of the main reasons that I picked this top is because of its versatility. Cinching the waist,  changes the whole style, and gives me a few good ideas on what to do in the next weeks, especially for holiday parties. 

Working with accessories, will definitely be a key player for the holidays. Without a necklace here or a belt there, I would be left with no option but to gift wrap myself.

My new challenge now is trying to stay warm. Today, I was realized that my shirt and leggings have the consistency of tissue paper when a 40 miles per hour wind hits you straight on.  Besides my jacket, my only source for warmth is my cardigan, which I don’t want to feel forced to wear every day.  Or if I do have to begin wearing my cardigan every day then I need to begin to think of new ways of wearing it. I have a few ideas.

But I’m still going hold on to the wrapping paper.

Jake

I was running late today so I didn't have a lot of time to think about my outfit. But that is where the beauty of this challenge comes in. I didn't really need to think that much. 

Although it is nice to not have to put that much thought into what I wear, I do want to accessorize more than I have been. I couldn't make up my of what accessory to pick and I was in a hurry so I just went without.

Everything overall is still going well though. I haven't found myself getting annoyed with the limited clothes (although I haven't run out of new outfits yet) and there wasn't really any change to my life.

I don't know if I expected there to be a big change, but hopefully because this challenge is fitting into my life well I will enjoy the entire month.

Day 8

Keiara

One of the big issues I knew I was going to face when I started this experiment was learning how to deal with all-black wardrobe.  Though I do love black and gray as a color combination, it can be a bit moody. And its not even the “James Dean” kind of moody, it’s the “16 & Pregnant” kind of moody when your baby’s daddy doesn’t pick up the right formula.

To save myself from this nightmare, I threw in some color by using a scarf as a top, along with my cardigan. Overall, people were impressed that I pulled off another look just using accessories. I was just happy that I managed to keep my top up. 
   
The only thing that drove me crazy was that I was expecting a brisk November day, and it turned out to be a warm September afternoon.  My cardigan, which I am pretty sure is a poly blend of Satan’s lambs wool and torture, had me quite hot under the collar today.

However when I thought about taking off my sweater, I remembered that most of my teachers wouldn’t be thrilled if walked into their classroom looking like I just left Coachella. 

Now as we move on into our first week, I can kind of feel for Jake. I feel like his options for creativity are more limited. Perhaps, he could use his scarf and cardigan to make a romper.

Let me write that down.

Jake

So I have now repeated an outfit. But I wanted to wear the button up, and I am have the same problem as the last time I wore it. It doesn't really go with anything because the pattern is so bright.

When I was getting ready I tried having the blue V-Neck with the plaid on top and unbuttoned. But after consulting with my roommate we agreed it was too much blue, so I just wore the button up by itself.

Again no one seemed to question the fact that I had worn the shirt recently. Like I said yesterday, I don't know if it is because people know I'm taking part in this challenge or if they really just don't notice.

I have to applaud Keiara on pulling on the scarf as a top. I also like the idea of fashioning a romper. I do love to romp around.

But, I do wish I could come up with some ways to be really creative like Keiara. I have considered trying to pull off the cardigan skirt (well what I would refer to as a kilt), but I might save that for a weekend where I'm staying home a lot.

If it was the spring or summer, I might experiment with rolling up my jeans. Although November has so far been extraordinarily nice, I don't think I will be trying the Huckleberry Finn look out this month.