30 for 30 roundup, and lessons for next time

Whoa, that's a lot of myself all in one place!

So, 30 for 30 roundup. I really am pleased with how this all turned out, aside from one small bump in the road, and I think if Kendi plans to do it again, I'll do it too--though admittedly with fewer sweaters!

Lessons learned

Fewer pants, more shoes. I ended up wearing my five pairs of pants a whopping seven times. I wore jeans 10 times, so that leaves 13 days for skirts! I didn't really need all those pants, and I could have used at least one additional pair of shoes--a coloured shoe, or a flat sneaker/walkable shoe. I had two brown pairs and two black pairs, and brown/black, while classic, sometimes lacks the slap that blue or maroon can provide.

Color and pattern mixing isn't that big a deal. There's one colour combo I vetoed all during 30 for 30--the pink skirt + red-orange shirt combo. That did NOT work. However, I found that for the most part, everything matched and/or went pretty well. That's probably partly from planning--I laid everything out a couple nights before 30 for 30 started and made sure there was an operable colour palette there. I highly recommend this to anyone doing 30 for 30, whether for the first time or fifth!

Forget diamonds, cheap accessories are a girl's best friend. Most of my accessories are supercheap--scarves, jewelry, belts, socks, even a handful of paper clips. The only thing I've splurged on are some tights from We Love Colors, which were SO worth it. This 30 for 30 would have been so boring were it not for the plethora of accessories in my wake, especially my giant statement necklaces from Anthro & JCPenney ($10 for each, y'all).

Be prepared. I went into 30 for 30 with a ton of sweaters, most of which I definitely didn't need. I didn't expect the temperature to jump into the 70s halfway through my 30. On one hand, I really with I'd had another cardigan in my 30--but I don't think I needed the floral sweater (which I wore once) or the pink sweater (twice, and very hot in it the 2nd time). More versatile pieces are in order next time! Also, plan your laundry. Laundry is kind of tough to juggle when you have 30 pieces, meaning no full loads, but you have to get it done at some point!

Faves and fails

Best items: Those Target wedges were the wisest 11th hour purchase I have ever made. I ran to Target the night before 30 for 30 started and bought them because my beloved metallic wedges are falling apart, and I needed some sort of stable heel in my 30. Everyone across the blogosphere seems to have them, and it makes sense. That chartreuse cardigan is a winner, and I have to say the sequin top from Anthro earned its keep!

Could do without: The blazer was not exactly the best choice. I like my blazer but I don't think this forum was the best for it. I added it for the Every Body Every Wear challenge, and that's the only time I wore it. I did love the one outfit it was part of, though! And again, not so many pants. I could have cut it down to 3 pairs and been good. Black, brown and tan. I'm glad I dumped the dress, though maybe if I hadn't picked a sweater dress things would have turned out differently.

Fave outfits: eight, thirteen, nineteen, twenty-one, and twenty-eight.

Fail outfits (not really but they weren't so great): five, seventeen (IT WAS JUST SO HOT), and twenty-four.

Fave venues: six (the snow helped!), seventeen, twenty-six, twenty-eight, and thirty.

Fail venues: four & five, seven, and eighteen.

Best experience during 30 for 30: Finding out that I'm going to BEA with my boss in May!

Worst experience during 30 for 30: That time when my camera flew off my car and wouldn't stop buzzing :(

Overall

Great experience! Picking the right colour set helped a lot. In the future I'll remember to pick more versatile items that are wearable alone or in a set, and I won't avoid my laundry like the plague. I look forward to doing it in spring!