How I Wore Something Different Every Single Day for an Entire Year

Well you guys, I did it!  I actually did it.  In 2016 I challenged myself to wear something different every single day all 366 days (let’s not forget that leap day) and I actually succeeded.  At least I think I did, anyway.  It was a ton to keep up with.

So why, you probably ask?  Why would I want to bother doing a challenge like this?  Well, I have always always loved fashion, but for several years I felt like I was in a clothing rut.  My closet consisted of mostly whites, blacks, greys, and other neutrals with a few pops of color here and there, and the majority of the pieces were monochromatic with no patterns or interesting textures.  I was pretty much wearing the same stuff over and over again and it was making me bored.

I blame corporate America.  Hehe.

Over the last few years I started taking more risks and adding more fun pieces to my wardrobe – bright colors and fun patterns like stripes, polka dots, and plaid, and I loved it!  I did, however, notice that I would always wear the same tops with the same bottoms and the same accessories so each of my looks were always the same.  Because of this, I decided to challenge myself to try to wear a different combination of clothing every single day for a whole year.  Because a) I thought it would be fun to document, and b) because I’m crazy!  Haha. 

The Goal:

Be bolder with my wardrobe choices and find new combinations to love.

The Rules:

Wear 366 different combinations of clothes in one year.

I was allowed to repeat articles of clothing as many times as I wanted but I was never allowed to wear an entire same outfit from head to toe twice.

How I Did It:

Mixing and matching like a boss.

Obviously I don’t have 366 different tops and 366 different bottoms, so it was all about the mixing and matching.  Most tops could be paired with many different bottoms to create new combinations.  A few examples:

Hoarding clothes.

I have a really hard time getting rid of clothes, so I do have a lot of them.  Probably more than the average person at least, but it’s because I hang onto everything for so long.  For example, just look how flipping old some of these things are in my closet:

I’m not even kidding about that skirt, y’all.  I’ve had it for-eh-vurrrr and I love it just as much now as the day that I got it... when I was a teenager.  Eek!

Changing the accessories.

Different necklaces, belts, scarves, and shoes can change up a look very easily.  Dresses, for example were really hard to change because they are all one piece, no mixing and matching tops and bottoms.  However, by changing up the accessories, I was able to make different combinations.

Adding a cardigan to transform summer tops into winter tops.

I was pretty much able to wear my entire selection of summer blouses again in the winter by… throwing a cardigan on over it!  So easy and so cute!  I have quite a collection of granny cardigans (Brian’s words, not mine) and I love them all so much!

Accepting hand-me-downs.

I got really, really lucky last year because my aunt and my cousin both cleaned out their closets twice and sent two bags my way!  I was able to take away several new-to-me pieces to add to my collection… and it was free!  Thanks, Aunt Joy and Shelby!  ;o)

Buying a few new pieces each season.

Each spring and each fall I always add a few new pieces to my wardrobe.  I love fashion, and I just can’t resist new trends, so I always like to have some of the latest trends in my closet.  However, for super trendy things that I know will go out of style quickly, I’m not afraid to shop at Ross, Wal-mart (hello printed shorts that everyone had last summer!) and other bargain stores.  There’s no point on spending $80 on a pair of shorts that you’re only going to wear for one or two seasons.  For more classic pieces that I know I will wear for years, I am willing to pay a bit more.  Nordstrom, anyone?

And now for a few nicer pieces that I purchased this year:

Asking for clothes for gifts.

My mom and my friends are always great at picking out things that I love.  I received a couple of new things for my birthday and I was happy to put them to work for this challenge. 

The Verdict:

Using all of these steps helped me to achieve this goal for 2016.  As for keeping track of what I had already worn, I actually have a really good memory when it comes to stuff like this so the first couple of months of each of the seasons wasn’t very hard.  As for times when I needed to know if I had repeated something, I kept pictures on my phone and I also referred to my monthly recaps on the blog.  Toward the end of the summer it was taking forever each morning to figure out what I was allowed to wear.  I had completely exhausted the summer wardrobe… probably because it was boiling hot here for almost eight months this past year. 

I loved this challenge and I’m so glad that I did it!  I feel like I took more risks than I normally do, and I also found some amazing combos that I would have never normally paired together if I hadn’t done the challenge. 

Will I be doing it again?  Nope.  Been there, done that, and it’s too much work!  Ha!

To see every single outfit that I wore this year, click the links below.  You can even shop some of the looks!  Just click the links provided under each picture.  

January Recap

February Recap 

March Recap

April Recap

May Recap  

June Recap

July Recap  

August Recap

September Recap  

October Recap

November Recap

December Recap

And I get many questions about where I like to shop.  I would say that my top three favorite places are Old Navy, Target, and Kohl's, but I shop all over.  A few things I have my eye on right now are this dress, this tunic (it has pockets!), and this jacket... I already have it in black and I LOVE it so I really would love one in brown.  And for only $37.90, why not??

Another question that I get asked a lot is, "How do you take your OOTD pictures?"  Well friends, you'll just have to stay tuned because next week I'm finally going to give you guys a tutorial!  

So what about you, friends?  Would you try to take on this challenge?  Just me?

*Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I What I Wore, Life in the Green House and Taz and Belly for Wardrobe Wednesday, Sydney Fashion Hunter for Fresh Fashion Forum, Pumps & Push Ups for Oh, Hey Girl! Link-Up, The Mummy Chronicles, Tucker Up, Shopping My Closet for Style Me Wednesday, Classy Yet Trendy for Trendy Wednesday Link-Up, The Blended Blog and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.

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