I wore the same clothes for 30 days.

Let me re-phrase that, I wore the same 8 pieces for 30 days. A few blogger friends and I came together and created our own version of Jean Chatzy’s challenge. We called it the #8for30Challenge

I inherited my love of clothes honestly. I mean, my mother has 3 closets. Yep that is not a typo. She has three closets and is retired! She even knows the shipment schedule of her favorite stores. I grew up with a woman who loves options so you know the shopping struggle is real for me.

The challenge took place in April. It was fun and really allowed me to exercise more creativity with my wardrobe and maximize my closet for less.

Here are the top 5 lessons I learned from the 8 for 30 challenge.

1. When buying clothes select versatile pieces.

Before I decided to change my life and my ways I was super guilty of buying things just because I liked them. These mindless decisions often led to buyer’s remorse. During this challenge I saw how important it is to purchase with a plan and buy pieces that complement each other.

Despite the bold print my trusty ASOS sweater went with almost everything.

2. Cardigans and blazers are the best thing everrrrr!

Thank God for cardigans and blazers. We decided to classify them as accessories for this challenge and boy were they clutch. Had it not been for that decision I probably would have been very grumpy. By utilizing these previously undervalued items in my closet I was able to switch up my looks easily.

On this day I changed up my black Calvin Klein dress by wearing a belted H&M blazer over it.

3. The importance of buying quality pieces

Three of the pieces from the challenge did not make it out of the challenge. My cream blouse from Target started fringing, my Asos sweater developed holes in both armpits, and the zipper on my jeans broke. The pieces that made it were the items that were well made, supporting the quality over quantity argument. Buy less and when you do buy; buy better (within reason).

4. It’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it

Because this challenge forced me to be more creative than I normally am, I had to develop my confidence and own my outfits. Just go with it and people will go with you.

I never would have worn my accordion skirt with a pair of sneakers.

5. No one cares

Do you know how many times I didn’t have creative “mojo” in the morning? One week I wore my black pants from the challenge three days in a row and guess what? No one at my office cared! As a matter of fact they didn’t even know I had worn them the days prior. I know we think that people are really checking for what we wear but the majority of the time they have way more important things to worry about.

With that said, I was sooo happy when the challenge came to an end. I missed having free reign of my closet. The challenge did help me curve my spending, I can count the amount of clothes I purchased this summer on both hands.

I made it through unscathed and I look forward to doing another challenge.

Any suggestions?