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Winter 10 x 10 Challenge Day 1-5

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pink handmade chester coatWinter 10 x 10 Challenge Day 1-5

Check out my 10 picks in my previous blog post!

phillip lim pashli mini satchelDay 1: 
January 21, 2018
GU stripe knit + pleated midi skirt + Zara boots + chester coat (self made)

The pleated skirt used to be a dress that my sister bought in Taiwan. I wore that as a dress for a couple of Summers and then decided to cut and add elastic band at waist to turn it into a midi skirt. I thought I would get more wear out of it this way. Now it’s no longer a Summer dress, but a skirt that works in Winter as well with tights and boots underneath. For the outer, I’m wearing my pink chester coat I made a few years ago with 3.1 Phillip Lim pashli mini satchel. Today I’m just out and about with my family. I’m glad I wore flat boots since I ended up walking 10km. I know I am not supposed to buy any clothes during this challenge, but I could not resist picking up bright red leather gloves I found in Asakusa on sale while I was on the walk!. 

red on red ootdDay 2:
January 22, 2018
Red turtle neck sweater + dark red fitted maxi skirt + rain boots (not included in my pick) + gown coat (self made)

It snowed today! It’s the first snow day in Tokyo this Winter. The news were all over this snow, and people in Tokyo were not prepared for it. It might sound silly for someone who lives in Toronto or Boston, but with 20cm of snow, trains stopped, news warnings were everywhere and planes were canceled. I had to pull out my rain boots instead of my two picks of shoes for this challenge since it was an emergency! Despite the weather, I enjoyed this one tone color outfit (red + red) and was warm and cozy with knit skirt and leggings under neath.

geek sweatshirt

Day 3: 
January 23, 2018
GEEK sweatshirt + white button up (self made) + Levi’s mile high super skinny jeans

I love this sweatshirt! I found it at a local thrift shop for mere 100 yen. It’s fashionably short, and matches well laying with button up. My daughter commented “mommy your sweatshirt is so short!”. Just realized that four of my 10 items in this challenge were picked up at a thrift shop. My tips at choosing right stuff at thrift shop is 1. try on always 2. check the shop often. Even if it is 100 yen, if the fit is not right (or something can be adjusted if you sew), it’s not worth the space in your closet, so always try on. Also if you check the shop often, more chances that you to come across with something amazing. 

ferragamo shoesfolli folli white belt watchDay 4: 
January 24, 2018
Red turtle neck + tweed wide legged pants (self made) + white socks + Salvatore Ferragamo erice 70mm pumps

I’m cheating today because I’m wearing shoes that are not in 10 x 10 challenge, which were white sneakers and long boots. Today I had a hair appointment. I haven’t had a hair cut for five months so I wanted to dress up a bit for going to a salon. It’s still too cold to wear pumps on bear foot so I paired them with white socks. I read this Japanese style book called “how to dress stylishly and stay warm(my English translation)” by Aliko Yamamoto. One of the tips she demonstrates in her book is to incorporate white socks to prolong the life of pumps wearing through out the Winter. I like the look of socks + pumps. It’s something new which I haven’t tried so it feels refreshing. Anyway, next time I do the 10 x 10 challenge, I want to exclude outers and shoes in the count of 10, so I can have more varieties in the outfit. Shoes can make or break the outfit. I am a bit sad that I’m deprived of the shoe choices during this 10 days. 

archer button up with stripe shirtDay 5:
January 25, 2018
GU stripe knit + white button up (worn over the knit)+ Levi’s skinny jeans + Zara boots + gown coat 

Today was frigid. It’s close to 0 Celsius in Tokyo and feels like the real winter is here. I’m bundled up with hat, scarf and two pairs of gloves (!). I bike to my kids’ daycares and I need many layers to protect myself from cold wind. 

Some thoughts on the Archer button up: I think it’s great pattern for a shirt you would wear underneath sweater or sweatshirt. It’s structured since the top of the shoulder meets your true shoulders. However recent trendy styles are baggy with dropped shoulders as if you are wearing your boyfriend’s shirt. I feel like this white button up needs a bit of update. I want more loose style so it looks more like 2018. Do you have any such pattern recommendations? 

Winter 10 x 10 Challenge

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I’m doing a 10 x 10 challenge! I came across this idea on Instagram via @maya_sewinzen feed. You can check out Style Bee for more info. Here is the general concept:

“The 10 x 10 Challenge is an exercise I established in 2015 to help encourage myself to get more creative with my clothes during a 30 Day Shopping Fast. The concept is essentially a micro capsule closet that you work with for 10 days, trying new looks and styling your clothes in ways you might not otherwise try.” (via Style Bee)

So you pick out 10 different pieces of clothes and mix and match the clothes for the next 10 days. Choosing the first 8 pieces was fairly easy. Four bottoms, two pairs of shoes, and two tops. But the last two, was much more difficult. There were clothes I wanted to add to the mix but their versatility was questionable so I went back and forth…In the end, here is what I came up with:

Style Bee 10 x 10 winter challenge bottomsBottoms

  1. skinny jeans (Levi’s Mile High super skinny)
  2. tweed wide legged pants (self made)
  3. knit maxi skirt (100 yen, thrifted)
  4. pleated midi skirt (A gift from my sister)

10x10 winter challenge topsTops

  1. red turtleneck sweater (100 yen at thrift shop)
  2. stripe bottleneck sweater (GU, but thrifted for 100 yen)
  3. white buttondown shirt (self made)
  4. GEEK sweatshirt (100 yen at thrift shop)

Shoes

  1. beige suede long boots (Zara, about 5000 yen)
  2. Superga sneakers (7200 yen on Shopbop)

I did not include coats to this 10. I’m fairly happy with my picks. Each has a different style. The tops have four different necklines (bottleneck, turtleneck, button down and round neck) so you don’t have to stick with turtlenecks all week long. Same for pants. I have skinny jeans, wide leg pants, maxi skirt that is fitted style and pleated midi skirt. 

My plan is to document this everyday for the next 10 days. I’ve already found some benefit to this challenge. First, I think this method is very useful when it comes to traveling. We do two-week trips to the U.S. every year. Whenever we go back to the States, you have  limited luggage space and access to laundry. So this method of four bottoms, four tops and two shoes, including one sneaker (can be used for workout) and one dressier shoes, can come in handy. Of course, I would have to revise it a bit if we were to travel in the summer. I would add more items since you might go through more since it is hot. Second benefit is that this forces me to think about every piece of my wardrobe to see if I really need them. I have some pieces in my closet that I kind of hold on to it but should let go. When I was thinking of what items to add, I found some clothes that I just did not want to add in the mix. I just could not imagine being stuck with it for 10 days! I have not let go of them maybe becauase I bought it and it was expensive, thus I should like it still. Or it was given to me from a friend and I feel bad about letting it go. If this challenge goes well, I might do another set of 10 that are completely different from this 10, so that I can wear every pieces of my clothes in my closet and review if I really need them. 

 

Random Things I Made | December 2017

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It’s the end of the December. This month went so quick. I made a short video (8 minutes) showcasing the things I sewed this month. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for visiting my blog this year and I’m looking forward to the things to come in the year 2018! Have a Happy New Year! 

Watch video here

Table of contents

0:00 Intro
0:24 Bright blue kimono dress
1:35 cotton kimono wrap dress
2:35 Bordeaux American neckline kimono dress
4:28 wedding dress muslin
5:00 red pencil skirt
8:24 black and white floral skirt
6. crane print kimono dress

More “Random things I made” posts here, here, here, here.

pinkish red kimono dress cotton kimono liningazuki color american neckline dressazuki color american neckline kimono dressmermaid wedding dress muslinred pencil skirtblack and white floral skirtcrane print kimono dressJOIN MY MAILING LIST!