goldenpig

Here is the replay of my week of blogger copycats! I browsed several fashion blogs mentioned in the original challenge thread but ended up picking all of my outfits from Jessica Quirk's What I Wore blog, as it seemed like we had similar styles and I had a lot of the pieces to make them work. I know some (like Suz) used the photos as a creative challenge to push themselves in a new style direction which is great! As for me, I was just happy I could participate even while pregnant and could still fit into my clothes! :) I really enjoyed doing as close a match as I could, even down to the sunglasses and copying the pose, because well I'm just a matchy matchy kind of gal! I really tried hard to copy every detail like the cap toed shoes, bracelets, gloves, etc (and we're even wearing the same exact bee blouse in 1!). There are a few tweaks I would have liked to be able to do, but overall I'm happy with the way these came out and how close they came to the inspiration outfits!

I'd say the theme this week was dots (and more dots!), stripes, and pipes (contrast piping). Which outfit do you like best?
Day 1: Yellow, snake and leather
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....enge-day-1
Day 2: Emerald and dot extravaganza
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....travaganza
Day 3: In the trenches
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....e-trenches
Day 4: Dotty dress and burgundy tights
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....ndy-tights
Day 5: Cream/black blazer, burgundy, boots & gloves
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....ots-gloves

Here is what I learned from this challenge:
1. Proportion is key.
There were a few things I would have liked to have changed about my versions and they mostly had to do with proportion. I think the coat in 3 (as some of you pointed out) would have looked better with the boyfriend jeans if it was shorter like Jessica's. And the scarf in 1 was a little too long, but I am a scarf newbie and didn't know how to tie it. I did end up ordering the shorter leopard scarf that Jessica has from Target though! And in 5, I think the jacket would have been better if it was more cropped like hers and with a bolder contrast piping. I haven't been thinking about proportion much, but it's definitely a good thing to pay attention to.

2. Make it work with the clothes you have.
During this pregnancy I've been fighting the feeling that I'm losing my whole wardrobe due to my growing belly. But in reality, I have no shortage of clothes to wear, because I've been making it work as long as I can primarily with my non-maternity clothes and incorporating maternity when needed. The only actual maternity item I wore this week was the pants in 5. For example, I can't button any of my jackets anymore but I still wear them open over my clothes. The boyfriend jeans still fit because I had bought them a size up and wear them under the belly. And the skirts I just wear with the waist higher up above my belly (same with dresses like the one in 4). And even though the shirts in 2&5 are too short to cover my belly, I can still wear them with my high-waisted skirts and maternity pants.

3. Hang onto outfit completer pieces.
I don't know if this is such a good lesson for me given I tend to hang onto clothes way too long (my dated filter is not well developed) and should probably purge more given my huge wardrobe, but I found I still use my old clothes. Like the blazer in 2 was from my Ann Taylor interview suit from the 90's. I never wear suits nowadays and I was contemplating purging it (because I rarely wear blazers either) but then it turned out to be perfect with that outfit. And the burgundy tank in 5 is also Ann Taylor from the 90's. I don't wear it much because I don't think the high neckline and bare shoulders look is as flattering on me, but it was perfect under the jacket--the newer burgundy cowl neck blouse I have wouldn't have worked under this jacket. I also have a rust mock turtleneck tank from the 90's that I wouldn't wear on its own (and it's getting frayed and faded) but it's perfect under one of my black wool moto jackets so I keep it around. I don't wear these pieces enough to justify buying a bunch of replacements, but it's free to keep my old things and as long as I have the space, why not if they're the perfect finisher for a certain outfit!

4. There are many different ways to wear your clothes--mix things up with styling.
This may seem so obvious to those of you who are adept at remixing and wardrobe capsules, but before YLF I was a one outfit one way type of girl. Still am, in a sense, because my experiments in remixing are more to tweak outfits until I find my favorite "perfect" incarnation and then I tend to want to wear it that way all the time, and find my variety through a larger wardrobe with many different items. But this challenge made me realize that I can change things up a lot just with styling. Like my Kate Spade polka dot cocktail dress in 4. I usually wear it with cardigans and go all out girly girly, but It felt totally different wearing it with a moto jacket and booties...a little tougher edge, which is great because I love having multiple personas and juxtaposing girly with tough. And forcing myself to get more creative with switching up looks will help in my third trimester when I have to put away even more of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe and live on a smaller capsule. Realizing I can be creative with my clothes will inspire me to be more creative about shopping my closet and remixing, even when I'm not pregnant anymore, rather than wanting to just buy more and more to get new outfits.

5. Blogs are a great source of fashion inspiration.
I haven't really been following fashion blogs at all, but trying out this challenge made me realize how many fashion blogs there are and I may start following a couple now. But for the most part, YLF keeps me busy enough (I can hardly keep up with everything here!) and Angie and you all are all the inspiration I need!

Thanks so much MaryK for a really fun and inspiring challenge! I had a blast and learned so much!