Ignite The Light and Let it Shine

Tags

365 days, 365 outfits, finale, Katy Perry, New Year's Eve purple satin dress, The End!

Hello, my name is Jenny. On January 1st, 2010, I made a resolution to wear a different outfit.

Every Day. For an entire year.

365 days. 365 different outfits.

And then there was one…

 

I think this one needs a little mood music. Maestro?

 

 

 

And…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fin.

 

Thank you for joining me. Happy New Year!

I Don’t Wanna Take No Pictures, I Just Wanna Take Some Shots

Tags

black dress, black round toe wedges, Black-Eyed Peas, bling bee necklace, floral textured tights, pearl strands necklace, pink cardigan

Well hello, friends.

I might need to keep this short, so’s that I don’t get all emotional-like. This will really be the last traditional post for the year and for the entirety of the project. The last time I sit down at my laptop for my nightly ritual of writing pity crap about my day and then making fun of my own outfits. There will be a bit post tomorrow of course, but this is really the last little daily ditty before I’m off to celebrate. I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m kind of in shock that we made it all this way. It’s been a bittersweet year, but I really wouldn’t do a thing differently. And I owe a lot to the experience.

There will be lots more posts this next week where I hash out what this challenge has meant to me. But for now I’ll keep it short and sweet when I say that I want to thank you all so much for reading, commenting and being part of this to the very end. It is so surreal to be done. But it’s not the end. Not really anyway. There are still a lot of adventures to be had. As tempted as I am to link you to the new blog, she isn’t quite ready yet. She’s just a baby and needs a bit more grooming before I can properly introduce you. So for today, please accept my humble thanks for the last 364 days. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Outfit #365 and also for the next few weeks as I transition into my next production! There will be lots to see and read here and as soon as I’m ready to let you meet my new girl, I’ll be sure to make introductions.

Did you know I actually technically fulfilled the act of 365 days/365 outfits about a week ago on Christmas Day? See, if you count the 7 days of countdown that I did, wearing all of my favorite little black dresses, I’ve already worn 365 different outfits in a row. I’m not counting it of course, because my real resolution began a year ago on New Year’s Day. But thinking back on my early beginnings is what inspired today’s outfit. I want to go out roughly the same as I entered this experience. In one of my favorite little black dresses.

But there is something different today that wasn’t there a year ago. The overall aesthetic has changed a bit. I’m wearing some awesome color. And some more fun accessories too. (Just ask all three different old men who told me how cool my tights were, today.)  That old static black just used to fade into the background but there is brightness here today. And I believe it’s here to stay. This outfit incorporates the old tried and true, plus all of the new appreciation.

I thought I might be at risk for some emotional moments this morning, while taking the last daily snaps. But it turns out I didn’t have much time in the midst of our first blizzard for the year. It didn’t want to freeze my butt off any longer than necessary. I even let my BFF, the tripod, pose for a shot or two and then we high-tailed it back inside. It’s still blizzarding as we speak and I’m not sure how this is going to bode for tomorrow’s big photoshoot. If there’s one thing that’s gotten me by all year, it’s faith that something will work out. So I’m going to say a little prayer and finish up some final preparations for the big day.

Happy trails to you, friends. I will see you tomorrow.

Dress – F21
Cardigan – Work
Necklaces – F21
Tights – 5.7.9
Shoes – Thrifted

Title courtesy of The Black-Eyed Peas – “The Time”

The Moon’s Awake Now, with Eyes Wide Open

Tags

brown maryjanes, cream burnout tunic, cream cardigan, floral watercolor skirt, navy tights, Sharkira, tan cutout belt, teal bead triple strand

Oh my gosh you guys. I have to tell you how surreal it is to be at the end! (Almost.)

I woke up around six a.m. this morning and could not get back to sleep without tossing and turning. I was having anxiety dreams. I do this every once in a blue moon when I’m particularly hyped up about something. Usually it’s work related, but in times of stress or excitement, I sometimes find myself just dreaming in a thought loop about the same things over and over. So this morning when this happened I was tossing and turning thinking about, of all things, what to wear today and tomorrow.

After all, outfit #365 is already determined and ready to go. Just waiting patiently for her big day. But these last two filler days, are just kind of there. Standing between me and my big finale. I’m like the kid in the Disneyland commercial. BUT I’M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP. Whereas Christmas came and went, New Year’s Eve is my big holiday this year. Eeeeeeeee! I can scarcely bring myself to care about the interim. But I did do my best, okay?

The other day while pawning some unwanted duds off on Plato’s Closet, I was just wandering around the store aimlessly, when I spotted a mannequin display. This particular mannequin display was quite crazy. Among other things, it featured a striped cardigan, a big belt, a flowery skirt, a statement necklace and a scarf. And I was like OMG, that outfit is like every stereotypical fashion blogger cliché all rolled into one outfit! All that was missing was some crazy tights. And that’s probably only because the mannequin had no legs. I wish I had taken a picture. Hindsight, and all. But the whole thing was so spectacularly busy. I was impressed.

So then my second thought was OMG, I have to try that for myself. So today was my sort of half-hearted attempt at that. As you can see, I toned things down pretty significantly. I still feel like even this version is more colorful that I’d usually go for. But I figured, there aren’t many last hurrahs to be had at this point. So why the heck not? I give you my Ultimate Montage Homage du Cliché. See? Even the title is busy.

In days to come, I’ll admit, I’m looking forward to laying low and living a little less loud in my clothing choices. A nice little break. Although totally temporary, I assure you. This project has taught me the necessity of keeping things colorful. It’s been a beautiful year.

Skirt – F21
Cardigan Work
Scoop Neck Top – F21
Necklace – Wet Seal
Tights – Thrifted
Belt – 5.7.9
Shoes – Payless

Title courtesy of Shakira – “She Wolf”

All The Songs That She Used to Sing

Tags

black buckle boots, black cowl neck belted sweater, black crochet flyaway, black rhinestone earrings, grey leggings, Sugar Ray

G’Night everybody! Oh wait. That’s backwards. I guess I still have to provide some “content” in here, don’t I? Alright, I guess.

Actually, I was hoping you could provide me with some content. See you told me all about your Christmas presents, and I dug it ever so much. Now I’m actually dying to hear about your New Year’s Resolutions! Tell them to me! Well, that is if you feel comfortable sharing. New Year’s Resolutions are fascinating to me. Why we resolve and what we resolve each year. That is good stuff right there. But actually, I used to be superstitious against resolutions. It’s not that I’m against having aspirations for oneself. It’s just always seemed to me that the surest way to fail at something is to resolve to do it. I think about all those years I resolved to be more organized…to watch more old movies… to stop eating frosting by the tub… stop posting Facebook status updates about wanting to taser 12-year-old girls that shop at my store… oh sorry. I just made that last resolution just now. So I can’t say whether or not it will be a success. If tomorrow goes anything like today, I kinda doubt it.

Then again, this blog and this project actually started as a resolution. And look how that turned out! Knock on wood of course. Barring severe bodily injury in the next couple of days that would prevent me from getting dressed/taking pictures/posting. Hell, if I ended up next to death and hospitalized I would still rock the paper gown and talk my mom through logging into WordPress. That’s how determined I am to finish. But I think it’s safe to say this is one year I broke the curse.  So now I’m thinking on resolutions again but I doubt I’ll be making any. The new blog is also goal-oriented and I’d say it’s a bit more ambitious that your average on-stop-shop New Year’s resolution. We’ll leave it at that for now.

Here’s something you don’t see a terrible lot of me doing, which is wearing almost all black. Why am I in all black? Well, I’m mourning of course. Mourning the end of this project and daily blogging. Okay, not really. I just felt like wearing all black. It’s actually the color I feel most comfortable in. I really love it. I almost can’t express what a change this year has been for me to wear so much color. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it, and learned a lot. But not dressing in black by default was actually something I have had to work out. So while I’m relatively at peace with color now, I still have black days, and today I chose to indulge.

Part of the reason for my indulgence? Why it’s another new shirt! Something else I didn’t do a lot of this year was buy very many new new items. Lots of thrifted stuff, sure. But all-told, I really only went and splurged brand new clothes on two occasions. So now I have these new shirts that I bought myself for Christmas and I’m being kind of geeky about it. Bust it out! Style it up! Even these earrings are new. Oh baubly goodness! Merry Christmas to me!

In fact, I guess you could say I’m finally getting around to one of my early fashion resolutions for the year which was to Stop Saving the Good Stuff. It only took me all year to cease with the hoarding behavior. But here within the safety of the last week of the project, I feel pretty safely that I’m not going to run out of outfits. Maybe. I still don’t know what I’m wearing for the next two days. Fingers crossed though!

Belted Top – Work
Leggings – Work
Earrings – 5.7.9
Flyaway – 5.7.9
Boots – c/o Wanted Shoes

Title courtesy of Sugar Ray – “When It’s Over”

Words That I’m Hearing Are Starting to Get Old

Tags

brown buckle boots, brown tights, lace blouse, Michelle Branch, olive mini skirt, pink pearls, purple floral scarf

Good evening everybody! Thanks so much yesterday, for sharing your Christmas gifts with me! It was so much fun reading about what everybody else got. I got some great gifts myself, but it’s always fun to live vicariously through the acquisitions of others, don’t you agree? Almost all my gifts were of the monetary or pseudo-monetary (gift card) persuasion, so one never knows what I’ll end up with, but I personally love shopping for myself the best. (You never guessed, right?) So I am very excited about my Christmas goodies.

And anyway, it’s nice to hear from you all for a change. Serious question: how many of you are sick of my by this point? And if not, then how are you not sick of me? I realized today that I need a break from myself after this year. Those of you who blog or write, are probably familiar with that inner monologue that occurs when you’re a writer. You know, the constant narrative always running through the events of the day? Composing, categorizing, editing, playing around with words up in your brain? The mental crumpling of paper. Smoothing it back out. Feeding it back through. The maniacal typewriter’s DING! Yeah that thing. Well, after a year of blogging on a daily deadline, mine never really stops running. Except maybe in my sleep, and sometimes not even then.I asked for a taser for Christmas, but I guess Santa is holding out on me.  Anyway it’s kind of annoying. I’m sick of hearing myself think.

Whether your sick of me or not, I have good news – ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS TO GO. After that, you can enjoy the silence. But there will be plenty of wrap-up posts, and I’ll most likely continue to use this space for outfit posts beyond the project’s end. And of course there’s that whole other blog in the works and…and…and… Oh God. It’s never really going to shut up, is it?

 Hello Outfit #361. Gosh that feels good to say. Feels pretty good to wear too, as I really like how this one turned out. I was a little sketch about this lace top. It’s a new purchase. I told you I knew just what to do with Christmas money! And I thought it was adorable. But the problem is that I don’t really do adorable intrinsically. It’s something I avoid by virtue of my height and my Minnie Mouse voice. (If you think you’re sick of my blogging voice, just imagine it read aloud!) I just don’t like to look “cute.” It’s not the adjective I aim for. I don’t want to look like I belong doing backup dancing in a Gwen Stefani video. Granted it happens from time to time. But I don’t like my adorable factor to look overt and thus tend to avoid overly cutesy pieces.

Luckily, I think I was able to work this from an angle that came out slightly more sophisticated. Or at least I’d like to think. I got a lot of compliments on this look. Mostly from my staff. One of my employees commented that this said naughty secretary to her. (???) And while she actually meant that as a compliment, I have to disagree. I’m thinking more Victorian Hussy. I mean, at least know your period costume. Sheesh.

No. I don’t know, but I do like the overall combo. Lots of fun with muted colors and frilly elements. But enough dissecting. I got four days left of spewing nonsense still to go. I better conserve my resources!

Lace Blouse – 5.7.9
Skirt – Thrifted
Scarf – Work
Brown Tights – Wet Seal
Pearls – F21
Boots – 5.7.9

Title courtesy of Michelle Branch – “Goodbye to You”

Filtered Water and Pictures of You, and I’m Not Coming Out Until This is All Over

Tags

black and white striped top, black brocade jacket, black filagree necklace, black pants, magenta scarf, Payless stilettos, The Postal Service

Well hello! How is everyone today? I hope everyone had the loveliest Christmas. Mine was pretty tame but I got some nice gifts and some quality time with my family. So what more can you ask for really? Exactly. What did you guys get for Christmas. I am so nosy. I want to know!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I worked all day. Things should slowly start to return to normal. No more obnoxious Christmas music. No more crazy early mornings and late nights. No more stupid mall security blocking off the parking lot and making mall employees park in BFE. The mall was pretty busy with people shopping after-Christmas sales. Not a remarkable lot of returns either. So I win again! Maybe it’s going to be a good week after all! And it should be. Know why? Because there are only five, FIVE more outfits to go after today. This is it, my friends. We are almost all done. I think I’m still in shock that it’s over. Or more accurately, in shock that I made it to this point.

That is if I still have any readers after yesterday’s spectacle. Seriously? Is anybody still out there or did I just ruin all my street cred?

On this day, (as with many days) I have no idea what the eff I am going for. I just kinda like this one. I got this awesome brocade jacket on the very last thrifting trip and had planned to wear it on several occasions, one of which was yesterday for Christmas. But since it keeps getting shafted, I decided to just bite the bullet and style it up. I mean, it’s not like I’m abundant on days left to wear it. I had kinda sorta envisioned wearing it with my striped shirt. So even though it’s maybe ill-advised to wear horizontal stripes on the day after you just consumed 10,000 calories (8,000 of which were Christmas cookies) I decided to just throw caution to the wind.

I do think something is askew with the proportions here and it’s not doing me a good lot of favors. But if, I’ve learned one thing about outfitting this year it is: Create A Diversion. As in, wear a big flower on your head and a bright pink scarf and no one will ask you any questions. If nothing else, these elements were necessary to brighten the look and lend it a bit of excitement. And I may just need to re-evaluate the keeping of these pants based on length. Something about them, just doesn’t flatter the way they used to. Is it possible that 2010 was the year I grew an inch? Not likely, but a girl can dream, yes?

Final summation: I do not recommend wearing horizontal stripes on the day after you consumed your own body weight in Grandma’s fudge. But then I also wouldn’t recommend attempting to wear 365 different outfits in just as many days. So what do I know?

Jacket – Thrifted
Striped Shirt – Thrifted
Pants – Work
Scarf – Work
Necklace – Work
Shoes – Payless

Title courtesy of The Postal Service – “We Will Become Silouhettes”

Why Can’t I Hear Music Play?

Tags

black leggings, black long sleeve basic tee, blue mini skirt, Christmas Sweater, Faith Hill, green oversize beaded necklace, red pumps

Seasons Greetings from The Closet365 Project!

(Outfit and additional pictures behind the cut)

 

 

Now It’s Our Favorite Time, It’s the Greatest Time

Tags

Aly and AJ, black maryjane pumps, grey floral tights, grey stripe dress, olive green long sleeve basic tee, pearl cluster necklace

Hello all! Happy Christmas Eve to you all! I made it. Ish. Still a ways to go work-wise. But I daresay I made it to Christmas Eve with more energy and aplomb than last year. Which is totally weird, considering my circumstances this year were infinitely more hectic and taxing. Last year, I left work, ended up in a Super Target where I watched a grown woman wearing reindeer antlers get in a fight with a Target employee as to the whereabouts of starch. And then I went home and promptly had my own nervous breakdown.

But this year, I feel pretty subdued. Yesterday was our busiest day of the entire year. Moreso than back-to-school or even Black Friday. It was insane. Today was pretty frantic as well. However, I made it out on time and in tact. Stole away to an afternoon showing of “The Black Swan” (mini-review: I can’t say I went into it expecting anything but um…I was not expecting that.) and then enjoyed a nice little Christmas Eve dinner with friends.

All in all a nice Eve. I’ve always cherished Christmas Eve the most. It’s that magical time where the excitement is still palpable and at full tilt. With the added ease of already being in Holiday mode. And also it’s when it’s officially technically okay to open the first gifts. So that may have a wee something to do with it. Santa’s coming!

So my ode to holiday dressing continues with another party outfit on the fly. I donned this one at about 6:30 a.m. but I like the idea that I could be out and about in this and no one may ever be any the wiser that I’m not actually on my way to a little seasonal fete. Christmas Eve Day. I can just dress this way and then do whatever the hell I want. Even if that means going to an empty matinée all by my lonesome. Or going home and singing Jessica Simpson’s “I Belong to Me” lighter in the air, shoving Christmas cookies into my mouth and sobbing. I mean… Whatever floats your boat man. Do what you gotta do.

But ahem. I love this outfit! I imagined this outfit the other day, after all but forgetting I even had this little sundress. For my wintery festive version, I thought I’d play around with the mute colors. And I liked the outcome. But then I reckoned I needed a little pizzazz for the almost-holiday spirit. Enter tights and pearls. I adore this look because I feel fancy, but I’m also still very comfortable. Double awesome!

Anyway. I wish you all a blessed and beautiful Christmas Eve, to be followed by a merry holiday. Peace and love, y’all.

Dress – 5.7.9
Long Sleeve Tee – Work
Necklace – 5.7.9
Tights – F21
Shoes – Payless

Title courtesy of Aly and AJ – “The Greatest Time of Year”

I’m Saving All My Sunday Clothes, For the Day That I’ll Be Leavin’

Tags

black flower shoes, black leggings, black long sleeve basic tee, Dido, grey scarf, pink and black lace skirt, pink and silver chandalier earrings

Hey guys! Quiet night, eh? The good news is, only two truly brand new lurkers chimed in! And a handful of semi-lurkers. I do appreciate all of the comments. Really and truly. It’s nice to know I still have some folks following after all this time. And I love you guys. But guess what? That’s eight short of one fugly Christmas sweater. Works for me. But it is quite a thing to behold. If you really want to see it, you have until midnight tomorrow night. If a few more people decide to speak up, then maybe we can still make it happen. How does that old quote go? Every time a lurker chimes in, an ugly Christmas sweater gets it’s wings…yeah. Something like that.

Truth be told, it would save me the trouble of generating another outfit. Only seven more to go! I can’t be certain, but…I think I can do this. So anyway. Here’s to just a week more of this crazy project! I have very mixed feelings right now. Lots of nostalgia for the past year, tinged with sadness and also excitement. There’s a lot to process, and I haven’t even had the time with my insane work schedule. Here’s hoping I don’t have a complete breakdown, once it’s all said and done. Luckily, I have other things on the horizon, and I’m getting excited for that as well.

Can you believe there’s really only a week left in 2010? Yeah. Seriously. Let’s just not talk about it right now.

In other news. I have an interview posted today at Smashion.com! If you guys haven’t checked this site out yet, I totally recommend it. When they contacted me recently about doing a blogger profile, I was unfamiliar with their site, but after exploring the place, it is awesome. First and foremost, Smashion is an online clothing marketplace, where you can sell your clothes to other fashion enthusiasts. But they also have a lot of cool community stuff going on as well. Style galleries, forums and yes, style blogger interviews! Mine can be found here. But be sure and check out all the nifty stuff going on on the site. Once I have a little more time, I’m excited to start listing some of my things on there. It’s completely free and extremely user friendly.

Pretty simple outfit today. But still dressy. I feel like, a few days out from Christmas, you can get away with dressier pieces. You just can never tell when one is on their way to a party or a program or just dressing up for the hell of it. I kind of like that. So for today, I’m just mixing up some pieces I love, including the lace skirt and these super oldie but goodie earrings of mine. Not much in my life is simple right now, so I’m appreciated a nice and easy look. I take my breaks where I can get ’em.

Long Sleeve – Work
Scarf – Wal-Mart
Skirt – F21
Leggings – Work
Shoes – Ross

Title courtesy of Dido – “Christmas Day”

I’ve Been Racking My Brain With Thoughts of Peace and Love

Tags

gold round toe flats, grey pinstripe trousers, mustard car, shear lace top, The Killers

Happy Wednesday my friends. Still just slogging along. I honestly don’t have much to say because all that’s on my brain is work and I’m even tired of talking about work. I don’t want to bore you to tears.

So how about some reader questions instead? Even better still, how’s about some of you lurkers pipe up. Just this once? Pretty please? The year is almost over and I want to meet you ever so bad! It will make my day! My week, even!

Questions: What do you want for Christmas? Is it snowing where you live? What are your holiday plans? Favorite festive treat to eat?

If at least ten people de-lurk themselves, I promise to wear the mother of all ugly Christmas sweaters on Christmas day. And style it up right nice, even. Is that fair enough? All you have to do is answer these reader questions and be a new commenter! You can be a real-life friend who’s been lurking all along or a stranger. Doesn’t matter! I want to hear from the rest of you too, of course. Maybe you can chime in with some words of encouragement for our lurkers. If not, then I’m just going to wear something normal and average on Saturday. So, I guess I win either way.

If it looks like the sun is barely up in these pictures, that’s because it was. I had to  rush to open my store super early this morning. Which is also possibly why I dressed like I was going to my own 150th birthday party. I couldn’t tell you what’s up with my old lady duds this week, as I have no idea what’s motivating it. Today in my haste to get ready, I just sort of tossed this together. And while I think it’s cute and comfy, it’s also just weird…and…old.

But it’s not like I could bid the project adieu, without one more wear for my staple mustard sweater. I really do think this thing saw the most action of any piece in 2010. I may have to go back and check. I have yet to start combing through the archives of this year, but I promise major compilation action and  year-in-review type posts are coming post-January 1st. That way there will be some content to bridge the gap from old to new blogging endeavors, without forcing me to wear something other than yoga pants and old baggy t-shirts. And Hello Kitty footie socks. The long winter’s nap starts in T-minus nine days!

Lace T0p – Thrifted
Sweater – Target
Pants – Kohl’s
Shoes – Old Navy

Title courtesy of The Killers – “A Great Big Sled”