Click here for part 1, an explanation of the 10×10, and what’s included in my 10×10 this round.

Day 6: Olive, Plaid, and Camel Riding Boots

Part of the reason I didn’t count shoes in this 10×10 is because I wanted to mix in fall shoes that either are new to me (hello olive ankle boots) or that haven’t really cemented their place in my wardrobe yet. For example, these Coach riding boots:

This is why you read the blog – so you can see the trash can blooper shots that never make it to Instagram.

As you can read in this post, I was uncertain how their looser shaft was going to look, particularly over skinny pants. I’ve let a mental image of…floppiness? keep me from reaching for them. But how great do they look with these corduroy pants, which are also a touch on the looser side?

I love how the bag and boots play off each other without being the exact same shade. And as someone on Instagram said, that scarf makes the whole look.

Let’s get a closeup on that tan-navy-sky blue plaid over the olive sweater:

10/10 on this outfit. I love that while it’s mostly made up of neutrals, it’s still a very warm and visually interesting palette. Plus the scarf/boots/bag brings the polish that makes me feel really put together for work.

 

Day 7: Bling Sweater and Bronze Flats

This outfit feels very…ritzy PTA mom to me. It has polish, but in a way that feels less interesting, more expected. I think my olive ankle boots (or taupe/cream snakeskin boots!!) would have kicked this up a notch, but I needed something I could really walk in for the day’s activities, so flats it was.  5/10 on this outfit.

So shiny!

These socks are meant to be Donegal tweed-esque but in photographs just end up looking like they have lint stuck to them. If my cream/taupe chevron socks hadn’t been in the wash they would have been a much better choice:

 

Day 8: Navy + Purple

From PTA mom we go all the way almost to athleisure, with that vest and those Puma sneaks. It’s actually the “shop my closet” version of these New Hampshirite outfits I admired a few weeks ago, and I love how the navy and deep purple turned out with the light sweater providing some visual relief from the dark colors:

I love that hi-lo split hem peeking out! Just a little visual interest to keep it fun.

For those of you keeping score at home, this vest was not in my 10×10.  Yep, I “cheated,” and it totally made the outfit:

10/10 on this one.

 

Day 9: Charcoal & Purple

My notes from last week’s outfit with this sweater were right on – the slimmer-fitting pant makes the silhouette. I feel like the 2017 version of the Chico’s women I aspired to be when I was 12:

The colors here are stellar even though, let’s be honest, this pale skin was not made for how dark this all is – at least not without some kind of dramatic eye and lip makeup. 9/10 for that.

You know it’s right when the keynote speaker at the conference you’re attending compliments your boots:

 

Day 10: Bling over Cream

Despite the expression on my face, I think this is actually a better incarnation of this sweater than Day 7. Somehow the cream cords instead of dark denim makes me feel less like Alison from Orphan Black:

It also made me look more dressy for church, since this was worn on a Sunday. The expression you’re seeing is my “I just emoted for 6 hours straight without a nap” face.  xD

8/10 on this one – it’s amazing what a change of sock and color palette will do!

 

Wrap Up

Here are my 10 outfits:

        

What I learned:

• My faves are 1, 5, 6, and 8. (Honorable mention to 9 except it’s so darn dark!) I think the common thread there is the warmth of the palettes (except 8) and the fact that they all have some little extra attention to detail – a scarf or a vest that makes the outfit.
• I’m excited to keep mixing and matching these sweaters & cords and to bring my green and grey cords and my other sweaters back into the mix (plus the two other pairs of tall boots I bought in preparation for New England and haven’t even worn yet!).
• I think I’m honing in on that warm but muted palette I liked here (olive, taupe, caramel, cream, salmon), so it will be fun to try to focus on that amidst all the possibilities in my closet and in the thrift store!
• I’m also going to try to continue playing with volume and drape on top, too – the dishwater, batwing, and semi-cropped loose sweaters were a lot of fun and reminded me that not everything has to fit slim for me to like it.

Which was your favorite of my 10? Did you do the 10×10? If so, what did you learn?