Results: One dress, one week!
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Here goes!
I’ve had a week of wearing the same dress.
I outlined my reasons for setting this challenge and wanted to share the photos with you today. Of course, as soon as I decided to step out of my jeans and show my legs to the world the weather turned cold and wet!
But that’s the beauty of a lightweight dress; you can wear it on its own when the sun shows up or you can layer either underneath or over the top to add warmth.
The dress was from People Tree. It’s fairtrade, organic and gorgeous to wear. It stays pretty much crease free and is forgiving because it has a print on it. And no, sadly, I haven’t been sponsored by them – I bought this myself:
People Tree Organic Fairtrade dress; to be worn for one week!
One dress, one week challenge day 1
The first day it was overcast and surprisingly chilly. I was looking forward to getting a bit of sun on my hocks but instead I had to cover them up with tights and boots. Here’s how I accessorised the dress:
White long sleeve top underneath the dress (don’t think you can see it) from Lidls
Cream wool waterfall cardigan over the top of the dress, bought in the Viyella sale
Purple tights! I’ve had them for years and don’t remember where they came from
Brown belt that came free on a pair of shorts I picked up in a charity shop
Brown necklace I fell in love with at a charity shop
Brown Duo boots (the only company that make boots that fit my calves) bought second hand on eBay
my verdict I really liked this, especially the splash of colour with the purple tights!
One dress, one week challenge day 2
The second day was raining but a bit warmer. Here’s what I wore with the dress:
White cotton blouse underneath the dress – charity shop
Blue waterfall cardigan; Sainsburys of all places; I couldn’t resist the colour
Turquoise flower pendant which I’ve had for years; charity shop
Turquoise bracelet – Mother’s Day gift from Little Miss Green
Gold belt – Isabella Oliver
Red ballet pumps – sent to me as a review item from Cocorose
My verdict: Hated this outfit, I felt a cross between frumpy and schoolgirl.
But then I had a fun epiphany after lunch. I was messing around tidying up the cardigan (as you seem to need to do when you wear a waterfall cardy) when I had the idea to create a completely different look wearing the same clothes…
I rolled the cardigan over the belt and secured it with a knot and pulled the front of the cardigan in a wrap style to cover the dress so it looked like I was wearing a top and skirt. Voilà! The only time when 2 for the price of 1 is acceptable!
One dress, one week challenge day 3
On day 3 it was hot and sunny – yay! I took the opportunity of going for a simple look suited for the weather:
Gold belt – as before
Gold sandals – Kurt Geiger sale
Pearl and gold bracelet – gift from Little Miss Green
If I had one I would have worn a necklace in the same gold but mine is deep gold and it looks kinda weird
My verdict: LOVE this outfit, it’s really simple and I think the belt and shoes match perfectly.
One dress one week day 4
The work look which is fine for an informal meeting:
Navy jacket – charity shop
Navy heels – charity shop
I would have worn my pearl necklace with this but it broke 🙁 So I feel a bit bare today
My verdict: This was ok; it served its purpose – a take it or leave it outfit and I felt a bit bare without my necklace
One dress, one week challenge day 5
Little Miss Green wanted to dress me and went for a patriotic theme; what with all the Jubilee celebrations recently this was very fitting:
Blue waterfall cardy as before
Gold belt as before
Red ballet pumps as before
Red scarf – eBay
Pearl and gold bracelet – as before
Personally I would have gone for more Parisienne than English with a small square silk scarf but there we are…
My verdict: I liked this a lot more than I thought I would; I’d definitely try it again with a small square scarf.
One dress, one week challenge day 6
Today I wore one of Mr Green’s favourite cardys of mine; which was a total steal in a charity shop:
Coral cardigan – charity shop
Gold belt, as before
Red ballet pumps – as before
Pearl and gold bracelet – as before
Again, I would have worn pearls with this outfit
My verdict: Love this outfit; the coral, navy and gold work well together. Would probably opt for gold sandals next time.
One dress, one week challenge day 7
Back to a simple outfit; it was warm today
Long silver necklace – Next
Blue heels – as before
My verdict: It’s simple, it works, does what it says on the tin!
What do you think – do you have a favourite outfit, a least favourite or any suggestions to make?
And those of you who took part; how did you get on?
I really enjoyed doing this. Yes I felt like dragging out my jeans and slopping around in casual clothes some days, but this dress is so versatile and I could make it as casual or dressed up as I needed to.
It made me experiment with things I have in my wardrobe much more and although it wasn’t always quicker to get dressed in the mornings, it got easier as the week progressed…
By the end of the week I’d used 19 items which is still a lot of stuff, but then I had made the challenge not to repeat an outfit. I would happily wear the same outfit 2 or 3 days in a row normally.
19 items eh readers; not too shabby – just call me Mrs.Wok 😉
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What a very versatile dress. I presume you are trying to show that we don’t need as many clothes as we think. I will try to reconsider my wardrobe in the light of what you have shown here.
my favourite day 2 outfit 2, smashing, might try my beige dress for a week. by the way, I only have one dress,
I love what you did with the cardigan on Day 2. Amazing the difference it made, Day 3 is great too. Fantastic idea Mrs G. x
That’s inspiring. You look so elegant and grown up! My fav is the boots but I’m one of those people that loves any outfit with boots (but can’t try that look in my hot climate so gets to live vicariously through others).
Well done Mrs G. I don’t think I could do a week on one dress, the mums in the playground are far too observant! But I have got much better at matching my wardrobe and working out the real gaps as opposed to just buying stuff “just because”.
You did a really good job of making the outfits look different everyday but it was a brilliant base dress to build the outfits around.
Would you like your pearl necklace fixed? I’m a jewellery designer and do a lot of fixes in my local gallery. I’m based in South Wales. I’d be happy to do that for you and return your necklace to use in your capsule wardrobe.
hair up = so lifting. coral cardigan = so feminine. long flowing knits loose over dress = casual youthful you .
yes gold sandals and a playful bit of cloth around neck, around wrist?
what about knit knickers, light cotton leggings under dress on formal day with navy pumps.
ooh, scarf loosely woven around hair..exotic twist.
how about something very beige, or ivory like a shawl on another day..fabrics hang so well off your frame, it would play with the quiet contrast.
LOVE IT! I liked every single day.
Just picking this up now. You look great! The dress is very pretty and it just shows what you can do with a few accessories.
Very nice !
I was looking on a website recently with a similar theme, where a dress was worn for 365 days ! well not the same dress obviously, but several of the same one.
they were dressed up/down with scarves, jewellery, layers, tights, etc.,
It was a ‘little black dress’ and you can buy the pattern apparantly. Also you can see all ‘looks’ !
it’s called The Uniform Project and I think it was done to raise money for charity. take a look
I like the simplicity of the dress when it is worn alone, so my favourite outfit by far is Day 3. Next favourite is with the coral cardigan. My suggestions are wearing the dress with a wide tan waist belt and tan shoes or sandals, Tan and navy look lovely together. For winter, you could wear a navy cropped jumper over the top and tan boots. It is a great dress x
Thanks for dropping by my post the other day! Finally got a chance to check yours out and LOVE it. It’s a great dress and you’ve styled it so well. Love it with the red/coral accents in particular. I agree with Sharron above, it would look fab in Winter too…so a great dress altogether! Avril x