Wear Your Closet Challenge: Outfits 27–31 + Recap

Happy first day of February and end of the Wear Your Closet Challenge! ICYMI, I decided to challenge myself to wear different items every single day for the entire month of January as a way to figure out what I love to wear, discover any glaring wardrobe holes, and determine if anything needs to leave my wardrobe (and what).

Below are the final five outfits (27-31) along with my thoughts on them and what activities each was worn for! I also shared a brief recap of the challenge at the end of the post. Check my Instagram highlights if you missed any of the action, and be sure to watch the week 1 reel (outfits 2-6), week 2 reel (outfits 9-13), week 3 reel (outfits 16-20), and week 4 reel (outfits 23-27) if you haven’t seen them already! My cats make many appearances. 😆

Two other creators also took part in the challenge, so be sure to also check out their Instagram accounts for even more style inspiration: Rebecca of PhD in Clothes and Molly Wetta (formerly of Librarian Style).

Catch up on the other WYCC outfits:

READ NEXT: Outfit Remixes, Capsule Wardrobes, and Style Challenges


Wear Your Closet Challenge: Outfits 27–31


Outfit 27 • Friday, January 27th

Wear Your Closet Challenge: January 27, 2023 | cashmere sweater with joggers | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

This cashmere sweater from Everlane was my very first cashmere sweater purchase…maybe ever? It was definitely my first cashmere from Everlane! I bought it because the color was called rose, and, well, I have a cat named Rose so I have a hard time passing things up if they are named rose haha! It’s a gorgeous desaturated pinky-reddish color that I love. The style was also perfect; Everlane switched up their basic cashmere to add longer ribbed cuffs on the sleeves and I find those far less comfortable. I think the earlier sweaters were their best!

I wore this outfit to work from home before changing into my meet day gear and heading out to watch the first Boise State home gymnastics meet of the season! You may recall me wearing these joggers in another outfit, and you’re right—except I ordered a second pair in a size up when I saw them on sale, so this pair is technically new to my wardrobe, haha. The size up is much more comfortable in the waist.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Everlane sweater / old; similar by J.Crew or Saks Fifth Avenue
Zella joggers / exact (limited sizes) or similar
BSU Gymnastics hat


Outfit 28 • Saturday, January 28th

Wear Your Closet Challenge: January 28, 2023 | cardigan with skinny jeans and ankle boots | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

I got dressed on a Saturday! I had lunch plans, so it forced me to get ready for the day. I had been planning on wearing this cardigan; I purchased it last month and wore it a few times already, including on Christmas and NYE! I love it so much; it’s so soft and the color is fun and different from everything else in my wardrobe. I paired it with one of my only pairs of jeans that still fit…and even these are starting to feel tight, sigh. I love the button fly but I’m not sure if I like the double buttons (on the cardigan and the jeans). It’s a lot of buttons!

Luckily, the snow didn’t start until after lunch, so I was safe to wear a pair of ankle boots that I wouldn’t normally wear if it were snowing. Ankle boots may not be cool anymore but I still love wearing them! This pair from Madewell is old yet remains one of my favorite pairs because the leather is quite supple.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Madewell cardigan / exact or exact via Nordstrom
Madewell jeans / old; similar from Saks Off Fifth or Old Navy
Madewell boots / old; similar (also available from Nordstrom)
BSU Gymnastics hat


Outfit 29 • Sunday, January 29th

Wear Your Closet Challenge: January 29, 2023 | long cardigan with tank top and joggers | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

I had a lovely lazy Sunday at home mostly spent watching gymnastics and reading! I cozied up in my other Barefoot Dreams cardigan. I love mine even though I know they are not really in style anymore. I love that they feel like I’m wrapped up in a blanket! I layered a tank underneath because sleeves don’t fit well under the slim sleeves of the cardigan, and I wore this pair of Vuori joggers again because I hadn’t worn them at all until this month. Now I’ve worn them twice! Lol.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Barefoot Dreams cardigan / exact style (also available from Zappos, Saks Fifth Avenue, Amazon)
Everlane top / old; similar or similar by Vince or Rag & Bone
Vuori joggers / exact style


Outfit 30 • Monday, January 30th

Wear Your Closet Challenge: January 30, 2023 | textured sweater with skinny jeans, lace-up boots, and beanie | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Another Monday, another day in the office. We had a bit of a cold snap, so I pulled out a few cozy things that I hadn’t worn yet. This sweater isn’t my warmest because it’s cotton instead of cashmere or wool, and I’ve actually been considering selling it because I thought I didn’t wear it all that often compared to my other sweaters. I end up wearing it a couple of times a season though, so maybe I should hold onto it? I am kinda tired of wearing sweaters like these where I need to fold the bottom seam under because it hits at an awkward length otherwise. #shortpeopleproblems

This ended up being one of my favorite outfits of the month. I love the neutral colors and cozy knits! The boots tie everything together. I probably should have followed my own advice and tucked the socks under my jeans, but I was in a rush to get out the door. These jeans are cropped so the hem would’ve hit above the boot if I had put the socks under the boots.

OUTFIT DETAILS

Everlane sweater / old; similar by J.Crew, Banana Republic, or Madewell
Everlane jeans / old; similar (curvy) or similar
Smartwool socks / similar from Zappos or Backcountry
Marc Fisher boots / exact via Nordstrom, Zappos, Bloomingdale's, or Amazon
J.Crew hat / old; new version


Outfit 31 • Tuesday, January 31st

Wear Your Closet Challenge: January 31, 2023 | flannel shirt with dream pant and velvet ankle boots | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

It’s the last day of the challenge! Woohoo, we did it! Like Monday, I spent Tuesday working in the office. It was another chilly day outside but it was dry. Can’t believe I went the whole month without wearing either pair of (real) snow boots!

I have to admit that this outfit looked better in my head than in practice. I knew I wanted to wear the flannel and pants together but wasn’t sure about shoes. I couldn’t do flats because it was too cold, so I grabbed what ended up being a random pair of ankle boots. I don’t really wear them outside of the holiday season because they’re velvet and one of my more dressy shoe options. As it turns out, they don’t work well with these pants. (And there was a sticker on the inside rubbing my ankle all day!)

TOTAL NUMBER OF UNIQUE ITEMS WORN THIS WEEK: 14 (not counting duplicate pants or socks)

TOTAL NUMBER OF UNIQUE ITEMS WORN TO DATE: 97

OUTFIT DETAILS

Outerknown shirt / old; similar by Faherty or LOFT
Everlane pants / exact
Madewell boots / old; similar by Sam Edelman


Wear Your Closet Challenge Recap

That’s a wrap on the challenge! Thanks so much for following along on my month of wearing through as much of my closet as possible. I wore 97 unique items in 31 days—that seems like a lot, but then I remember that that’s about three items every day on average. It definitely would’ve skewed higher if I had worn more layers and accessories.

I really haven’t been wearing jewelry much lately; I need to start wearing my earrings more regularly again because my ears were a little irritated after wearing them the couple of times I did. I also haven’t been reaching for my scarves. Just haven’t spent a lot of time outside and haven’t felt the need, I suppose!

Here’s what I wore and didn’t wear this past month:

  • I wore 10 sweaters and didn’t wear 16 other sweaters.

  • I wore 6 flannel shirts and didn’t wear 3 other flannel shirts.

  • I wore 5 cardigans and didn’t wear 4 other cardigans.

  • I wore 4 sweatshirts and 4 fleece pullovers/jackets.

  • I wore 2 tank tops, 1 short-sleeve tee, and 1 long-sleeve tee (I didn’t wear 8 other long-sleeve tees).

  • I wore 13 pairs of joggers/sweatpants/lounge pants (all of them) and repeated 3.

  • I wore 8 pairs of jeans and didn’t wear 5 other pairs of jeans.

  • I wore 4 pairs of pants and didn’t wear other 5 pairs of pants (3 are spring/summer).

  • I wore 15 pairs of shoes (11 boots, 3 sneakers, 1 flat) and didn’t wear 11 other pairs of boots.

As you can see, I own a lot more than I can wear in one month. It’s helped me realize that I can (and should be) much more ruthless when it comes to paring down my closet. I didn’t specifically mention this for fear of jinxing myself, but one of my goals was to really limit my clothing purchases this month—and I succeeded! I purchased a new pair of joggers (same exact as another pair I own but in a new size) and a pair of jeans (that haven’t even arrived yet). Most of the jeans I didn’t wear are questionable as far as fit right now.

This past month was a really good look at what I actually wear on a day-to-day basis. Most of my outfits are not super exciting, which is why you don’t see them most of the time, haha. If anything, I hope seeing this challenge made you realize that you do not need to put together “blog-worthy” or “Instagram-worthy” outfits 100% of the time (especially in the winter)!

I’m considering doing the challenge again in the summer! Let me know if you’d like to see it again, and please do join the fun if there is a next time!