Jeans-free June: a roundup

    For the month of June, I challenged myself to not wear jeans/pants and wear only skirts, dresses, and the occasional pair of shorts. Here are a few things I learned:

 

Planet Gold ivory and gray dress; Old Navy green dress; Trina Turk maxi

Dresses = minimum effort, maximum effect. They're easy to put on (with the exception of the sticky zipper on the ivory and gray dress), and hard to mess up (no tricky pairing up of separates). Add some accessories or even the right belt, and the look is polished, easy and comfortable. I think the 3 outfits above are my favorites for the month. :)

CK pencil skirt paired with: Charter Club tunic; Yoshitomo Nara tee; CK top

A good pencil skirt is the chameleon of my closet, going just as well with a fun graphic tee as with a dressier top.  The longer length is perfect for work (I spent June sitting on an itty-bitty chair for daily read-alouds, so the longer length is appreciated) and the high waist is flattering. 

BR embellished top; wide green stripes; sheer duster; scarf as a belt    

Experimentation is essential. Ditching the jeans and pants for a month helped me play around a bit more with my clothes. While some were more miss than hit, it was fun to try some different combinations. 

The end result: My monthlong challenge let me use some neglected items in my closet, and showed me how comfortable and polished a good skirt and dress can be. I'll confess that I wore my turquoise pants on July 1 to celebrate the end of the challenge -- but I know I will definitely be wearing my skirts and dresses more often.