PinStyle Challenge

 I have a real confession: I am not very fashion forward. At all. If I ever wear a trendy outfit or something that gets a ton of compliments, it’s always one of the outfits that the friendly lady at the local boutique chose for me. Or the one I saw on the manequin at one of my favorite stores. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a fashion risk-taker and I have more black in my closet than any other color.

Don’t get me wrong here, I would love to be a little more fashionable, but I tend to stick with safe options. If I buy a pair of shorts and a top together, that’s how I always pair the two pieces. I’ve known for a while that I really need to branch out and take some risks in order to make the most of the contents of my closet.  Last week, I saw Kristin posting on Instagram about a Pinstyle challenge. She wrote a great post here explaining the challenge. Here’s the simple version, taken straight from Kristin’s blog.

• Pick an outfit from your Pinterest style board (or stalk your fashionable friends’ boards),
• Document yourself wearing it (selfies are fine, too!),
• Share your outfit on Instagram and Pinterest,
• Tag your photos with #pinstyle13 so we can follow along,
• Blog about the challenge next Monday and come back here to link up!”

Last Monday, I started the challenge. Let’s just jump right into the resulting outfits:

Monday- I fought the colored skinny trend just as hard as I could, but like most trendy things, they eventually won out. I have had these pants for months and worn them a total of three times. Here, I paired them with a white eyelet top, a mint statement necklace, and brown sandals. The top is from a local boutique and the shoes are Jessica Simpson (on clearence at the end of the season for $11), the mint skinnies are from Gap outlet.    

 Tuesday-  This black and white polka dot top from Old Navy was all the rage on Twitter (months and months ago), my ON was sold out but Whitney picked this top up and sent it my way. I don’t wear it very often, but when I saw the inspiration picture on Pinterest, I knew I had a shirt that could work. I paired it with Old Navy RockStar skinnies in black and Reva’s.

Wednesday- This outfit is so far out of my comfort zone, but that black maxi skirt is possibly the most comfortable piece of clothing that I own. I paired the black maxi from Gap Outlet with a lightweight chambray shirt from Old Navy (it wasn’t meant to tie, but it’s long so I was able to add a small knot), a brown tank from Express, a Lia Sophia link necklace and a leather bracelet.  

Thursday- Maybe the easiest outfit I copied all week, all black with a statement necklace. I didn’t actually wear this outfit though. At the last minute, I panicked at the thought of wearing something a little more edgy to present at our county’s technology showcase. So I bailed and changed into gray Express Editor pants and added a black cropped cardigan. I do love this though. The black top is from Cotton On, necklace is from Bridier Baubles, black pumps are Jessica Simpson and the pants are Old Navy Rock Star skinnies in black.

 Friday- Sheer mint top and black pants. The Ella Madison top is one of my favorite pieces at the moment. I paired it with, you guessed it, Old Navy Rockstar skinnies in black and Reva’s. The light pink bracelet is from Lulu’s.

 Saturday- Allen took BK fishing and I did a little birthday shopping for the big princess party next weekend. It was nice to get out and run errands in record timing and the day was absolutely beautiful. I wore these Seven brand capris (I can’t tell you how long I’ve had these, since freshman or sophomore year in college, at least), with a linen blend hot pink shirt from Old Navy and brown flats. My mint mani complimented the hot pink just right.

I didn’t even take a picture on Sunday, but 6 out of 7 is pretty good. I feel like I need to be honest with you about the process.  The first two days in, I almost gave up. My closet was a mess (left) from trying on everything and trying to put outfits together. But, each day got easier and I did get the closet back in order (right). I started this week with 7 outfits picked out and ready to go, to make the process a little easier. I’m making a list of essentials that I need to add to my closet (like a black blazer) and hopefully I’ll learn a thing or two in the process.

 

A few things:

• I own two pair of the Rockstar skinnies in black, I paid a cool $9.50 for them several months back (I’m sure you’ll see me wearing them multiple times in the coming weeks, not that it matters.)
• You can still link-up for the challenge and join the fun. Even if you just try one outfit, add the hashtag and let us see! Kristin will be having the link-up throughout the month of April.
• There is another blog (not a link-up or challenge) that you should check out,  if you’re loving this challenge. Sheaffer writes at Pinterest Told Me To >and she recreates outfits from Pinterest. The blog is focused on recreating looks, she shares links to where you can purchase similar items and shares her shopping trips. I adore this blog and I think you will too.
• You can check out all of the outfits by searching the #pinstyle13 hashtag on Instagram.
• Here’s a tip: pick something you know you already have in your closet (colored skinnies or a bold patterned top, for example) and search that particular keyword on Pinterest to find inspiration.

Pinterest photo sources: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

You can follow me on Pinterest here, I’ll be pinning inspiration to the Pin Style board. You can follow me on Instagram (@jenniferggreen) to see the Pin Style posts each day.