My Audacious Outfits Part 1
My continued attempt at loving what I wear
My word of the year is AUDACIOUS, and when I came up with that as my focus for my efforts and energies for 2025, my mind went directly to my wardrobe.
Like many of us inundated with everyone else’s lives on social media (my apologies that I’m adding to it — but hopefully I keep it a positive space), over the past few years I’ve waffled between wanting the most minimalistic of wardrobes and the most beyond maximalist. One minute I want nothing other than tans, blacks and navys, and the next I only want pink, polka dots, and large bows. So much so that at the end of last year, I attempted a wardrobe pair-down of about 33 items to see how I liked it and if it helped with my decision-making on my work outfits. While it whittled down my options, it actually made me hate getting dressed in the morning — I no longer enjoyed it.
So, around Christmas-time, I started putting more energy into my outfits, mixing colors, wearing a collared shirt and fun necklace, thinking about different types of layering that would add to the outfit. I found some great joy in the process and felt excited about what I was wearing, which of course led to more confidence.
I decided to take those efforts into the new year with my goal of wearing and creating an audacious wardrobe with stripes, dots, gold shoes, fun collared shirts, sweaters in bright colors, pants in fun prints, and more. Along the way, I’ve been documenting my outfits as I way to keep me motivated, but to also share that you don’t need to live in a big city, work in fashion, or have a large budget to have fun when getting dressed!
Here are some of my favorites so far this year and an audacious anecdote of each one!
I’ve had the pink vest since 2016 and have maybe worn it eight times. When we moved to South Carolina, I had no real need for a vest or to layer, so it sat in the closet. This winter, I reconfirmed my enjoyment of wearing a vest and how you can use it for a pop of color at any moment — it also keeps you warm!
We were attending my nephew’s John Deere - themed birthday celebration with our family, so naturally I had to pull out all of the stops on my shades of green. A fun fact is that each portion of the top of my outfit cost me nothing: the t-shirt I got at a basketball game, the quarter-zip was from my previous employer, and the Carhartt vest was from my husband’s closet.
This has been my year of playing with patterns and fun blouses. I bought this top on a trip to LOFT in the new year, mainly because I wanted to tie my shirt into a bow. I also love the colors in the flowers and that it can easily go between seasons.
In general, this is my most basic outfit that I would typically wear - pants, neutral top, blazer. On this day, I wanted to add in some color and fun with this necklace I was gifted at my first “big-girl” job after graduate school. It actually just broke a few weeks ago on a flight back home after a work trip. *sigh*
This tweed jacket is not your typical blazer, but I love how it can be dressed up for work, while also dressed down with jeans for a dinner out. (Cue the day-to-night wardrobe tips from the 2000’s that I thought I’d use more in my 30’s.) When I saw it on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx, I couldn’t resist!
My attempt at dopamine dressing was to keep this outfit in theme with lots of greens. Between my green slacks and my green blazer, I wanted to add a touch of other colors with this thrifted L.L. Bean button-down. I’m counting down the days until next Christmas where I can where it regularly at celebrations!
This button-down marks my third orange item in my wardrobe, and at the time I write this, probably my most worn. It’s a simple piece that I’ve been able to style with a blazer for a work function, or with a navy sweatshirt for something more casual.
Another blouse with a bow because they make me happy!
Like many corporate millennials, I mainly wear navy or black dress pants, but where I really try to have fun is with the combination between my blouse/shirt and my blazer/jacket. I never really realized that the “fun” of an outfit comes with the extras you put with it, like a colorful necklace, a loud jacket, or cute scarf. Looking back on the past three months of making this a priority every morning, I’ve reclaimed my joy in getting dressed for work and continually try to put different pieces together so that it doesn’t look so cookie-cutter professional every day.
I’m not a fashion blogger, nor should I pretend to be, but I feel like if there’s something that’s giving us joy, we should celebrate it with each other!
How are you finding and cultivating things that make you happy these days? I’d love to hear!
I hope you had a week with fun blouses, colorful shoes and only the best exclamation points!!!
All my best,
Skylar