Fall Fashion – PhD in Clothes

My fall/winter closet updates of 2022

Sometimes the season changes without incident. Other times, I have a full closet crisis. This year I’m dealing with the latter–just a struggle to get dressed, some obvious closet holes, and a feeling that a few items no longer suit me. So, I’ve made some closet updates this fall! Here’s what I’ve bought and what I’m still looking for.

My 2022 Stitch Fix Review + get $20 off

This month I tried a Stitch Fix box–it seemed like a good way to get some new back to school teacher clothes and update my style for 2022. I have tried Stitch Fix in the past, but it’s been about 5 years, so I thought we could use a review of how the boxes are now. I’ll talk about the brands I received, the average price of items in my box, and if I think it was worth it, below!

What do I even do with dad jeans?

The question of how to style dad jeans (in this case, vintage Levis) has probably been answered a million times on the internet, but that didn’t stop me from putting them on multiple mornings, getting stuck, staring at tops, and finally chickening out and putting them away. So this week I made three combos that I know for sure I like with light wash jeans. Here they are, if dad jeans (or mom jeans…is there a difference?) vex you as well.

My “faux fall 10×10”: Dressing for warm fall temperatures

When I saw that several of my instagram friends are participating in a #fauxfall10x10, it was just the challenge I needed. I’ve been feeling all the decorative gourd feelings, and the temperature has finally landed in the low 90s here. And yes, that’s what counts for Fall. The idea of this challenge is to dress for the fall you have, versus the fall you want. Then, pick 10 items and remix them to make 10 outfits over 10 days. Here are my picks:

Remixing Fall Clothes

The Fall 10×10 has ended and here’s a recap of what I wore…

During a 10×10, you take 10 items of clothing (including shoes) and remix them into 10 different outfits over the course of 10 days. It’s a great way to try wearing old favorites in new ways. Here were my picks again:

I ended up pretty happy with my selection, which included 2 shirts, 1 dress, 1 jacket, 1 sweater, 2 pairs of pants, 1 skirt, and 2 pairs of shoes (I don’t usually include basics so I used a couple t-shirts as layers as well). I also got a new pair of leopard loafers of Poshmark halfway through the challenge so I threw them in too, as a way to figure out how to style them (they’re old Madewell but Madewell’s current version is here). See how I styled my 10 selections below.

My Fall 10×10 picks

The Fall 10×10 starts today and there’s still time to join. Just pick 10 clothing items and restyle them to make 10 outfits over the next 10 days. Easy, right?

Hah. By day 8 I’ll be making all sorts of strange combos, I’m sure. But that’s kind of the point. This is a great challenge for learning to use what you have while also identifying wardrobe gaps. Usually by day 10 I have a pretty good idea of what items could be nice additions to my seasonal closet, which is why I (try) not to shop for the season until the 10×10 is over. Here are my picks for the next two weeks:

Blazer (thrifted, similar)

Shirts: Long sleeve, pink button up (thrifted, similar), white button up

Plaid shirtdress (old, similar)

Sweater: Vetta (can be worn 3 ways, so this is probably gonna be the 10×10 all star)

Bottoms: Green dress pants, tweed skirt (thirfted, similar), jeans

I’m pretty excited about a couple of potential combos right out the gate! And I’m hoping that these layers will help me cope with the Colorado 40 degree temperature span.

Are you doing the 10×10? If not, what are your wardrobe all stars this season that you could mix and match?

What I wore, what I read: 10/1-10/5

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week. The weather has skipped straight over Fall and gone full winter, I’m writing tests and grading like it’s midterm season, and I am about to attempt 2 conferences in the next 4 weekends. The semester just got real…

Monday