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ME MADE MAY 2019!

MMMAY2019

For the month of May, I participated in "Me Made May" a DIY clothing challenge hosted by Zoe. (You can read more about this challenge and FAQs here.) This was my second time through the challenge. (You can read about my experience doing this in 2018 right here.) Last year my goal was to wear at least one homemade thing each day. This year I set the challenge to wear ONLY things I had made with the exception of workout clothes and shoes. I also set the goal to get dressed each day and only take three tries to get a photo (I failed miserably at that part).

I LOVED THE CHALLENGE.

Doing Me Made May last year really encouraged me to branch out with what I was making and I spent the second half of 2018 trying new things like shorts and t-shirts. Because of that, I had many more options to mix-and-match this year and that was really fun. I paired things that I wouldn't usually and I really got some wear out of a few garments that I hadn't been reaching for as often.

I said last year that I felt like I had a style I was comfortable wearing and that was true. But this year I felt that even more and when I look at the whole grid my clothes all felt like they belong to the same person which is mostly because I have been working to make things that feel most like me.

What did I learn this year?

I don't need any more dresses. I never wake up and want to wear a dress. I can forever stop making dresses and/or change my personality and I think it's easier to stop with the dresses.

Having a smaller amount of options makes getting dressed more enjoyable. (Yes, I knew this but the reminder is good.)

If I can figure out a way to make a decent pair of jeans I think I could be done with RTW forever.

The photos are still the worst part of the whole thing, but I was less awkward this year.

Colorstory

My unscientific color story for the outfits looks like this. A lot of black. Next heavy is white, navy and then army green (it's hard to tell in the photos but one of those pairs of pants and then a pair of my shorts are the same green.) My shoes are all a shade of tan and I don't see that ever changing. It's not that these are my favorite colors, it's just that they are the colors that I feel the most "me" in.

Let's talk stats:

I wore 5 pairs of shoes in May - those pictured plus rainbow sandals for walking to pilates/the pool.

I wore 30 garments. Eight bottoms (three shorts, one skirt, two pants, one jumpsuit, one overalls). 17 tops (six tanks, four sweaters, one cardigan, six shirts). Five dresses. 

These items came from 20 patterns.

In total, my May 2019 wardrobe had 35 pieces + workout clothes, pjs and undergarments. (This is down SEVEN items from last year and I love my wardrobe 100x more).

BOTTOM LINE:

I stand by the idea that you have to take pictures of in your clothing if you want to recognize patterns in and/or adjust your style. You don't have to share them! But seeing things all together is so helpful. What else? I am super excited to hone what I like to wear and make even further. Doing this challenge has already dramatically changed what was on my "to-make" list. I am going to spend some time this weekend re-thinking that.

PATTERN LINKS:

Here are links to all the patterns I am wearing above.

May 31, 2019 at 10:25 AM in me made, sewing projects, what i wore |

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My name is Elise Blaha Cripe. I live in Northern California with my husband and our two daughters.

I make stuff like it's my job.

In October 2019, my book about getting stuff done, Big Dreams, Daily Joys hit bookstores everywhere. For almost ten years, this blog was where I shared (daily!) general life musings, insight into being a small business owner and the occasional craft project. I have closed comments, but feel free to email me at elise[@]elisejoy.com if you have any questions about a post you see here.

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