Capsule Wardrobe - 5 Outfits, 5 Days! International Style Challenge with Black and Burgundy

My blog friend Ruth does these 5x5 style challenges on Instagram. Another blog friend, Eileen and I started talking with her about it and thought it would be fun to participate. We decided to do an international style challenge a couple of weeks ago near the end of November.

The rules: 5 pieces of clothing to create 5 outfits over 5 days, with a black and burgundy colour scheme. Accessories like shoes, necklaces, scarves, handbags, outerwear, can be added as needed and don't count as one of the 5 pieces.

Who took part: Ruth @ruthyannie, Eileen @eileensed and myself, @awayfromblue. Ruth did this over autumn in the cold weather, and Eileen had to dress a growing baby bump too! I have so much admiration for them both!

This is going to be a bit of a long post as I share with you what we wore over 5 days! I hope you'll get a lot of outfit inspiration from it though, and discover some new ways you can rewear pieces you already own.

My Capsule Wardrobe

After a few last minute swaps and changes, these are the 5 pieces I came up with for the challenge.

• black drawstring waist maxi skirt
• black denim shorts
• burgundy jersey dress
• black, burgundy and cream shirt dress
• burgundy slouchy tee

My choices were limited by the colour scheme which helped me make decisions about what to pick as my 5 pieces. The last time I did a capsule, it was my third trimester capsule wardrobe and the growing bump helped limit my options there too! I did have to go into the office for one day which made me pick the shirt dress, even if the print is more red than burgundy. I figured it was close enough!

The main worry I had was around structuring the pieces I wore to allow me to have them washed and ironed ready for the next wear With two messy toddlers it was highly unlikely I was going to be able to wear things twice in a row without washing them! In the end I came up with 6 outfit ideas so that if something wasn't ready in time, I'd have a fall back option.

What I wore - Day 1

 

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Feather pendant in peach (C/O)
Tee: Zalora Basics maroon stepped t-shirt
Skirt: Jeanswest Luxe jersey maxi skirt
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats (also available in silver)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC

Why I wore it:

For the first day of the challenge I went with a classic tee and maxi skirt combo. When I'd first started planning outfits and pieces for the challenge I'd went with a different burgundy tee, and changed my mind and swapped it for this tee instead. I didn't like the way this one sat with the maxi skirt though, I was a bit frustrated with it both tucked and untucked and wasn't as comfortable with this outfit as I could have been. Easy outfit for playgroup though.


Last worn: burgundy tee, black maxi skirt, black ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC.

Other ways to wear: burgundy tee and navy kimono, black maxi skirt in autumn, black ballet flats and pencil skirt, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC and printed jeans.

Perfect for pregnancy: burgundy tee in first trimester, black ballet flats and maternity wrap dress, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC and maternity shorts.

What Ruth Wore - Day 1:

A post shared by ruthyannie (@ruthyannie) on Nov 20, 2017 at 6:57am PST

What Eileen Wore - Day 1:

A post shared by Eileen (@eileensed) on Nov 19, 2017 at 1:44pm PST

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What I wore - Day 2

Necklace: Roie Designs pearl and antique gold long necklace
Dress: Atmos&Here Nigella collarless shirt dress
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

This was as 'formal' as my outfits got during the challenge, the majority of them were casual outfits. I had to go into the office, so picked this shirt dress to fit in with the business casual dress code. I found myself fussing with this outfit too during the day though, the dress seemed to ride up a lot and I was constantly tugging it back down. I much prefer wearing this dress as a kimono, or layering it up with tights in winter.

I knew with the darker black and red print on the dress (it's a geometric print although it looks like polka dots in the pics!) that this Marc Jacobs bag would work perfectly with it. This bag doesn't get worn as often as it did when I first got it, but it's still a nice choice for work. It's been tagged in 62 posts on the blog and most of the time it featured in both outfits of the posts, so you can see it was worn a lot in the past! Such a unique colour too, a deep purple-y brown.


Last worn: geometric print shift dress, black ankle boots, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

Other ways to wear: geometric print shift dress layered for winter, 30 ways to wear black ankle boots, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag and maxi skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: black ankle boots and pregnancy announcement, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag at 40 weeks pregnant.

What Ruth Wore - Day 2:

A post shared by ruthyannie (@ruthyannie) on Nov 21, 2017 at 7:14am PST

What Eileen Wore - Day 2:

A post shared by Eileen (@eileensed) on Nov 21, 2017 at 12:30am PST

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What I wore - Day 3

Necklace: Zanele 40 handmade rope necklace
Dress: French Connection star dancing jersey dress in red rust/almond
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Mimco black button bag

Why I wore it:

The simplest of all my challenge outfits, and also the most popular. I wore this to work from home and attend a specialist appointment with baby boy in the afternoon. With the burgundy star print dress, I added black through my accessories, with the same ankle boots I'd worn the day before and another little worn bag, my Mimco button bag.

This was actually my first expensive bag purchase, despite how little I wear it now I'm never going to let it go. I spent months thinking about it and saving for it and picking out the perfect colour combo I wanted and I still remember the excitement of going to the store to pick it up! Very treasured even if not frequently worn now. I think I bought it in 2007 at the height of the button bag trend, still looks great. Sadly it's discontinued, the closest thing is the Mimco Turnlock bag that's around $200 more expensive than the button bag was 10 or so years ago, or to go to ebay for the classic style.


Last worn: burgundy star print dress, black ankle boots (above, day 2), Mimco button bag.

Other ways to wear: burgundy star print dress in third trimester, black ankle boots and skinny jeans, Mimco button bag for the office.

Perfect for pregnancy: burgundy star print dress for travel in Melbourne, black ankle boots in second trimester.

What Ruth Wore - Day 3:

A post shared by ruthyannie (@ruthyannie) on Nov 22, 2017 at 10:16pm PST

What Eileen Wore - Day 3:

A post shared by Eileen (@eileensed) on Nov 21, 2017 at 6:24pm PST

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What I wore - Day 4

Jacket: Atmos&Here Nigella collarless shirt dress (worn as a kimono)
Necklace: Nibbly Bits Feather pendant in peach (C/O)
Tee: Zalora Basics maroon stepped t-shirt
Shorts: Jeanswest Sara distressed hot short
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in black
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

An incredibly busy day called for a comfortable and casual outfit, and the first wearing of the last of my 5 pieces, my black denim shorts. Added the comfy slouchy burgundy tee and the printed dress was worn as a kimono. Converse were a practical choice for a busy day, and the mustard yellow bag was a fun touch of colour with the black and burgundy.

Baby boy had some more tests at the hospital in the morning, so I had the day off. With my mother in law available to watch the boys, as it was a day I normally work, I made the most of it and she looked after them both once the testing was done so I could gt a rare child free afternoon to go Christmas shopping. And I shopped up a storm, getting the majority of the things remaining on my Christmas present list!

Last worn: shirt dress as a kimono (day 2), burgundy tee (day 1), black denim shorts, Converse, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: shirt dress and ankle boots, burgundy tee and skinny jeans, black denim shorts and stripes, Converse and skinny jeans, Rebecca Minkoff mustard micro Regan bag and red maxi skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: burgundy tee in first trimester, Converse in the second trimester.

What Ruth Wore - Day 4:

A post shared by ruthyannie (@ruthyannie) on Nov 23, 2017 at 7:56am PST

What Eileen Wore - Day 4:

A post shared by Eileen (@eileensed) on Nov 22, 2017 at 8:38pm PST

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What I wore - Day 5

Necklace: Turquoise and gold beaded necklace from my mum's wardrobe
Dress: French Connection star dancing jersey dress in red rust/almond (worn as a top)
Shorts: Jeanswest Sara distressed hot short
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC in aquamarine with python embossed leather

Why I wore it:

For my fifth and final outfit with my 5 pieces, I wore my denim shorts again and the lovely burgundy dress as a top. I added turquoise accessories with the necklace and Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag for an extra touch of colour. I've won dresses as tops before, it's a nice way to wear something a little differently. The extra dress fabric wasn't too bulky although it was a bit of a pain tucking it in to the shorts every time I went to the bathroom! I had considered doubling up on the dresses and wearing the shift dress as a kimono over this again, but despite how little time I spent with the boys the day before it still got messy and had to have a wash. That was the hardest part of this challenge - making sure everything was washed and ironed in time to wear again!

This was a nice outfit to finish the challenge on, I ran around with the boys completing a few errands.


Last worn: burgundy star print dress (above, day 3), black denim shorts (above, day 4), Havaianas, aquamarine mini MAC bag.

Other ways to wear: burgundy dress layered for winter, black shorts and polka dots, aqua mini MAC bag and maxi dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: burgundy dress and second trimester bump, aqua mini MAC bag and maternity shorts.

What Ruth Wore - Day 5:

A post shared by ruthyannie (@ruthyannie) on Nov 24, 2017 at 8:34am PST

What Eileen Wore - Day 5:

A post shared by Eileen (@eileensed) on Nov 23, 2017 at 8:46pm PST

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Hope you enjoyed seeing the different outfits we were able to create for the challenge. While it was a fun challenge for me, I was looking forward to getting back into my regular wardrobe at the end of it! Especially after buying lots of new pieces that month that I was eager to wear.

Thanks so much to Ruth and Eileen for inviting me to take part - if you don't already, you should follow them on Instagram!


Linking up with Passion for Fashion, Mix It Monday, Hello Monday, On Mondays We Link Up.

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