I love my job.
Are you sick of hearing that yet?
I’m sorry, but it’s true.
I adore the late mornings, the friendly banter and the lovely people. I love working in a start-up environment, I love the variety of my work and I love having the freedom to make choices and decisions on my own.
But most of all?
I love, love, LOVE being able to wear whatever I damn well please!
No more enforced pencil skirts and pearl necklaces and black stilettos! Bye bye to the 5-items-of-make-up rule! Sayonara to scraping my hair back every day!
I’d been looking forward to this day for the past two years.
I was going to wear Instagram-worthy outfits and do fancy things with my hair and IT WAS GOING TO BE AMAZING.
Except lol what’s actually happened is that I wear jeans and jumpers every day, and my hair is in a ponytail, and I don’t really wear makeup unless I’m hosting an event.
Y’know, really putting in the effort.
So when George at ASDA got in touch and challenged me to go a week without wearing jeans, all in the name of style, I knew, for my own good, that I had to say yes!
It was time to break the style rut.
THE RULES: no jeans or trousers. Go!
MONDAY
Monday = comfy. COMFY IS A MUST.
This polka-dot skater dress is one of my all-time favourites. It’s from Sugarhill Boutique and it’s so flipping soft and comfy. I don’t think I’ve ever got round to showing it off on the blog yet and I’m just sorry that it’s now making it’s debut in an awful mirror shot but hey ho… you work with what you can eh?
The knee-high boots* are proper leather and from Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing collection. They’re surprisingly amazing quality and so super comfy and stylish! I’ve barely taken them off since I got them.
The cardigan is also new (from H&M but I can’t find it online!) and I think it’s one of my favourite Winter items right now. So soft and snuggly!
Basically this whole outfit is about comfort, comfort, comfort.
Because Mondays are Mondays, even if they are Happy.
TUESDAY
OH HAI HANGOVER.
You know what’s hard? Trying to dress stylishly when you’re hungover.
Know what’s even harder? Trying to find something to wear that’s not jeans. Like, what? Seriously? My hangover uniform is jeans and a baggy jumper. And now I have to wear a DRESS?
But I succeeded! I stood strong!
I slipped into a t-shirt and this super comfy, super soft suedette shift dress*.
Add monochrome trainers, black tights, hair in a bun and no makeup, and I had Hangover Chic down to an art form.
High five to me.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesdays need sparkles. Sparkly sparkles.
I love this silhouette a lot. It’s one I used to wear all the time and I can’t really remember why I stopped wearing it to be honest
The short bodycon skirt* and the oversized sweater* seem to work well with my pear-shaped figure and I love the combination of knitwear and sequins.
The flats and loose fit of the jumper keep it casual and I really liked this outfit a lot.
It’s surprisingly easy to wear and it definitely made my Hump Day feel sparklier!
THURSDAY
At this point in the week, I started to lose inspiration.
I LIKE MY JEANS DAMMIT.
But I was good and I stuck to it. I dragged out my trusty old stripey midi skirt (remember when I wrote it before?), tucked in a black jumper and amped it up with my black ankle boots.
Boring, and I’ve worn it a million times but there you go… told you I was uninspired!
FRIDAY!
I made it! Hurrah!
This is actually my fave outfit of the week. I re-wore the suedette dress, but this time slipped it on over a white shirt* and added a belt. Simple but classy.
I never thought a shift dress would suit my shape, but actually I really, really like this one. It’s easy to dress up or down, it’s comfy and sooo buttery soft.
I felt a bit like a 60s babe to be honest!
So what’s the conclusion?
First of all, I really need to get some colour in my wardrobe… #monochrome #burgundy #WHEREISTHECOLOUR
Second, as much as I enjoyed the challenge, there is no way I could give up my jeans for good. They’re a massive part of my style identity and I felt lost without them.
Thirdly, I need to start making more of a daily effort with my appearance! Seems silly, but doing my hair and putting some makeup on actually made such a difference to my productivity and confidence levels.
And on that note, I’m off to do my ironing. Because apparently I’m an adult now and that’s a thing that happens.
Thank you George at ASDA!
*I was gifted the products marked with an asterisk.
As always, if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t blog it! :)
