February 10 x 10 ~ 10 Pieces Styled 10 Ways

February 16, 2021

ashley wearing a striped top, aviator sunglasses, light wash distressed mom jeans from Abercrombie. She is holding a to-go coffee cup, there is a chair and 2 plants

What is a 10 x 10?

I’m back with the second post in this style series called 10 x 10, where I take 10 pieces of clothing and style them 10 different ways. I began this little style series in January (see the post here!) to inspire you to use items in your wardrobe to make a variety of outfits. I’m having fun with this series. It is really helpful in getting out of a closet rut.

What pieces to select?

My strategy in selecting my 10 items of clothing is to first pull out pieces that I LOVE. This seems obvious, but we all have items in our wardrobe that we feel ‘meh’ about. My biggest tip for starting a capsule wardrobe is to not buy anything that you don’t absolutely love. If you order something online, and it doesn’t fit perfectly or there is something uncomfortable about it, return it! This is a concept I struggled with for years. I would purchase and keep items that were just ‘okay’ or ‘would work for now.’ When I started only keeping items that I truly loved, getting dressed became SO much easier.

When I started only keeping items that I truly loved, getting dressed became SO much easier.

Second, try to pick items of clothing that would work together. Whenever, I purchase a new item, I ask myself a few questions. Will it pair well with other items in my closet? Can I make 5 or 6 different outfits with this new item and other items I already own?

I prefer neutral pieces (black, white, gray, and cream colors), but I also have two to three other colors that I love that work well in my wardrobe (olive green and rust colors for example). If you keep your wardrobe to a few colors, the new pieces that you purchase will fit in nicely.

The collage below shows the pieces I selected to include in this month’s 10 x 10. I chose 5 tops (1 being outerwear), 3 bottoms (2 jeans, 1 legging), and 2 pairs of shoes. I included these white sneakers in my January post, but I couldn’t resist including them this time as well, as they are a STAPLE in my wardrobe. They are much more chic than a regular tennis shoes (or athletic sneaker if you’re not from the midwest!).