75 Hard: Style (Q1)

I am, once again, playing in my closet.

I recently learned about the idea of the 75 Hard: Style Challenge, which is based on the 75 Hard Challenge, but meant to reduce consumption and develop your personal style. I adjusted it to include 75 items (a little more than double a Project 333 in number of clothing items and about half the duration,), and I tried it, and it’s almost over, and I’d love to share my thoughts.

Blazers and jackets, tees and shoes, cardigans, pants, sweaters, jeans, tops, dresses, skirts, sweatshirts, and shoes (75 items).

I spent a couple of hours in early January going through my clothing without particular regard to Type (3, confirmed), Season (True Summer, confirmed), Aesthetic (Clean Girl, confirmed), Alchemical Combination (Active Autumn, confirmed), Kibbe Type (Soft Gamine, confirmed), etc. I wanted to see what I gravitated toward (with lots of room to choose), track what I was wearing, and have everything fit, feel good, and reflect the seasonal needs (January-mid-March in the middle of the United States is generally cold, has the highest chance of snow and ice, and very, very gray).

There are three days left in my challenge, which ends on March 16, 2025 (I am writing this on Thursday, March 13, 2025). First, let’s review the items I chose:

Clockwise, from top left:
THE WORK EDIT (5):
Two pairs of trousers (light taupe, dark taupe), three blazers (dark brown, unlined stretch/light multi, lined wool multi/dark multi.
THE DRESS EDIT (2):
Both peasant-style (boho), incidentally - long and short.
THE SILK(Y) EDIT (4):
Silk blouse in white, black, poly/synthetic tank and midi skirt in white, beige/bone.
THE SHIRT EDIT (6):
Cotton shirts (marine gingham, chambray, lilac broadcloth, gray stripe), flannel shirts (blush check, blue/multi stripe).
THE PANTS EDIT (2):
Stretchy twill green (loose), stretchy twill rust (fitted).
THE DENIM EDIT (6):
Cream crop, gray ankle, black ankle, relaxed mid-blue, fitted mid-blue, straight/skinny dark blue.
THE CASUAL EDIT (6):
Blue sweatshirt, bittersweet tee, gray wool teal, gray hoodie, LS tee, souvenir sweatshirt, pocket tee.
LIGHTWEIGHT KNIT EDIT (6):
Taupe pointelle sweater, beige sweater tee, dotty knit tee, olive crochet vest, wool tneck, cotton v-neck.
HEAVY KNIT EDIT (6):
Cream cotton crew, ecru ribbed tunic, olive chunky crew, donegal beige crew, red pattern wool crew, teal chunky crew.
MISC EDIT (4):
Taupe synthetic bouse, olive cotton blouse, maroon neck knit top, tan and slate cape.
CASUAL SHOES EDIT (6):
orange chunky sneakers, aqua running shoes, Bean boots, white leather sneakers, suede loafers, tan clogs.
DRESSY SHOES EDIT (6):
oxblood leather pump, black pointed-toe ankle boot, leopard smoking loafer, cognac tall boot, taupe perforated bootie, tan nubuck bootie.

Not pictured in individual items, but also included - the red cropped trousers, dotty alpaca t-neck sweater, formal velvet dress, denim jacket, overalls, beige short silk, cream alpaca shacket-, heavy burgundy cable-, and taupe alpaca-ribbed cardigans.

So, how did it go?
I wore surprisingly little of my capsule - maybe 60-70% (or about 50 items). This is consistent with my prior challenges in that 40-50 items seems to be the sweet spot for challenging myself but not overwhelming myself. At 75 items, it’s too much, but also too little? I no longer can see individual items and end up grabbing a few things from outside the capsule to suit needs/wants during the challenge. (Which still teaches, so I’m OK with that.)

I never wore: white jeans (too cold, and then too early), striped flannel (too bulky?), cropped cardigan (too tight in arms and felt bad), synthetic blouse (too staticky/cheap?), olive blouse (too cold/hard to layer), faux-silk skirt (I want real silk), or tank (too cold, a smidgen too small), leather pumps, maroon or cream sweater (don’t love fit), brown blazer, either pair of taupe trousers (didn’t love fit), dotty knit tee (too cold), or souvenir sweatshirt (reached for hoodie).

I added in: red hooded Cub Scout Pack sweatshirt, three purchased items*, and one pair of sandals (we’ve had a stretch of 80F days, unexpectedly, and I’m dying!)

I purchased (in violation of the challenge): a gray v-neck cashmere sweater, a navy blazer, and a band t-shirt, during the challenge (two were from a Stitch Fix order I forgot to bump far enough out; the third was for a 90s-themed trivia night). I’ve worn all three - the blazer and tee once, and the sweater about half a dozen times.

Regarding the things I didn’t wear and Q2 selections: I’ll keep the white jeans, olive blouse, leather pumps, trousers, dotty knit tee, and maybe the sweatshirt. I don’t know why I didn’t wear that, except that when it was cold, it was very cold! I do like the idea of the pumps and think not wearing them had more to do with weather than anything else.

Planned purchasing. I can approach this a few ways: I made a wish list. I have things I’ve identified as wants to replace what I have. But I did shop a little. From a sustainability standpoint, I shouldn’t buy more than 5 new (retail-new) items per year, and I can shop secondhand as much as I want without repercussions, as long as I’m not churning through my wardrobe inappropriately. I don’t think 5/year is realistic for new, but DO think 5/season is as a hard cap. I’ve purchased 3/5 so far. (Tee, blazer, sweater.) That would leave three items for spring 2025 purchasing. On my wish list, I have EVA Birkenstocks, silk tank, silk midi. I can buy the silk tank and skirt through Quince, and the Birks are here. I’d need to get at least one secondhand to stay within my goal. The Birks are not a great secondhand option, because the secondhand ones (ThredUp) are as much or more as new for the EVA! ($50-60), though you can sometimes find them on Poshmark (with an $8 shipping fee). Quince, likewise, is often few and far between, but I’ll be checking to see what I can do there. Another item that became an issue for me during the challenge was my black slim/straight ankle jeans! They ripped at the rear (right under the seat). Oops! At least I had my coat on. So I will be searching for those secondhand. I’d also need new t-shirts - the one I bought from Target are AWFUL. So if I can find all of my wishlist secondhand, I could purchase from Old Navy or Amazon,, which is not sustainable, but at least consistently works for me (and the items last longer than a season).

I also totally fell apart with the take-a-photo/track part of the challenge. Turns out when the world is on fire, thinking about what I’m wearing takes a way, way, way-backseat. Oh well. I’ll try to regroup and do better in Q2.

What I love: having lots to choose from, wearing my wardrobe, and having both a firm plan not to shop and a plan for when TO shop. I definitely plan to try this again in Q2, which I’ll set up at the end of March.

What about you? Would you try this challenge?

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