I Wore the Same Shirt for Five Days in a Row

One day while thrift store shopping, I stumbled upon this shirt.

(You bet I do!)

I'm a pretty impulsive shopper, so naturally, I decided to take this bad boy home with me.

And as you probably guessed, it sat in one of my drawers for months and months until I came across it while searching for a different tee.

In that moment, an idea was born.

As I just mentioned, I'm impetuous when it comes to buying clothes. Even if I don't really like the way something looks on me, I find a way to convince myself I absolutely need it. Then I wear it once and that's that. I either give it away or leave it hanging in my closet until I decide to dust it off and sport it once more.

Yet I keep buying new clothes I know I'll never wear. It's a problem, especially because I'm someone who essentially wears different variations of the same outfit every single day. I religiously rock some sort of band shirt and black high-waisted skinny jeans, even though I own multiple tops, dresses and skirts.

(I wear this exact outfit at least three times a week.)

Because it's a new year and I'm on this whole "new me" schtick, I challenged myself to wear the same tee (yes, the marvelous "I Rock" one above) for five days straight. Before someone yells at me for being "unsanitary" or "dirty," know that I washed the shirt every other day. I'm not that gross, okay?

The main goal of this experiment was to step out of my comfort zone a bit and switch up my style by wearing clothes I normally wouldn't.

Of course, I set some rules for myself before I began.

I wasn't allowed the wear the same pair of bottoms or outerwear during the five day period. And I could only wear the same pair of shoes twice.

I'm impulsive when it comes to clothes, but not when it comes to shoes. I live in my $15 white sneakers from Target. And though I do have a few other pairs of kicks, three of them are all very similar black booties.

But enough about my lack of style, let's get into what really matters—how my five day study went.

 

Day One

I began this assignment on the first day of the new year, so needless to say, I didn't try very hard. What? I was exhausted from the night before and didn't really have any major plans, except for doing laundry.

For that reason, I kept my look of the day pretty casual. I paired the tee with denim shorts, a flannel and my signature worn-out Target kicks.

(Idk what's happening in this photo.)

Though I didn't step too far out of my comfort zone with this ensemble, I did feel quite bold rocking some shorts. It's been quite some time since I've worn a pair of shorts that weren't athletic ones.

I can totally see myself wearing this outfit again when it gets a bit warmer out.

 

Day Two

I was ready to turn things up a notch for day two, but once again, I played it safe.

I wore a pair of high-waisted black jeans (duh!) and a simple green jacket. I originally planned on wearing booties with this outfit, but I worked out in the morning so I knew my legs would be way too sore for that. I opted for my go-to footwear instead.

(I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to use the timer on my iPhone to take this pic.)

I felt incredibly comfortable in this outfit, which was great, except for the fact that this wasn't the point of the assignment. At least I proved this shirt works with a couple different getups.

 

Day Three

Day three was just like all the other days. I wore things I was comfortable in, but this time I finally got around to wearing a pair of my booties.

They have fringe on the sides and they make me feel like I have a party on my feet whenever I wear them.

(Shoutout to my sister for letting me use her mirror to take this.)

It had been a hot minute since I sported the heels, so my feet hurt a bit more than usual by the end of the day. But hey, beauty is pain.

Though the mom jeans I'm rocking aren't the typical black ones I favor, I do wear them at least once a week.

 

Day Four

Day four was when I really shined.

I bought this white button-down skirt and black wool jacket a few months back, that as you probably guessed, I had yet to wear. I revived them from early retirement and made a pretty rad ensemble out of them.

I added knee-high black socks and my knock-off Dr. Martens (thanks, Forever 21) to seal this look.

(Writer by day, Instagram model by night.)

I received quite a few compliments from my coworkers about this look, which felt really nice. The only problem was, I didn't feel confident.

I wasn't fond of the way the skirt fit and how it would awkwardly bunch up whenever I sat down. I was proud of myself for wearing something I normally wouldn't, but I was so excited when the end of the day rolled around and I was able to change into something more comfortable.

 

Day Five

By the final day, I was more than ready to be done with this ordeal.

After the outcome of day four, I decided to go with what I know for day five's look. I donned a pair of black skinny jeans with my tee and a denim jacket. I did, however, break one of my rules.

I wore my Target kicks for a third day. Some rules were just made to be broken, I guess.

(You can actually feel my awkwardness in this snap.)

I not only felt comfortable in this getup, but confident, too. Though I'm now realizing I should've tucked in my shirt. Lesson learned for next time.

 

Final Thoughts

All in all, this little experiment of mine taught me that it's always best to wear what makes you feel comfortable. If you absolutely don't feel like a queen walking out of the house in what you're wearing, you go right back in and change into something that makes you feel good about yourself.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is necessary, but you don't have to go overboard. Just dip your toe in the waters of change, rather than trying to dive right in. Make that your senior quote.

I'll definitely try to switch up my everyday style more often by incorporating pieces I wouldn't normally wear, but I'm not going to stray too far from what I like rocking.

That being said, I definitely need to get rid of some things. Any takers?

 

I've forced myself to partake in quite a few interesting ventures, none more unusual than using tarot cards to plan my meals for a week. See how that went HERE.