So the Summer 10×10 Challenge is over and I thought I’d quickly run you through my outfits and the lessons learned. First of all I loved choosing and wearing my 10 pieces. It was surprisingly easy to stick to them, and there are even more outfit combinations I want to try.

Here a quick run-down of what I wore each day:

Day 1: black linen Peppermint Magazine Spring Shorts (a free pattern!) and self-drafted cheesecloth top (both unblogged) for a quiet day staying in. It’s the perfect outfit for the crazy hot weather we’ve been having lately.

Day 2: thrifted lilac tank and self-drafted natural linen skirt (unblogged). I love the colour scheme in this outfit, so summery! Apparently lilac is the new millennial pink (thanks Katie for letting us know) and I can see why. I went from a slight aversion towards anything purple to being obsessed within a couple of days. I’m already planning to add more of this colour to my wardrobe.

Day 3: Blaire Shirt and Persephone Pants. All the earthy colours in one outfit. This was an Instagram favourite and I agree, it’s a great colour combination. In terms of sewing patterns these two are absolute favourites, I love sewing and wearing them!

Day 4: thrifted and altered black linen dress. Already a favourite from last year and I’m really enjoying wearing it this summer too.

Day 5: Persephone Pants, here paired with the cheesecloth top to get some pictures for the blog. Brown and natural white seem to be the colours of my summer. It might have to do with me wanting to blend in with my surroundings ;)

Day 6: Megan Nielsen Dove Blouse and self-drafted skirt for a trip to Basel for the Swiss national holiday. This skirts turns out to be exactly the summer skirt I needed. It was perfect for people watching by the river and strolling through the city.

Day 7: Allie Olson Highlands Wrap Dress. This was not on my original list of 10 pieces, but I realised that it would not be cool enough to actually wear my Tello jacket, so I swapped it with this dress for a dinner out. I love this dress and am glad that with the summer we are having and our life in France I have more opportunities to wear it out.

Day 8: Megan Nielsen Dove Blouse and Peppermint Magazine Spring Shorts. An easy breezy outfit, trying to combat the heat.

Day 9: thrifted linen dress (again) for a trip to Freiburg. Again this dress has proven to be the perfect dress for very hot days. The long skirt with the slits creates a breeze when walking and it’s linen and so loose it barely touches my skin.

Day 10: thrifted tank and Persephone Pants. This was one of the colour combinations I’d been most excited to wear. In the end it was too hot to really wear this outfit the whole day but I am keeping it in mind for cooler days. To switch things up I am wearing this outfit with a belt I just made. I haven’t worn belts in ages (not really necessary if you sew your own trousers and they fit properly) but since my husband and I have taken up leather working, I decided to make one for myself. I’m still getting used to wearing a belt, but I’m excited to try out some different styles.

So what are the lessons learned from this little challenge?

• I love the colour palette I chose and instead of getting sick of wearing the same colours I am only more obsessed with them. I feel I need to add even more brown, orange and lilac to my wardrobe.
• Taking daily pictures indoors is hard. Our flat only gets little direct sunlight and we are facing a church with pink walls, which makes it very difficult to get clean pictures. I really need to improve my photography and picture editing skills!
• I am bad at accessorising. I tried to make an effort to accessorise more, but I really struggled. I just like simple, unfussy outfits (and don’t even own that many accessories). I do want to try and get better at this in the future as I find that the right accessories make a look feel more intentional. I’m planning on making/buying some minimalist pieces that fit my aesthetic.
• I don’t mind wearing the same shoes every single day. These sandals are so versatile! I will need to add some more summer shoes to my collection though, otherwise these will be worn out by the end of the summer. I’m currently working on my shoe-making skills, which is very exciting!
• Most difficult item to combine: the Dove blouse. While I love it on its own, it had a different vibe than the rest of the wardrobe so it felt slightly out of place.
• Most favourite outfit to wear: anything that included my Persephone Pants.

So that’s it. All in all a very successful experiment. I stuck to my 10 pieces and didn’t mind that I was limited in what I could wear. I love the idea of a small, mix-and-match wardrobe. I am conscious though that summer has made things very easy as no layering was necessary. I’m not sure I would have had the same success in winter, maybe I’ll join the winter edition, to really challenge myself.

I’m still figuring out my new style, but it becomes increasingly clear to me what silhouettes, colours and fabrics work for me (loose silhouettes and all the linen!) and which don’t . This should make planning future projects a lot easier. The only issue now is that I am so inspired and have so many project ideas that I don’t even know where to start!