Every so often, I get really bored of the clothes I own. I want to chuck them out and start all over again…but then I remember that super pretty dress, or my favourite top, and actually, it’s just that I really don’t want to wear those things on that day and I’m tempted by all the other things out there and all the pretty outfits other people wear. *Sigh*, the life of a blogger! I would imagine you all know exactly what I mean.
So I decided to do something to make my wardrobe seem a bit more interesting and possibly open up some new outfit “channels”: let Ben dress me for a week. Luckily, my office is pretty casual and slightly quirky, being a creative digital agency and all that, so I knew I wouldn’t be cast out for turning up in the weirdest of weird outfits. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t terribly worried as I know that Ben stays more towards the “normal” side of dressing than I tend to do. I thought it would be an interesting experiment though to see if it opened my eyes to any new combinations in my wardrobe and it would just be a bit of fun!
I did intend for this to be a week long thing, but the weekend was super busy with looking after parents’ pets and going to and from their house and ours, so the experiment was abandoned – nevertheless, I’ve still got a work week of photos to share! (And I apologise in advance for the terrible quality and facial expressions in some of these – several were taken after a long day at work, followed by evening activities in many!).
Monday
Cardigan: Hell Bunny | Top: New Look | Skirt: T K Maxx | Boots: ASOS
He says:
It was a warm and wet day, so she needed boots to keep her dry and a skirt.
She says:
This was an interesting pick for the first day – this skirt is now around, um, 12 years old…I think possibly the oldest item of clothing still in rotation in my wardrobe! I got it when I was about 13 and thought I was SO cool to have such a grown up skirt – I think it was the start of my love of pin up styles, although I then didn’t buy anything else similar for years. It comes out every months but hasn’t actually ever featured on the blog before. Interestingly he then mixed it up with a brand new pair of boots (worn recently here). This is an outfit that’s fairly standard for me at the moment, so clearly he knows what I like!
Tuesday
Cardigan: ASOS | Top: Primark | Skirt: Next | Boots: Clarks
He Says:
I like tartan, and these colours went together.
She Says:
(He’s not so good at explaining his choices, is he?!) Again, another plain long sleeved top, which are staples in my wardrobe – this one is pretty old, bought in my first year at uni (you know, 6 years ago now…who says Primark can’t last that long!). The tartan skirt is the focal piece – it’s one I bought in the 2014 Boxing Day sale because it was really cheap (and I also like tartan) but have only worn a few times. I’m put off by the asymmetric shape of it usually as it can annoy me, but I like the exposed zip and tartan.
Wednesday
Cardigan: Hell Bunny | Top: Dorothy Perkins | Jeans: Hollister | Boots: Clarks
He Says:
I like the polka dot top and like the casual look when she wears jeans.
She Says:
I was surprised that this was the only day he picked out jeans for me as he always says he likes it best when I wear “unfussy” outfits (ie. like pouffy skirts and dresses!). I did specifically ask to go with trousers this day though as I had Brownies in the evening and needed to get my car checked out. I’d had a bit of a difficult week with it – at first, we thought it needed something to do with the exhaust as when we’d attempted to go down to IKEA in Leeds recently it was doing this weird juddery thing on the motor way and we’d had to turn back. I was worried it was going to end up being a lot of work but fortunately the issue turned out to be brakes which were an easier fix! And apparently the juddering was actually to do with the snow tyres I’d had put on – it had only taken me, you know, like 2 months to realise they feel different when you drive on a smooth and fast road! And don’t worry, I managed to get to IKEA once we’d got the car sorted. Anyway, the top is one I go for on casual days when I want to be comfortable but wearing something that reflects my style a little: polka dots and fitted for a very casual retro look!
Thursday
Top: Collectif | Skirt: Matalan
He Says:
She got this new Collectif top recently and kept showing it to me, so I think she likes it, and I like tartan.
She Says:
Notice a theme yet? You will with the next picture at least! He’s right, I do like the Collectif top, so was he just trying to appease me?! I think he must actually like it too as sometimes he’ll ask if I really have to wear something just to go to the supermarket (for example!), even if it’s something I love, so this must have his approval! This was my favourite outfit of the week as it was a couple of pieces I love. I also had the black cardigan from above on with it, and a pair of plain black flats – they just didn’t make the photo as I was running for a quick shower before tea!
Friday
Jumper: Hobbs | Dress (worn as a skirt): Memade
He Says:
“Dress down Friday”, the jumper is casual and I like tartan.
She Says:
So clearly, if I want to keep Ben happy, I need to wear tartan all the time! He actually headed to my wardrobe muttering about finding something handmade for me to wear as he likes those best (compliment alert!!) and, predictably, pulled out my old fave tartan dress. I bought the jumper last year in the Christmas sales, from Hobbs at our local Designer Outlet, meaning it was knocked down a lot – outlet price with a sale price on top of it! Ben approved of this item a lot more than the summery floral dress I bought on the same day too, so I think he was making that point when he picked it!
The Verdict
To be honest, the outfits he picked were pretty good – I liked them! There were a couple that I would wear again, such as Monday and Thursday, mostly because they appealed to my usual retro-ish style. I also liked the fact that he delved deep into the wardrobe and pulled out old pieces that I’d forgotten about or ones that I don’t wear often. As I said, I was surprised that he didn’t pick out jeans more than once as he’s always telling me just to wear something “casual”!
What do you think – how did he do? And would you allow your partner to pick your outfits for a week?!
LOVE this idea! He did so well.
I envy your amazing tartan collection!
Author
I didn’t even realise I had so much tartan! It was worse when I realised I was actually wearing a tartan skirt AND scarf on the day I posted this without realising, neither of which featured in that week’s outfits, oops 😀
What a fun idea. My husband likes tartan too 🙂
I would not allow my husband to pick because he is all about showing off the cleavage and I have a lot of that.
Wow! He didn’t do a bad job! Love that he picked so much tartan! I had my BF, Cody, dress me one day for his birthday but I can’t imagine how he’d dress me for a week! He’d only make it to Tuesday, I think, before he gave up! HAHA! If I had to guess, it’d be a lot of pencil skirts and shirts that show cleavage – typical man! Ha!
Author
Haha I’m very surprised Ben stuck with it – it did take some nagging on some days to get him to come to the wardrobe as he kept saying: “Just pick something!” and I was like, that’s not the point!!
Firstly I think you were very brave to do this, but rightly so as he has done a great job! Also I do love his simplistic thinking and reasoning behind each outfit choice, perhaps its something us ladies should do more often!
Hehe. Your guy certainly does like tartan! I like all the outfits he picked out! Great choices! Friday is my favorite. Love the tartan with the Fox sweater!