No-New-Clothes-Challenge: Fall Review

 There's less than a month left of my 1-year-no-new-clothes challenge, and I am already gearing up for those new year sales. Here's a look back at a fall with no new clothes.

The September Remix:

The Fall Fashion Series, in which I tried out some Fall 2014 trends using my old pieces of clothing:

Trends from Left: Two-toned plaid, fall pastels, hint of peplum, and butterflies.

A favorite outfit that should have been included in the fall fashion series, because of the layered crop top clothing hack:

I faked a crop top for this look using double-sided fabric tape -- a secret weapon you may remember from my Clara Oswald Halloween costume, when I faked a hi-low hem using the same tool.

Speaking of clothing hacks, here's one I did for taking in jeans with minimal sewing.

And speaking of Clara Oswald, I did buy one new piece this season, in-keeping with the rules for special occasion clothes. But you can bet I did not limit my wear to Halloween. In fact, that Clara dress deserves a special remix all its own. Here are 5 ways I wore it:

1. As a light layer on top; 2. Belted as a tunic over leggings; 3. Alone, with heels for a fall wedding; 4. With a cardigan and boots for The Grand Old Opry; 5. With leather jacket, black tights, black ankle boots and red satchel for my Halloween Costume.

And that's not even an exhaustive list. I also wore the dress to a freezing outdoor fall wedding, layered with tall boots, fleece-lined tights, a cardigan and a cabernet-colored blazer (plus hat and gloves). Apparently, this year spent (mostly) without new clothes has shown me how to get the most out of any new pieces that come my way. That dress may be my most-worn piece of fall, aside from my favorite dark skinny jeans:

This simple, comfortable t-shirt, jeans, and flannel combo has been one of my favorites on chilly days. I love the navy tee with the green plaid. 

You can't tell from the pictures, but those beloved dark skinny jeans are starting to show the wear and tear of my constant use of them. I will probably look for a new pair when the new year rolls around. I also got a lot of wear this fall out of this necklace from Old Navy:

The length is perfect; it has 3 different kinds of metal, so it matches everything; and it walks the perfect line between casual and dressy, trendy and classic, and tough and girly. I've worn it a LOT this fall. (It's a good thing accessories aren't part of the challenge :))

And speaking of accessories, my favorite new accessories this fall were floppy hats. They added instant fun to any outfit, and you can tell from these pictures that I wore them a lot.

Finally, here are a few of my favorite outfits from his fall:

Some of these aren't necessarily the most trendy or best-looking outfits; they just made me feel good while I was wearing them, and that may be the most important part of developing a personal style: feeling good in what you wear.

Now that December is here, I'll be closing out the year with some of my favorite holiday looks.

Until then,