I have been after my brilliant and beautiful little sister to write a guest post on The Aesthete and the Dilettante from the moment I started blogging last January. In fact, our wild vintage shopping experience, Vintage Victory, was the subject of my very first post. I have finally pinned her down, and the following is what she has submitted (under the express condition that I change not a word). In true Little J style, she has presented me with a challenge. A challenge so big, I am experiencing actual heart palpitations as I type…
THE FASHION FAST by Little J
Regular readers of A&D know that the author recently completed a fantastic challenge of physical strength and mental fortitude—her first Olympic Triathlon. No doubt these same readers also know she has a tremendous collection of fashion and a wonderful panache for making the rest of us feel pathetically plain. I have spent the last 30 years measuring myself to the “Wendy Standard” in the mirror every time I plan to present myself in public; now I have the perfect excuse to punish….err….challenge her.
Why do you ask?
Simple sadism? Sibling rivalry? A bizarre fascination with martial efficiency?
All of the above; moreover, I am in the process of renovating my beach house and must vacate the premises for much smaller digs for the next 6 weeks. I can’t take much with me, and must store most of my wardrobe. Misery loves company, A&D—almost as much as Wendy loves Hermes bangles. Unfortunately for her, I have my mother’s sense of humor and my father’s petty viciousness (Dad, please forgive my poetic license, but you know it’s true).
The Fashion Fast and Its Rules:
- Thou shall choose no more than 45 items with which to clothe thyself for no less than 90 days beginning on July 23, 2012 and ending on October 20, 2012. Items included may be clothing accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes in any combination thou deem appropriate. Wedding rings, jewelry thou never removest, underwear, sleep wear, in-home lounge wear and work out wear are excluded.Thou shall not leave thy residence in lounge wear, nor shall thou perform any activity other than exercise in workout wear.
- Thou shall initially catalogue these items on “The Aesthete and the Dilettante” for the readership, and provide weekly updates on outfits assembled, problems encountered, and general musings about living more with less while shopping only within the confines of the closet which is thine.
- Thou shall not purchase new items with which to clothe thyself for the duration of the Fashion Fast.
- Thou may select no more than 3 new items from thy repository of wardrobe items every Sunday. These items may be exchanged for items thou previously selected, but thou may NEVER exceed 45 items. If thou choose to exercise this option, thou shall write a post with photos of the items and reasons for the exchange (reasons your readership finds unreasonable are subject to ridicule).
- Thou may also exchange items with other Fashion Fast participants.
Little J, as you know I cannot resist a great challenge so I accept. And dear readers, if any of you are up for a fashion fast I’d love for you to join me. As she said, misery loves company!
the aesthete and the dilettante 
Reblogged this on Alice Louise's Blog.
Other Fashion Fast challenges in descending order of minimalism:
http://www.theproject333.com
http://sixitemsorless.com
http://theuniformproject.com
All things considered 45 items for 90 days is pretty tame 🙂
i like the challenge! i may have missed the point though, i’m already counting all the ‘what ifs’ in my head!! A+D – are you in?
Oh the “what ifs” abound, but I am taking on this challenge of learning to live and become creative with less. Though The Fashion Fast hasn’t started, it is already working – I visited the land of temptation yesterday, aka Barneys, and bought nothing because I saw nothing that I would wear or use on a regular basis. And that made me think about how the majority of my wardrobe is used fairly infrequently. We’ll see how I feel in a month, though!
Admission: I bought a chambray button down from Madewell yesterday in advance of the challenge. It was something that had been missing from my wardrobe for a long time and putting together “the 45” made it an easy decision…almost as easy as throwing out the red suede Kate Spade flats I bought in 2000 and have worn through and look terrible now, despite or because of my devotion. But isn’t that part of the point?
What you NEED vs. what you WANT and what can fill both columns for a decade like the flats I pitched and the shirt I bought?
http://www.madewell.com/madewell_category/DENIM/shirtstories/PRDOVR~25240/99101977797/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~0~15~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~Chambray/25240.jsp
Well done ladies! I feel I have taken, even failed (don’t panic Wendy, only a few times) and overcome this challenge in my recent months of transient life. I will tell you, it is NOT easy. Especially with my (semi) pitiful wardrobe, I really couldn’t dream of parting with some of the gorgeous things you have aquired! I wish you the best!