The Six Items or Less Challenge

Less is more...or so the saying goes.  There seems to me to be a movement to do with less.  Can YOU do with less?  Can I do with less?  especially clothing.

Sometime during the summer of 2010, I learned about a challenge between two friends (Heidi Hackener and Tasmin Davies of NYC) they called Six Items or Less.  The premise of this challenge was to have only six items of clothing (not including outerwear, underwear, workout clothes, sleepwear, work uniforms and accessories) and wear only these pieces for 30 days.  This challenge received publicity and expanded around the globe. 

Shelley Seale  http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/design/2011-02-14/adventures-in-fashion-six-items-or-less/

This challenge (obviously) intrigued me.  By the summer of 2010, I had amassed a few pieces that I really liked and wanted to try the challenge.  I kept putting my participation off for various and sundry reasons.  A couple of weeks ago, I finally got my act, my focus, my resolve and decided FOR SURE which pieces I would use. 

These are the pieces I chose:

The Two Way shirt - a fairly basic short sleeve T shirt made of cotton lycra with a V neck AND a ballet neck.  It was inspired by a top I saw at TranquiliT and in Sewing a Travel Wardrobe by Kate Matthews.  I can wear it either way.  (personal design) 

Yoga type pants - full length pants also made of cotton lycra.  The pattern is based on the concept of the wrap around pant with some added features.  They can be worn three lengths (I hope).  (personal design)








Jeans - are a staple in anyone's wardrobe.  I'm fortunate enough to be able to wear jeans to my office job.  The color may be a mishap, as I had chosen the color because I was going to use different colors in the wardrobe and ended up with a different color palette.  These are my favorite brand of jeans - Gloria Vanderbilt.  They have lycra.  They fit.  They are relatively inexpensive.







The Trapezoid Shirt - this extra long sleeve shirt made of rayon lycra.  It is based on a design I've seen by several designers, namely Norma Kamali, the Wilbourn sisters, and Ralph Drake plus many others (check out my YouTube channel).  It can be worn a number of different ways - primarily as a shirt (obviously) and a skirt (yippee!).  (modified personal design)

The Oval Tunic is a long sleeved oval with buttoned armscye slits and a buttoned, cased neck.  This design is made of rayon lycra and probably the most worn piece of clothing in my ENTIRE wardrobe.   It was inspired by the the Circle Dress designed by Lemuria, the Singing Ring by Emami, the 1001 dress by Picabo, the Vest-S-Cape by Saf-T-Pockets, a design by the Wilbourn Sisters and probably a few more.  This can be worn so many ways and I LOVE IT!!!  It can be worn as a tunic (duh!), a dress, several tops, a  cardiwrap aka jacket, a skirt, and pants (think Hammer Time).  (modified personal design)






The Fractional is a buttoned (20!) tube of fabric with casings made of rayon lycra.  This is my newest piece though I've had a prototype in my wardrobe for awhile.  The rayon lycra isn't four way stretch so it's not my favorite.  It was also inspired by several other designers:  Emami, the Butterfli (Russet), Trudy Miller, Baylene, and Inala London.  It can be worn as a top, dress, shrug, skirt, scarf, and if I'm really desparate - funky capris.  (modified personal design)







My main acessories are: the Button Scarf and a tube. 

The Button Scarf is made of a poly printed semi sheer crepe.  It has eight buttons.  I'm not very good at wearing prints but I love this one (another "old" piece in my wardrobe).  This is a prototype so it's not perfect - actually, I just added a feature to it - casings on the short ends.  It was inspired by the Buttoned Scarf and you can purchase these at  www.magicscarf.com.  The part that I don't like about this particular piece is it's semi sheer.  It can be worn as a shrug, skirt, vest and scarf.  (modified personal design)

The Tube is a cased tube of fabric made of rayon lycra.  This is also a prototype and I'm still becoming comfortable with its uses.  It is inspired by the Buff ®.  I added casings because I wanted to extend the variations.  I use it primarily for a slip as the Trapezoid top is a bit sheer for me, but it is suppose to be a hat and neck scarf.  Later, I'll show you how I intend to extend its variations.