This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ithaca chapter.
I wouldn’t call myself a control freak; I just really like it when things go the way I want them to. When I heard of the week-long experiments that people were doing where they weren’t allowed to pick out their clothes for a week, I was skeptical. I mean, I love picking my clothes out and deciding who I want to be for the day…why would I give that up? I decided I wanted to challenge myself and asked my friend Tim if he would pick out my clothes. Here is a picture of Tim and me, we are in the same major, and he seemed like a good choice too, because I felt pretty confident he wouldn’t choose what I was used to. I was right. He also was the first friend I talked to who agreed to the actual experiment.
(Aren’t we cute?)
He came over quickly and decided to pick out all of the outfits in one go, so it was easier for me in the mornings, and we wouldn’t have to work with a time crunch.
Day 1
The first day of this challenge Tim told me he had a theme set out for me. On my Tuesday/Thursday classes, he wanted me to wear my book t-shirts, and Monday/Wednesday/Friday were meant for my Star Wars shirts. I feel as though Tim knows me well enough to know that I am a massive nerd, and I enjoyed some of his picks. I did feel as though he ruined the first day by the backwards baseball cap. I loved my Vonnegut t-shirt and made a lot of references to it throughout the day and felt comfortable minus the hat itself.
Overall it was a cute outfit but could’ve been better.
Day 2
The first day of Star Wars gear! I don’t have a great picture of this day, but I remember being really cold and wishing I had a different cardigan for it. The shirt I wore is super cool though I never wear it because I’m concerned about it being too low cut on the side. However, wearing it was a nice change and I’m glad he picked this shirt to push me out of my comfort zone.
Ignore the lack of face, this was taken at 3 am
I liked this one; I just wish it was a warmer day.
Day 4/3
I skipped a picture for this day because it was the same flannel deal with a book t-shirt and would rather look at something different. The book t-shirt days were great because they were comfortable as a part of my wardrobe. I was not a fan of the mixing of the different cardigan pattern with a shirt that already has a graphic on it, but I weirdly really liked this combination. He did a good job on the later days making sure I was warm, so I really did like this one.
Day 5
Another day with another hat. I was in my school band in high school and have several items of clothing that show my NHHS Band pride, and Tim decided to make an outfit out of this. He was only granted one sweatshirt day and saved it for the weekend.
It was comfortable, and I can’t complain too much about this. The matching hat and sweatshirt were a bit much, but I did like it.
Day 6
I’m pretty sure he dressed me to look like a preschooler on this day. I was taken back to the days of brightly colored patterns and naptime, which actually sounds like college when you think about it. It took me a while to get used to it, but honestly, I really loved it. I would have never picked this out on my own since these pieces have different styles.
Day 7
It is the last day of this experiment, and I can’t deny I’m excited to be reunited with my closet. I was told to wear leggings today, which I am not used to wearing as just pants. It is an overall comfortable outfit, and I am very glad that he picked it out.
Reflection
I am glad I did this experiment and I want to thank Tim again for picking my clothes out. I don’t know if I’ll ever ask him again, but I was pushed out of my comfort zone and I think I needed that. It now has me thinking about styling pieces in different ways and it’s really a great thing to do. I am very excited to go and wear whatever I want tomorrow though. Try this out, it can be fun and it pushes you out of your comfort zone, which we all need every now and then.
