one dress, thirty ways: how to join the challenge

I’ve decided to do another round of my one dress, thirty ways challenge in April, and this time, I’m hoping to get other people to play along!

The goal for the challenge is simple: over thirty days (starting April 1st), come up with 30 different ways to style the same dress.

I want to keep the challenge as flexible as possible, but to make it easier to join in, I thought I’d lay out a few ground rules:

1. You don’t have to wear the dress all day every day.

If this challenge seems impossible to you, I’m going to let you in on a little secret! You don’t have to wear the dress all day every day.

That’s because the one dress, thirty ways challenge isn’t about forced asceticism. It’s about creative expression within constraints.

So you can opt to wear an outfit all day, just for a few hours, or for a few minutes while you snap that day’s pic!

The point isn’t to force you to wear the same piece of clothing for thirty days. It’s to get you to play and experiment with what’s in your closet! (And to document it to refer back to later when you’re stuck in a style rut.)

2. Document your looks.

One of the most valuable things about the first round of the one dress, thirty ways challenge was taking photos of every look. Not only did the photos allow me to reflect during the challenge and come up with new, creative ways to push my style, but they were incredibly valuable after the challenge ended in helping me pack for a trip!

Documenting your outfits doesn’t have to get fancy. While I like to shoot mine in my studio with my fancy camera, you’ll get the same information with a mirror selfie on your smartphone. The goal is simply to have a visual record. (Even if you don’t want to share your pics on social media!)

Of course, if you do want to share your images on Instagram, be sure to tag your posts #onedressthirtyways (You can share them in your main IG feed or in your Stories!) You can also tag @meganauman in the comments so I see what you’re wearing!

3. Any other rules are up to you!

In the first round of the challenge, I gave myself a few more rules (to force myself to be even more creative). They were that I had to stick to only two necklaces and two pairs of shoes and that I had to complete the challenge with only pieces I already owned. (Unless I was out shopping and saw something really amazing!)

This time I’m mixing it up! My tentative rules for this go round are to showcase a different necklace every day and to mix in at least five pieces of clothing that I didn’t wear during the first challenge. (So that I don’t fall back in the same combos I used the first time around.)

But those are my rules. Other than styling the same dress thirty ways (and documenting it), any other constraints for the project are entirely up to you!

You might find it helpful to document the rules you’ll be sticking to throughout the project, whether that’s some place only you can see them or in a blog post or on IG. (Writing them down will help you stick to them!)

4. If 30 days feels like too big of a commitment, make it shorter.

As I mentioned in my wrap up post for the first round of the challenge, I feel like most of the creative magic didn’t happen until after Day 10. Which is why I was really glad I committed to 30 days.

But I also know that 30 days is a big commitment. So if you’re unsure, start with something smaller, like 10 or 15 days! (Just be sure to still use the hashtag #onedressthirtyways so we can find your posts!)

Once you get started, you may find that you want to keep going for the full 30, or perhaps dipping your toe in to a shorter challenge this time will give you the confidence to tackle the full challenge the next time around.

Ultimately, give yourself the flexibility to make this challenge work for you. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not about rigid rules, but about helping you get more creative with your personal style!

The next round of the one dress, thirty ways challenge starts April 1st! Comment below with your Instagram profile if you’re planning on joining in!