MEGAN AUMAN

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one dress, four necklaces: choosing a statement necklace for a black floral v-neck dress

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one dress, four necklaces: how to choose a statement necklace for a v-neck floral dress - spring style ideas

I bought this dress a few weeks ago because it ticks a lot of my boxes – it has a high waistline (that actually hits my natural waist), it’s midi length, it has pocket, and it’s a bold floral pattern.

After wearing it to a craft show in Atlanta (and getting lots of compliments) I figured I’d come home and style it with a few different necklaces from my Contra Collection.

When it comes to picking a necklace for your neckline, you can go one of two routes – you can choose a necklace that echoes the shape of your neckline, or you can chose one that contrasts it.

I don’t think that one option is better than the other. Instead, it depends on the particular outfit and your mood. Somedays, I like to emphasize the lines that are already in a top, and other days, I like to play against them to create some visual interest.

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one dress, thirty ways: how to join the challenge

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how to join the one dress, thirty ways 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!

snow in spring: casual late winter style (with a statement necklace!)

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black and white statement necklace with cozy cardigan and knit hat

The calendar may say it’s spring, but this past week we got a pretty hefty snowstorm. So even though I’m jonesing for warmer weather, I couldn’t resist heading out for one last snowy photoshoot. (Especially since I just got this new Nickichicki hat and Lululemon cardigan.)

While I love dressing up (hence my one dress, thirty ways challenge), I’m also equally at home in comfy casual clothes. Which is why I design my jewelry to work with both. Because I don’t think jewelry should be reserved for special occasions!

Sometimes, you just want to wear a statement necklace with your t-shirt and cozy cardigan to distract from the fact that you’re squinting thanks to the sun bouncing off the snow and the wind is whipping your hair into your lipstick. (Not that I know from experience or anything.) Bonus points if that statement necklace perfectly matches your new hat!

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how I got 15 outfits out of 4 pieces of clothing: two dresses, a skirt, and a chambray tunic

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style inspiration: how to get 15 outfits out of 4 pieces of clothing

As I mentioned when I first launched my one dress, thirty ways challenge, I’m not one for minimalism or capsule wardrobes. I love clothes, I love to shop, and I don’t have any intention of pairing down my fairly extensive wardrobe anytime soon.

But what I do love is creativity within constraints.

I love experimenting with the pieces in my closet to come up with different ways to wear them. And I love taking a single piece (or pieces) and seeing how many different ways I can wear it.

Take this outfit that I wore on the final day of January’s one dress, thirty ways challenge. On that day, I opted to wear ALL THE LAYERS. But as I was putting that outfit together, I realized there were lots of other possibilities for the four pieces in that look.

style inspiration: how to get 15 outfits out of 4 pieces of clothing

So I challenged myself to come up with as many different outfits as possible out of those four pieces! The result is 15 different looks (once you count the outfits I wore that included those pieces during the one dress, thirty ways challenge.)

While I love some looks more than others, there’s no doubt that 15 outfits out of just four pieces is a lot of options! Which I hope should be inspiring to you whether you have an extensive closet like mine, are trying to pack lightly for a trip, or want to get more creative with your capsule wardrobe.

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on hemlines, body positivity, and the emotional power of personal style

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why skirt length is such a personal conversation

I’ve been thinking a lot about hemlines lately.

It all started during January’s one dress challenge, when someone commented that I should cut off the bottom of the wrap dress. (In her words, “to be a total badass.”)

But I didn’t want to cut off the bottom of the dress, because the truth is there’s nothing I like better than a midi length dress (or skirt).

But ever since that comment, I’ve been trying to deconstruct why.

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one dress, three necklaces: what to wear with an oversized striped dress

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bold comfortable style: oversized black and grey striped dress with one of a kind gemstone statement necklace

I’ve been reflecting a lot on my personal style since the one dress, thirty ways challenge, and if I could sum it up in two words, it would definitely be bold and comfortable. I want my style to be creative and interesting, but I want to be relaxed and cozy at the same time. And nothing in my description fits that bill more than this grey and black oversized striped dress. (Which actually made an appearance on Day 7 of the one dress challenge.)

I was reminded of just how much I love this dress when I wore it on the final day of a craft show I was at last weekend. Not only did I get a ton of compliments, but I was super comfy all day, even packing up the show and driving home. (Especially because I opted to wear it with a cute pair of sneakers.)

And while this dress is pretty fantastic on it’s own (it even has pockets), I think it’s even better when paired with the right necklace. And since I know it can be challenging to figure out what necklace to wear with a dress this bold, I thought I’d share three different options.

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the results: one dress, thirty ways, thirty days

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One month ago, I gave myself a challenge. Take this lackluster wrap dress (that I wanted to keep because it was super cozy) and come up with 30 creative ways to wear it.

one dress, thirty ways creative style challenge

And because I really like creativity within constraints, I gave myself a few other rules as well: I could only style the dress with pieces I already owned. I could only choose between two pairs of shoes. (Though in the end I pretty much wore the same pair every day, because that’s what happens when you find a pair of shoes you love.) And I could only wear two different necklaces. (Because as a jewelry designer, it would have been too easy to just go crazy in the jewelry department. But I wanted to show how you could make one or two investment pieces work with your whole wardrobe.)

So how did it go?

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one dress challenge, day 30: layered dresses, skirt, and chambray shirt

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one dress thirty ways challenge, creative layering: shirt dress and wrap dress over pleated skirt and chambray shirt with bold gemstone necklace

For the final day of my one dress, thirty ways challenge, I decided to wear ALL the layers. I really liked the way the stone in the bold Contra necklace looked with the chambray tunic I wore yesterday, so I knew I wanted to give it one more go for the challenge. I decided to pair it with the navy and white pleated skirt that has definitely become a favorite since this challenge started.

I originally planned to just wear the wrap dress as duster over the shirt and skirt and call it a day, but that somehow didn’t feel like enough for the final day of the challenge. So I opted to add the navy shirt dress I wore on Day 26 for one more layer. The result is that this outfit makes me feel like a total creative badass! (Which seems like the perfect way to end the challenge!)

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one dress challenge, day 29: chambray shirt and wrap dress as skirt

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one dress, thirty ways challenge, creative outfit inspiration: chambray shirt and wrap dress as skirt with bold gemstone necklace

Ever since I wore the plaid shirt over the wrap dress, I’ve been wanting to make a wrap skirt with the same cut as the dress. But since I’ve still got two more days in the challenge where I have to wear the dress (and haven’t had the time to sew a skirt anyway), I decided just to see if I could fold the dress in on itself and wear it as a skirt. (Without it looking too lumpy!)

The result is that I was able to wear it as a skirt with this chambray tunic. (Which would have never fit over the bulky sleeves of the wrap dress.) It’s exciting to think that, even 29 days into this challenge, I’m still coming up with new ways to wear this dress!

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one dress challenge, day 28: grey wrap dress, green shirt dress, and jeans

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one dress thirty ways creative style challenge: wrap dress as duster over shirt dress and jeans with chunky gemstone necklace

It’s sort of hard to believe I made it 28 days into this challenge before wearing a pair of jeans! I love jeans, and practically live in them, but I really wanted to force myself to do something different with this challenge. Still, I knew at some point I was going to want to style the dress as duster with a pair of jeans. (And to keep in the spirit of the challenge I opted to wear them with the green shirtdress I wore on Day 14. And I opted for the smaller Contra necklace, because it works so well in the neckline of that dress!)

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