Warning: This post is very long. I have no idea why it’s so long. It just is.

Previously I’ve done an entire week wearing J.Crew/Madewell clothing. I don’t own that much of any other brand family, but I wanted to try something similar with some other brands that I tend to gravitate towards. So my theme for this week is each day my outfit is built from a single brand.

What I wanted to do is see how well the pieces from a brand pair with their other pieces. Most of the items were purchased at separate times, in separate seasons, and I am actually pretty limited with the options I have. So it was my goal to see if random pieces from the same brand still felt cohesive as a single outfit. I’m not sure whether it was just because of the specific personal style I have, and thus the specific pieces I’ve chosen, or because the brands I buy from are actually pretty cohesive and thoughtful, but my outfits this week really didn’t feel too out there or unkempt.  I’m pretty proud of that fact, considering I literally own a single dress and a single pair of shoes from several of the brands I used this week. On some of the outfits, I did try to incorporate jewelry, but only if the jewelry was purchased from that brand, so I really did try and stay true to my ‘1 brand per outfit’ rule this week.

One thing I did notice this week was how different, and sometimes how similar, brands feel to each other. When I’m only wearing one brand one day, then a different brand the next, you can get a much better sense of contrast between the fashion statements these two brands are trying to make with their clothing.

I’ll get a little more into the specifics below, in terms of quality and style, of the brand that I picked for that day.

This theme brought out more thoughtfulness from me about clothing choices and styling than they usually do, which I really enjoyed. Hope you do, too!

Disclaimer: at some point, this post starts to seem like I’m a shill for several brands. I promise I’m not. I just like my clothes and want people to be aware of brands they could like, too.

Monday: CALVIN KLEIN

This outfit was so simple. And I think it actually worked really well together. I own a single dress and 2 pairs of shoes from Calvin Klein, so it partially comes down to luck that this outfit looked good. What I do notice about the few pieces I have from Calvin Klein is that they all seem to be slight variations on staple items. These green suede heels are a perfect work shoe, but the color makes them a little interesting. This pink sheath dress is a beautiful suede-like material, and amazing quality, but the material and the color make it more interesting than just a neutral white or black sheath dress. I’m going to bet that the fact that is outfit works comes down to the thoughtful choices Calvin Klein makes with their pieces. I really commend them on that.

 Dress: Calvin Klein, Shoes: Calvin Klein

Tuesday: LULU’S

Okay, this one was total luck that it worked. And I’m not even sure it’s technically work appropriate. The dress, which I can only describe as goth-prairie chic, is arguably not a work dress, and the sandaled heels while cute, I would not have worn in the first several months of working at the Bank before I consciously chose to push the boundaries and relax my style a bit. Additionally, I happen that have this cute rose gold bracelet that paired fairly well with the look. And while I, personally, like this look quite a lot.. I realize it could have not worked out. Lulu’s clothing items are all over the board. I have several very casual summer dresses from this brand that would never be appropriate for work. I think we can attribute the success of this outfit to my own personal choices in items and also my general purposeful ignorance of standard dress code guidelines.

 Dress: Lulu’s, Shoes: Lulu’s, Bracelet: Lulu’s

Wednesday: EVERLANE

Ah, god I love Everlane. This is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite brands to purchase high-quality staples from. It’s actually replacing J.Crew as my initial go-to staple shopping site. This is partially due to the fact that I think Everlane’s younger style fits my personal style better, and also because of the gradual decline in quality I’ve seen from J.Crew (without the corresponding decrease in price) over the years. I own several pairs of jeans from Everlane, a couple tops, this pair of work pants, and a single pair of shoes. While I would not have chosen either pair of jeans to wear today, I could have worn any of the shirts and they’d look great. Everlane is amazing at cohesive, basic pieces. With a few exceptions, the entire purpose of their brand is to make quality wearable pieces that make outfits simple to put together.

Also, these work pants are the greatest things of my life. Cannot recommend them more to the ladies in my life. I also regularly purchase Jack clothing from Everlane, so it’s good for men, too! I will get off my Everlane soapbox now.

 Top: Everlane, Pants: Everlane, Shoes: Everlane

Thursday: ANTONIO MELANI

This is another example of me owning very few pieces from a single brand. I think I own this dress, maybe a single shirt, and this pair of shoes from Antonio Melani. And yet, I love every single piece I own by them. The black dress is probably a little heavy for summer, but it doesn’t bother me since I walk to work and change when I get there. And these shoes really are gorgeous. They’re beautiful and feminine and surprisingly comfortable. The only time I really run into this brand is when I’m shopping in the Council Bluff’s Dillard’s Clearance store (RIP), so I don’t get to buy pieces often. But I would definitely be happy to have more.

Dress: Antonio Melani, Shoes: Antonio Melani

Friday: ASOS

ASOS is my chaotic good, wildcard store. This store is fast-fashion, and they have SO MUCH STUFF. I own tons and tons of weird things from ASOS, but because it’s a general retailer, they actually sell things from many, many brands, not just ASOS. So while I have purchased just like… an obscene amount of pieces from the store itself, I have a limited number of actual ASOS branded items. I tried to make an outfit from only ASOS branded things. Who knows how well I did. It doesn’t help that I only own a single pair of shoes with ASOS brand, and they certainly are not a neutral, so this one was tough considering how much money I’ve given to them over the years. Also.. I think there was a stain on the mirror when I took this photo on Friday. I promise that discoloration isn’t on the dress.

Dress: ASOS, Shoes: ASOS, Necklace: ASOS