So I’m finally finished with Kendi’s 30×30 challenge. The challenge was so much fun. I learned a lot about what looks good on my body and what doesn’t, and I especially enjoyed taking pictures everyday with my friend Amy.  All in all I’m really proud that I finished, and of all the things I learned along the way.

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From the challenge, I learned that food and fashion have more in common than I first though. Planning my wardrobe is actually a lot like planning my weekly menus.  My recipes taste best if I keep them simple and use great ingredients; similarly, I look my best if I limit the number of pieces in my closet to well-tailored basics and remember to garnish accessorize boldly.  I also discovered that lipstick and mascara are the salt and pepper of my wardrobe; they work as finishing touches to brighten up any outfit, but it takes practice to apply them tastefully.

I don’t mean to take the food/fashion comparisons too far, but this challenge led me to consider color and background in my food photography, just like I did in my outfit photographs.  It’s definitely a work in progress, but since the challenge I find that I am looking more creatively and critically at the visual components of my blog, particularly the photography.  (More on that later this week, when I talk about my blogging New Year’s resolutions.)

The best part of the 30×30 challenge was undoubtedly the other bloggers I met along the way.  I already knew how awesome fashion bloggers are thanks to my friends here in Austin, but spending a month in their shoes gave me a new level of respect for their work. Of the over 300 fellow remixers Kendi listed on her site, I interacted with at least 100.  I made lots of new friends and discovered that fashion bloggers are a supportive, smart group of women who have a lot to say!  Thank you, all, for your help and your comments throughout the challenge.

The most thanks goes to my photographer-extraordinaire Amy Russell for all her help with this project. Amy took time to take pictures of me almost every day, and her patience and creativity amaze me still. 🙂 We have so many wonderful pictures from this project, enough for dozens of great posts.  I’m planning to use another group of these for the second part of this recap, so stay tuned!