BY SARACH AND STEFITH
It’s hard to believe that this blog has been around for two years – it all started when Stefith thought Sarach’s nonsense would make entertaining reads, and the rest is history. Over 100 posts and 700+ days later, we’re still going strong.
To celebrate another year of #hpbdsarachstefith, we decided to try out something we saw on BuzzFeed – a style swap. For seven days, our outfits were chosen by each other, either as a swap (i.e. something the other would wear), or as an interpretation of one’s personal style by the other. We wouldn’t know what we’re wearing till the night before, as our outfits were chosen way in advance, in secret.
(We originally wanted to do a full-on closet swap, but we’re too different in terms of size for it to be practical, though we did exchange a few items).
Here’s what went down.
Well, what did you think? We obviously thought it was pretty fun (though we might not do it again). We’re really glad we’re back to choosing our own clothes, but it was quite the experience.
Did you have any “vision” in mind when you were choosing clothes?
Sarach: I was going to make her wear lots of floral skirts and dresses, and put her in more skirts to show off her feminine side. Also wanted to show off her figure but I didn’t really know what to do.
Stefith: My initial strategy was to go to her closet, close my eyes, and pull things out at random. Have you seen how stuffed Sarach’s wardrobe is? You can barely find anything without having to pull out about fifteen other things. How to browse like that?
Also Sarah complains that I have nothing in my wardrobe, so we pretty much had parallel problems.
I did want to give her a more androgynous style, similar to what I wear regularly, but nothing in her closet really worked with my ideas so I just made it up on the fly. #poorplanning
How did you feel about the swap before things got started?
Sarach: I thought I would be wearing black everyday and be somber and sad.
Stefith: I was utterly terrified, and also mildly concerned that after all this was over, there’d be no more #sarachstefith because we wouldn’t be friends anymore. As you can tell by this post existing, we’re still friends.
DAY 1
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: The entire point of this outfit is “how can I make her look like me?” Well, this is how. This is an outfit I’ve worn before, as you can see in this photo:
So I loaned her my shirt and I must say, I think she pulled it off rather well. I think the flowery top makes it feminine enough to suit her general flowers-and-rainbows personality, while still capturing my preference for pants most of the time.
Sarach: Initially, I had trouble finding where the front/back was because there was no tag! So I had to hold it up. Otherwise, I think the outfit overall is quite “me” still, in a sense that I like flowers and this is also my favourite pair of jeans. Only complaint was that, that day was super hot and the shirt material was not right for the weather.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: I THINK SHE LOOKS SUPER CUTE!!! Thought that maybe this outfit will attempt to accentuate her figure more but she tugged out slightly too much of her shirt, in my opinion.
Stefith: This was a pretty decent outfit. Florals aren’t usually my thing, but this skirt was subtle enough that it was pretty cool. It was a fairly comfy outfit, I was just annoyed that 1. I couldn’t sit cross-legged at the library and 2. There were no pockets. But all in all, not too bad.
DAY 2
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: I call this skirt her “popsicle” skirt, and this outfit was the result of just grabbing two things and hoping they’d work well together. It’s my style in the sense that I always pair something bright with something black, but this wound up being more “her” than anything else.
Sarach: I was surprised she put me in this. Maybe because it was just there and Stefith secretly likes the skirt. It’s almost what I would wear on a day when I don’t know what to wear – in other words, default outfit.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: Another day of Floral Bottoms. Also typical for me, and we also look alike???! (Even our style swapping has synced….)
Stefith: This was great. Black crop top, flowery shorts that are the comfiest things ever- basically, I spent the day feeling like I was wearing pyjamas. It was amazing.
DAY 3
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: I like this blouse. I would like to have a blouse like this, to be honest. I think this outfit is my take (using the items in her wardrobe) on my usual tendency for oversized tops and short shorts. Except she doesn’t really own short shorts, and has issues with the whole “long shirt and shorts” thing. Nevermind.
Sarach: I like this shirt a lot, but I never thought I would pair it with shorts. Most of the time, I’ll probably wear skinny jeans or tights but shorts isn’t that bad an idea after all! Although I might change it to a different shade of denim, probably a lighter shade, it was quite comfy and went great throughout the day!
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: Denim skirts are the new “hip” thing now right? So I found this in her closet and decided to make her wear it. I often pair my denim skirt with a camp tee, so why not I make her wear a camp tee I designed?
Stefith: First of all, she made me wear a shirt she designed. Second of all, she chose this denim skirt that has been rotting in the bottom of my closet since 2012. I was reminded why it’s been rotting for the last four years – IT IS WAY TOO LOOSE.
I didn’t have safety pins, so I resorted to binder clips to hold it in place. What a joke:
Conclusion: This skirt is going to the charity bin ASAP, lest I forget and actually wear it again in four years.
DAY 4
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: Originally, Rah was supposed to wear this shirt-dress thing I brought over from my own closet:
But her mother told her it was too short and she wasn’t allowed to leave the house like that, so I went for this white top and blue skirt thing instead. This is another result of randomly pulling things out of the closet, and I must say, it worked out quite well.
Also, she told me she doesn’t like pleats, so I made her wear a skirt with pleats.
Sarach: I think I only wore this skirt thrice, and bought it because the birds were cute and at that time, hi-lo skirts were the “in” thing. I do regret, to a certain extent, buying it because I am not a fan of pleats. So Stefith pulling it out and making me wear it, made me slightly self-conscious and uncomfortable, not just because of the pleats but also because of the hi-lo skirts.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: This was the ultimate dress man. Making her wear a dress is one thing, but floral and pink? WOAH it was pushing the boundaries. Also, it’s slightly tight for me so I figured it would fit great on her – which, of course, worked amazingly. It also screams “me” in a sense, because of its girly-girl, beach vibe and florals. I thought of making her wear boots like I did the last time, but she decided to go with slippers. It kind of fit and the black jacket just about gives the whole outfit an edge. You’ll never see her wear something like it again so take your time to look at it closely.
Stefith: This is the stuff of my nightmares. First of all, my boobs are not big enough to fill in the front. I felt extremely exposed, and utterly undignified. The amount of swearing I did that day was a sight to behold. My dignity was worth less than a packet of fish muruku (thanks to the boyfriend for coming up with that metaphor), and I was generally Most Uncomfortable in this dress.
Objectively, it’s a nice dress, and the cut was flattering on me. It’s just that it’s flowery and pink, two things that DO NOT go together in my world, and also resembled a bedsheet at my grandmother’s house.
I would gladly wear it… if it was black. If you find something similar in black, hit me up. I can be a punk pin-up girl, or something. Maybe.
DAY 5
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: You know what, at this point in choosing outfits I was just really tired and so I decided to just choose a dress because then, there’s no need to match. I just went for this plaid dress with a belt. I think it looks like something a schoolteacher would wear in some stereotypical stuffy British boarding school, but Rah pulls it off somehow.
Sarach: I wear this when I’m on intern. INTERN. It is also NOT MINE. I was quite annoyed with it because I had to go to church (lengthwise okay though), but not when I have to sit on the floor and interact with teenagers. A dress would not work.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: After a while, I didn’t know what to make her wear since her closet only has that many clothes… I added the belt thinking it might work but I guess it didn’t. Anyway, thought this outfit was safe and church-appropriate so why not?
Stefith: I have worn this dress everywhere. To work (even though my ex-colleagues call it a hospital gown), to school, to Japan:
Yup. So I was glad she chose it, and I was really comfortable. The only thing is that the belt didn’t really work – it’s a regular belt, not a high-waisted one, and I wound up looking like a garden gnome, so I didn’t bother with it in the end.
DAY 6
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: This was desperation because I was short of one outfit for her, due to the events of Day 4. However, I made do by throwing together something very me – a black t-shirt and jeans. I can be seen in this combination fairly often, and it’s my go-to outfit on the days I don’t know what to wear. So today was probably the day she was channeling my typical style the most.
Also, it wound up looking like her Bitmoji character. I’m surprised.
Sarach: Ah ha, the day where I get sad and somber because of the black. Kinda fit the mood because it was a Monday and Mondays are mostly gloom. So I spiced it up with my purple sneakers, otherwise it would be red, which also fit Stefith’s style of sports luxe.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: I have two shirts like this, one with a colourful elephant and another with feathers, which fit perfect! So I had to make her wear this one of the days. I would usually pair it with jeans, and since she was going to catch a movie, I thought I would make her wear this. Kind of my usual casual outfit as well, sleeveless tops and skinny jeans for a warm day.
Stefith: I generally don’t pair tank tops with jeans. I pair sleeveless blouses or muscle tanks with jeans, but not tank tops like these, which are usually reserved for BBQs or going to the beach. But it was pretty cool – it added a pop of colour to my outfit, without being too colourful, so it was pretty neat.
It also proved to me that I can wear tank tops to loads of other places as well, so yay.
DAY 7
SARACH’S OUTFIT:
Stefith: I tried to channel my “muscle tank and shorts” vibe with this outfit, so I picked out this long tank and shorts for her to wear. While the pattern of the tank isn’t what I’d wear, the entire style as a whole is very me.
Sarach: This outfit was probably a secondary school version of my style. Once again, the shirt is not mine. And long tanks are a past phase of my life I do not want to go back anytime soon. If not, it’s almost like what your normal university student would wear, just a shirt, shorts and sneakers.
STEFITH’S OUTFIT
Sarach: I obviously ran out of ideas, so I ended Style Swap with a grey. I would typically not wear the shirt since I am not fond of holes and awkward open backs, but she likes it. Also thought I’ll probably wear more shorts to school now, so I thought of this pairing.
Stefith: This was a great way to end off Style Swap, in an outfit that is perfectly me. I’ve worn this grey blouse to many places and in many ways, and especially with these black shorts. It’s one of my most comfortable combinations ever, so I was very pleased to end things off like this.
AFTER
Sarach: I must say that waiting every night to find out my outfit was semi-suspenseful. There were also days when I think “oh I could wear this tomorrow!” then realising my next day’s outfit was in the hands of someone else. Maybe that’s how pop stars feel when their designer chooses their clothes to wear. On one hand, I didn’t have to think that much but on the other, it was half-tortuous as I didn’t have the “freedom” to choose what to wear.
Stefith: You don’t realise how much you miss choosing your clothes until you can’t do it. You also realise how much of your self-esteem and personality is linked to what you wear – if you’re wearing something you’re not comfortable in, you generally feel like sh*t the whole day (cough the dress cough).
It was a pretty interesting experience, but we are never doing it again. We’re still friends, fortunately, so I’m afraid you’re still stuck with us.
What did you think of our Style Swap adventure? Let us know in the comments ;D
BY SARACH
Sarach & Stefith 