7 Day Challenge: My Yak Wool V-Neck Has Endless Versatility

Will anyone notice if I wear this sweater all week?

Less Is More: When Curating Your Closet Simplifies Life

Introducing my 3-part blog series that navigates how to honor your style and taste while consuming less fast fashion.

Learn about the benefits of adding an Oliver Charles sweater to your closet, creating a capsule wardrobe, and practicing conscious consumption.

For the first part of the series, I take on the Oliver Charles 7 Day Sweater Challenge to highlight how my new All-Season V-Neck simplifies life.

• 7 Day Sweater Challenge
• Capsules, Creativity, And Me
• Conscious Consumption

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As a general statement, I’m an active person. I work out every day, I’m a ballet instructor, and I’m the mother of a fast-moving two-year-old. Having recently switched from antiperspirant to a “natural” deodorant choice, my armpits are also a little more active than they used to be.

On top of all this, I live in Southern California, where our winters rarely dip below 50°F, and it's not quite winter yet, so it's still climbing to the 80s. What better time to commit to wearing a sweater for a week straight?

I did have two things going for me–firstly, I’m frequently cold, especially indoors, so I find myself covering up more than your average Angeleno, and secondly, we are in the depths of summer coastal foggy days.

For the uninitiated, this is essentially a weather pattern that haunts Southern California in the summer, causing cloudy skies and lower temperatures.

Atmospheric woes aside, I was interested to see if I could go through a week of wearing my new Sage Green All-Season V-Neck without one of these issues: a) overheating, b) making my sweater stink, or c) running out of outfit ideas.

Upon first inspection of the product, I was impressed by the quality of the knit and feel of the yak wool. It seemed durable but still pleasantly soft. However, what initially stood out the most was the smell.

Usually, clothes fresh from the factory have either no smell or some kind of mildly offputting stale scent.

Conversely, my new sweater had a nice aroma; the light, fresh essence was barely detectable. It was unexpected, and I quite liked it.

Before trying it on, I was concerned that the arms would be too tight, but this turned out to be unfounded: the sweater fit me perfectly.

I was further pleased by the weight of the garment, and I had a gratifying Goldilocks moment that so rarely occurs when trying on clothes: “Just right.”

Mixing Up My Mom Uniform With Yak Wool

When I work, I am either typing in front of a computer at home or walking around a ballet studio. The rest of my time is spent corralling a feral toddler, doing pilates, and making sure my house doesn’t look like a category 5 hurricane blew through it.

As such, most days involve black leggings, and a rotating roster of t-shirts, tank tops, and long sleeves, depending on the season.

However, with the prospect of wearing the same top for an entire week, I set off to find a way to make it look different from day to day.

Monday dawned gray and cool, with temperatures in the mid-60s. The first day of my challenge involved leaving the house for a mommy-and-me dance class and a trip to Trader Joe’s.

Since I take the dance class alongside my daughter, I decided not to stray too far from my typical attire and opted for black leggings, a tank top, and my Sage Green All-Season V-Neck on top.

My Mondays get sweaty, and I was sure I’d find myself peeling off the sweater within the first half of my daughter’s class.

To my surprise, and thanks to the performance of yak wool, I never overheated and made it through the dance class and the shopping trip without needing to de-layer, even when the sun blasted out of the stubborn cloud wall around noon.

I was further impressed when I arrived home and dragged two full bags of groceries, one dance bag, and one strong-willed toddler into the house all in one go without any pit stains. I refuse to take multiple trips and that yak wool is so high quality.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I teach ballet for several hours in the afternoon and into the evening. My students were preparing for their end of year performance, so my classes required me to demonstrate new choreography alongside my typical duties of instructing and correcting the dancers.

I started my first class with my sweater stylishly tied around my shoulders because 4:00 pm is, shockingly, the hottest point of the day here in Los Angeles, but by the end of my shift, I was glad I had it with me.

Night (and the temperature) had fallen, and I was impressed that the same sweater I wore in full sun on Monday afternoon kept me comfortably warm as I walked to my car on a chilly Tuesday night.

I absolutely love anything that can serve a dual function, and residing in Los Angeles means that living space is a premium product.

My closet is built out as a small capsule. As such, I only purchase multi-purpose clothing that I will use repeatedly.

Happily, within two days of wearing my Oliver Charles sweater, I am confident it has earned its place in my capsule wardrobe.

Staying Cozy At Home While Staying Professional

Wednesday was a full day at home with my daughter. This involves cooking, cleaning, and doing as much writing as my three-foot-tall boss allows.

My lovely Sage Green sweater, served as a cozy outer layer for the day paired with some casual black pants. I only removed it for my at-home Pilates class, which got me good and sweaty.

Feeling clammy after my workout, I slid back into my sweater. Thankfully, yak wool's unique ability to be both breathable and insulating warmed me up without smothering me, but I was a little concerned about the potential olfactory consequences of putting it on myself post-workout.

Luckily, my fears were baseless, and my sweater remained odorless for the rest of the week despite repeated performances of sweat and exertion while wearing it.

As well as it performed during my bouts of activity, I was equally enamored with the comfort I enjoyed while wearing the garment lounging at home.

My sweater is 3D-knit, and there are no seams and the wool, contrary to my past experiences, is soft rather than itchy.

A Truly Versatile Layering Piece For All Seasons

Like any good millennial, I was raised by magazines that told me the most important function of my outfit was its ability to go “from day to night.”

It was easy to pair my regular athleisure bottoms with an Oliver Charles sweater during my weekday adventures, but how would it hold up as a staple within an actual outfit? Was this the fabled piece of clothing the profits of Seventeen magazine foretold of in the year of our Lord, 2005?

All jokes aside, it actually is. I paired it with a white dress and heels for a weekend event and wore it both as a sweater and as a shrug around my shoulders at different points.

My Sage Green All-Season V-neck Sweater works as a casual top on days when I’m knocking around at home, but it also serves as a chic outer layer with dresses, skirts, and jeans.

I love that Sage Green color is vibrant but still easily matches the existing pieces in my wardrobe, and anything that I can pair with leggings and sneakers one day and a dress and heels the next is a win in my book.

By the end of the week, my sweater still smelled nice, I wasn’t tired of wearing it, and nobody had noticed that I wore the same top for seven days in a row.

I rarely felt too hot, even though I live in a warm climate, and the shape and weave of the garment held up with no snags, stains, or smells.

Ultimately, I loved forcing myself to come up with different clothing combinations to create an outfit centered around my new Oliver Charles sweater.

My sweater is attractive enough to be the star of any ensemble while remaining a functional and technical piece that serves active, sweaty people quite well.

As a fashion minimalist, I buy maybe one or two pieces of new clothing per year, and sometimes none at all. I am not in the habit of recommending products, but this Oliver Charles sweater is a must-buy in my book.

Look no further if you need a beautiful, functional mid-layer that serves multiple purposes.

If you believe that every good wardrobe starts with owning less and owning better, consider buying yourself an OLIVER CHARLES sweater.