If you're anything like me, Monday morning comes way too quickly after a weekend. Most of the time I pick my clothes out the night before a workday because I am not a morning person. Sometimes, though, I get sick of doing that or just feel plain uninspired. So what's a girl (or guy) to do in this case?
I may just have an answer to this dilemma. Choose a day off from work, grab yourself a beverage and some snacks (I like red wine with cheese and crackers). Then get some fast tunes playing and a Polaroid instant camera (if you only have a digital camera, that's okay; but then you'll also need a colour printer.)
Start putting together work outfits complete with jewelry, purse, and shoes. If you like an outfit a lot, put it on and get someone to take a photo of you in the outfit. Repeat. Feel free to write on each photo any details about the outfit you wish to remember and the date if you wish. Put the photos in a mini album or pin them on a bulletin board. These outfits will be your "go-to" outfits that you can reach for when you're uninspired--or too tired to pick something out. Now dressing for work will be easy.
Zeke is back on Friday with another Faux Paw he is tired of seeing.
Joelle
Do you have a lot of clothes but never seem to have anything to wear? If so, I may have the solution to your dilemma.
In pretty much every book on dressing well there is talk of creating a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe consists of basic clothes you can wear year after year and are the foundation on which you build the rest of your wardrobe.
First you need to pick a neutral colour which looks good on you, such as black, charcoal grey, chocolate brown, tan, navy, ivory, or cream. The most popular colours for a capsule wardrobe are black, chocolate brown, or charcoal grey.
Let's build a capsule wardrobe. First I will choose a colour--black.
The Basics Checklist
- Black three piece suit--blazer, pants, skirt.
- Black cardigan
- button-up blouse in white or off-white, depending on your skin tone
- black camisole
- black opaque tights
- dark denim jeans--the most versatile would be boot-cut.
- little black dress
Once all of the aforementioned items are crossed off your list, then, if you want, you can buy the items you bought in black in a new core colour such as brown, then charcoal grey and so forth.
When you are finished with the basics, then you can add diversity and pattern into your closet. These will be your add-on pieces. While your basics will work for each season, your seasonal add-on pieces will be in secondary colours. Just remember that for each new piece you add, make sure it goes with something you already own.
To show what I mean, I have chosen blues and purples.
Add-on Checklist
- Blue and purple printed dress (my example has black in it as well)
- Solid purple dress
- Printed skirt with purple on it
- Purple blazer
- Purple cardigan
- Printed or solid blouse in blue and purple
- Solid tanks in secondary colours--purple and blue
A good rule of thumb is to spend less on patterns than solids, because patterned clothing has fewer mix-and-match possibilities than solids.
And don't forget shoes! I used black as the core colour.
Basic Shoe Checklist
- Black high heels
- Black flats
- Nude heels
- Black boots (flat or heeled)
- Black booties
- Walkable black flats (canvas sneakers, sandals, or slip-ons)
And last but not least, please make sure you buy some good underwear. A piece of underwear can make or break an outfit.
Basic Underwear Checklist
- Seamless bra and underwear to match your skin tone
- Seamless strapless bra to match your skin tone
- Black seamless bra and underwear
- At least one set of matching bra and underwear in a fun colour (I love leopard print!)
- Foundation shorts for tummy control under tight dresses
- Half-slip to wear under skirts
- A full slip to wear under dresses
Hope this helps you to start having something great to wear each day!
Joelle
