SHOP MY OUTFIT: boots | jeans | top | denim jacket
I went to private school for 13 years. When I showed up for college, I wore my roommate’s clothes for the first two weeks. I had some clothes. But, by “some”, I mean a couple pairs of ratty jeans, my old uniform shoes, a pair of boots, three t-shirts, and a couple hoodies. That was my closet. After over a decade of wearing the same plaid skirt every day, I didn’t even realize that I was missing “normal” people clothes.
Now, out in the “adult” world where even more action happens, a uniform has become even more important to me. I have long days and longer to-do lists. I don’t want to waste my time in the morning staring at my closet. So, I’ve discovered some helpful things to help streamline your clothes. The goal of a personal uniform is no matter which way you cut it and mix and match, you always look great.
Stick to a color palette for everything.
This takes some trial and error as it’s hard to know which colors to put in your color palette until you know which colors best suit you. For me, with pale skin, auburn hair, and blue/green eyes, I know that my best colors are going to be blues, purples, and reds with my worst colors being yellows and oranges.
It also helps to know whether or not you want your neutrals to be warm-toned or cool-toned. Obviously, you can opt for both, but when you’re just putting together your uniform, it can help to stick to one over the other. The goal is to simplify your closet so you can pick any items and have them compliment each other.
Once you’ve decided which colors work best and which color tone to gravitate towards, you can put together a cohesive color palette. Only keep and/or buy clothing items that fit within this palette for easy looks every time.
Focus on the staples and THEN fill the in-between.
It’s much easier to finish a puzzle once you’ve put together the boarder. Same with your closet. Assess what you have, what you’re missing, and what is no longer needed. Donate the clothes you don’t wear or need right away so you only have what you’re going to work with.
Next, check off your basic staples. Here are mine:
- V-neck t-shirts: 1 in each neutral color (white, black, and navy)
- White blouse
- Sweater
- Cardigan
- Dress
- Jeans
- Work pants
- Shoes (my staple are these plain black loafers)
- Black heels (these are super comfy)
From there, you can fill in any extras you may need, such as a more formal dress that works for weddings (and funerals), shirts that are patterned (such as this striped one), different kinds of denim, shoes for various situations (such as riding boots for fall and sandals for summer).
Fill-ins and extras are unnecessary. Quite the opposite. Instead, these are items that are more likely to show off some of your character and personal taste. They can vary widely in appearance. Once you have your staples organized, you can easily determine which extras are coming in next and what style to go for.
Have a variety without having too much.
I’m a huge fan of downsizing your closet. It’s easy to get carried away in the age of Instagram that you need to have this massive closet, avoid repeating outfits, and be buying new every season. In reality, most of the big-time Instagrammers are gifted most of that clothing. For some, it’s literally their job to create new and exciting outfits. The point is that it’s not realistic or helpful to have a massive closet when you’re trying to work a personal uniform.
Most of the time, creating a successful personal uniform is about limiting choices. We work best with 2-3 choices instead of 10-20 because our brains don’t get overwhelmed and fall into the “I have nothing to wear” mode.
The ideal variety would be to have 1-3 standout pieces. You can choose what type they are. I tend to make formal occasion things my standouts because I don’t wear them that often and when I do, it’s extra special. Shoes, handbags, and jewelry are also great options for standout pieces. A standout piece can be anything that may deter from your uniform “rules”, like being outside your color palette or, for example, if you have a subdued closet, opting for something bright and colorful.
