Having a simple, easy, functional wardrobe should help you save time and frustration each day. With these 10 steps, getting dressed becomes a “no-brainer”, but still lets you get creative with your choices. It’s just a matter of making the process simple. After getting into the habit of putting these 10 steps into your routine, it will become a normal part of your daily routine.
1) Start with an organized closet
Being organized from the beginning is the key here. Start with an organized closet. Everything in your closet should be in good condition, still current style, fit well, and be a flattering color. Then everything should be in separate sections according to different categories of your life. For example, you might have sections for work clothes, nice casual clothes, and at-home casual clothes. Then within each section, put tops together, pants together, etc. Then each category should be colorized, such as white tops together, then yellow, etc.
2) Pick out your outfit the night before
Always pick out your outfit the night before. This is one of the biggest time savers for your morning. If you wait till morning, it will probably take an extra 30 minutes to figure it out and iron your clothes. You don’t want to have to rush through this too much.
3) Check the weather
The first thing to consider when picking out an outfit is the weather. You will save time and be more comfortable for the next day if you check and make sure you’re not dressed too hot or too cold. Also, for a rainy day, you might want to forget about wearing heels or suede. In other words, be prepared!
4) Check your calendar
You definitely need to check your calendar to know what types of things you have going the next day. You need to know so you’re dressed appropriately for whatever you’re doing. Suppose you have a dressy event and a casual event on the same day. You should probably dress for the dressiest event. It’s better to be over-dressed than under-dressed. Of course, if you have time to change in between, that would be best.
5) Go to appropriate section in your closet
Depending on whether you are needing work clothes or casual clothes, go to the section that you need. As I said before, if you have several things going on in the same day, pick an outfit that fits the dressiest activity for the day.
6) Start with a top, a bottom, or an accessory
Here is where you get to be creative. Everything in your closet should be grouped with like items. There is several different ways you can put together an outfit. You could start with a top and find something to go with it. Or you could pick a pair of pants or skirt and then pick a top to go with that. Another way to be creative is to pick out some jewelry that you love and pick out a great top that would show it off. If you really want to wear a particular pair of shoes, you could start with the shoes and then pants or a skirt that would look great with it. These are all really good ways to mix and match the items in your wardrobe.
Tip: I like to rotate my clothes to make sure I don’t wear the same thing all the time and make sure that I wear everything I have. To do this, I go to the section I need for the day, pick the top to the left (if it’s appropriate for the weather and activity), then I pick the pants to go with it. After the item gets washed, it goes to the right of the section that it belongs in. I know this sounds silly, but I’ve talked to a lot of other people who do this, so I guess it must be a good idea to try.
7) After picking top and bottom, pick shoes, purse, and accessories
There’s more to an outfit than just a top and bottom that go together. To really make a great outfit, you need to add the right shoes, purse, and accessories. You can really get creative here with what you choose. You can dress it up or dress it down. You can make it more comfortable, if necessary, with flat shoes instead of heels. There’s lots of possibilities and you can really make it look like you have a lot of clothes when you mix and match in lots of different ways.
8) Add a sweater or jacket, if necessary
Again, it’s part of being prepared ahead of time. Also, by adding a cardigan or jacket, your outfit looks more interesting. Sometimes it’s a good idea to dress in layers. You can always take off the sweater or jacket when you need to.
9) For the super-organized, pick an option B
Sometimes even with perfect planning, you might put on an outfit the next morning and realize you just don’t feel like wearing what you picked out. Or you might notice a stain or tear and you need something else asap! That’s why it’s always good to have another option and it’s really not a waste of time because if you don’t wear your option B, you’ll have something else ready for the following day. In other words, be ahead of the game and always have two outfits ready instead of one.
10) Iron and put everything together for the next morning
Last but not least, you will probably need to iron your outfit for the next day. Then, to make the next morning go really smoothly, hang everything together, even your accessories. Also, if you’ve managed to pick out an outfit that you really like and want to remember in the future, take a picture of it and save it on your smartphone for reference, or write your great outfit ideas down on paper or index cards.
So, there you have it. In 10 quick steps you will have a great outfit and be ready for your morning. It really should only take about 15-20 minutes to get through this process, especially after you get in the habit. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can get ready in the morning. You won’t even have to think about it. Just enjoy your coffee and have a great day!
Top from Ralph Lauren, Pants from Banana Republic