Save Time Every Morning By Creating a Personal Uniform
I came across an article recently that revealed that women spend an average of 17 minutes each day choosing an outfit to wear to work. This comes to a shocking total of almost two hours per week, and four days per year!
To me, that seems like a massive waste of time. I get the impression that a lot of us are trying to figure out ways to save our time so that we can spend it doing the things we really want to do - and I’m guessing picking out outfits is not on anyone’s time priority list.
Simplifying your wardrobe is a great way to save time getting dressed every morning. I used to spend a lot of time choosing what to wear before I refined my personal style, and with that, my wardrobe. It was not only a matter of having less options, though I have to admit that does help, but it was more so a matter of learning what I really liked and worked for me and replicating those elements in as many pieces as possible.
Carolina Herrera’s signature look.
Uniforms in general are a great way to cut down the time we spend choosing what to wear, but not all of us like to wear the same thing every day - myself included. Though in truth, a lot of us already have a sort of style uniform: an outfit formula that we go to over and over again because it makes us feel put together, comfortable, and reflects our style.
Creating a personal uniform doesn’t have to mean that we wear the same thing every day; it just means that the pieces that make up our outfits remain, as they say, uniform. Though there are people who take this concept to the extreme, namely Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, women across all industries have done this just as effectively but with far more creativity.
Identifying your personal style uniform is not difficult. My guess is that it popped right in your head when you started reading this post. But just in case it didn’t, here are two easy ways to find yours:
Grab your three favorite outfits, the ones you wear often and make you feel your best. Are there are commonalities between those three?
Take a look at the outfits you wore in the last week. Chances are you have repeated an outfit formula more than once.
To be clear, you are looking for very broad definitions here. For example: T-Shirt + Skinny Jeans + Flats, or, Tunic + Leggings + Boots. I seem to have two style uniforms that appear over and over again. They are:
Sleeveless Top + Skinny Jeans + Any shoes
Sleeveless Top + Midi Skirt + Flat Shoes
Even if your personal uniform turns out to be very casual, you can find similar elements in pieces that allow you to dress appropriately for any occasion. For example, if you’ve identified that your personal uniform is a simple crew neck T-shirt with a pair of jeans, focus on finding pieces of similar cuts that fit a business setting. A comfortable pair of trousers in a cut that you like, with a knit short sleeve top in good condition will elevate your look easily, without costing you a lot of mental energy.
The key is to allow ourselves to not feel like we have to reinvent the wheel every time we get dressed. In fact, most people don’t, and nobody notices. Embracing my personal uniforms has allowed me to pick my outfits very quickly each morning, and I have to say, I have never regretted the change. If some of the most creative minds in fashion feel like it’s ok to wear the same thing every day, then so can we!