What to Wear This Spring
You know that moment when you’re standing in your closet wondering if any of this is gonna work?
This article is for those days when you stand in your closet for twenty minutes wondering what to wear and then end up putting on something that you don’t feel that great in. I get it! Every once in awhile, I still have those days and when I do I go back to the basics and think about my outfit formulas.Â
Outfit Formulas Make Getting Dressed Easier
I’m talking about how you can use outfit formulas to get past that. Because none of us have time to stand around trying to decide what to wear!Â
Here’s why this is important to me: your time is a precious resource. Not only that, but the gifts you bring to the world are unique; there is literally no one else who can do what you can do. I’m here to help you align the inside and the outside in a way that frees resources for you to do other more important things.
Five Steps to Your Perfect Outfit Formula
Step one: Choose your lifestyle segment.
Most days what do you want to wear? Maybe that’s not the best way to ask the question. Are there requirements for the level of care you take in your outfit for whatever you do every day? That’s not exactly it either. Let me give some examples: most of us either work in a business casual setting or work from or at home and get to establish our own dress code. The point being that you want to work with each type of setting and it’s associated wardrobe separately.
So, if your life is chasing toddlers, that’s the segment you’re planning for. If you are a CEO of a major corporation, you may need suits and formal business clothes. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. So identify the segment you want to work with first to create your outfit formulas.
Step two: decide how many pieces work best for you.
In the past, I’ve talked about three basic options.
- One piece: dress or jumpsuit, romper in the summer
- Two piece: pants or skirt plus top
- Three piece: pants, top, and layer or third piece
Of course there are other possible configurations but these can give you some ideas. It’s fine to use more than one, or even all three, but to keep things really simple you might want to use just one per lifestyle segment. For example, a present, my leisure wardrobe is mostly two piece, my every day smart casual or business casual is mostly three-piece, and everything dressier is just dresses.
Step three: Know and work within your silhouette.
Next you need to know what shape you were trying to make with your outfit. This is determined by your silhouette. Your silhouette is determined by the width relationship between your shoulders, waist, and hips. You don’t need to measure anything. There are six options: rectangle, oval, figure 8, hourglass, triangle, and inverted triangle.
You want your outfit formula to fit into the silhouette you choose. Two things you want to look at if you are DIYing all this:
- There is a pant shape that is going to be best for you
- There’s also going to be a waist shape that’s best for you
If this step is hard for you, because it’s kind of technical, just work with what you have or what you feel comfortable in.
Step four: consider your proportions.
Two things to consider … OK, never mind, proportion is pretty technical. The most important thing is that your outfits should not be 50-50. That is, one part of your outfit should be visually larger than the other.
Example: top talked into high waisted pants. Top is the small part, pants are the big part.
Another: shorts and sweatshirt. Shorts are the small part.
Step five: choose your shoes.
Your shoes should align with how dressy your lifestyle segment is. You can get by with only one color if it’s the color of your hair.
Build Yourself an Outfit Formula You Love
Homework is to build yourself an outfit formula that you love.
In review, here are the steps:
- Choose your lifestyle segment
- Decide how many pieces work best for you
- Know what shape you want to make with your outfit
- Avoid 50-50 proportions
- Choose the shoes that align with your lifestyle segment
Have fun playing dressup!
If you just want me to build your outfit formulas for you, an Outfit Formula Style Guide is included with the Style Discovery Journey called The Sabbatical. In this year-long deep dive into your Style DNA we co-create a signature style reflecting who you truly are so you can show up confidently and contribute your gifts to the world. Learn more on my services page.