Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Work-life balance: Wardrobe


I realised within a few days of starting my job that when you're getting up and your spouse is still asleep, stomping around your bedroom getting dressed at 6am is fun for precisely no one in your house. You're stuck trying to find clothes in the dark, your husband's peaceful slumber is over, and your cats are wishing you were getting dressed in the bathroom so they could nuzzle your legs and get their fur all over your clothes.

My solution is to get the next day's outfit ready the night before, something that I've never really liked but is basically necessary in this situation. I don't tend to be terribly inspired right before I go to bed. Here's a list of what I do to keep my outfits fun, appropriate, and quick to put together.


1. Check the weather forecast!
This seems like a no-brainer, but you don't want to end up ruining your wool jacket in the rain or eschewing layered tights when the high is minus 4.



2. Pinterest
If you don't have a pinterest account yet, I'm terribly sorry. I use it pretty much daily, especially for outfit inspiration. If you're after a look featuring pants or the colour eggplant, you can often find success in searching the whole website or your own fashion pinboard.
You can even be your own pinterest by keeping a list of favourite outfits. I've pinned some of my own favorite office ensembles, and I've gone through old outfit photos for this blog more than once. An added bonus is that unless you purge often, you already own all the pieces! ;)

 3. Capsule collection on post-its
You might want to try matching post-its, flash cards, or small photos of each item together to make outfits. They might not always work in real life, but they can help narrow your focus (to work clothes, winter clothes, etc.) when you have a big closet, and if you have a smaller closet it can make it easier for you to mix things up. Try it on the weekend - it's can be time-consuming, but often it's because it's hard to stop!


4. Extra outfits
I've taken to laying out more than one outfit when I'm not sure how I'll be feeling in the morning. It can be nice to be able to choose between a skirt or pants or black versus colour, or even combine elements of both outfits if something isn't working.

Hope these ideas help you out!

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