IS THE uniform THE response TO morning STYLING STRUGGLE?

Is the uniform the response to morning styling struggle?

Posted by Aloïs Guinut on Friday, September 11, 2015 · 20 Comments 

7 am, your phone rings. Time to wake up. Like every morning, you stare at your wardrobe, wondering which of all those clothes you are gonna jump in to be prepared for the day.

If you are working in an market where most of the employees are suited up men, you want to wear an outfit that says that you are just as powerful as your male counterpart. If you are working in fashion or advertising, your goal may be to thrill you colleagues as well as clients with your excellent styling capacities.

Regardless what you do, styling yourself is a moment that requires both time as well as energy. You can think about this beeing a great innovative thing to do in the morning however you can likewise see it as a source of anxiety as well as a waste of reflexion.

As a personal stylist, I assist my clients make this styling routine easier by creating automatisms in color as well as shape pairing. By doing so, I want to assist them transform a previously annoying responsibility in a fun moment.

But at the end, yes, even when you understand exactly how to do stuff, even if you have great deals of pre-matched outfits in your head, morning styling still takes time. At least a bit.

That’s why some powerful men like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg decided to gown precisely the exact same everyday.

I hear you thinking: ” ok however Zucky is not exactly a style icon is he? (indeed not) In my task I will never be taken seriously if I do this.”

Assuming you work in a bank, as a lawyer, as an engineer : aren’t your male colleagues wearing precisely the exact same thing everyday? indeed THIS thing: a SUIT. Therefore, by doing the exact same there is no reason you would not be taken seriously.

Same in a less formal work environement like a institution or an administration. Some people gown nearly the exact same daily as well as it does not make them any less professional. That may be the geek of the informatic departement, a Zucky look alike, always in jeans as well as printed T-shirts or the 50’s something lady at the accounting, who decided to wear pencil dresses with cardigans daily of her life. Ok, these are no stylish examples, however there is no reason you can not make your extremely own stylish uniform.

Assuming you work in a innovative field: advertising, fashion, design, architecture, art, photography, etc.  You may believe styling yourself in a innovative method is proof that you are undoubtedly a innovative as well as tasteful individual. True. however making a statement in dressing the same, is just an similarly powerful styling choice. As long as the uniform is well chosen of course. It has to fit your personality, represent your work, match your way of life as well as flatter your body.

Like Phoebe Philo (see cover).

How to do you figure out what everyday uniform is made for you is the concern I’ll try to response today.

What is my meaning of an uniform?

“When you state uniform, do you indicate like, a institution uniform? precisely the exact same piece of garments everyday?” you may wonder.

For me, the definition, is broader than it sounds at very first sight.

I think about men’s fit being a uniform: always the exact same shape everyday.

And, to me, always wearing a knee long gown with pumps is likewise a uniform, no matter exactly how different the dresses look from one another.

My meaning of a uniform is a work wardrobe where you might randomly pick a top, a bottom as well as shoes creating an always matching outfit.

The crucial thing is that you do not have to believe in the morning. Not a second.

In choosing the uniform, the very first thing you must do is define who you are as well as what picture you want to communicate.

1. The style

When you state uniform, what comes to mind is instantly a minimal style à la Céline.

Indeed, most of the women who think about going for the uniform solution work in environements where this would be the most proper choice.

Furthermore, minimal items are the easiest to mix as well as match with no danger of failing.

But perhaps your personnality doesn’t feel minimal at all. Or doesn’t feel comfortable dressed in minimal clothes.

You might be someone who lives in maxi dresses as well as big neckaces. only this. Every of your dresses would match every of your necklaces as well as that would be your own personal uniform.

Or you might be so rock you would wear only black skinnies, T-shirts, knits, sweaters, biker jackets, men’s coats, brogues as well as ankle boots. whatever might be mixed as well as matched as well as that would be your uniform.

Or you could… ok I believe I made my point ^^

2. The shapes

In order to make the random mix as well as match possible. The shapesof your wardrobe shall always be the same. Or at least extremely close: like fluid tops skinny pants/pencil skirt.

And if you are to wear the shape shapes everyday, they’d much better be making you look fabulous.

 – The top as well as bottom option

Choose a top, a bottom as well as a shoe shape that suits you perfectly. pick one type for the summer, one type for the winter. add a jacket if required your work environnement.

Complete with a wintertime coat as well as a mid season coat.

For instance, if you are a busty girl, chubby in the midsection with long legs as well as skinny ankles, you might go for fluid tops with soft decolletage as well as fitted 7/8 pants. In winter, your top would be soft cashmeres. If needed, you would top them with a fluid jacket. For your feet you would have the option between pumps, heeled ankle boots as well as a pair of flats. as well as that would be your uniform.

– The gown option

Choose a gown shape that suits you completely as well as is proper for your job. If they all fit you, if your jobs allows every style, that’s ok too.

Choose dresses for every season (light, warm, long sleeves, sleeveless, etc).

Choose shoes for every season. They shall match every dress, so go for basics.

Choose a mid-season coat as well as a wintertime coat that matches every dress.

As a result, your uniform might be a gown plus a pair of shoes. No matter exactly how different the dresses are you would be “the woman in dresses” as well as that would ended up being your uniform.

3. The colors as well as prints

Minimal is once again what very first comes to mind when you believe of an uniform. A palette of neutrals like grey, beiges, black, navy, white, etc. as well as no prints.

Truth is, this is the wiser option if you go for the top as well as bottom choice (with the gown option, you can go as crazy as you feel).

This way, you are sure every color/print matches the other.

However this is possible to include colors as well as even prints in your uniform.

For this you have two options

– The fun vs neutral option

A basic equation.

Fun tops + fundamental bottoms + fundamental shoes = uniform

Basic top + fun bottoms + fundamental shoes = uniform

Basic top + fundamental bottoms + fun shoes = uniform

In other words: in your wardrobe only one of the items that makes an outfit can have the fun factor. when you’ve picked which, stick to it.

Otherwise that is not a uniform anymore as well as you are back to reading me on a routine basis to figure out exactly how to mix as well as match those crazy stuffs in your closet. Which is loads of fun ^^

– The color palette option

Every season pattern gourous come out with the color of the season as well as the colors it shall be matched with (for the record, this year’s color is “Marsala”). This creates a magical “color palette” made of primary colors as well as accents where whatever matches whatever as long as you respect the proportions (use great deals of the primary colors as well as bits of the accents as their names imply). issue is: those colors are ephemeral as well as you most likely won’t discover them in shops the year after.

Another type of gourou also creates color palettes: the picture expert gourou. According to your skintone, hair as well as eye color, he classifies you as a “soft autumn woman” or as “cool summer woman” and gives you a color palette made of colors that you may not discover in stores since they are not trendy ideal now or that may not match your personnality.  (Even if, as a style coach, I agree that some colors may flatter somebody a lot more than others, I believe that these rules are as well challenging to comply with in daily life.)

You can get inspired from these two theories to produce your extremely own color palette.

In order to make it easy, I suggest you to stick with generally neutrals as well as add a few accents that both fit you as well as your style as well as will be always simple to discover in stores.

For instance, you might have a work wardrobe made of greys, white, navy, beige as well as hints of greens as well as yellows.

Many personalities have their uniform that make them instantly recognizable. Others are chameleons.

I am a lot more of a chameleon I guess. perhaps I’ll discover my “color” when I’ll grow older?

And you? Do you feel like wearing a uniform?

Greetings from Elizabeth as well as her pastel outfits (since june 1953)!

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