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We’ve all been there: you need to leave your house, but you still aren’t dressed. Instead, you’re standing in front of your closet with no idea what to wear. Or if you even have anything to wear in the first place.
The good news is that it’s a problem that we can (and will) fix today.
Why Getting Dressed Takes So Long in the First Place
Before we can fix this problem, let’s talk about how we got there in the first place. Most of the problems are things that we addressed in this post, but we’re going to do a quick refresher:
- There are too many options and you have no way to filter through all the noise.
- You have a ton of amazing, unique pieces, none of which work together.
- There are a ton of “almost right” pieces, but since none of them are actually right, you never want to wear them.
- You’re already exhausted by making too many decisions and this is just another decision you have to (but don’t want to) make.
The Real Fix: A System, Not More Clothes
Similar to the problem in my “Why You Have Clothes, But Nothing to Wear” post, the solution is NOT to go shopping. Shopping is only going to make the problem worse and make your closet even harder to look through.
The solution is actually to get rid of all the guessing and create a system of three to five outfit formulas. That way when you get dressed in the morning, you only need to pick a pre-made formula instead of building a whole outfit from scratch.
How to Build a Set of Outfit Formulas That Work for You
So how do you actually build an outfit formula? It’s pretty easy. Think about what you already wear. For me, it’s normally jeans, a tee, and flats, so that would be my typical daily uniform. For work, your formula might be a dress, blazer, and heels. It’s typical to have a few different formulas, especially if you work outside of your home.
If you’re not sure where to start, make formula’s for these three instances: work, weekend, casual errand.
Below are my examples for each:
Left (Errands): Tee + Jeans + Loafers
Middle (Weekend): Sweater Blazer + Top + Jeans
Right (Work): Long Sleeve Top + Skirt + Boots
For each formula, aim for three pieces (remember when I talked about “the ralph lauren rule“?). Remember, these formulas should be what you already wear, not what you aspire to wear. The point of doing these formulas is to make your life easier, so you want to design them around what you already have.
Finally, either write down your formulas (like your notes app in your phone) or take pictures. You can even take pictures of some of your outfits. You just want to make sure you remember your formulas and you don’t need to keep coming up with them.
How to Organize Your Closet So Getting Dressed Is Faster
One thing I always do for my clients is help them reorganize their closet (after we do a cleanout) so they have an easier time finding things. The system I use is easy to follow and remember:
- Organize items by categories (and keep it simple): tops, skirts, pants, dresses, and outerwear (sweaters, blazers, and jackets). For outerwear, some people prefer to divide up this category. For instance, if you have a lot of blazers and three sweaters, blazers may get their own category.
- Within each category organize by length. For example, for tops it would look like this: tank tops, short sleeve shirts, and then long sleeve shirts. Skirts would go mini, midi, then maxi.
- Within each of those length categories organize by color: white, rainbow, brown, and finally black.
Once your closet is organized this way, it’s easy to remember where things go and where they are when you’re looking for them. I’m a big proponent of doing a cleanout as you’re reorganizing, so make sure to get rid of anything you don’t (and won’t) wear and any of those “almost” pieces. If you’re hesitant about getting rid of the “almost” pieces, make a list as you go of what needs to be replaced. For instance, if you need a camisole to wear under tops but you dislike the one you currently have, make a note to look for one that you actually like. In case this sounds like a lot of work, this is another thing I would do for clients. I’ll make that list and then I’ll find the replacement items for you. This is why hiring a personal stylist can be money and time saving: you can get what you want accomplished without having to do the work!
The Night Before (or Sunday Night) Habit That Changes Everything
The best way to guarantee that you’ll get dressed faster in the morning? Prep your outfit the night before. If you’re really a planner, put together your outfits on Sunday night. Then hang that outfit (or outfits) and the front of your closet so you can grab or go. Make sure that you check your calendar and the weather so you can ensure that your outfits will actually work for that day. If you do all five on Sunday night, then you can swap out outfit days if your plans or the weather changes.
Now, I totally get hitting the end of your day and doing anything feels like climbing a mountain. So take this in baby steps. Commit to making an outfit the night before just once or twice a week. Once you realize how much time you’re saving you might realize that you actually want to do it every night (or every Sunday).
However, if you’re finding that the outfits you put together the night before aren’t working, it’s time to reevaluate. But, you’re not going to reevaluate the whole system, you’re going to look at what exactly isn’t working. Start with these three questions:
- Are your formulas actually outfits you wear on a daily basis?
- Does your outfit never actually line up with your plans?
- Are you always dressed for the wrong weather?
There’s a good chance that one of those three things is the reason it’s not working. Luckily, all of those are easy fixes (for instance, actually look at what the weather is going to be before you make your outfit).
What to Do When the Formula Stops Working
Now, sometimes your system stops working and it has nothing to do with those three questions. This tends to happen with larger life changes. A new job, new season, body fluctuations, a new job: all of these are reasons your system may have stopped working. It happens to everyone, so you’ll likely have to evaluate your system at some point.
Before you get frustrated and start shopping again (shopping immediately is never the solution), sit down and figure out what isn’t actually working. Does your work formula not fit your new job? Are you pregnant and some of your clothes are starting to not fit?
None of these are reasons to throw out everything and start from scratch.
Instead, you’ll first check your formulas. Do all of those work? Do you need to make some adjustments?
Once you’ve done that, this is actually when you’ll go through your still well organized closet and start to pull out the pieces that aren’t working. But be intentional about it. Have reasons that pieces are being removed:
- A piece doesn’t fit your body correctly anymore
- The level of dressy-ness doesn’t fit your new job or lifestyle
- You’ve moved somewhere with vastly different weather
With each piece, decide if you need to replace it, store it for later (for example, if you’re pregnant, you may want to save the piece for later), or donate it.
Once you’ve done that, then you can go shopping to fill in the gaps.
When It’s Time to Let Someone Else Solve It
If you’ve read this post and the entire time you’re thinking about how much you need to do this, but it sounds like something you don’t have time for, that’s when it’s time to hire someone else (me) to solve it.
There are also a number of other reasons why you should consider a personal stylist to help you get dressed faster in the morning:
- None of your systems or formulas seem to stick
- You can’t bring yourself to get rid of anything in your closet (you’re holding on to those “what if” pieces)
- You spend more time thinking about getting dressed than it should actually take to get dressed
Remember, a personal stylist isn’t just going to only fix one or two outfits. A personal stylist is going to fix (or create) the whole system for you. They’ll also put together outfits that match your formulas.
A personal stylist will fix the system so you don’t have to think about it again
You’ve already spent way too long thinking about this. Let me take it off your plate.