Ideally, your ‘peaceful living’ experience begins when you first get up in the morning. But, if you’re like so many women (myself included), your mornings are often anything but calm and peaceful.
You know how it goes…you dream of leisurely waking, moving blissfully through your morning routine stopping occasionally to admire the beautiful day or make something special for breakfast.
Hah!
Then reality hits.
Stuck in the cycle of busy hoping that one day there will be time for your and what you want?
You are not alone. PEACEFUL LIVING COACHING is here to support you!
While we all might have occasional mornings that feel lovely (and it’s certainly a dream worth pursuing), the reality is often much different. There’s so much to do and whether you have children, other family members or pets to get settled or work demands nipping at your heels before you can focus fully on your own needs, there’s most likely a lot on your plate first thing in the morning.
Much of what needs to happen is non-negotiable. So, what is the part of your morning that regularly gets pushed to the last minute when you feel rushed?
Getting dressed!
Deciding what to wear for your day is not something you can easily skip or put off until tomorrow. But when you’re pulled in a million different directions, there is often little time to consider your wardrobe choices in anything resembling a restful, contemplative way. Add to that any chaos in your closet and that only complicates the experience more.
What do you do instead when time is of the essence? You throw on the first thing you find or choose a familiar, safe option and get going.
The problem is that, while you’re dressed and can move on to the next thing, what you’re wearing doesn’t always feel great. Then, you’re back to square one either trying to ignore how you feel in what you’re wearing or daydreaming about getting dressed and rocking your style…or both.
“Someday it will happen,” you say!
Let’s see if we can get you closer to ‘someday’ NOW by identifying 3 steps that will help you make choices you love with more grace and ease. Yes, this will take a little bit of prep time upfront (broken into smaller pieces), but it will pay off in spades each morning thereafter when you get dressed.
3 steps that will fast track and bring more joy to getting dressed each morning:
1. Limit Your Options
One of the most common reasons that it’s hard to figure out what to wear is that you have too many clothes in your closet. And if you don’t currently wear everything in your closet then there’s a reason some pieces aren’t making it into the rotation.
These reasons can include:
· It doesn’t fit.
· It isn’t comfortable.
· It’s a dressy item and not an everyday garment.
· You buy multiple pieces trying to find the perfect one, but it doesn’t feel right and you never wear it.
· It doesn’t fit your lifestyle anymore, but it’s still in good shape so you are reluctant to get rid of it.
· It doesn’t look good with anything you pair it with so it just sits there.
I know you don’t have a lot of time, but bear with me…
Find 15 minutes to go into your closet to do these 4 steps:
1. Scan your clothes.
2. Identify the pieces you aren’t wearing (for any reason).
3. Without thinking too hard about it, pull the pieces out that you aren’t wearing for any of the reasons above.
4. Move them to the other end of your closet (or even an extra closet in your home if you have one). You don’t have to get rid of them right now, but get them out of the way!
The goal is to isolate the things you DO wear so you can access them easily.
Good job!
Now, you can more easily see what you do have (even if it doesn’t feel perfect) and can move on to Step #2.
2. Create Your Basic Uniform
You can also call this your ‘signature look’ – whatever makes it feel more exciting and enticing. The goal is to have a few outfits that fit the main part of your lifestyle, that are handy and easy to grab from your closet and that you feel fabulous wearing.
Here are the basic steps (again, once you do this it’s done (at least for a season) and getting dressed will be SO much easier and satisfying):
· Determine how many outfits you want. Start small. Maybe 3 or 4. You can always add more. But by keeping it small at first it will feel like a more manageable task.
· Identify your basic needs. This can be influenced by where you live, the climate where you’re going (to work or running errands, etc.) and what you love to wear (maybe you’re a jeans kind of gal, or you love simple dresses or you always wear a cardigan, jean jacket or blazer). Remember to include shoes when determining what you need.
· Go through your closet and find these pieces. Stick to basic colors that mix together well.
· Hang all these items together front and center in your closet. You can even hang possible outfits together so they are easy to grab and go.
· Make a list of what you don’t have, e.g., a tank top for under a cardigan or perhaps your wedge sandals from last year have worn out and you need a new pair. This will become your shopping list.
3. Add Pizzazz
A common complaint I hear from women is that their wardrobe is boring. They aren’t sure what works so they default to a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers or flip flops –all in neutral colors and often a lot of black—and they feel very blah, frumpy or dreary.
There are a few ways to add pizzazz to an otherwise simple outfit:
· Add a couple of beautiful printed garments into the mix. Make sure they are in colors that blend well with the other items in your uniform.
If this feels overwhelming, another option is to add accessories:
· Choose a pretty necklace that is neutral enough to go with nearly every outfit but not so small that you can barely see it.
See the difference above when Sue adds a simple necklace to a plain top. It adds pizzazz and personality. And, when she adds a faux leather jacket in a neutral color, she can wear that over many outfits as well. Versatility is the name of the game!
· Wear a pair of fun earrings. Choose something in your best metal (e.g., silver, gold, rose gold, bronze, etc.) and it will work with nearly everything. Again, forego the studs or tiny earrings because they will disappear. You don’t have to wear gigantic earrings (unless that’s fun for you), but you want something that can be seen and adds beauty and at least a hint of pizzazz to your outfit. Otherwise, it’s not doing its job and you’ll need to find another way to add your personality to your outfit.
· If trying to figure out what jewelry to wear feels overwhelming, opt for a scarf. Unless it’s brutally hot outside a scarf can be worn any season whether a cozy one in the winter or a small linen neckerchief in the summer, it can add beauty and style to your look with minimum effort.
The truth is there is no magic bullet that will instantly take your wardrobe from frustrating and stressful to effortless. But, with even a few tweaks and 15 minutes of focused energy here or there, you can set it up so getting dressed becomes easy and more gratifying.
Little steps will bring you closer to simplifying and enjoying your morning ritual of finding an outfit to wear—even when you’re pressed for time! Even if all you do is add a pretty pair of earrings to your regular outfit or put on a t-shirt in a gorgeous color, you’re one step closer to uncovering and rocking your unique style.
GINGER BURR
I’m Ginger Burr, founder of Total Image Consultants (www.totalimageconsultants.com), with a passion for empowering women to feel amazing about how they look! After more than 30 years of working with women and experiencing my own transformation prior to that (read more about this on my website (with pictures!), I’m well-acquainted both with the frustration that accompanies having a wardrobe you don’t love and the delight that comes with recognizing and embracing your own personal style.
If every morning you think, “I hope people will forget what I’m wearing,” it’s time for a change. In the beginning I couldn’t do it alone and you do not have to either. As one client said to me, “I’m tired of expending mental energy trying to figure out what to wear. It’s exhausting.” I can help you redirect that energy to create a wardrobe that makes your heart sing.
It’s a different journey for each person. That’s why I have many ways of supporting you from my book, ‘That’s So You! Create a Look You Love with Beauty, Style & Grace’ to my signature live online class, ‘Create Your Personal Style in 6 Weeks’ to working privately one-on-one with me. In each case, the basic elements are the same and you learn to dress with confidence without shedding pounds, sacrificing comfort or compromising who you are.
I am a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and a speaker and leader in the field of fashion and style. My experience and understanding of beauty trends and fashion has been celebrated by Allure Magazine, Fox TV News, The Boston Globe, MORE Magazine.com, cnn.com, Bloomberg Business Week, Forbes Magazine, and Worth Magazine and I have presented corporate seminars for some of the world’s most prestigious organizations including Harvard Business School, the U.S. Army and Unilever.
Above all, I have a heartfelt belief that whether you are 25 or 85, you deserve to feel radiant and pulled-together every time you get dressed. No matter where you live, what your lifestyle is like or how old you are, I delight in working with women who long to connect with their inner essence to create a wardrobe they love.
