Wear it now...this is good advice...found here
Hands up if this
ever happens to you: You’re standing in the closet, trying to get dressed for
the day and you pull out something super cute — a blouse or dress or pants that
you just love. And then you think, “I’m not going to see anyone today, so why waste
a good outfit?” And you put on something less cute. And certainly more blah.
Anyone? Everyone? I
thought so.
We all have those
days, the ones where we’re not going anywhere special (or, in the case of those
of us who work from home, not going anywhere period). Sometimes, it just makes
sense to throw on a pair of yoga pants and take care of business — but I’m
talking about something different. I’m talking about that impulse to conserve
your stylish outfits as though they were a special category of endangered
species. I’m talking about feeling like there’s no reason to look nice unless
there’s a specific reason to look nice.
Those days.
The whole point of
having a carefully edited and curated wardrobe is so that you can wear
something fantastic, every single day. If you’ve done the hard work of cleaning
and sorting and restyling, everything in your closet should work for you, at
any time. I’m a big advocate of organizing your closet by color or style, not
by purpose, because when you start to segregate your clothes by the places you
wear them (work, weekend, date night, only to fancy after-five functions that
require special tickets) you don’t actually wear most of them. When you think
about your clothes in terms of broader, generic categories — shirts, skirts,
pants — you’re more likely to wear them broadly — to the office, to a playdate,
to go downstairs and sit in front of your computer until it’s time to pick the
kids up at school. Just for instance.
There’s no rule
that says you have to look schleppy just because you’re not going to see people
all day. Or adult people, at least.
But it’s not just
that we steer clear of fancy clothes for everyday — I will admit that very few
of us can pull off a sequined mini skirt on a regular old Tuesday (although I
will also admit to wearing a sequined tank top in the car pool line just
because I could). We start to really thin slice our wardrobes and pass by even
the most casual pieces, because they’re new or they’re nicer than some other,
similar piece. What’s the point of putting on a brand new skirt to spend the
day staring at a spreadsheet by yourself? Why break out a cute new tee if
you’re just going to be playing with LEGOs all day?
Here’s why: Because
the whole reason you bought those new, spiffy pieces was so you could wear
them. So do it — wear them! Today!
I had a friend,
years ago, who used to say that if it was on your ass, it was not an asset.
What she meant was that clothes are only an investment if you are wearing them
— with very specific exceptions, like certain high-end vintage couture pieces,
they have no intrinsic value of their own. Once the money is spent, it’s spent.
Saving that dress or jacket or blouse isn’t going to help you buy a new house
or finance your retirement; it’s just going to leave you with clothes that you
never wore.
So how do you break
out of the saving-it-for-later rut? Like this:
1. Stop thinking
about getting dressed in terms of spending or saving. There’s no number of
times you can wear a specific piece or outfit — if it works for you, repeat and
repeat and repeat. Just because you wore something today and didn’t see people
doesn’t mean you can’t wear it again next week when you have a full day of
meetings and play dates. It’s still the same cute outfit.
2. Stop imagining
some better day or place to wear the things you love. Face it: This is your
life, and there’s no reason not to look nice for it, every day. Wearing
something you love makes this day a good day, in a way that tossing on those
sad yoga pants just doesn’t. Don’t wait around for something style-worthy to
pop up on your calendar — get dressed for each day as though it really
mattered. Because honestly, it does.
3. Force yourself
to wear the cute stuff. Don’t even give yourself the option to throw on that
jeans-and-tee outfit one more time. Move the pieces you’re saving to the front
of the closet, or — my favorite reader suggestion — stop doing laundry until
you quite literally run out of things to wear. If you can’t grab your safety
blanket outfits (we all have them, people) you will be compelled to take a
chance with something else, something you’re waiting for the right opportunity
to wear. Well guess what? Today is the right opportunity! Because it’s that or
go naked.
Finally, there’s
this: Think about all those no-one-will-see-me days as a chance to experiment.
Not sure you can pull off head-to-toe color? Do it on a day you’re not leaving
the house. If you wind up feeling like a clown, at least you can remind
yourself that no one saw you. And that’s a good thing.
On that note....
Found here
Found here
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