My Morning Style Decisions

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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My Morning Style Decisions

— by Angie

on August 1, 2023

Wardrobe items that I’ve ordered online tend to be delivered in the late afternoon. If I’m home, I try on the items that evening before I change into loungewear and unwind for the day. I get a first impression of the item, but unless it’s really awful, I seldom make my final decision immediately. The artificial light is not ideal and my thinking is not at its best. I prefer to sleep on it before deciding.

I’m a morning person. My clearest thoughts, sharpest thinking, best ideas, and epiphanies happen in the morning. Sometimes early in the morning, right when I wake up. So I revisit my first impressions in the morning, try on items and outfits again, and make my final shopping, wardrobe, outfit, and style decisions then. Also, natural light is better for assessing fabness, or lack thereof.

In fact, I extend this logic to most decisions, because I’m at my most level-headed best in the morning. How about you?

Shopping Strategy · Wardrobe Planning

38 comments · Add a comment

ChristelJ

Veteran

Absolutely, mornings are when I’m clearest too, and natural light is essential. I first have coffee and read YLF, though, before playing in my closet.

August 1, 2023 at 4:28 am

Dee

Veteran

I’m definitely a morning person, all my best work is done before noon. I too like the sleep on my fashion decisions unless its really apparent beforehand.

August 1, 2023 at 4:33 am

suntiger

I’m a morning person too, but it varies depends on the season. I’m 100% solar powered

As far as clothing decisions though, I make mine in store, cause most of my shopping is B&M. When I order online, I may try on the things the same night, or just wait til I’m going to wear them out. It’s very rare that I don’t decide instantly when I try something on. Any doubts, back it goes.

August 1, 2023 at 4:43 am

BlueJay

Veteran

I am still processing that you order items in the morning and receive them in the afternoon (the SAME day???!) Wow!! That’s incredible. My items don’t arrive for 4 or more days… enough time for me to think about them before arriving and whether it was an impulse buy or not and if I really need them, or if I had FOMO.

I am not a morning person, but I wake up early. My best thinking and ideas are in the evening.

August 1, 2023 at 4:52 am

BlueJay

Veteran

Re-reading your post. Ok. Not the same day…I get what you mean. Still haven’t finished my coffee and it isn’t 8 am EST…see not a morning person!

August 1, 2023 at 4:55 am

Vildy

Veteran

definitely a morning person, though I confess my mornings tend to start pre-dawn. Even though I evaluate things by natural light, I’m often surprised that when I get out the door color discrepancies show up in outdoor light.

August 1, 2023 at 5:01 am

Runcarla

Veteran

I’ve become pretty good at walking away from things that aren’t right, so B&M decisions are usually keepers, and since I’m ‘team wear’ go into rotation pretty soon after purchase. I tend to sit on items ordered in, and make decisions after a try on session. I also appreciate the YLF hive mind, so sometimes post a ‘keep/return’ thread.

August 1, 2023 at 5:50 am

Lesley

Veteran

Very interesting! I’m 100% morning person. I often get packages in the afternoon and try them on immediately (perks of WFH!). I can often decide immediately too. A 100% love or a terrible fit are usually obvious right away. But I have noticed that when there’s a question mark, I will hang on to it and try it on again after my shower the next morning. It’s just something I have done, I never connected it to being a morning person.

August 1, 2023 at 6:04 am

cat2

Veteran

I try on in the morning, after my shower but before putting on anything scented like lotion. I hate it when I get something someone else has tried on and it smells like their perfume. I don’t outfit create, except on the rare occasion I am trying to match a shoe or wrap with a particular dress for evening. I am totally fine with closet orphans. They always find a home as I slowly build out a new color or silhouette. Or if I buy a new print it can inspire a shift to a different color pairing.

August 1, 2023 at 6:10 am

DonnaF

Veteran

Yes, absolutely. Or at least after I exercise and shower in the morning. At that point I have more time to test various combinations. When I first get up there may not be enough light!

August 1, 2023 at 6:14 am

Sisi

Veteran

I have always been an evening person (night owl) but in recent years I have started noticing that I prefer doing certain things in the morning. Yet I cannot consider myself a morning person. I think I am 50/50 now. That said, I think that it is easier to evaluate an outfit after a refreshing sleep, a shower and, above all, in the natural light.

August 1, 2023 at 6:17 am

Joy

Veteran

I am not a morning person, but think best around 10 pm. Routines are best for morning for me. I order very little that has not been tried on and usually make decisions on whether or not to keep something within a day or two of receiving it.

August 1, 2023 at 6:21 am

LJP

Veteran

Orders are delivered late afternoon here too . I usually toss the package in my closet and let it sit until I’m ready for it, unless it’s something critical. I know I push the return window at times, but trying on clothes after a day at work is about the last thing I feel like doing. It can often be a week or so before I look at an order. It’s like the wind needs to be blowing in a certain way before I’ll subject myself to that process

As far as being a morning person – I am too.

August 1, 2023 at 6:36 am

Dana

(website)

Veteran

I can’t say I have that clear of a process. I guess orders generally show up late afternoon, but it can also be random. As to when I open and evaluate them, it depends on how excited I am about the item and what I’ve got going on.

Just recently I received a couple of Splendid T’s that I was pretty excited about but the colors were pretty meh for me. Left them sitting for a while, then held them up again, and it wasn’t a **** Yes, so they went back.

BTW, Splendid returns are super easy! Just like Amazon, you get the return qr code and take them to the UPS store .

August 1, 2023 at 6:51 am

morethanbeige

Veteran

I am trying to connect with my feelings about an item and what I’m discovering is that I have impressions immediately when I see an item that I have ordered online. When I first see and touch the item, I am noticing that I can be drawn in by the color, texture, and feel -OR- be disappointed by one of those factors. Usually, I allow time for that to resonate before trying it on. Then the try-on session usually happens in the afternoon. I can be mercurial, so the “mulching” process can be up and down. I am a morning person too, but I have had pets for a while and they “require” attention in the morning, so I have been known to switch that up when on vacation or otherwise away from home lol.

August 1, 2023 at 6:53 am

April

Veteran

I never try on at night unless I’m almost certain the item is drastically wrong in terms of size/fit. I prefer to try on in the morning when I’m showered but before I’m all made up and body-lotioned and likely to transfer makeup or grease to a garment.

August 1, 2023 at 7:02 am

gryffin

Veteran

I’m most on game in the afternoon. I’ll find boxes after I get home from work. If it’s off it goes right back into the box. If I’m not sure I’ll hold on to an item for a day or two, try it in context to get a better sense. But I’m not sure time of day or try on is a big factor in my decisions. But it’s a really interesting observation and I will be more attentive to that. Do I make better decisions first impression or if I wait and do multi try ons…

August 1, 2023 at 7:38 am

abby

Active Member

I am definitely a morning person, the result of my childhood on a farm and my youth in the Army. I share your care to evaluate things when I am at my best, in the morning. Long ago, I realized that my decisions and my emails, if made while burning the midnight oil, often do not stand up to the cold light of day.

August 1, 2023 at 7:48 am

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Morning person here too. I think we’re the lucky ones, as school and work are scheduled for morning people. Night owls seem to be at a disadvantage in this world unless they can find a work-around. I’m noticing more and more how I’m tapped out by late afternoon. I get grouchy and nothing seems right (which would certainly affect my opinion of any clothing that was delivered!). That’s when I know it’s time to wrap up work for the day and go take a break before it’s time to make dinner.

August 1, 2023 at 8:14 am

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, I am NOT a morning person. Even if I’m up, I’m asleep

As for decision making and try-ons, I tend to try things on before I go to sleep. That’s when life calms down and if the thing is no good, I can return it on the ‘morrow.

August 1, 2023 at 8:15 am

Bijou

Veteran

I have enough clothes – so with new acquisitions, it has to be an emphatic YES I either need (such as replacement worn out items) or love it (when adding another dress or pair of shoes) before adding something into my wardrobe. If I am hesitant, that is usually a sign that it needs to be returned. I’m a night owl, so afternoons and evenings are when I am at my sharpest.

I’m with Rachy, in the morning leave me alone to wake up!

August 1, 2023 at 8:26 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Fascinating! Some morning, afternoon and evening decision makers. Whatever works best

Blue Jay, orders can take up to three weeks to be delivered, although a week is the norm. If only they magically appeared the next day…..

August 1, 2023 at 9:04 am

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I love a package, so I often try on the minute I can! Things arrive at various times here — sometimes around noon, sometimes later in the afternoon. I’m more likely to try on right away if it comes at noontime and if my other obligations don’t interfere. If I have the slightest doubt, I’ll try it again, usually the next morning or early afternoon.

I’m not a true morning person. I’m one of those “intermediate” types who is at her best mid-morning. I typically get a second wind after the evening meal.

August 1, 2023 at 9:22 am

Style Fan

Veteran

I am a morning person. My packages arrive at any time. They can come early in the day or late in the afternoon. I usually try things on in the afternoon. That is when I have time to myself and can plan the outfits.

August 1, 2023 at 9:55 am

Bonnie

Veteran

My packages usually arrive in the late afternoon so I often wait until the next morning to make decisions. Late morning is my best time for this.

August 1, 2023 at 11:43 am

mamark

Active Member

I usually try things on in the morning because I don’t want to get dressed and undressed twice in the evening. I’m too tired!

If I try it on in the morning and like it, that’s usually what I’m wearing for the day.

August 1, 2023 at 11:53 am

Kate

Veteran

Like Rachy, NOT a morning person.

Most of my packages come in the afternoon. If something is wildly off, as in quality or color or just general, ‘you are so not what I thought,’ and I can quickly set it aside for return. Otherwise, I try it on then, or perhaps wait til after dinner. If I’m undecided, I’ll sleep on it, and try it on again, and assess it against my wardrobe.

August 1, 2023 at 12:05 pm

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Definitely not a morning person. I’m amazed that you all make decisions so quickly. I have 4 items I haven’t decided about yet and 2 were bought in store.

August 1, 2023 at 12:21 pm

Carol

(website)

Veteran

I am also at my most level-headed in morning, but wardrobe decisions can come at any time of day.

August 1, 2023 at 12:23 pm

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Oops-I forgot the pair of NAS earrings that might be too heavy.

Thanks for the reminder to try things on again and decide. Moving up my to do list.

August 1, 2023 at 12:24 pm

ophelia

Veteran

I’m an absolute zombie in the morning & yes to what Laura said; it’s been a life long struggle to get to work on time! I’ve often been tempted to quit & get a job stocking a store all night, lol. When everyone in the office is starting the afternoon slump, my energy picks up. At least they appreciate that I’m always the one who doesn’t mind staying late, lol.
I’m like Lisa in regards to packages. A lot of my wardrobe is from ebay, & opening might mean discovery of stains or poor condition or bad fit, so I have to be in the mood to deal, & after work is *not* the time.

August 1, 2023 at 1:15 pm

Eliza

Veteran

My lack of a structured schedule and the random nature of local delivery times may compliment each other. I try on as it works and appeals. The decision making post-try on may be an immediate no go, a definite yes or require a plan for outfit creation in order to decide. Might occur at any time of the day except late evening.

August 1, 2023 at 1:30 pm

Sal

Veteran

I try to have the similar attitude to Bijou – it now has to be an emphatic yes as the only potential necessities are athletics shoes and basics for urgent decisions – and I try not to let that happen. Packages are typically there when I get home from work – half the time I try on there and then, half the time I wait until the following morning.

August 1, 2023 at 4:14 pm

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Well I don’t typically get packages, but I am definitely a morning person! It is pre-dawn as I write this and morning is absolutely my most clear thinking and productive time.

August 1, 2023 at 6:24 pm

Brooklyn

Veteran

I am not a morning person. I do my trying on in the afternoon or evening. Like Bijou and Sal, I’m trying to be very strict. If I’m not sure about something, I send it back. Most of the time the decision is pretty easy.

August 1, 2023 at 6:37 pm

Jenni NZ

Veteran

2 Australians and a Kiwi being very strict about what stays? Hmmm…
I buy so little online this doesn’t really apply. I am however currently waiting for a pair of shoes. I very much hope they will be staying. I dislike doing returns.

August 2, 2023 at 3:30 am

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I’m totally a morning person. When items arrive I never make decisions right away. I’ll try them on that evening, then again the next day. I’ll check them out in different rooms/mirrors in my house too.

August 2, 2023 at 4:19 am

The Cat

Veteran

Agree about daylight. However, I seldom regret items I have bought, whether B&M or online.

I am a 24/7 caregiver for my old parents, and my mornings are very busy. I will try outfits in late afternoon or early evening. And generally, my clearest thinking and best decisions (about virtually anything) are made late in the evening when I finally, have some time for myself.

Sometimes, my best ideas come even after I have gone to sleep! I might have struggled with a problem or question during the day, and suddenly I wake up in the night with a crystal clear solution! So I always keep a pen, a notebook and my cell phone near my bed, in order to quickly note down my brilliant ideas immediately, so that I can continue sleeping and don’t need to worry about whether I will have forgotten them next morning.

August 2, 2023 at 5:30 am

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