How do you remember/organize your outfits? - YouLookFab Forum

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How do you remember/organize your outfits?

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Hi all - Thanks to my habit of awakening bleary-eyed at 6 a.m. to the sound of my 2-year-old calling me, and having little time to remember what the weather is and what I might wear, I've been considering taking photos of myself in my fall outfits and somehow posting them in my closet (on the back of the closet door, maybe).

I have tried preparing outfits the night before, but 9 times out of 10, the weather changes, or I change my mind, so that doesn't work for me.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

General

16 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

shiny

Veteran

What a creative idea!

I have gotten in the habit of photographing, and keeping everything in an electronic album. That way, I can go back if I get stuck and need ideas. So same idea, except it's online. I check my computer first thing in the morning anyway.... check the weather, my email, blog feeds, etc. But I work at home too. So the idea of taping to the closet door makes sense if you don't have your 'puter handy at 6 AM. Or you could put the photos in an album, if you need back of closet door space to hang accessories.

When I was planning my trip to Paris, I went as far as keeping a PPT with pics of clothes I had (clipped off the web sites from the stores, or taken with my camera), and played around "virtually" with mixing and matching shoes accessories tops etc. Instead of trying them on. Then the PPT got too enormous and kept crashing my computer.

So I moved to a spreadsheet format and mapped out - these tops with these pants with these shoes with this purse etc (one column for each). That worked great to plan what to pack for two weeks.

But.... it could *also* work as a brainstorm method of mixing and matching items in your closet. For example, list in column A a blazer or a cardi you own. Then in column B, list all the tops you have that work with that piece. Then in column C, the pants you could wear with each combo. Then in column D, the shoes to go with. Column E, the purse. Column F, the jewelry.

Start over again with the next layering piece... repeat and repeat. I'd imagine you would be amazed at how many possibilities are in your closet. And, it would help figuring out what holes you may still have to fill. Then (if you know how to use the filtering feature of excel) in the morning let's say you wake up thinking "I want to wear X blouse today." You use the filter to select that blouse, and up pops a list of all the possible combos.

Just a thought! (from the possibly overly organized, anal-retentive member of the group)

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Shiny, that's just brilliant - Excel as a way of maximizing your wardrobe. Love it! (And love that the PPT of your wardrobe was too much for your computer to handle ...). Thanks from one person with a love of organizer to another!

Anonymous

I have no idea if these are any good in reality but I did a quick search and found the following:

http://www.loadmylook.com/

http://www.dressassistant.com/index_win.html

Maybe there is something out there already that will allow you to mix/match.

Nicole

Veteran

Hi Laura....I do not put a fraction of the effort that Shiny puts into getting dressed, apparently.

But then again, I don't get dressed at 6 am either. Do you feel you *have* to get dressed as soon as your child wakes you? Could you give yourself some wake up time in your jammies or robe while you figure out what kind of day it's gonig to be?

When my kids were younger, I was amazed at how just as I would get into a routine, something would change. Even now, I find my morning routine still changes.

I don't save the photos I take of my outfit. I know this is silly, but I think I would be embarrassed if someone found all these photos of myself on my laptop. So, I usually delete them off my hard drive after a while. Not having a photo journal to refer to helps me create new outfits. I would rely too much on the photos outfits and get lazy about trying new things.

Dani

Veteran

Laura, another anal-retentive member here. I use a spreadsheet too. It helps me see not only the combinations I can make but what kind of items I should look for to get more mileage out of my existing pieces. I also keep a photo file of looks that I like. My photos are on my computer so I only reference them once in a while.

I tend to kind of plan out my outfits for the week and then I can switch things around if need be or go with an old standby if things change drastically. My weather is pretty consistent so I don't have to be that flexible.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What I'd like to know is whether any of you follow a recipe when you cook?

Sihaya

Veteran

I NEVER follow a recipe when I cook. This is why I don't bake, only DH does. I do have electronic photos of many outfits that I use as inspiration when I"m stuck but, like the recipe analogy, I often tweak them based on my mood du jour. I also have some outfits that have scored 10's in the past and I stick to them when in a bind.

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Like Shiny and Dani, I fall into the organizer category ... my life is so chaotic right now that it is my futile attempt to control it!

And I love to bake.

It's clear how we're falling into two categories here!

As you gain confidence as a cook, you can make meals without a recipe. Same goes for getting dressed in the morning? I see what you're saying, Angie. You are so clever.

Nicole

Veteran

I love cookbooks, but only use them for inspiration. Once in while I will follow a recipe to the letter--but while eating it, I decide that something different would taste better, so I will make it again MY way. I also like to bake, but again, I rarely follow a recipe to a T. I like to add different textures and flavors.

I think I'm a pretty good cook. My husband's friends regularly call me and invite themselves over for dinner.

Dani

Veteran

I pretty much follow a recipe when I cook but I don't measure things exactly and I will throw in a little something else when I feel like it. I've been cooking for years but I'm not the type to fly by the seat of my pants type so I'm not comfortable concocting my own creations. I also love to bake and have gotten good reviews from family and friends for my meals. I'm a little too organized in some areas and completely unorganized in other areas I do tweak outfits based on my mood and activities though.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I see a common pattern. (Sihaya, you and I have discussed this till the cows come home). There are those that follow recipes, and those that don’t. A similar thing is happening with your outfit combinations. Definitely a character trait. It’s very interesting.

There is no right and wrong – people are different. I also feel that the correlations to “being organized” and this are low. I’m incapable of following a recipe. Hence I do not bake. I’m a cook and LOVE to cook! If it weren’t for my strong dietary restrictions, I may have followed that career path. But you’re stuck with me in fashion and style instead

Tanya

Veteran

Ha, what an interesting thread!

With outfits, I don't really remember/organize them at all. I mean, I take pictures for YLF and have them saved on my laptop, but I rarely refer back to them. I just make up a new one every day on the go. I guess I like the change. I always say I'll do a much smaller version of what Shiny does, but I doubt I'll ever get to it.

I don't really cook, so in the rare instances when I do I tend to follow the recipe pretty closely since I am very unsure of the outcome. However, I am a pretty good baker (if I may so myself), and tend to both follow baking recipes precisely and add my own twist, depending on the recipe itself. For example, putting about 20% less flower in the cake would yield a nicer, fluffier structure of the cake.

Angie, I am incredibly glad you chose a fashion carrier. Now we can all benefit from your vast expertise!

shiny

Veteran

I burn food and set off smoke alarms.

I used to cook all the time - back in my SAHM days and when I was 100% vegetarian. However, nowadays, I have a set of dishes that I can make in my sleep and don't need to follow a recipe.

There are still days I want to experiment and play around all day in the kitchen - but I *usually* start with a recipe. Then I play with it. And about once a week, I'll throw something together in the crockpot that has no recipe whatsoever - it's a bit of this and that. But these are usually the days I end up burning food and setting off smoke alarms.

I am lucky to be married to a man who is appreciative that I simply made an effort - no matter how poorly the end result turned out.

I am uber-organized and always have been that way. I have a Master Spreadsheet for tracking work to-do's, personal to-do's, coupons and when they expire, clothing wish list, bday presents for my DD's upcoming bday, and xmas shopping list.

I do NOT have the wardrobe spreadsheet I described earlier... I did that just for the vacation and found it very helpful. But I do, indeed, go back into my photos on days I'm totally stuck and need inspiration. I'd say about 60%-70% of the time, I replay an outfit I've already worn. It's just easier. And this is why I don't always post photos - because you've already seen what I'm wearing.

I will add that when I was in junior high, I had a paper notebook in which I listed all my clothes, and how I could make outfits out of them, and tracked what I wore each day, like a fashion diary. I also kept in that notebook a list of boys I had crushes on or kissed or dated.

I still have that notebook *somewhere*... along with years of diaries and scrapbooks with incriminating information.... which is why I will never be running for political office. Hee hee.

Ellen

I love to both bake and cook - I read a lot of recipes, but very rarely make something exactly according to recipe. There is always a twist, a substitution, a variation.

I love to read magazines and tear out photos of outfits. I love Angie's flop-proof formula outfits. But I rarely feel satisfied with reproducing an exact outfit. I like basic combos with an unexpected twist, even if it's just a unique scarf.

So it seems like this cooking/dressing thing does have a correlation for me!

anne

Veteran

I can see a correlation for me, and its not great.
I love to read cookbooks, can read them over and over again - but am not that great at trying new recipes
With fashion too, I love reading style advice books, but am slow to actually do anything about changind style.

I do adapt recipes though!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Very interesting.

I actually meant that there WAS a correlation between cooking and how you plan your outfits. But I don’t think there is a correlation between how you cook, plan your outfits and how organized your life is.