How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning?

RunnerChick

I used to be a wash-and-wear with no make-up kinda gal when I was in my 20's - I could go from bed to door, looking fairly decent in 20 minutes. Back then I had great skin and, thanks to tropical humidity, great curls with which I did not do a thing. Plus, my definition of "fairly decent" might be somewhat appalling to the 40-year old me

Fast forward 20 years - I need concealer (because the dark circles after a long night of work scare my colleagues), and I opt for mascara and lipstick. Also, now that I am fashion conscious and all, outfit changes sometimes eat into my breakfast time. And, if there's a day (like today) when I actually feel like pulled together, looking in the mirror to admire the end result adds minutes to my out-the-door time.

So, I'm curious - how do those of you who need to get out of the house bright and early manage? Because your WiWs tell me that you still look fab! What are your tips and tricks for going from zero-to-fab in a short amount of time? Do tell!

Dressing

33 replies

Latest reply was from Heather

Anonymous

I'm not in this group, but I think the fab gals that post daily WIW's often plan their outfits in advance. It must help. The few times a week that I have to be somewhere in the morning I have to figure my outfit out the day before. If I don't it usually crashes and burns.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I can do shower, make up & dressed in 20 minutes if I don't have to wash my hair. I pick the outfit the night before. I wear foundation, eye shadow, liner blush & lipstick - but I have it down to a fine art. I'd say my top tips are have a fool-proof outfit laid out the night before & practice your make up routine when you aren't in a hurry.

RunnerChick

It feels like the key is not just picking out the outfit the night before, but perhaps also trying it out so you don't crash and burn in the AM. I'm learning the hard way that experimentation includes actually trying on things, and not just putting them together on the bed and imagining how it'll look!

KathyL

Veteran

I would love to know people's secrets too. I don't usually pick out my outfits ahead of time but I do think about what I want to wear in general. If I don't have an idea as to what to wear I will waste precious time with outfit changes and tweaks.

My routine consists of quick shower, clothes, mascara and eyeliner if I feel like it. I usually still feel rushed as I run out the door but that is usually due to trying to get two kids ready too!

Diana

Veteran

I can do it in 5 minutes if I'm wearing a FFBO outfit. I don't wear makeup, don't do much with my hair, and shower in the evenings. The FFBO is usually something I've worn before and shown as a WIW so I don't take more outfit photos because it is a repeat. I also never pre-plan my outfits unless it's for a special event - I'm too fickle and lazy - although I might have in my head that I want to wear my new skirt or something like that. So sometimes I take longer (say, 10-15 mins) because I try multiple things on, decide they don't work, etc. 5 more minutes to get WIW photos if I am doing them.

That said, I'm NOT an out of the house bright and early kind of person. I pretty much set my own schedule most days and don't tend to leave the house until 9 or even 10 am. But I am not a morning person in general. I like to have an hour or so between getting up and leaving the house, but most of that time is not spent getting ready but doing drinking coffee slowly, making/eating breakfast, checking YLF...

jayne

Veteran

I take about 30 minutes to get ready. My outfits are planned (actually usually for the week) and hanging waiting while I take a shower, put on concealer, mascara and the occasional face cream for dry skin. I also dry my hair, always in winter and most days in summer. I get dressed, ,then spend forever figuring out the shoes to wear since I haven't really nailed shoes and then assess the whole thing in my mirror (full length). I sometimes tweak because I am terrible at actually pre-trying my outfits so I can not like it and have to change the whole thing, but I have a backup one usually ready. Then I take a photo, run out the door and post it on the train to work. Most mornings this works and I stay within 30 minutes. When I have to change then it starts to slide out. So, the 30 minutes is with a plus and minus factor also aggrevated by having 2 preteen daughters that can disturb the whole routine at any minute and are nearly no help when I need to pick shoes. All looks 'fine mommy'. uff!

RunnerChick

Jayne - When do you eat breakfast? This sounds a lot like my routine in the morning, except that I find that talking to DH takes more time than I budget for the in morning (He asks me things like "how I slept", which, after all these years of marriage, I still have not learned to budget time for

ETA: you have 2 preteens? Way to make it look good!

fashionista

Veteran

I am a lazy type girl. I don't plan my outftil in advance. Yes, I do think what I will wear in the bathroom doing my usual stuffs and showers, according to my mood and the weather. About the shoes, bags and other accessory, I chose them according to the clothes I am wearing. After shower just some moisturizer, compact, kohl, blush and lipbalm and I am ready. From shower to geting out of that door of the room takes me about an hour on work days. Otherwise, I am the laziest even to take shower during holidays or leave from work. So doesn't take that much time.......lol...

JAileen

Veteran

If I'm going somewhere other than the dog park or walking the dog, I'll shower and then getting ready takes about 30 minutes. Otherwise I have to eat breakfast, read the paper, surf the net, which adds another hour or so.

Sylvie

Veteran

I wake up at 7:30, sometimes 7:35. I leave the house at 7:50. I shower the night before, so all I need to do in the morning is wash face, brush teeth and get dressed. My makeup routine consists of applying face cream and my hair styling routine is to run a comb through it and twist it into a bun.

If I had to do makeup/style my hair, I'd probably need at least 45 minutes once I had a routine down.

Deborah

Veteran

I am too scared to read the comments above as I suspect I may be "high maintenance" lol.

From getting out of bed to leaving the house, I like an hour and a half. That is to shower, put on my make up, blow dry my hair, dress, breakfast and minor household chores like making the beds etc.

At a push I can be ready and have all my personal "preparations" done in 45 minutes!

But please note I am person who likes a peaceful and relaxed environment in the morning so I don't like to have to rush... it's my quiet time and I enjoy the process of getting ready for the day. Once I leave the house, my routine can be pretty full on.

RunnerChick

Deb, I think I am like you - I am a morning person, but I like relaxed. you should read the comments above...not scary at all, I promise!

Marley

Veteran

I'm about an hour and a half - from getting up, feeding my "babies" (cats!), showering, blowdrying and styling hair, putting on make-up - foundation, concealer, blush, eye shadow, eye-liner, and mascara, getting dressed (usually wear a tried and true outfit so there is not any stress there!), eating breakfast and reading the paper and starting the crossword, cuddling with my cats, checking e-mails and headed out the door. I like long, leisurely mornings so that I can gradually wake up and feel in a relaxed, good place before I leave the house!

ramya

Veteran

Ok... I used to be in Mumbai and I am from an household that likes heavy Indian breakfast... Trust me I had an crazy schedule... Here it goes...

1> Alarm rings at 6.20 Ramya jumps off bed and runs in to bathroom brushes teeth and comes out in 5 mins...
2> Puts green tea on stove starts the breakfast preparation
3>Removes green tea starts packing lunch(already prepared the night before)
4> Half an hour breakfast and lunch packed for both DH and me
5>Runs into the showers and out by 7:15(/dress decided)
6> Moisturize, dress and pull my hair into pony tail
7> Wake DH and run out of the house by 7:35

Mumbai my God!!!!!

Krista

Veteran

I'm typically a two hour person but that involves the following:
- a pretty decent breakfast with coffee and checking email/internet/YLF
- feeding/walking the dog
- showering/makeup/dressing (which, if it's the only thing I do can take 45 minutes)
- making my lunch

Twice a week I go to the gym before work so some of these items are taken care of the night before.

I used to find my morning routine quite stressful because I never planned my outfits and it was normal to change my clothes at least 5 times before I left the house. Lately I've been planning in advance and I have noticed that has decreased the stress quite a bit. I will, however, put more emphasis on making sure my hair and makeup are done over having a perfect outfit. For some reason, I feel like I can carry off a less ideal outfit if the rest of me is 'finished' - whatever that looks like to me!

Kristine

Veteran

My morning routine takes about 1:20, but that includes a yoga or a shower (if I shower at night, I do yoga in the morning) a dog walk, getting lunch together, etc.. Actually getting ready probably takes about 30 minutes (outfit, make-up, hair). In in a pinch I could get ready in 10, but I usually stand in front of my closet for a while.

April

Veteran

I also like leisurely mornings. My mornings include the somewhat atypical step of writing to my husband -- since we don't see each other every day, we email each other first thing every morning. I try to spend time making those notes substantive so that they do not become merely perfunctory check-ins. As a result of doing this for years, we have a fairly rich online record of our relationship and to me, that's worth getting up early for.

That's an unrelated part of my overall morning routine, though, and not part of getting ready. It takes me a lot longer to shower and deal with my hair than to get dressed. Getting dressed is usually five to ten minutes, while the other part takes an hour -- more if you count the time it takes my hair to dry, even with a little help from the blow dryer.

Makrame

Veteran

I don't usually make it out of the house quickly because I like to take my time eating breakfast, reading YLF (like now), sometimes doing a short workout in the morning. I also find that when I need to shorten my morning routine, it is my hair that slows me down - it needs either half an hour to dry on its own (plus a minute with a hair dryer) or at least 5 minutes with a hair dryer if I don't have time to let it air-dry.

I have been able to shorten my makeup routine to a couple of minutes thanks to Jane Iredale makeup recommendation from someone on YLF. I use a two-colored concealer (yellow/peach; called Circle/Delete shade #2) to cover the dark circles and any blemishes; then mineral powder from the same line goes on, and I am done. I try not to spend too much time selecting clothes - if I am in a rush, I just pick something that has already been photographed together and I know looks OK.

Oh, and I see several people mentioned making lunch in the morning. I usually have the "main dish" (leftovers) packed the night before but I always pack snacks (cut up apples, baby carrots, nuts) for DH and me in the morning so that takes some time, too. It is well worth the time - I love having something healthy to graze on when we get stuck at work.

Anonymous

45 minutes, which includes showering, washing hair and applying makeup. What soaks up the most of my time is applying topical Rx medicines to my face--a routine I have to do twice a day, every morning and every evening. Oh, and I always take the time to squeegee the shower door before stepping out.

I lay out my clothing and accessories the night before. This cuts down some time. Also, I have a very easy-care hairstyle.

After I've gotten ready, however, I wake my DDs up and then head downstairs to unload the dishwasher, make coffee for my DH, make a fruit smoothie for myself, and then wash the dishes I dirtied up. I also make sure the cats have food and water. I then head back upstairs to brush my teeth before leaving for work. All of this takes an additional 40-45 minutes, but I don't rush. If there's anything I hate, it's having to rush in the morning!

Sona

Veteran

20-25 minutes including showering!

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

I like to have 30-45 minutes for showering, putting on makeup, getting dressed (pre-planned down to a certain mit, often tweaked). Then I have 20-30 minutes for coffee and breakfast, talking to the kids, papers, etc. Most mornings it works!

nancylee

Veteran

30-45 minutes to complete a full shower, hair washing, and blow dry, get dressed, and apply light makeup. My hair is very fine and takes forever to dry!

Lisa

Veteran

I average 40min. This includes tidying up the house (any dishes in the sink, making the bed) and also a shower, getting dressed, blowdry hair, apply make-up. My hair is very long and that takes a good 15min to dry and flat iron. Make-up takes 5min. The shower itself is another 10. The remaining 10 minutes of time is a few mintues for each task (bed, sink etc).

In the summer months I don't blowdry my hair and that's a huge timesaver. Plus I can't stand sweating while I blowdry after having just taken a shower.

For outfits, I preplan the night before. If I forget to do so I go to a FFBO. I save coming up with new outfit combinations for weekends when I have more time.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I plan my outfit the night before to save me time in the morning. In total, including shower, make up and getting dressed, it's about 20-25 minutes. But than after that I feed the cats, put on coffee, clean the litter boxes, eat breakfast, wake up hubby, wake up son, empty dishwasher, take WIW pics and post - in total from the time I get up to the time I leave the house for work, it's 60-70 minutes.

anne

Veteran

I am at home for at least 90 minutes before the girls go to school (and am up 90 minutes before that, pretty often, to exercise) and quite often none of that is devoted to getting dressed at all! I just wear my dressing gown over PJ's or my workout gear with something over to keep me warm.
I have my shower and get dressed after they go to school with D, and often after the breakfast dishes are washed, since I am a messy washer-up.

This morning however, I went to school with the girls as I was doing parent help and don't really know how long the shower/dress makeup took (maybe 15 mins?) but I do know it was constantly interrupted by angst about DD6's missing shoes, hair worries etc. I think I came out of the bath/bed 4 times!

I don't like completely blow drying my hair, so I try to wash it half an hour before I finish it off with the dryer, but sometimes I forget and it just dries by itself.

KikiG

Veteran

It depends.

If I'm wearing a "perfected" outfit, I can go from shower to out the door in 45 minutes, including drying and straightening my hair and wearing makeup. I think that is pretty good.

If not, if my life turns into "Jr. High" like I did this morning, where I went through two bras, three tops and three cardigans (and three belts) before I got it all nice and fixed and looking nice with a black pencil skirt, and in a happy place with it, a lot longer.

Sara L.

Veteran

It takes me about 30 minutes to take a shower, do my hair and makeup and get dressed. I tend to stall in the shower so I can shorten this if I'm in a hurry. I pick out my outfit the night before. It makes the morning less stressful and since my DH gets up later than me, I'm not opening drawers and turning on lights while he's trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep. Another 15 minutes for breakfast and a WIW picture and then I'm out the door.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

I typically take 45 mins to get ready in the morning. I shower at night because that's when I work out and I get my complete outfit ready the night before (trying it on to make sure it all works). Hubby sleeps later than I do on work days, so I can't be going into the bedroom and turning on lights to get jewelry, undies, etc. Well I guess I could, but I don't think that would be very nice. So everything is put in the spare bedroom (my dressing room) the night before. My lunch is also packed and put in the fridge the night before. In the morning I rewet my hair and blow dry, wash my face, brush my teeth, put on makeup, dress and out the door. I eat breakfast at work (I bring an egg and whole wheat bread and microwave the scrambled egg for one minute). On weekends I only put on sunscreen, no makeup, but it still takes close to 40 minutes. It's the hair - even though it's short it takes a long time to blow dry. If I absolutely have to, I can gel and tuck behind my ears, and did do that a few times in the summer when it was 105 degrees. It's certainly a time saver, but I prefer to look more polished.

Elly

Veteran

Personal grooming wise, I am always out the door in 15-25 minutes (of course, ya gotta take into account I'm in my 20s). I have very oily skin and hair and shower before I leave. This also includes shaving, toothbrushing, flossing, plucking stray eyebrows, inserting contacts or cleaning smut off my glasses, moisturized/sunscreen, foundation/concealer/powder (depending on the products I'm using atm and if my skin is behaving or not-- but dark circles at minimum), sometimes blush/eyeshadow/liner, deodorant, medications, taking my blood pressure, and dressing. I don't dry my hair because it air dries usually in 15-25 min, but if/when it is short I might spend the 1-2 minutes it takes to blow dry and put goo in it.

Of course, getting out the door can take longer-- especially with kids/spouses/pets. I am also a morning person (to some extent) and hate to be late, so being up earlier for coffee and a little me time is usually worth it to me. If I'm on a regular schedule I try to pack before hand and don't experiment with new outfits in the mornings.

My biggest challenges right now are being dragged in 12 directions at once. I am only working part-time, on an "as needed" basis. Some weeks I don't work, others I work several 10-12 hour days in a row (7-10 days). That isn't counting side work. My main workplace is 90-110 minutes from where I'm currently living, so some days I commute 4 hours, and other times I end up sleeping (huff! more like camping) in temporary employer-provided housing. My BF lives 50 minutes in the opposite direction over a small mountain pass, which means I often stay in town when I visit him. I have to travel 30 minutes to run real errands/make appts. At the same time I've been traveling 5 hours on a regular basis to go help with my grandmother. When I am home I've been trying to get workouts in, which is a 15 minute drive.

Obviously my house is a mess, and I'm living out of one overstuffed gym/overnight bag that I keep having to dump and repack for different purposes.

Like today, I'm at home for the second day in awhile. To shower and get ready I ended up having to run back and forth between my bag, my bedroom, and the bathroom 3 times to gather up my products because I couldn't remember what I'd unpacked yet. That said, I'm going to be in town and possibly working out for the next 2 days, only to turn around and try to remember to repack everything!

12