Outfit targeting vs. outfit tyranny

Some outfits are better for certain weather conditions or for certain types of work days (long, longer, deskwork, people work, weekends), days I could use a topper or accessories vs. not, occasional work-to-evening activities.

I keep that in mind and so try to match up comfort levels, skirt or pant choices, footwear, fussiness factor, accessories, weather.

All of that usually works out, but one thing I noticed was that I could end up feeling anxious or disappointed if I wore something on a certain day, and then I realized that the next day would have been the ideal day. Or for weather temps, would I wear my “hot-weather outfit” and then the next day was even hotter. Or I’d be in a rush and put on a comfort-cozy FFBO on a type of day I could have managed something more complicated, when the next days after that would be only FFBO’s.

OTOH, if I had too many things for a certain season, I’d see the season passing and realize I was not going to get to wear them.

I guess that all sounds really weird, but at least it has gelled into problem-solving with several angles.

One is, I could identify these general outfit “types” and see that I needed more depth in some areas, so that I didn’t feel like I had just one choice and had to save it up. That allowed for more “mood dressing”, such as “I wanna wear this today” even if counter to the rational “best fit” outfit for the day, or also means I don’t have to spend too much energy planning ahead.

Second, if individual pieces could swing both “fashion forward” and FFBO/comfort, so much the better—such as a wearing a pullover sweater that is both extremely comfy but trendy, or just very pretty, either with skirt and tights vs. with pants and 14-hr shoes; or the track pants worn more polished vs. as working weekend. In general, the more comfortable the outfit can be even with “style”, the more flexible it will be for my different types of days, so the “style factors” need to come from elements that have minimal negative impact on comfort—hence duplicating low-heeled oxfords allows more skirt days than if footwear is iffy.

Another thing is simply weeding out the not-right outfits and items in an ongoing way, having a minimum standard even for FFBO’s., so that basically, it becomes harder to end up in a dud outfit (though boy, can I still do it !). This is not as easy as I hought because after some good wardrobe edits, it is more outfit-specific than item specific, e.g., matching up top and bottom proportions rather than the items being wrong.

Finally, I needed to pay more attention to temperature-adaptation strategies ( also known as layering!), as in recently I picked out a cotton-rich pants and sweater for fall outfit but realized it was a chillier day than I had thought, so I added, ahem, undergarments, for warmth rather than putting that back and picking a whole outfit & shoes to get the perfect weight for the weather each day. That also allowed me to continue to wear said items over a longer season.

I’m sure this is just another way of describing how to achieve a functional, flexible wardrobe.

How about you? Have you ever felt your clothes, or your type of day, were bossing you around, and you wanted to get back in charge?

11 years ago

Liz A.

Veteran

Oh yes! I totally relate. I think this is also a function of working outside of the house every day. Hence, I don't know about you but I have limited time for outfit planning and changing things up in the morning. I generally plan my outfit mentally while I'm in the shower, emotional dresser I guess, I don't plan them in advance. So for instance yesterday I wanted to wear a new sweater, and I ended up slightly uncomfortable all day because it was too short for the pants I had chosen... Proportion problems strike again!

In summary, I relate to needing multiple options for weather and schedule concerns, and I really need more time in the morning! Ha I often wish I had a small closet at the office to keep options in case I choose poorly to begin with.

Lisa

Yes! This is one reason why DH suggested his closet challenge. I am always struggling to further reduce my wardrobe size, but I don't want to purge "good" clothes anymore. The only thing to do now is stop shopping and wear them out. As far as dressing goes, the colder it gets, the more I layer. But then I tend to look for warmer items. This season I'm going to try to be more creative with my layering so pieces can work longer into a season. I do keep a mix of clothes for weekly wear for my activity level. (ie most of my footwear is heavy walking friendly with lower heels and I've learned I need a small capsule of corporate business outfits so when those meetings pop up I'm not scrambling for an outfit).

catgirl

Totally get this. And plus I am aiming for clothes that look cool and complex but feel like PJs and coordinate themselves in the morning.

unfrumped

Liz--me too. I say I'm going to check the weather for the week or something, but the I just pop up and pick out whatever.

Lisa, I'm getting to the same point. It's good because I have more options. Then I can still add, but less/less often. I don't insist on wearing something out, but do want to have used it and not just tired of it quickly. Improving my choices.

alaskagirl--and i don't see why they couldn't load the dishwasher, too ! But seriously, that has been worth some thought--how to get coolness, complexity, interest that does not rely on some constricting or stiff or tight-belted or fussy tucks or carefully adjusted whatever.

rachylou

Right this very moment my clothes are in charge. I want to look lean, mean and corporate. My clothes are dictating punk-ette.

DonnaF

Yes, I get this. I have only a few items for when it gets really cold (for California): One cashmere turtleneck sweater and one really heavy cotton turtleneck teeshirt. I wore them both in the same week, and then I started to panic because one of those days turned out to be warmer than predicted. Yes, I can layer more, but sometimes I don't want to wear four layers. The Half-Yearly same came on a few days later, and I ordered a wool pullover, a fashion sweatshirt, and a down vest. Of course, it has been warm and sunny ever since.

Aida

If temperature/weather is a key consideration for you (it sure is for me) then building around your dominant season really is a Must. For me, I need the bulk of my wardrobe to handle 50F and raining; breezy sleeveless tops don't get much wear in my neck of the woods. That said, as you mentioned what if I wear a "hot day" outfit and the next is even hotter? In this case I have several "hot day" outfits, with pieces that play with each other. Those pieces can technically be layered on cooler days, but since they're overwhelmingly for those rare hot days I do try my best to keep them at a minimum in my wardrobe. Also, if you find that you reach for a particular outfit a lot for various reasons, it's worth noting what it is about the outfit that you keep coming back to. Once you've found that, you can duplicate or at least add to that so you don't have a bottleneck.

Joy

The weather bosses me around when it comes to deciding what to wear. I live in an area that can have extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, and need enough clothing to cover both plus wet or dry conditions. Last winter I didn't have enough really warm clothing for cold weeks..heavy wool sweaters and wool pants. Jeans are not warm enough. I probably bought too much. Some winters the woolies barely see the light of day.

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