Hello everyone! I’m Erin and I blog over at Loop Looks (office fashion) and Eri-thon (fitness). Katie asked me to guest post this week and suggested I focus on how I make time in my life for two blogs, working out, a graduate school class, and holding down a full-time job while my husband’s in school!
One of the ways I manage is by planning my outfits out a week at a time. I do this not only to help me schedule blog posts for Loop Looks but also so that my mornings are streamlined. I already know what I’m going to wear so I don’t even have to think about it.
So, how do I outfit plan?
Step 1 – Check my work calendar
I need to know if I have any meetings and if so, who they are with. We don’t have a dress code at my office other than “business wear” and jeans are only allowed on Fridays. Some might call us business casual but I think we’re one step up from that. Still, if I’m going to be leading a training session or meeting with someone I want to make sure I put my best foot forward fashion-wise.
Step 2 – Check the weather
Basically right now the weather is “cold.” All the time. But, I still check to see exactly how cold and if I need to be wearing snow or rain boots. This affects if I wear a skirt, pants, pants that I can tuck into boots, layers, etc.
Step 3 – Find inspiration
Sometimes I know exactly what I want to wear. Other times I need a little bit of inspiration. This is why I keep a Pinterest board filled with, well, Outfit Inspirations.
This board only has pins of outfits I can already recreate with items in my closet. No “aspirational” items here. Only outfits I could really and truly make with what I have. This allows me to scan through and find something when I’m feeling uninspired. I find items to add to this board by reading other fashion and style blogs, browsing Pinterest, using The Style Up, or looking at my favorite online stores.
I also follow several different personal fashion and style blogs that post weekly challenges such as wearing a certain color or using a celebrity photo or a painting as an inspiration to create an outfit. Those are great when I need ideas as well.
Step 4 – Write it down
Just about a year ago I found a Blog Planner printable that I use to plan my blog posts and write down my outfits for each day. I do this on Fridays for the following week and then take a picture of it with my phone so that I can quickly look at it in the morning before I get dressed. I write down everything I’m going to wear including shoes and accessories so that it requires as little thought as possible. I know some people prefer to do everything electronically but I find writing it down to be a nice meditative exercise.
And there you have it! Doing this every week really saves me time in the morning and, as an added benefit, really helps me get the most use of out my closet. Which is a huge help when you’re running a personal style blog that focuses on what to wear to work!
I do all of this, but in a much less organized manner! But I definitely plan out what I’m going to wear to work in advance, try everything on together, and hang outfits up in my closet so that I barely have to think about it in the morning. Doing this definitely cuts down on my morning stress levels – when I wasn’t doing that, I’d just stand at my closet, throwing stuff on and having that “I’ve got nothing to wear!” feeling, because suddenly I didn’t, or nothing seemed to fit right.
Wow, you guys impress me. I just decide the night before.
You’re so organized! More often than not, I put together a somewhat brazen outfit and pack it for a morning i’m getting ready at the gym. If I don’t have a choice, I have to follow through with wearing something outside my comfort zone.
I’m the same way Kelly!
Once I write it down I feel pretty committed to it!
I do all of these steps, too! Just not always a week in advance. 🙂
Mines the day before. I’m so impressed with Erin!
But, Jen, I’m always impressed that you have outfit photos almost every day! I struggle to get them in if I don’t take them on weekends (hence the outfit planning so far in advance).
These are great tips! I do the same prep (check calendar, weather, etc.) then instead of writing it down, I literally grab the items I am wearing for the week and hang them in a “staging area” aka drying rack. That way, I just grab what I have lined up for the next day and it makes getting ready so much faster!
That’s so smart!!! I guess I’m too indecisive these days. But in high school I used to do this and wrote what I wore every day.
If I had more room in my apartment I would hang the items up together. Alas, I share a closet with my husband and we just don’t have the space!
Wow. This is motivating. If I’m lucky, I plan something the night before. Maaaaybe I start thinking about it when I’m in the shower. But most days, I don’t think about it until I’m standing in front of my closet. I do at least have a pinboard for inspiration.
Isn’t this inspiring!? I plan the night before because I’m a zombie in the morning, but I bet that would save me a lot of time during the week if I took after Erin!
Wow! I plan my outfits in the morning after I wash my face or take a shower. I am sure that if I plan the night before, I will have a much better looking outfit. 🙂
Ha! I need to use these tips as well!