How to Create and Maintain a Personal Uniform
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One of the few things that makes Monday mornings even more dreadful than they already are is when one has to rummage in the laundry hamper, dig through the drawers, and tear through the closet in order to piece together a superb outfit and make it on time to work or school.
As ideal as spending the previous night picking out and coordinating the perfect outfit sounds in our minds, in reality, most of us are either too busy or too tired to bother. Yet most of us also refuse to (or just can’t) opt for sloppy, less snappy ensembles.
In light of the time crunch college students face, a uniform might not be a bad thing. No, I don’t mean a plaid skirt and collared top à la Catholic schoolgirl, but a general schema for how you dress every day.
Contrary to popular myth, a uniform is not a sign of a lack of individuality or a lack of creativity. After all, Jacqueline Kennedy was known for her pillbox hats and tailored suits in the sixties, Alexander Wang loves his cotton t-shirts and dapper sneakers, and Karl Lagerfeld is never without a sharp tie and a pair of black sunglasses. Having a personal uniform saves time and relieves stress in the mornings—and gives you a signature look that others will remember you by.
Tips for Creating & Maintaining a Personal Uniform
Creating a personal uniform for yourself appears to be a daunting task at first, but can save you time and gain you a lot of attention in the long run. Start with these simple steps, and work your way into (slightly) less stressful mornings and dashing style:
- Take photos! Invest in a Polaroid camera or just use the self-timer on your digital camera to take photographs of your outfits in order to figure out what you like and don’t like.
- Figure out what your signature accessories are and stick with them. Do you always wear a strand of pearls around your neck? Do you have thirty pairs of tights and stockings that you always wear with skirts or dresses? Make sure you have enough varieties of your signature piece to last you all week, whether it’s a collection of patent leather heels or giant cocktail rings. Even if you decide to mix and match the rest of your outfit, a signature item will reduce the time spent accessorizing and completing your outfit in the morning.
- Make guidelines for each piece—while still leaving a lot of flexibility into your uniform. You can easily do this by “naming” or categorizing each component of your uniform; for example: a structured blazer, an A-line dress, or straight jeans. A structured blazer ensures that you’re picking something work-appropriate, but is open to interpretation (think about it, what does “structured” exactly mean?) at the same time.
- Choose your uniform components based on what looks best on you. That includes only wearing trends that look good on you. You’re much less likely to change your entire style or wardrobe if you are already wearing what looks best on you.
- Organize your closet and drawers based on pieces instead of colors or seasons. That way, even if you’re half-awake in the morning, you can choose an outfit efficiently without frantically searching for a peacoat.
- Think investment, not disposable. Disposable fast fashion can be fun, but investing in high-quality, unique, or classic pieces will eventually save you time and money. That doesn’t mean you need to sell your kidney in order to buy the latest Alexander McQueen collection, but it does mean you should buy pieces that you know will last you a long time and that you will wear for a long time—whether it’s a pencil skirt from H&M or a vintage Chanel 2.55 purse.
Having a personal uniform doesn’t have to be dry at all! It’s time-efficient, consistently interesting, and conceptually unique—so you can spend less time rummaging through your closet and more time turning heads as you stride to work or school.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out Sheena Matheiken on The Uniform Project, where she wears the same dress every day for an entire year, raising money for The Akanksha Foundation.
What do you think?
Do you have a personal uniform, and if so, what does it look like? Also, do you have any other tips for creating a personal uniform? Tell us with a comment.
Posted on on September 29, 2009 / Filed Under: Fashion Tips / Tags: Alexander Wang, How To, Karl Lagerfeld, Personal Style, Tips, Uniform, Wardrobe
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Jennifer
It was only this morning where I was getting dressed and realizing I didn’t like what I was wearing, but what I would like to wear was not suitable for the weather today. Thanks so much for this post!
Suzi
The opening paragraph totally described my morning. Sometimes I’ll come up with a genius outfit when I have 60 seconds to dress myself, but more often than not last minute dressing is either a disaster or a boring jeans & shirt. (as opposed to a fabulously coordinated and accessorized jeans and shirt).
It’s pretty helpful to think of my wardrobe in uniform terms. Great concept, Noel. And congrats on all those linkbacks!
Sheena’s uniform project is about the most fun and brilliant thing I’ve seen in a while.
val
LOL at selling kidney to afford to buy Alexander McQueen! :D nice article
Bailey
I love this – this article, like the 25 reasons to dress up every day, justifies my choices when my roommates think I’m crazy, haha.
I always take at least 20 minutes right before I go to bed to check out the weather for the next day and pick out an outfit, and come up with a few alternatives in my head. I’ve never done that before this school year, and I have to say it’s improved my look drastically (like whoa). Every day I look like I haven’t just rolled out of bed – even if I did just wake up 10 minutes ago and throw on some makeup.
And I agree about organizing by piece – if I know where my nice tops are, where my skirts are, where my t-shirts are, life is just so much easier.
Just a great article overall – lots of great tips!
Bailey
One more thing, haha.
As ridiculous and pedantic as picking an outfit the night before sounds, it really does make all the difference. I pick it out, hang it off my dresser, and it’s there when I wake up. I seriously save myself at least 15-30 minutes of “Does this go together? Does this look avant-garde and stylish or do I look like I crawled out of the garbage? What if I wore these jeans instead?” and ending up with my entire wardrobe in the floor before I leave.
And even if I forget to do it, I’ll remember previous outfits I’ve put together, and I can grab those pieces if I’m on the run because I KNOW they look good together. I never remembered my outfits before I started specifically setting them out.
Linda
Bailey, don’t worry I do the same thing you do! But instead of 20 minutes it’s aroun 40-45 =(. I can’t tell you how many outfits I try on and take off before I settle on one…(usually the first one I tried on in the first place).
I used to have an app on my phone catalog of all of my shirts/pants/jeans/purses/jewelry so I could pick my outfit beforehand, but I after dropping my phone in bleach (and it amazingly still works!)—I had to do a hard reset & I never had the time to go through and re-catalog everything.
Great post.
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, just didn’t know how to go about doing it. Thanks :)
Kaitlin
I am similar to Bailey in that I try to take time to plan my outfit the day before and I agree that it makes a difference. I feel a lot better/organized when I leave the house in something that is well put together – there’s nothing more uncomfortable than not feeling like yourself.
I really like this idea, I’ve thought about my own person “uniform” before but I can’t think of something that would be distinctly “me”. I think it comes with really finding your style and like the article outlines – wearing what looks good on you. Great article! I’ll be thinking about this all day.
Jess
I like articles like this. I love to dress up everyday, even if it means waking up 30 minutes early.
I usually wear a big ring with any outfit, its my signature accessory. I think it is a good idea to have a signature accessory because you get many ideas on an outfit with the colors of your accessory.
Luinae
LOVE this post- I always pick my outfit out in my head while I am falling asleep. Sounds crazy, but it works!
Also, organizing your closet by colour is a great idea. I find it really helps me get ready in the morning. Make sure you organize your jewelry too- you can find the perfect piece for each outfit faster.
Sam
Great post! I have a personal uniform….in the fall/winter, you can always catch me in a skirt or dress, cardigan (it’s rarely cold enough where I am for a coat), and tights/leggings. I also am always wearing either flats or flat boots. For accessories, I often wear a knit beret (I seriously have one in every color) and a giant cocktail ring. I also normally throw a floral pattern into my look. LIke this post said, finding out what looks best on you and wearing it often ensures that you will always look your best! And there is plenty of room for experiment even if you do wear the same key pieces every day! Plus, it’s really fun to have a signature look!
Melanie
I have a personal uniform!
On campus, Im know for my black tights/grey boots combo.
I wear both items with something different about 3 times a week!
Jess
This is a great article! The older I get, the more I find that I should spend my money on investment pieces instead of trends. While spending $200 at forever21 may be fun, in the long run a high-quality, classic piece is much better. I also find organizing by type of clothes is better than color. Organization is key to saving morning dress-stress! I love this idea of a personal uniform, I will give it a go! Thank you!
Meghan
Don’t forget hair! Part of Blair Waldorf’s uniform is definitely her big curls & headbands. For me, the thing people notice & sets me apart is my hair color (a natural sort of blonder-strawberry-blonde) so I like to wear my hair down a lot.
A separate post about signature hair & makeup styles for your personal uniform would be great!
Kaitlin
Good point! There’s so many good examples of celebrities who are known for their makeup and hair – Jennifer Aniston, Edie Sedgwick, the late Farrah Fawcett, etc. Another post on signature hair and makeup would be awesome!
Tati Reis
I loved your website!!!! This article is really good and you always give more useful websites to look for. thank you!!!!
Nicole
I’m a senior in high school and the uniform is soo dull.. black, grey, more black. So now that Falls just beginnng I’ve went for a Gossip Girl inspired look. Although I obviously have to wear the same uniform, I’ve added a different statement to my outfit each day.
One day I’ll wear black opaque tights, another day it will be black ribbed tights, and another it will be grey opaque tights. I’m not quite brave enough to wear the bright coloured tights yet, although I’ve saw a few girls try it out.
Since its getting colder I also add a scarf which looks great and keeps me warm!
I also experienced last winter that there’s just some days when it’s too cold to wear ballet pumps, so this year i invested in these cute ankle boots from Aldo; http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/women/boots/ankle-boots/75262072-stauffer/12
I recently bought a cream mac coat: neatral and warm, goes with everything!
Then of coarse not to forget a tote bag! I bought one from in the Betsey Johnson sale at the start of summer, then also bought some less expensive bags for days that i want a change in colour.
After being through years of school, getting up early to do make-up and make my hair look amazing, I eventually realised that there is no point in making that much effort to go sit in a classroom. So now, as my hairs naturally curly, i just wash it the night before, (my friends with naturally straight hair sleep with it in a ballet bun to give it a loose wave) tie it back in a loose, messy bun, hang down a few strands at the front, spritz of hairspray, add a brightly coloured hairband (my favorites at the moment are deep purple and red) and within minutes I look worthy of Blair Waldorf. Plus I get an extra hour or so in bed catching up with some beauty sleep!
Btw, even though the blogs are for college girls, I have also learnt a lot from them, thanks! :) xoxo
Rachel
I love this post and the blog in its entirety is fantastic! I’m so happy to have stumbled on you!
Ashley
I’ve just recently made a personal uniform that is both comfortable, classic and “put together”. It consists of jeans, a tank or little tee, cardigan or (on really cold days in Milwaukee) a cute hoodie, a colorful scarf, and moccasins or flats. I always wear the claddagh ring my mom gave me, the St. Benedict’s medal my boyfriend gave me and when I need to be professional, a thick watch to cover the tattoo on my wrist.
Hair is usually pulled back in a pony, and I keep clean, simple makeup (eyeliner, mascara, concealer, and chapstick. Sweats and uggs are HUGE on my campus, and it gets sloppy a lot. It’s not a good look!!!