Just for fun. Unless you wear a uniform or some required work outfit, how do you decide what to wear to work?
I mean we want to look good. And we cannot wear the same thing too often. So how and where do you decide?
I decide in the shower usually or maybe the night before. I mean I think about what I wore before, the weather and what my mood is, i.e. what I feeI like wearing. I have found that knowing what I am going to wear prior to getting ready has made my getting ready so much easier.
I am lucky to be able to wear whatever I please. When I go to our office, unless I have to meet with someone, I wear jeans or other comfy pants and a t-shirt. There are perks to only working with ~3 other people
When I used to have to wear nice clothes, I’d figure it out the night before because I am not a morning person. It would pretty much be whatever was clean. Most of my business casual clothes look more or less the same so no real choice.
I wake up, look outside, check the weather gadget on my phone, then pop my head into the closet and grab what’s appropriate for the day. With our weather patterns, you never know if a cashmere dress or a sundress would be the more appropriate choice on any given day!
I keep a wardrobe of Max Mara and Boss pieces. These brands make coordinating items that make putting together outfits quite easy.
I work at our synagogue PT three days a week. Comfy pants, a sweater/tunic and sneakers work for me. All too often I am also cleaning out old office stuff (the Bag a Week thread applies there, too) or am recruited to do something in the kitchen, or am going to exercise right after work, so I don’t want to wear anything I’ll regret getting grungy. I usually decide what I’m wearing after I get out of the shower that morning.
If I’m feeling dressy, I’ll add a scarf and earrings. Occasionally I’ll put on mascara. I’m probably too low-maintenance, but I am really fidgety with the way clothes fit me and if I’m uncomfortable, I’m pulling and tugging and hugely sefl-conscious.
Sweat pants and a t-shirt, hallelujah, day off! And when I go to work, a uniform. So happy I don’t have to deal with what to wear, it is a blessing! Because I have absolutely no fashion sense and I live in Seattle, where people don’t really care much.
I generally decide in the morning, right before getting in the shower. Gotta have the right underwear to go under whatever I pick (eg, dark shirt can have a dark bra, but a white or light colored shirt, not so much). So I pick the clothes, then the underwear, then head into the shower.
We are jeans all the time now at work (yay!!!). So I probably repeat tops every two weeks, and vary my shoes/boots.
Going to regular PT for tendonitis in my rotator cuff right now. So on those days, I usually put on a t-shirt with a cardigan over the top so I am dressed for PT exercises.
I am the worst. I buy nice clothes but I tend to find the outfit that I like and that I’m comfortable in and then wear it over and over. In all honesty, if I had my choice, I would wear the exact same outfit three or four days in a row and then would take it to the cleaners. But I realize that is not socially acceptable so I don’t do it. I buy A LOT of clothes I never, ever wear --after the first time. But the stuff that feels easy I end up wearing over and over again.
My old work uniform – black Theory or Hugo Boss trousers, black or white tank, with jacket or jacket substitute (such as drapey cardigan), black ankle boots – suddenly started feeling very out of style a couple of years ago. Now everyone wears dresses or pencil skirts but I have some health issues that make dresses difficult and in any event require opaque black tights and some sort of boot. Bare legs are out for me for now. Ughh. I hate thinking about this. My weekend uniform is basically out of style now too.
I used to be considered quite well-dressed but that has gone down the tubes lately.
I’m with you, @nottelling, and don’t miss the days of dealing with a work wardrobe. I’ve always thought that the Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs “uniform” principle was a good one.
Busdriver, I loved that about Seattle when I lived there, that it’s not a fashion capital. I fit right in. ;
I have created a year-round work uniform for myself: black or gray slacks, a sleeveless print top and a lightweight sweater. I have about 3 weeks worth of tops and 10 or 12 of the sweaters in lots of colors. Earrings always, and usually a necklace, nothing too flamboyant.
I decide when i walk in the closet to dress. I love you dress up and like OP try not to wear the same thing too often, although during a week, I might wear the same bottom with different tops, shoes/boots, accessories. It’s easy to mix and match in the winter with black as the basic color for me.
Where my clothes sit and I get frustrated not wearing them more often are my weekend or going out clothes. I have really cute jackets and outfits and I just can’t seems to get around wearing them all each winter because we will stay home! Argh…
I have honed my wardrobe to a pair of perfect black pants, and perfect black shoes or boots.
On top each day I have an array of shirts ranging from white to charcoal gray to black, that are as comfortable and easy to care for as a t-shirt. A trim sweater, or trim black blazer.
I rarely have to think about my outfit.
i do spend my time on my hair each day. But I don’t wear any make up except for great lipstick
I put 5 outfits together on Sunday then decide which one each weekday morning. I just learned along the way I am not one the type to want to make those decisions first thing in the morning. I wear unstructured dresses or skirts and tops with a sweater or unstructured jacket most days and pants on snowy cold yucky days. I really like the styles these days with the knits…so easy.
These days, working from home (yay!!), I wear a uniform of jeans, long sleeve T shirts and some sort of sweater. At my last job where I had to go to an office, I worked for a well-known clothing company run by a famous designer. That was pressure. Even though I didn’t work in one of the designer areas, there still was pressure. I always planned what I was going to wear the night before, including any accessories. In the morning I looked myself over in a full length mirror with a critical eye, to make sure it all jelled together. Sort of fun, but too much pressure. And a waste of time!
The rare time I now have to go to an office or meet a client, I have about three or four outfits to choose from. Much easier than having to do it every day.
Most of the time I am working from home, so right now I’m in pajamas. But to go to the office I have the world’s most exciting wardrobe - a bunch of dress pants in various colors and in the winter I usually wear a solid color cashmere sweater or nice sweater - I have a huge stack, and I have a bunch of necklaces and scarves. I have a few suits if necessary, but I probably only wear a suit a few times a year. I decide the moment I walk into the closet.
I work for our state’s Department of Health and Human resources, and we are allowed to wear pretty much anything but blue jeans, sweats or spaghetti strap or halter-neck shirts. Oddly, we can wear denim pants in any other color but blue … but I digress. I keep a running inventory of what is clean and in good repair in my head, and usually make the final decision the night before or the morning of. I decide based upon weather and my plans for the day - like, if I’m driving and walking from the parking garage a quarter-mile away, I skip the heels. If I have a meeting or have to leave the office, which is maybe a half-dozen times a year, I usually wear a dress and heels. I like leggings, tunics and boots for the winter and dresses and capri pants in summer.
So on those days, I usually put on a t-shirt with a cardigan over the top so I am dressed for PT exercises.