Get Dressed with Less Stress!

By Nichola English

The fashion industry, with its ever-changing trends, can be quite frustrating. Just as you’ve got your wardrobe ready to rock and roll, everything changes. Then we add on top of that the endless challenge of coming up with outfits to wear each morning. For many, it can leave them stressed out trying to figure out what to wear for different occasions like work, online meetings or chilled days off. 

What’s all too apparent to me, is that we put way too much pressure on ourselves when it comes to making our wardrobes work for us.

Whether you’re a CEO, employee, wife, mother; whatever category you relate to, the end result is that we all just want to make life less complex and stressful when it comes to getting dressed each day! 

Mindful Mondays

I recently read an article that shared a lovely idea called “Mindful Mondays”. It’s all about using mindfulness when it comes to dressing and setting a positive tone for the week ahead. If you’re anything like me, I find mindfulness practises are fabulous tools to have in my mindset tool kit.

Here’s what the article said...

“Mindful dressing is a wonderful way to begin your day in a calm and balanced state. It’s especially convenient because it takes dressing, a behaviour you do each morning, and instils it with a mindful focus. Being confident and in control first thing in the morning helps relieve feelings of stress and worry.”

It makes me feel calm just reading that!

A quick guide to stress-free dressing

Sometimes a little guidance can go a long way, so here are my top tips to take the stress out of getting dressed each day.

Tip 1: Pick four key pieces that never go out of fashion and can be mixed and matched with any daytime outfits. 

A classic mac – black or tan, long or short, a mac is a great transitional item. It goes with workwear, jeans, flat pumps. This versatile coat is a classic style hero that will see you from day to night with ease.

Classic trousers – fitted, straight leg or cigarette styles are easy to style with heels, boots, flats and sandals throughout the year. You can style them with a nice blouse, t-shirt or some cosy knitwear. Style icon Audrey Hepburn was a great example – she looked great in classic trousers, with a crew neck jumper and ballet pumps.

Everyday black boots – there are so many variations of black boots out there; from your classic ankle to knee-high, they have timeless appeal. Opt for a square heeled boot that works with dresses, jeans, workwear, and you can wear them from day to night too.

Handbags – it’s well worth paying a little extra on a good black handbag. Choose one with at least a zipped inside pocket so you can safely store important stuff like your phone, keys and an all-important lipstick. Handbags should be like an everlasting winter coat, classic and have lots of staying power.

Tip 2: Invest in quality pieces. Yes, they may cost a little more, but they’ll hold their colour and retain their shape far better than cheaper alternatives. And try to make sure you can care for these items at home instead of dry cleaning, as this makes wearing them more convenient.

Tip 3: If in doubt wear a dress. Because it’s a one-piece it makes life so much easier, and nothing feels better than putting your favourite feminine gorgeously glam dress on. They’re also easy to dress up or down by throwing on a cashmere cardigan, jacket or even a pashmina. 

Once you’ve selected your dress in the morning, all you need to do is add some accessories then, hey presto, you’re ready to face the day.

Tip 4: Always factor in the weather and check it the night before, there’s nothing worse than not being prepared. It helps you with working out how many layers you may need or if you need boots or to add a coat. Preparation is always key to less stress.

Tip 5: As we well know, life can get hectic during the workweek, so having a well-functioning wardrobe is a great place to create calm and ease. Try grouping items in sections like jeans, tops, workwear, dresses or even colour sections depending on the size of your wardrobe. 

People who aren’t stressed getting dressed in the morning are the ones who know where everything is in their wardrobe!

Tip 6: Getting your clothes out the night before may sound simple, but how many of you actually do it? The vast majority of us just get up in the morning in panic mode and frantically look for something to wear, while those precious morning minutes tick away. Sound familiar? 

The answer to your morning routine prayers is to lay out your clothing the night before, and make sure that everything that needs ironing has been done and anything that needs locating has been found. This will save you bags of time looking for that missing shoe in the morning! 

Final thoughts!

The most important thing to remember when you're pulling items together for your everyday wardrobe is they should be practical for you and your lifestyle and fit your personality too. 

And why not have a play with introducing Mindful Monday Dressing as part of your getting dressed with less stress routine.

Nichola English is addicted to fashion. From an early age picking out clothes for friends and family, she always had an eye for style which only expanded as she got older, eventually creating her business, The Wardrobe Provocateur. 

Nichola adores working with women (and men) across the world discovering personal style, reinventing that old tired wardrobe and realising new confidence and vitality through coaching, shopping and good old clearing out of the old. You can read her full story of becoming The Wardrobe Provocateur here.