6 mistakes you’re making when you get dressed in the morning
Up and at ’em.
The hours between 6 and 9am are a stressful time.
For most of us, the start of the day usually goes like this: five hits of the snooze button, a piece of toast in our mouth while we iron our only clean tee, a lost shoe, an accidental toothpaste blob on said clean T-shirt, and being late to work for the fourth time this week.
Usually, it’s our ‘getting ready’ process that brings us down. The clothes. The makeup. The hair. It just takes too long. It’s all too much. Apparently 80% of us spend 15 minutes just choosing our outfit – ain’t nobody got time for dat.
If it’s taking you way too long to get out the door every morning, it’s likely you’re making one of these crucial mistakes.
You don’t have a formula
Heading into your clusterf*ck of a wardrobe without a plan is just an all-round terrible idea. You end up staring at it helplessly before putting on a whack combo that looks like your closet threw up on you. All day, you’re filled with outfit remorse.
Instead, try following this simple formula that will have you choosing a (pretty decent) outfit in under two minutes flat. It works 60% of the time, every time.
First, choose a dress, top or shirt. You must not move on until you’ve done this. Don’t be a cheater. Next, choose pants or a skirt (unless you’ve taken the easy way out and gone a dress – kudos to you). Your third step is to add a piece of interest, like a bomber jacket or long vest. Lastly, choose your shoes. Take a long hard look in the mirror (but not too long because you’re already late) and decide if you need an accessory or two.
The theory behind this is that you must always start from the same category, thus restricting your options so as not to have a panic attack before 7:30am.
You give yourself too much time
Ever notice how you always seem to get compliments when you slept in so long that you literally threw on the first outfit you saw? Or, when you actually put in a lot of effort, nobody says jack?
It’s a common misconception that the longer we have to get ready, the better we’ll look. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.
When we have too long to get ready, we get overwhelmed and confused. We start second guessing everything, get changed too many times and feel uncomfortable all day because the first outfit was definitely cuter.
The moral of the story? Go with your first instincts. Also, don’t be a try-hard.
You have too many choices
Just like having too much time can be a problem for your lewk, so too can your enormous mountain of clothes.
Other than posing the risk of crushing you to death as you reach for a button-up shirt, it also means you have no idea where to even begin.
You end up spending 25 minutes being distracted by shoes, trying on skirts you completely forgot you owned and forgetting why you even came into the room to start with. Oh yeah! You start work in 5 minutes!
You don’t have back-up looks
Everybody needs back-up looks, OK? Even world famous celebs have their stylist put together back-up looks for when they’re on holiday and cbf thinking of something to wear to the beach.
When you put together a fly outfit, take a photo of it. Or better yet, post it on your Insta for everyone to see. Next time you’re running late and can’t think of anything, return here for inspiration.
You’re not considering your shoes
I know I said at the start of this article to follow the formula and not be a cheater. But it’s important to still consider your shoes while choosing your outfit. Have them in the back of your mind, you know?
Unless you’re Rebecca Judd, who I’m assuming has at least 15,000 pairs of shoes, it’s likely you’ll occasionally not have a pair to match. Or, the only pair that does match is highly unpractical for your day.
You don’t wanna have to wear 8-inch heels for a super busy day at work just because you didn’t think ahead when you decided to wear those white wide-leg pants… and now it’s too late to do anything about it.
Illustration by Twylamae who also makes sitcom tees.
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