Wardrobe planning…sounds a little boring, huh?

But consider this scenario.

Have you ever gotten an invitation to a wedding and your first was “what will I wear?” But the wedding isn’t for 5 more weeks…” I have plenty of time to shop for a dress.”

Fast forward to one week before the wedding. Of course, you rsvp’d, but um, hello, you got busy (life as normal, right?) Now you’re on a hunt for a dress.

The other day, (about a week after I’d shopped with her,) a client said to me, “It [our shopping trip] was great, but so different. I’ve never shopped for clothes when I didn’t have a specific occasion.”

My response to her was, “Isn’t it a relief to know you’ll have the right thing when occasions pop up?” She breathed a sigh of relief and said “Absolutely!”

Now then, you may be thinking…but I don’t know what I’ll have coming up in the future. Super valid point!

Enter wardrobe planning!

When I work with my clients, I send them a worksheet with all kinds of situations and occasions on it. Everything from lounge clothes to work clothes and from weddings to funerals.

“Isn’t it  a relief to know you’ll have the right thing when occasions pop up?”

Then on the sheet, I ask said clients to rate their satisfaction with the category, from “satisfied” to “needs a complete overhaul.”

Most often the categories my clients want complete overhauls on are work clothes and date clothes. And quite honestly, when those categories are covered, the clothes if chosen right, can span a bunch of different occasions.

This could end up being a super long post, but let’s start with a small bite and go back to our original example of a dress and concentrate just on a it.

Let the Wardrobe Planning Begin!

First, you’ve determined your lifestyle. Your work style only requires business casual. Otherwise, your wardrobe needs are mostly casual with an occasional need for somewhat dressy things for nice parties, weddings, anniversary dates, etc.

We’re going to assume you’ve already gone through your closet and determined you have a big hole in your dress category.

As a wardrobe consultant,  my goal is to have you wear all of the pieces in your wardrobe in multiple ways. There are a few ways to go about tackling your need for dressy dresses and get more good out of them:

• Dress down a more formal dress.
• Dress up a somewhat casual dress
• Rely on a little black dress that can go dressy or casual.

I’ve put together several complete dress outfits. For each dress you can wear it dressed up or dressed down…just by changing the accessories.

And by the way, be sure to check out all of the style boards, some of the accessories can be worn with any of the dresses.

Just click each item photo to shop. Scroll across to see all items in a look. I make a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you. Let me know if I can assist you with a purchase. Thanks for your support! You can see all of my top pics and expand the boards on my storefront.

Stripes dressed up or down

Dress up!
Stripes are inherently casual but when they’re on a dressier fabrication, they dress up beautifully! The breezy slit on the leg doesn’t hurt either. Wear this dress to a wedding or other somewhat dressy event by pairing it with strappy sandals…

Dress down

A denim jacket is the perfect topper to give a slight edge to almost anything. The white is perfect with this dress, but faded denim would be chic, too. If the light blue kitten heel thongs are still too dressy, sub in sneakers or flat sandals. P.S. No reason you couldn’t wear those fab earrings to brunch…people only see you waist up, so why not make the most of it?

Bold & Bright

 

Dress Up!

Dressy occasions don’t have to to mean black or subtle colors. Case in point, this fabulous dress! Wrap dresses flatter so many figures, and this one makes a statement. Plus, it’s knit, so it’s super comfy. Pick one of the brights in the stripes, and accessorize the dress with statement jewelry and shoes.

By the way, your colors don’t have to be an exact match, and if you don’t want to match your bag and shoes…not a problem!

Dress down

For casual, every day comfort, let the dress be your star and pair it with white or neutral accessories. With big gold hoops like these, you don’t really need a necklace-bonus! Be sure to scroll through the items at the bottom to see more ideas of what works.

Satin and sneakers, what?!

 

Dress Up!

Here’s the dressiest of all three looks. For an east coast or evening wedding, satin is perfect! These days, dressed up doesn’t always mean heels. If you can’t or don’t want to wear heels, make sure your flats are special, i.e. satin and embellished.

Dress down

While this is the dressiest dress shown, it’s the most fun to dress down. Slip dresses are a big trend in 2021, and you can do almost anything with them. Layer a tissue weight tee underneath and slip on a pair of sneakers. Add a pink ball cap, and you’re set for any casual outing.

For fall, don a cozy cardigan and a pair of booties.

Travel to Dinner dress

 

Dress Up!

Yes, this is essentially a t-shirt dress. The draped front creates a little more interest than usual. I added pink/rose gold accessories with some sparkle to make the look appropriate for a more casual (i.e. mountain) wedding or dinner date. Of course, any metallic shade would do.

Dress down

Since this is a t-shirt dress, it’s not hard to dress down. A casual bag, comfy shoe and you’re all set!

I hope you liked these ideas!

Wardrobe planning doesn’t mean boring or predictable, but it does take the stress out of getting dressed!