Does your wardrobe work for you and your majority lifestyle?

Your closet should be one of the hardest-working areas of your home! When women tell me they have “too many clothes and nothing to wear,” I ask them, “Does your wardrobe work for your majority lifestyle?” because if the pieces in your wardrobe don’t work for your main day to day activities, you’re going to be frustrated. It’s a term I adopted from Shari Braendel, my friend and mentor of Fashion Meets Faith.

What IS your “majority lifestyle?”

Your MAJORITY LIFESTYLE is the way you spend the majority of your days. Think of it like your 9 to 5. This might be…

• working in an office
• working from home
• working as a consultant in the field (ex: an entrepreneur, representing a non-profit, or a yoga instructor)
• stay-at-home mom
• retiree or volunteer

No one does the same activities all day every day.

All of our extracurricular activities require slightly different (or even dramatically different) wardrobe pieces. If you work in a professional environment all day but attend rodeos on the weekend, you practically need two different wardrobes.

My ladies do…

• yoga
• golf
• lounging
• art and crafting
• dancing
• kids’ sports
• volunteering in the community
• volunteering at school
• professional sports (mostly as spectators)
• yard work and gardening
• professional speaking
• and, yes, rodeos

You don’t want a wardrobe that focuses on the activities above when they’re 20% or less of your day to day lifestyle.

THE EXCEPTION: If you begin and end your day with yoga and work from home the rest of the day, you can certainly build a wardrobe of athletic wear!

I have about five speaking gigs every month, typically for a group of professional woman, so I wear my best dress, heels, pearls, etc. but I’m not going to build an entire wardrobe around that.

To make your wardrobe work, it must be truly versatile with pieces that can easily transition between your “majority lifestyle” and your extracurricular activities.

For example, going from the office to your kids’ soccer game. Or from stay-at-home mom to church.

For my everyday life, I work from home most days, volunteer around the community and at church, take the kids to karate and chess club and meet with clients.

My wardrobe has to be comfortable, mostly casual and just a little dressed up, so most of my pieces fall into that category.

I love pieces with pretty details but that are still comfortable (bling, lace, embroidery). That’s my jam. 

I buy lots of basics that are comfy for sitting at the computer but that I can add a necklace or blazer to for meeting a client or attending a meeting.

I also have some “tunic and leggings” ensembles for watching football, a few mix and match pieces for yoga and several semi-formal dresses for fundraisers and such. 

I pin my outfits to my My Style Pinterest board.

Here are some tips:

1. Build a wardrobe with the right level of formality for your “majority lifestyle.” Do you need to add in some classy blazers…or some basic tee shirts?
2. Invest in the pieces you wear most. A classic navy blazer or a fabulous pair of jeans will be worth spending more on if you wear it a few times a week.
3. For pieces you’ll only wear occasionally (that western shirt or party dress), considering purchasing them secondhand or borrowing from a friend to free up your closet and your budget.
4. Look for ways to make outfits as versatile as possible–like the dress you can wear with leggings and boots OR with panty hose and heels
5. Rely on accessories (especially shoes, scarves and bags) to dress up or dress down your pieces (read more here)
6. Remember that wearing makeup and statement jewelry go a long way in jazzing up even a plain outfit

What is your “majority lifestyle?” Does your wardrobe work for your lifestyle?

If not, it might be time for a closet overhaul or a shopping trip! Go to my Services Page HERE to get started!