The Lazy Genius Podcast - #281 How to Get Dressed Without Losing Your Mind

Episode Date: September 26, 2022

Last week, we had a longer-than-usual episode about how to find your personal style. So much of it is about how you want to feel, but there are also some great reminders and practical tips to help you get there. So if you not yet listened to that episode, I would encourage you to do so and then come back and listen to this one. But you do you. Be a rogue listener with my greatest compliments.   Helpful Companion Links In this episode, I mention ABLE’s try before you buy program. That was discontinued before this episode aired. Check out their Size Swap and Lifetime Guarantee instead. Episode #280: How to Find Your Personal Style Episode #267: Find Your Summer Reading Rhythm The Lazy Genius Way (affiliate link) My Favorite ABLE Items (use code LAZYGENIUS15 for 15% off!) Hang out on Instagram with me @thelazygenius  Download a transcript of this episode.   This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon presents Laura versus Fruitflies. Swarming your fruit and terrorizing your kitchen, these little freaks multiply at a rate that would make a rabbit say, yo. Chill. But Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes, and fly traps. Hey, fruit flies, your baby boom ends here. Save the Everyday with Amazon. She knows.

How? Did you blouse? No. The Devil Wears Prada 2. He's the movie event 20 years in the making. Honestly, can't with the secrets anymore, so I think we just should tell her. Will you two please spit it out already? This Friday, be the first to experience it only in theaters.

In light of the recent scandal, I'm here to restore your credibility. Oh, because we're a team now? That's a nice story. The Devil Where's Prada 2 in Theaters Friday. Hi there. You're listening to The Lazy Dean. podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi, and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today is episode 281, How to Get Dressed Without Losing Your Mind.

Last week, we had a longer-than-usual episode about how to find your personal style. So much of it is about how you want to feel. But there are also some great reminders and practical tips to help you get there. So if you have not yet listened to that episode, I would encourage you to do so and then come back and listen to this one. You can do what you like. You can, you know, be a rogue listener with my greatest of compliments, but I highly encourage you to read, read, listen to last week's episode first. Also, by the way, so sorry about the cold, guys. I've had it a week. Over a week now, we're on day eight. I've been waiting until like the last possible moment to record, hoping it will go away and it still hasn't. So my deepest apologies. Okay, last week we went through

the first two steps of the five steps we often apply to lazy geniusing anything. We prioritized and essentialized. Today, we're going to organize, personalize, and systemize. I want to start by reminding you of my definition of personal style. That definition is wearing clothes that effortlessly make you feel like yourself. Wearing clothes that effortlessly make you feel like yourself. You decide the clothes. You decide the amount of effort you want to put into it. And you decide what makes you feel like yourself.

You know what that feeling is when you put something on in a dressing room or even at home and you just light up, right? Your body lightens, your facelifts. You're like, oh, I love this, right? I believe that it is possible to have that feeling every day. even on days where you're being super casual and not leaving your house. Now, you likely are not going to feel that way every day all at once, right? This is a slow process and it should be.

If you replace your entire wardrobe at once, you're probably not going to enjoy your things the same way. It's the same as a house. It's we learn that from the nester. It's the slow build of a room and the layering and the learning what you love and slowly moving out the things that don't really work anymore. That's where that feeling lives. That's where the, oh, I love this, comes into play more and more regularly. So I just need you to go slow here. You know, you still have clothes. You still have clothes, though. And so we're going to talk about how you can

get dressed in those clothes and feel like yourself one small step at a time. But please, please, please, start small. Now, I want to make sure you have at least like a small collection of style words, of how you want to feel. And also maybe a few details that you have identified in clothes and shoes and outfits that make you feel those ways. It's like our book words.

You know, remember our book words? I did an episode a few weeks ago about reading and bookwords, how it's really nice to know the kinds of books you enjoy reading. and the words often used to describe them. The inverse is true too. It's good to know words that consistently do not represent what you like. So we learned that's true of books, and I believe it's also true of clothes. You can slowly begin to gather words and descriptions that are your style words,

words that help you know how to get dressed, what to keep, what to buy, and what to say no to. In fact, one question that came up often on Instagram when I asked y'all about your biggest challenges when you're getting dressed and stuff was if you should get your colors done. Now, I've had my colors done. Emily Freeman, our beloved Emily P. Freeman, she posted about getting her colors done like just a week ago. So I've had my colors done. And it was the easiest process. It was like so lovely. And it was pretty cool to have something done for me like individually, you know, just like a special thing.

And I know people who have gotten their colors done, and it is the best decide once for them, because they just know how to only wear clothes that are their colors. Like, that's what they do now. And I learned that for myself to a point. There were a few colors in the blue family, especially that were just like singing to me as colors that I really love. And shades of blue, though, to look for specifically, that's been super fun. But sometimes, sometimes there are conventions.

like colors for skin tone. And like we talked about last week, clothing choices for certain, you know, fruit shapes, and what's on trend and all kinds of things that we see and hear as expert advice and assume that we should automatically follow. But what these style words do is they make you the expert. You are the expert on your own style. Now, you can take advice from people, like, oh my goodness,

like you get your colors done. You can be thrilled to discover that the colors that are, already in your personal color palette, they make you feel like yourself. That's such a gift. You know, you can learn like, oh, this color makes me feel great, but I was always scared of it, but I didn't know it was actually my color. You know, like all of that is so lovely. It gives you direction now. You have some new style words to add to your bank in the form of specific colors. But you also might get your colors done and you're told you shouldn't wear black. And if you're like me, you're like, no, thank you. I'm going to keep wearing.

black because wearing a navy leather jacket does not make me feel like myself in the same way a black one does wearing navy t-shirts that doesn't make me feel like myself like wearing black ones do so you are the expert on you that does not mean that color experts and stylists and whoever are wrong absolutely not it's not a right or wrong they give incredibly helpful advice but you should let go of what the experts say if what they say is in conflict with how you want to feel. You are the expert. They are smart. And sometimes they can really help you add some of those style words, help you name those, add those to your collection, or add fabric choices or skirt shapes or colors to wear or whatever. But if you don't feel like yourself and what an expert tells you to wear, they are no longer the expert.

You are. You always are. Okay, on to our five steps. Like I said, we've already done steps one and two, prioritize and essentialize. We did those last week. Now we're on to step three. Organize. You can organize your style with specific words and descriptive details that you slowly gather from the daily activity of getting dressed, but also from pain. attention to the clothes that you do wear that make you feel like yourself. One of the ways that you can start on that is by playing dress up. We talked about that last week about putting on outfits that you already own that make you feel good. You can also find some of those style words from your Pinterest board. We talked about that last week.

So as an example of organizing your style and organizing getting dressed with your style words, Here are the words that direct my personal clothing choices and getting dressed most days. Cool. We have pretty much established already. We know. Kendra likes things that feel cool. Tailored, masculine, black, texture, usually in the form of like ripped or cuffed jeans, blazers and jackets of really all kinds, but especially leather.

Classic fabrics like cotton, linen, denim, and the aforementioned leather. solids, jewel tones, if I'm going to go color, nits, I love a good sweater, Oxford shoes, and contrast. Contrast comes from color, but also from style. Like I own one single skirt, one. And if I wear it, I wear an Oxford shoe or a sneaker with it, not a flat, because the skirt is already in nature, pretty feminine. So I want to add stylistic contrast by choosing a more traditionally masculine shoe. So I wear a lot of contrast, I would say. So those are my words.

I use those words every single day to get dressed and to kind of figure out, especially when I want to buy something. If it doesn't fit any of those words, even if it fits me, I'm like, well, I don't think so. I'm not going to reach for this. I used to describe my style as Kathleen Kelly from You've Got Mail with those like monotone.

Even though I just said I love contrast, I also do love monotone, like monochromatic outfits. But remember she had those like monotone, monochromatic classic tailored outfits. But I also would say like, I'm Kathleen Kelly, but she also belongs in a roller derby league.

So there's like an edge to her. And I would say that still rings pretty true on most days. I named that years ago. And I think that's still pretty accurate. Now, I also have words and styles that don't work. for me. Those words are things like feminine, pretty. I do not do floral patterns at all. I actually don't do patterns in general unless it's a stripe and a very particular stripe. Anything with loose or puffy sleeves is out. I don't do like nautical boat vibes like sweaters over buttoned down shirts.

I don't do colors that are like sky and sand. I don't do that. I don't really do color at all. No heels of any kind. Like I don't own any heels. There is barely a flat to be seen. I have two pairs of flats, one brown and one that's sort of like a gray blue that I wear like when it just is like, okay, fine, we'll wear a flat. But I want the restriction there. Even though you might hear these words and you're like, just get what you like. No, I actually think there's a lot of value and having your style words and creating that restriction.

Right? I want the guidance to know what I love because I feel like myself in those things versus what might look good or might help me branch out, which I have no desire to do in my fashion. I don't need to worry about like dressing my body or dressing my age or acting out my personality, my clothes, or whatever the conventional wisdom is. I used to do those things. I used to do that a lot and I never enjoyed getting dressed. I always felt like I was playing a part.

And it was either a very boring one or like a very over-the-top one because it wasn't me. Dress how you want to feel. Dress in clothes that make you feel like yourself. Even when you're just lounging around the house. My loungeware, you guys, it's all black. I always grab the black stuff. Not the gray, not the pink, not any other colors or styles. I lounge in black clothes pretty much exclusively.

And I feel like myself when I do. do it. I bought a pair of, you know, y'all, I love those Viori joggers, even though they're like a million dollars, but it's because they're worth it. They're the best joggers ever. And I got a pair of pink ones recently. I hardly ever wear them. I was trying to branch out, and they're this like soft rosy pink. Now, I wear them at home, but do I feel like myself when I do? Not really. Not as much when I wear the black ones or the dark charcoal ones, you know? Wear what you like. trust yourself that what you like is what you like and don't try to force yourself into some sort of box or branch out or you know whatever and I think that as you feel like yourself and you

keep collecting those words and descriptions your clothes will start to match that more and more over time okay so that was a lot of words on words and we still have a lot to cover so we're going to just charge on. Next, I want us to talk about outfits, about putting clothes and shoes and all the other things together. Some people call this styling. Don't be intimidated by that word. Like I have been for a really, really long time. Styling an outfit is just putting the stuff together. And listen, you do it every day. You do it every day. Just likely not on purpose. And maybe not to completion. and I think very often the putting together in an intentional way, it's what makes certain people seem more pulled together or stylish in their outfits.

Now, do you have to do that? Nope. Not unless it matters to you. If it doesn't matter, you're probably not even really listening to this episode anyway. So that's great. But if it does matter, even just a little bit, let's talk about outfits. I would like us all to gather around. Gather round, everyone.

I want us to make uniforms together. We're going to make uniforms. Now, there are different kinds of unicorns. Let's call them unicorns. Uniforms based on all kinds of things. Based on silhouette, style, what you're actually doing in the outfit. And we're going to get to all that in a second. But I think it's important to think through what combinations of clothes make you feel like yourself

and then figure out how to replicate them. There are some great resources out there for different outfit formulas and combinations that don't fail or whatever. But I honestly find for me personally, those do not serve me well because my style words don't often match the stylist. It's the same with self-help books. I've been saying this for two years now since the lazy genius way came out. So many self-help books are written from the perspective of the author, obviously. That makes sense. And so the tips and the hacks and the strategies, those are what worked for that person? But what if you are not that person? What if you don't have the same priorities? We need a way of approaching our challenges where the tools work

no matter the need or the life stage or the personality or whatever. And I think the same can be true in the fashion world. There are formulas on how to put together outfits. But what if the main shoe in all of them is a flat and you like me don't really wear flats or maybe there's something about like animal print or a certain color or pattern and you don't do that right i mean i know you can sub out for different shoes and shirts or whatever but like also i'm subbing out for like loose blouses and the patterns that i don't like and all kinds of things that often exist within those formulas So I feel like a lot of what I'm doing with that is just subbing out and creating my own thing. And it kind of eliminates the need for the formula in the first place.

Now, I follow a lot of fashion bloggers and influencers because I actually really enjoy seeing how people put clothes together. And I get inspiration from that. But it's for inspiration. It's not for the rules. It's not for exactly how they do it. Very few people I follow have the same word bank of style words that I do. And that's okay.

but it wouldn't be okay if I follow their ideas as law because their purpose is different than mine. When you see somebody's outfit ideas and their suggestions, you don't have to take it as law. It's an idea. It's an idea. So all that to say, I would like to give you another alternative to putting outfits together. And that is if you don't feel as supported by the resources that currently exist. If you do, don't try to fix what's not broken. Is that the saying? I don't think that's the saying. But you know what I'm saying. If you need a new way of looking at outfits, we'll be right back. RBC Training Ground has discovered potential in over 20,000 Canadian athletes and counting. Your story could be next. If you've got the drive, they'll help you find your path

to the Olympics. Let's see what you've got. Sign up for free at rbc trainingground.ca. The right that's steals the spotlight every time it hits the road, that's the Volkswagen Tiguan. Its sleek exterior makes a first impression you can't ignore. Step inside to find available full leather seats and wood accents. Under the hood, the available 201 turbocharged horsepower engine gives it a fun to drive edge. The refined Tiguan, you deserve more style. Visit vw.ca to learn more. SuvW, German engineered for all. There's something else here now. to do.

From exclusively on Paramount Plus. It's the series Stephen King calls scary as hell. Everything here is impossible, but it's also real. Sci-fi vision calls it the best show streaming right now. We're running out of time and we still don't know the rules. Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home.

From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Aw, isn't something we need to travel for. it's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life.

You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. The way I want you to think about organizing, your outfits, is by uniform. and I don't mean a Monday uniform. If you have read the lazy genius way that I already mentioned, or even you might have even seen this on Instagram before, but you know that for a very long time I had a Monday uniform. I would wear black pants and a chambre button down every single Monday

because I didn't want to think about what to wear on Monday morning. Now, I no longer have that Monday uniform because I am not overwhelmed by my closet. it anymore because it's really only holding things that make me go, oh, I love this so much. I rarely change outfits anymore. And if I do, it's almost always because something doesn't fit on my actual body and I'm trying to force it to. So when I say uniform, I don't necessarily mean a Monday uniform, although those are obviously incredibly helpful and especially when we get to step five, which is systemized. But that's not what I mean. The kind of uniform I'm talking about is one built from outfits you already love to wear.

Last week, I asked you to play dress up and identify one to three outfits that you really enjoy wearing that make you feel like yourself and that tap into those style words that you have identified. And then what you can do next is play detective. Look at that outfit on your body, if possible. What do you see? where are certain pieces hitting your body how are things maybe layered together how could you replicate what you are seeing with other pieces that you have so let's say you have a pair of jeans that fit really great and a short-sleeved button-down shirt and a super comfy oversized cardigan on top of that

if it's colder also when you're doing this i think you should put shoes on two shoes are part of this and let's say you're wearing like an ankle boot or something okay that's your shoe. You feel cozy and comfortable and purposeful in your clothes. Maybe that's one of the things when you're, you know, with your style words is that you want to feel like purposeful and what you're wearing, even if it's super casual, like it feels, you know, put together. All right. Now, do you have, look at yourself in the mirror, great. Do you have another shirt that is kind of similar to the one that you're wearing? Now, I don't mean that when you find a shirt that you like well enough and then you buy it in seven colors. I mean, you can totally do that. I've lived that way as well.

There's no judgment in that. But I mean something that might be about the same shape, but a different fabric or a thinner fabric or a slightly wider neck or just something that is similar enough to the shirt you're wearing to count as the same category, but different to have its own personality. So if you switch shirts, but you keep everything else the same, does the outfit still work?

Okay. Now, next. Can you trade your, cozy cardigan for another cozy cardigan that you own. And does that still work? Does a different wash of gene or a pair of pants that are about the same shape as the jeans that you're wearing? Does that work? You have now found a uniform, like a cozy, purposeful uniform. Whatever the cut of the gene is, you know, a straight leg pant, a short-sleeved, you know, maybe a button-down shirt and pay attention to the length. Maybe it's something that's a little more cropped. Maybe it's something

that's straight. It's not like an Oxford shirt where it's like curvy in the front. You know what I'm saying? Like it dips down. It's more like hemmed straight. Pay attention to those lines as well. And maybe the buttons aren't even the deciding factor. Maybe it's not a button down. Maybe it is just the length. But that pant, that length of shirt or that fit of shirt and a cozy cardigan with those shoes or whatever. If you love that uniform, you can look for pieces that can seamlessly be part of that uniform. Look for easy ways to replicate it, not exactly duplicate, not necessarily buying the same shirt in a different color. That doesn't always give us a feeling of having a complete wardrobe. It can, but it doesn't really contribute to us having a closet that serves our purposes and serves what

matters over time. It just feels like we're choosing the same thing over and over again. Okay. That that could be a uniform. That shape of pant with that length of shirt with that type of cardigan. For example, I love a capped sleeve or dropped shoulder oversized button down top made of like a heavy fabric like denim or linen. I wear them with skinny jeans, straight-leg jeans, pants. I don't tuck that shirt and I wear a pair of Oxford's. I own five pairs of Oxford shoes. They all have different vibes.

But they all fit in that formula, depending on what I'm in the mood for. Okay? So jeans and that kind of shirt plus my Oxford's, I'm like golden. So if I see a shirt that is that style of sleeve, that it's drop-link, that it's kind of cropped, it's a sturdy fabric, I'm going to try it on.

and I'm going to know that it would have a decent life in my closet, that it's going to work well with what I have because it fits in the uniform. Another uniform I have is a pair of wide-legged pants. I wear with a bodysuit and a blazer. I wear this all the time. I've probably five or six body suits of different colors and necklines, but the bodysuit aspect is important because of the tucking into the wide-legged pant part. If I wear a wide-legged pant and I don't highlight my waist,

it just doesn't feel good to me. I don't feel like myself. It doesn't look cool. So like it looks to me, this might not be true of everybody, but to me it just seems a little bit out of proportion. And it also makes me feel kind of frumpy if I wear wide pants and I don't show a waist. Now, in other people, it probably would not look or feel that way. But it does to me and I'm the one getting dressed, right? So if I wear a wide-legged pant, the shirt has to be tight and it has to be tucked in. So I just wear a body suits. And then I'm just, I wear a blazer or actually a vest. I've got my first vest this summer, courtesy of inspiration from Katie from what Kate finds. And it's like the best thing ever. I got a different vest than she did.

But like, man, I'm living the life of a vest. And guess what? A vest fits my words, doesn't it? It's masculine. It's tailored. Like that, it's cool. Like that tracks, right? So back to my uniform. I wear my white leg pant, my body suit, and then a blazer or a vest on top of that. And I know to look for those shapes. I know they're going to work. I know they're going to work. One of my favorite wide-legged pants is the artie cropped pant from Able. I have it in two colors, black, and then this, of course, and then this like rusty orange that is just magical. And I'm not supposed to wear orange, you guys. I'm not supposed to, but I don't care because I love it. I love it when I wear these pants. I wear them all the time. And they always work. One, because they're

made really well and they're lovely pants because everything that Abel makes has been lovely in my experience. But the shapes are the same. The shapes are what I'm going for, that wide leg pant. And I can wear a bodysuit with a V neck, a crew neck, long sleeve, cap sleeve, huge puffy sleeves. I have two bodysuits. I have like these huge puffy sleeves. I wore one of them into my launch party. And if I do that, I skip the jacket. But I can put any kind of blazer or jacket on top of that outfit. I once, it was like a year ago maybe, I took my mom shopping and helped her find her uniforms. One of hers is a casual drawstring pant that's flowy and easy. Any kind, like patterned, solid, different materials, it doesn't matter, just a flowy drawstring pant. A fitted shirt

tucked in, not like tight, but, you know, something that's like maybe ribbed or just a little tighter closer to the body. And then a long, thin cardigan, like to her knees kind of, like a long cardigan or a kimono. She wears that uniform all the time. And like a long necklace. She's got like, she loves to wear. She makes jewelry. And so she has these necklaces that she loves to wear that are like statement long statement necklaces. She wears that uniform all the time, but it does not feel like she's repeating anything because she's mixing and matching items that fit a certain rubric that work with the uniform. It's not a duplicate, right?

It's just inspired by the uniform. That's why I really want you to start with pieces that you already have with an outfit that you already love. What do you love about it? And how can you replicate it with what you already have? And then it gives you eyes to see what to shop for, right? Now you can have uniforms based on, you know, your silhouette, like what we just talked about, like how the clothes look on your body, like the shape of them in relationship to each other, like how long shirts

are, how long pants are, how flowy things are, whatever the silhouette, like the actual of somewhere to shine a light and cast a shadow of you, what is the shape that your clothes are making? So you can, I encourage you to make uniforms based on that. but you can also have uniforms based on your feeling words. Like if you've got silhouettes that you like, you can throw your feeling words in there too. For example, if you don't need to feel cool every single time, you got a few feeling words. I'm looking at you, Beth.

Beth DM'd me and was like, what if I want to feel? What if I want to feel different things on different days? You could have a cool uniform, a classy uniform, a lounging uniform, like whatever else, right? You can create a uniform based on what you're doing. A work uniform? a work from home uniform, a church uniform, a sports mom uniform, you know, like whatever you want. You can name them however you want based on what matters to you. But this is how you can organize your outfits by uniform.

And it's about the silhouette, about how the shapes of the clothes go with your body and with each other. and you will most likely see that at first with what you already have, wear something that you already love to wear and pay attention to the shape. Now, here's what's great about uniforms. When you're shopping in a store or you're sitting on your couch at night and you're looking on a clothes website or whatever, you know, in general, what shapes and pieces to go for. You know, in a sense, what's going to work for you

because you've already named it in your uniforms. It really helps you know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Because different shapes are not going to work. For example, you all know I love ABLE. I am an ABLE partner, which means like I have a code in everything. Lazy Genius 15 for 15% off your order. But y'all know very well that I do not talk about brands or products on Instagram or even here on the podcast like this that's,

not in an ad space that I don't genuinely, genuinely use in love, like all the time. I'm not going to waste your time with that. And the truth is I love ABLE. I love what they stand for. I love the different ways they're making shopping easier. Like they have a try before you buy where you can choose a handful of items. I think it's up to eight. And then you just pay for what you like and you send the rest back without paying extra shipping or anything. They have a size swap option where you can buy from a certain group of items and it's like a lot of their great signature things. And if your body changes and that piece no longer fits, you can do a size swap no matter how long it's been. They offer that once per customer. So years later, if you need a bigger

jacket or a bigger pair of pants or a smaller jacket or a smaller pair of pants and you invested in like their leather jacket that is magical, but it's several hundred dollars because it's like a magical leather jacket, you can get it. They have a lifetime guarantee on all their stuff. They are working so hard on having more inclusive sizing. Most of their stuff goes up to 3x at this point and they're still moving even more to 5x and broadening that across the line. Like, they are the real deal in trying to care for their customers and allowing us to shop the way that we need to shop with changing bodies and wondering if something is going to fit, being inclusive, all of it. I just love them. Anyway, here's the point.

there have been a couple of seasons where Abel has released new pieces, you know, because they do that three times a year, if spring, summer, and fall collections. And those pieces weren't for me. They were not in the shapes and fabrics and colors that are in my uniforms. And that's okay. It's not that I'm missing out because I'm not missing anything. Those are pieces and shapes that don't work for me in my uniforms. They just don't fit. So it kind of takes away the fomo and the sadness of not getting new things or whatever struggles you might have in shopping for clothes. When you know your uniforms, your very personal uniforms built around pieces that you already have and you're just replicating shapes and details, you know what you're going to love and you know what you can pass by. and then eventually you'll be rewarded like I was this fall with a new ABLE line in fall.

It's like, you guys, it's my dream come true. It's like all these amazing sweaters and blazers and vests, like sweater vests. I'm kind of losing my mind a little bit because it's also pretty. It's actually not pretty. It's actually not pretty. I mean, it is pretty. It is pretty. I'm going to try again. This fall, the clothes that Able has released, in my opinion, are so, so cool. They are so cool. They're tailored. They're masculine. They use fabrics and colors and shapes that I love. I am anxiously awaiting the temperature to drop another 10 degrees so I can start wearing more of them. But not everyone is going to love the arty pant like I do, that wide leg pant. If your uniforms have mostly skinny and straight leg pants or you're in a season of soft pants only or no buttons or only

skirts or whatever it is, you're not going to need those pants. It doesn't help me, it doesn't help you for me to say, I love these artie pants. You should get them because maybe you shouldn't. But when you practice creating uniforms, and remember, not uniforms based on like this color with this pattern or, you know, whatever, it's more, it's about shape and proportion. You will quickly identify the items that you do love and the items that you will really, really wear. And that's how you can personalize, which I didn't say this in the beginning, that's step four. That's how you personalize your personal style. Now, we could talk about systemizing where you decide once or you make an outfit matrix

or you plan all your outfits, you batch it, you choose what you want to wear on that day, you want to do. But because systemizing your outfits is it's likely pretty personal, this is where you just need to choose a lazy genius principle that will likely make that easier. Make that system work for you. Some of you want to have an outfit matrix. Some of you are like, I wear the same thing three days in a row because not the same people don't see me. And then I just do the next outfit. You know, like there have been lots of fun things that I've heard from you guys on Instagram, especially about how you are using your, how you systemize your outfits, and I love it. But think about applying just one lazy genius principle to this process. And if I may recommend one,

because when we get really excited about bank systems, you know what it's going to be, right? Start small. Start small. Listen to last week's episode, and I really just want you to put on an outfit that you already have that makes you feel good. How can you do that again with some other things that you have that are similar shapes, similar relationships to each other on your body. And also, I want you to be kind to yourself. I got a message today from a woman who was asking about the size of a shirt that I was wearing in an able shirt, actually, the drapy T.T. That I really, really love.

It's so comfortable. It's a great T-shirt. And she was asking me what size it was because she says, I think we're about the same. And I said that I'm usually in the line. I'm going to talk about sizes for a second. that I am between a medium and a large, generally speaking, in most things. So it kind of depends. But for that shirt, I was going to wear, I was wearing a medium in that shirt. And her response was, other than kindness and thanks, she was very lovely. She said something like, I love it when I get

to get the medium. And I want to remind you, just like I did her, there is no shame or apology in having a bigger size. There's no allowed. to be made for bigger bodies at all, at all, at all, at all. The purpose is not to seek a smaller number on the tag. It's to feel like yourself. And you're going to feel a lot better in your body and in a room. If you're wearing clothes that fit you, no matter what the number is, you're going to feel really good.

and you're not going to be distracted by, you know, trying to cover your roles or whatever, which I've heard that a lot. You don't have to cover your roles, everybody. You don't have to do that. Your body is nothing to be ashamed of. You don't have to hide it from other people in that way. So I want you to be kind to yourself as you go through this process. It's really, really important that the focus here is that you feel like yourself and you honor

the body that you. you have without apology, without thinking that you have to seek after something different, your body is good. Your body is good. Okay. That's all. So this has been a lot of words in two episodes about one topic. And there's actually still a lot more to say. Today, actually, Monday the 26th at noon Eastern time, I will be going live on Instagram. to answer your style questions, which I'm probably not going to have a lot of answers, but we can kind of talk about it. Maybe that's a better way of saying it. Let's hang on to Instagram and talk about this stuff. I would love to hear your thoughts and all of it. So I will be saving

that live. So if you can't come, it will be in the feed. But that will be today, if you're listening to this episode on the day it releases, today at noon, Eastern. We have also been doing closet permissions this month. We've had two weeks worth of words that you might need to hear about getting dressed. The first one I posted on a Monday. And then I was like, oh no, we're doing this on Sundays. So last week it was yesterday. We did one yesterday. And it's just words that you might need to just like, you have permission to do this. Just lots of permission giving energy on Instagram. And also this week, I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite fashion follows on Instagram. So don't miss out on those. If you don't follow me there, I'm at the

lazy genius on Instagram. Okay, because my voice is like struggling big time, I'm so sorry about that. skip the lazy genius of the week so you don't have to listen to me anymore than you already have. Hopefully next week it's going to be better, but I appreciate you listening today. And until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm Kendra. I'll see you next week. If you ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life, it's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life? Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it.

You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A-plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.