The Lazy Genius Podcast - #333 - 7 Ways to Always Know What to Wear

Episode Date: September 25, 2023

Today, I’m going to share 7 ways to always know what to wear. You can pick one, or you can pick all seven. Either way, you’re going to leave with more calm and hopefully even more excitement about the daily act of putting on clothes.   Helpful Companion Links ABLE x The Lazy Genius The original Monday uniform blog post Windblown Jewelry Spiedel watch Episode 280: How to Find Your Personal Style Sign up for the Latest Lazy Listens email. Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links) 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

Hi there, you are listening to the lazy genius 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 33, seven ways to always know what to wear. I am so pumped about this episode because getting dressed is one of those things that we do every day. And daily things take their toll. Sometimes we're just over getting dressed and figuring out an outfit and what does an outfit even really mean? etc, et cetera, et cetera. Today I'm going to share seven ways to always know what to wear. You can pick one or you can pick all seven. Either way, you're going to leave with more calm and hopefully even more excitement about the daily act of putting on clothes. All right, so we have this magic trick here.

All seven of these ways to always know what to wear. Come down to one thing. Decide once. Decide once is a lazy genius principle. It's the first principle described in my book, The Lazy Genius Way. and it is as close to a hack as you'll get around here. I actually almost named this episode seven ways to hack an outfit, which is actually pretty accurate still. But I try and avoid that word because hack, it does not always include the choice of what matters. It's just something to make a situation easier or lazier or whatever.

And that's bad. I mean, I like that. But we do that on purpose. As lazy geniuses, we don't just hack to hack. We don't just make things easier to make everything easier. We intentionally name what matters and what doesn't so that we know where to funnel our lazy energy and our genius energy. So, you know, I like a shortcut, but to somewhere we know. So anyway, Decide Once is a great shortcut to help us know what to wear every day without as much effort or frustration.

Deciding once is basically you decide make a decision about one thing, one time, and then you keep doing it until it doesn't work for you anymore. pretty basic. So this list is pretty much seven ways that you could decide once when it comes to getting dressed. Again, pick one, pick three, pick seven, change them around, depending on the season of your life. In fact, I think that if and when you hit a wall where knowing what to wear just drives you nuts, come back to this episode and get another idea that could help you wherever you are. Okay, let's do this. Here are seven ways to always know what to wear. by deciding once. Number one, decide your silhouette once. What's a silhouette? It is the shape of you and your clothes. Okay, if you put on an outfit and then you shine a light either behind or in front of you,

I don't know science stuff. It's just the outline of you, right? What outline do you love wearing? This is seriously one of the best ways to decide once, because if you have a silhouette or two that are your go-toes, you can skip new items of clothing or outfit combinations that don't match your silhouette. You're just done, done. So going into fall, one of my personal favorite go-to silhouettes is a wide-legged pant, a fitted shirt that's tucked in, and then a blazer or a sweater over the top. So the outline of the pants is wide. The jacket or the cardigan or whatever the outer layer is, it needs to hit me, the silhouette

that I like. It needs to hit me like right at hip level. maybe a little above, maybe a little below, but like right around the hip, nothing super long because I'm short. And so anything super long, just I don't like that. And then I also like for that outer layer to be tapered in just a smidge at the waist, especially if it is below my waist, that is a silhouette that I can always depend on. It doesn't matter what the specific pant or shirt or jacket or sweater or whatever it is I wear. As long as they are the right shape and they create the same general outline, the outfit will work. It will work. Another silhouette that I love for myself

is slouchy pants and an oversized top. The outline of that is like mostly a blob really, but I love the blob. But here's the one thing about the blob outline that makes it work for me. I almost always, whenever I do a blob silhouette, I almost always cuff my pants and show my ankle a little bit, like a like a scandalous woman in the 1700s. Even if it's cold and I'm wearing socks, the outline of the slouchy pant coming into like a narrow ankle and then back out again for the shoes is just it balances that slouchy blob a little bit. It's a nice outline for me. It's like the blob is on purpose. So how do you find your silhouette? All right. It's pretty simple. Put on an outfit that you love like a single outfit. Even if you just have one, put on an outfit. Look at it in the mirror

and notice the shape. Are the pants wider than your waist? Do you like a puffer? Do you like a sleeve to give you some structure to your top half. Just what's the shape? What's the outline? And then you can decide once that that outline is how you're going to put outfits together. I have about three silhouettes that I lean on at all times. And it makes shopping and getting dressed every day so much easier. I know that I will not wear a wide-legged pant with an oversized top. That is not an outline for me. But a slouchy pant that's like more straight leg, it's still kind of slouchy with the same top? Yes, absolutely. So it's so helpful to clarify what to wear. So that is your first decide once. Decide your silhouette. We'll be right back.

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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. All right. Number two, decide your uniform once. Okay, I've talked about a Monday uniform for years, but the idea of a uniform is not new, nor must it be specific to Monday. You're basically naming, this is what I wear on this day. It can be an actual outfit like black pants.

and a chambre shirt. That was my Monday uniform for years. It can be a color choice, like on mean girls. We wear pink on Wednesdays. It can be black pants in any top on meeting days, like if you have a work meeting. It could always be a dress on Thursdays. It could be whatever you want it to be. You're simply deciding one time that this is what I wear on this day or for this occasion. For example, my going out to eat fancy uniform is always a all black. Now, it might be different versions, you know, like black pants and a black top, all kinds of black tops. It could be a black jumpsuit that I have, a black dress, if I could dig it out in my closet somewhere. But my, let's go have a fun, fancy night out uniform is always

all black. It just is. It makes it so much easier. In fact, I love uniforms so much. I did a collab with Able, a clothing brand that I really love. Some of you might have seen it last week, because it launched last week. And it is 100% a decide once uniform. We made a pair of over called the all-day jumpsuit in two colors, a black and then a, like a really rich olive. It's so pretty. And then a classic top, a short sleeve top called the go-to tea and another two colors and like a white and a black. And you can mix and match those pieces to create four different uniforms. But, you know, the uniform is the jumpsuit in the top. Like, no matter what. Like that's, you know that's going to be your uniform or the jumpsuit in any top or that top in any pant. Like,

those pieces are so versatile. They can be used in all kinds of uniforms, which makes me very happy. And that was the point of making those clothes. But that's how much I love uniforms. I had a clothing brand make some for me. It was pretty great. So if you want to check the pieces out, the link is in the show notes, or you can go to Abel's website, Abel Clothing, A-B-L-A-B-L-A-Belthoghing.com, and you'll see the lazy genius pieces. But uniforms are without question an excellent way, excellent way, to decide once in your closet and always know what to wear. Okay, number three, decide your brand or store once. If you are in the market for new clothes at any point, decide you could decide.

You don't have to do this. But decide one time where you're going to go if that's a strategy that works for you. My go-to stores or brands are able, made well, and Banana Republic factory. Weirdly not Banana Republic proper, but almost everything I've ever gotten at factory stays a favor for a long time. and fits me great. Like, it's just, it's fantastic. But knowing brands or stores that just work for you consistently can be a great way to limit your choices when it's time to shop for sure, but even when knowing what to wear. So I have clothes in my closet from other brands than the ones I just mentioned, but if I had to pick out my five to 10 favorite outfits that make me feel the most like myself,

I would guarantee you that only those brands I mentioned would be on the labels, like almost certainly, exclusively. So if you have the experience of a brand that works for you, consider making that a decide once. Just shop there or shop your closet from those places because you know that those clothes are going to be so easy for you to wear. Another direction you can take with this is to, you know, decide once to only buy secondhand. It doesn't have to be a specific brand or store. It could be secondhand. Maybe you only do thread up or your local thrift store or Poshmark. or something, it doesn't just have to be about the brand or how that brand fits you. It can be about where you like to go to find clothes that work for you.

So the more you're able to find and keep clothes that make you feel great at one place, the more comfortable you will be getting dressed every day because you know those brands are dependable and they're going to work great for you. Okay, so that's number three. Decide your brand or your store once. Number four, decide your color palette once. Now, this one might not be for everybody, just like all of these are not for everybody. But you might find a lot of freedom in knowing what to wear if you limit yourself to certain colors.

Now, some people have done this by getting their actual colors done. You know, you might use a company like created colorful or color guru or some other coloring service, that someone essentially tells you what colors you should and should not wear that make you look the most like yourself. the most alive and bright. But my card, when I got my colors done, it told me not to wear black. And under no circumstances, am I listening to that? I wear black almost every single day. And I will not change that.

I won't. But my color palette, personally, is pretty limited already. It's white, black, any of the blues that are on my color card, with the occasional sprinkle of lavender pink and a particular green. in a particular green, maybe gray, gray greens. But outside of that, I tend to not wear any other colors. Now, is this a fixed rule for me? It's not really, actually.

I don't decide once about my color palette as specifically as I do my silhouettes and my uniforms and my stores. Those are pretty set. But it's still a great option to help you always know what to wear. You know, you wear these colors. Done. Number five, decide your starting point once. really love this one. When you're putting an outfit together, it may be really helpful to choose the same starting point. So it could be a piece of clothing, you know, like you always start with

your shoes or with the bottoms that you're going to wear, you know, with the pants or the skirt or whatever. It could be that you always start with your comfort or your mood or, you know, fill in the blank with whatever. But I personally do love having a starting point every day. Mine, I didn't realize I do this, but I super duper do this. Mine is pants. I always start with pants. Always. I wear pants almost exclusively, except for overalls, which I count as pants.

But I don't do skirts or dresses, hardly ever. I honestly cannot remember the last time I wore a skirt. I don't, I don't know if I even own a skirt. But when I am deciding what to wear, I start with the pants I want to wear that day. And then I build my outfit from there. The other weekend, I was making, I was making friendship bracelets with some women who are in the lazy genius membership community called The Neighborhood. And we had like a little get together and it was super fun. And I stood over, we were making friendship bracelets together.

And I was standing over this table of beads, all these colors of beads. And I was a little overwhelmed at where I wanted to start with it. Right. And a lovely, a lovely human named Jesse said, well, pick your must have color. Start there. And then you can build, you know. Don't start from the. entire color story at once. Just start with one color. That is exactly what I did and it totally,

totally worked. And I think the same is true of outfits. When you don't know what to wear on a consistent basis, decide once where you will start. It helps eliminate other possibilities and the overwhelm so quickly. We'll be right back. Okay, number six, decide your accessory choices once. I know I said that you only have to choose one of these and not all seven, but so far I pretty much use all of these. I think that's why I was going to say always, almost always, because I'm a human and not a machine. But I think that's why I usually know what to wear. And for this one, this is also true. My accessories are decided. I wear glasses because, you know, I can't see without them. But I also could wear contacts and I choose not to because I love the accessory of my glasses. I wear either a nude

lipstick or a red lipstick, which is honestly a nude-deside ones for me that I'm super into. I wear my speedle, speedle spital. I don't know how to say it. My speedle watch in whatever color I'm feeling, I have three colors. I mentioned that watch in the most recent What Save of My Life episode since that episode I have also bought it in red because, of course I did. And then I also wear windblown jewelry. Those are my accessories.

Oh, and if you include shoes, are shoes accessories? I'm not really sure. but I pretty much wear oxfords and vans, like almost exclusively. And then for bags, I only wear able bags. So many places that I have decided once with accessories. So for you, even if it is a single lip color or a necklace or a purse or a ring or a blush or whatever it is, having that pop that you can depend on definitely makes it easier to know what to wear.

And then finally, number seven, decide how you want to feel once. I did a few style episodes a year or two ago, and that was one of the things we talked about a lot were style words. How do you want to feel when you're figuring out what to wear? Now, for some of you, you do not want to decide this once. You feel different ways, different days, and that is preferred. That is what you want. So keep going in that, please. Do that for sure. But for me, I have decided one time that I want to feel cool in whatever I'm wearing every day. That's my word. Now it's my own definition of cool for me, you know.

But if I don't feel cool, I'm not wearing the outfit. So this is a great way that I personally always know what to wear. I only have clothes that are cool by nature or can be made cool by being paired with something cooler. It's like a whole alchemy in my closet. But that singular choice has made it so that I always. know what to wear. I always want to feel cool and cool I shall be. So those are the seven ways to always know what to wear. Decide once anywhere you can, anywhere you can. But I do think that some

great places to do that are with your silhouette. I think that's actually the sneaky superstar here in this list. Your silhouette, your uniforms, the store or brand you shop from, a color palette, what you start an outfit with, your accessory choices, and then your style words, or how you want to feel. If you slowly begin to make decisions and even one of these areas, like one choice in one of these areas, is going to make it easier for you to know what to wear. And then over time, as you get more comfortable with that choice,

and then you add another one, and then maybe another one and another one, you might actually end up being where I am now, where actually I have fun. I have fun figuring out what I'm going to wear. It's fun now because I have eliminated. so many of the options. And that's the seven ways to always know what to wear. Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week. This week it is Laura Holmes. Lara emailed, hello at the lazy genius collective.com, which you can do that as well and put LG of the week

or lazy genius of the week in the subject line. But Laura writes this. I have three littles, and especially with my active two-year-old son, I do a ton of laundry. And a lot of times, I end up folding laundry and noticing that there's clothes that have been dried without being treated for stains or I forgot about a shirt or two in the laundry. My LG hack, I started putting stained clothes in a lingerie or garment bag. Target sells a big one for like $4. That way I can find all the stained clothes to make sure the stains got out before I throw them in the dryer. And I don't miss anything that may need another treatment. So she actually washes the clothes in the garment, the stained clothes. The stained clothes in the garment bag so that if they don't get out, she can treat them and wash them again.

I love this idea, Laura. There are so many layers to laundry and stained clothes is yet another one of them. It can be so frustrating to get to the end of the laundry process and then realize that the clothes you thought were clean are not quite as clean as you expected because the stains didn't come out. So this idea of putting those stained clothes in their place, right? That's a lazy genius principle, put everything in its place. it saves that frustration and then possibly some clothes in the process. So I love this idea, Laura.

Congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. All right, all, that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening. 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. 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.