Recently I was on a Facebook Live Q&A session in my 7 Steps to Style private group and one of the questions was about how to look more polished when you have a very ‘relaxed’ personality.
What you may not realise is that I, like you may be, are essentially lazy. So how do you make it easier to look stylish every day without it feeling like a whole load of effort?
1. Make it Easy for Yourself
Getting dressed is easy when you have an organised wardrobe of clothes that colours work together – multicoloured skirt like this? Find a couple of other pieces that contain the same colour – easy!
Firstly, you want to make it easier for yourself to get dressed each day. This means having a wardrobe that only has clothes in it that you love and love wearing. Having a closet of clutter and things that don’t work takes up time and energy. Why not get a wardrobe audit or do one yourself so that you’re not fossicking through a mountain of clothes that you will be bypassing each day?
2. Organise Your Wardrobe
Secondly, an organised wardrobe makes a massive difference. Once you’ve cleared out, you can see what you actually have, and then when it’s organised (this is how I like to do it, but you can find your own system) you’ll find it’s so much easier to make outfits each day.
Yes, it can take a little longer when you’re putting things away, but that effort is repaid every day when you can more quickly and easily find what you’re looking for.
Think about also organising your accessories – if they are out and easy to find and put on – you’re more likely to use them. When I had all my necklaces tangled in a drawer, I hardly ever wore them. Now that I hang them on hooks on the wall, I wear them every day! Why not create your own accessory station.
3. Create Go-To Outfits
Thirdly, take the time to create lots of go-to outfits. Take photos of them and put them in an album on your phone. Then in the morning you can scroll through it and know exactly what you’re going to put together, accessories and all – this takes the extra thinking out of getting dressed.
Jeans + knit top + topper + necklace = outfit done!
Another easy layered outfit – jeans + blouse + jumper/sweater + necklace- can you see my formula? 2 neutrals + 1 colour
4. Plan the Night Before
Make a plan – it could be the weekend before, put together your outfits for the week and hang them together or just, plan the night before, check the weather forecast and select an outfit in advance so that when you’re in the morning rush you don’t have to think. Make sure you include all the elements – accessories and shoes as well as clothes.
5. Get a Hairstyle That Requires Minimal Styling
Speak to your hairdresser and get a hairstyle that is fast and easy for you to do that flatters. Hair and grooming make a massive difference in your overall style and appearance. Get your hairdresser to work with your hair texture and cut it so that it requires minimal daily maintenance. Let your hairdresser know that you are a low maintenance kind of gal and that you need a low maintenance style.
I wash my hair and blow dry one day, and then on days 3 or 4 it gets tied up. Simple and easy
5 Essential Questions To Ask Yourself When Choosing a Hairstyle
6. Find a Fast and Easy Makeup Routine
Now let’s talk makeup. You don’t have to wear it, but it does at a finishing touch. What’s important is to find a fast and easy makeup routine, it doesn’t have to be much, but sometimes a tiny bit of concealer, or mascara, or mineral powder, or whatever it is for your face, makes the most massive difference to your overall style. Read up my tips on is there a bare minimum for makeup.
7. Create Your Own Uniform
A uniform way of dressing gives you a simple and easy formula to follow every day. If this appeals to you, it really takes the brainwork out of getting dressed each day. Start with your neutral basics and build from there (get my tips here on just how to create your own). Building a wardrobe of clothes that work and play well together will always make your life easier (and dressing speedier). Know your body shape and what flatters, then only buy clothes that fit your criteria!
It’s a uniform of sorts – straight skirt, + top + topper + accessories
Further Reading to Help You Become Stylish In Minutes a Day
The Lazy Girls Guide to Looking Good – How to Improve Your Image While Watching TV
Listen…. Do You Hear That? What is Your Body Telling You About Your Wardrobe?
Linking up withVisible Monday, Style with a Smile, Not Dressed as Lamb, Shoe Nudge, Top of the World
I am so glad I found your blog. Love the name of it. You have great style. Loving all these cozy layered looks. The first 4 outfits are great for early Autumn.
Welcome by and join my monthly Sunday Showcase linkup and my Thursday Moda linkup tomorrow (every week). Thanks, Ada. =)
Thanks so much Ada – lovely to have you here.
Hi Imogen,
I am so grateful for your blog. I learn heaps, and definitely think I’m looking better more often by sticking to some of the formulae you’ve introduced — like two neutrals plus a colour and lowered contrast.
I am a receptionist and need to look pulled together, but that 7 am start time is killer for a lazy dresser. I have a tip that plays on your organization points.
My “work bottoms” hang together in a section and I wear them in strict rotation. I have 15 or 20, which seems a lot when I see it here, but it works for me, and gives the variety I feel is required by my job as “the face of the company”. Each evening, I glance at the bottom that’s up next. I know each bottom has a handful of looks that work, including a sure winner or two. I let my outfit options mentally stew overnight and by morning, I just pull it all out and go. If I just can’t face a decision or don’t feel like wearing what I’d chosen, I have two dresses that never miss.
My colleagues laugh when I admit that if today is the third Thursday, it’s grey straight skirt day, but it works for me.
Thank you for all you do for us
Really good advice! I try to keep my wardrobe organised, but over time the system slips a bit. Sometimes I plan my outfit the night before, but other days I look through my wardrobe on the day to see what I fancy wearing. Having a few outfits that you know work is a good foundation though, I do this for work. Thanks for linking up!
Emma xxx
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