Stress Dressing and Outfit Formulas

Live your best cartoon character life!

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The last several months have been tough. I got very sick twice, dealt with a personal loss, fell wildly behind on my work, and experienced some of my worst chronic illness flare-ups to date, among other things. I also started this newsletter, presented my research twice, and did many exciting things that I’m sure I’ll be proud of once my body has a chance to rest. Currently, though, it feels like my brain is operating at half capacity, so my day-to-day relationship with fashion has been relatively strained. 

Sometimes dressing up makes me feel so creative, joyful, and free, and other times it makes me even more exhausted. I try to balance both of these moods as they come up, but they’re hard to predict. In order to make space for both options, my happy medium has involved a go-to outfit formula. When I feel like dressing up and having fun with my outfits but don’t have the mental energy to be creative, I fall back on three items:

1. White boots (or white sneakers). If I know what shoes I’m wearing, the rest of the outfit typically follows. I got my boots on sale from L’intervalle in 2021 and they’re still going strong (they’re the Amiens Boots in white leather and they’re currently on sale again for $105 CAD, incidentally). They’re very comfortable and instantly make my outfits more fun, but sometimes sneakers are the wiser choice. 

2. White headband or scarf. If I don’t have to worry about frizz or whether my hair is sitting the way I want it to, I’m happy. 

3. Any loose dress. Self-explanatory: the most comfortable creations in the world. 

Some examples:

One of my most recent thrift finds!

Photo is from last spring, but this dress has been such a time-saver lately

Another recent thrift find with a petticoat underneath

A slightly higher-effort 60s/2010s twee moment (or so I’ve been told), depending on your perspective

This leaves me with an almost-uniform to play with, which I really love. When I’m anxious, this process also helps reduce the amount of time and energy I put into getting dressed – I have been known to fall into long spirals while trying to find pieces that look or feel inexplicably “right,” so it has been immensely helpful to remove that routine from my mornings. An added bonus: I feel like a cartoon character with a signature outfit. 

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How are you feeling about outfit formulas? Do you have a favourite?

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Outfit formulas are obviously not my original idea, but far too much fashion content out there makes it seem strange to rewear clothes frequently – clearly not a reasonable expectation unless your wardrobe is constantly changing. Clothes are meant to be worn!

Anyway, I don’t normally like getting so personal online, but I’d also love to see more conversations around the process of getting dressed. It affects each of our bodyminds differently, and if you also share in this stress (whether permanent or due to seasonal burnout), I see you. I hope you’re hanging in there.