Simplicity Part 3: My Favorite Outfit

ByJean LeFebvre
Download Simplicity Part 3

My Favorite Outfit: Jacket/Pants/Striped T-Shirt/Art Jewelry., What’s Yours?

There is that perfect outfit – the one that says, “I’m on my game.” “I’ve got this.” “When I wear this, I feel powerful. ”When I wear this, I can just get to work, no attention on my clothes. OR, when I wear this, I’m ready for fun, a party, etc. There is much to be said in favor of uniforms, but in this case, it’s your very personal uniforms. Uniforms are a type of discipline, and that discipline also brings with it the freedom to say NO to anything that is less than perfect for you. Start by referring to your 3 Secret Words and then read on.

Right now, tell me your favorite outfit. What makes it your favorite? Here’s my checklist for what makes a favorite:

Comfort: You can wear it without having to hold in your tummy or constantly adjust the fit, you put it on, and you look right for you, and you feel right for you, in fact you feel amazing. It doesn’t make your feet hurt.

Style: It’s got to be timeless, that means it looked good in the 70’s, 90’s and right now. Think, wrap dresses, blazers and cardigans, V-neck sweaters or overblouses, slim or slightly flared skirts or pants. Caution: prints are dicey – they go in and out of fashion so be aware that you will have to update them more so than solids or stripes. Stripes are easier, if they look good on you.

Color: Your best neutrals, your best accent colors, not weird or trendy, unless that is who you are. NO JUDGEMENT HERE!

So, here’s the crux of the matter: ALL your clothes could be your favorite outfits. It takes discipline, vigilance and commitment to what’s best for you. Here are some ideas you must conquer:

The temptations of the sale rack: You buy it something great on sale, only problem is that it’s not great for you.

The guilt inducing, “It’s a little out of my price range.” If you are buying only the good stuff, paying a little more won’t matter. Your cost per wear can get almost to zero.

Settling: This one is the worst. You go shopping and don’t want to come home empty handed so you buy something that is ok, or even almost ok, but definitely not wonderful.

Mistakes: We all make them but how do you handle them? Return the item if possible or donate, sell or give away if you can’t return, leave it in the back of the closet, wear it even if it doesn’t work for you. Hmmm, if this is one of your issues, only buy at stores with generous return policies and use them. Or, if you refuse to make returns, get them out of your closet quickly!

Finally, looking great, all the time, takes work up front, getting the right clothes, refusing the wrong ones, getting them tailored, correcting mistakes quickly. After that… well then you have the fun of effortless dressing, every time you get dressed. And there are also the tons of compliments to look forward to:

  • “You look amazing!”
  • “How do you manage it? You always look fantastic!”
  • “Where do you shop? Everything you have is wonderful!”
  • “I want to look just like you! I love everything you own!”

Most of all you will have the pure joy of loving the way you look, every time you get dressed!

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10 Comments

  1. Color is important it doesn’t mater how pretty or nice the outfit if the color is not favorable to you. My favorite outfit for summer is white and accent color jewelry, or with beautiful color scarf’s and a nice hat. You look nice with jour nice black outfit. Thank you for you information on fashion. Cristabell

    1. So welcome, Cristabell. I don’t wear black consistently but this unlined Chanel-type jacket was one I couldn’t pass up. It’s easy to throw on over pants, skirts, and jeans. The length is perfect and it has pockets. The texture takes away the typical harshness of the black. It checked all my boxes for a favorite!

  2. I am on board with everything you said……..my beliefs exactly. Be in love with everything you buy……and return the mistakes.

  4. Well Jean, I don’t really have a favorite outfit right now. Since I retired I seldom really get “dressed up”. When I was working I had several favorites. One was a chocolate brown, black and rust glen plaid matching tailored jacket and pants suit. I loved it because it looked great on me and ALL the intersections of the plaid matched perfectly. That is one of my biggest pet peeves with stripes and plaids. Another was a solid cream color tailored jacket with a matched skirt. Both outfits allowed me to change out the colors of a shell to wear under the jacket and also coordinate my shoe colors. Both were also appropriate for so many different occasions. Unfortunately, both outfits are too small for me now, but as you might expect…they are still hanging in my closet. LOL!!!!

    1. Fran, The ones you have sound lovely, and there is a place for momentos, I love looking at my history from time to time too. Your the challenge is to find a few outfits that are so perfect for right now that you love them as much as your momentos. They don’t have to be dressed up if that isn’t your current lifestyle. Have some fun window shopping online too!

  5. Well, yes, I have a favorite outfit. But it could be improved. I have a sparkly black, loose fitting sleeveless shirt, and over that I wear a light weight black shirt. Black pants. It would be much improved in my opinion if I could find a sparkly gold or red shirt instead of black, but I’ve looked for that for years and never found one. And the black pants could be improved by getting some new ones…the ones I have are kinda old and stretched out. My problem is being disabled, I have trouble getting out to shop for these things, and certainly haven’t gone shopping in the pandemic. I’ve tried to find things online but no luck on gold or red sparkly. Where does one find something like that online?

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