A few years back I got the opportunity to work from home which as a mom of three was something I always dreamed of doing. Fun fact: I spent 14 years as a telecom engineer prior to accidentally stumbling down the path of style. At first working from home was all sunshine and rainbows. Then I started to notice small, seemingly harmless changes. My closet full of corporate clothes was now obsolete. Instead of my favorite office attire, I slipped into my comfy black yoga pants and faded sweatshirt, pulled my hair back in a ponytail, and called it good for the day. Which would have been fine if I had been planning to do yoga (or anything else active).
This became my new work-at-home-mom uniform. It’s what I was wearing every morning when my husband kissed me goodbye and again when we greeted each other at the end of the day.Hey, at least I wasn’t spending all day in my pajamas, so points for that! Honestly, I’m not sure that would have made much of a difference because I slid down the slippery slope into my yoga pants rut anyway.
One day I decided to start dressing myself for “work” each day but realized the big problem was that I was defaulting to yoga pants because I didn’t have a wardrobe that worked for my new work from home lifestyle.
The biggest obstacle that was standing in my way and stands in the way to women feeling confident in their clothes is this: you need to have the right pieces in your closet and just as importantly know how to pair them up. As an engineer, I knew there had to be a better way, a framework or formula for getting dressed every day. So I sat down and created outfit formulas, I started blogging about my journey and it changed my life.
I now walk confidently into my closet every single day and know exactly what to wear, no matter the occasion or event or even just to work from home all day. All because of a foolproof system that transformed how I look at my wardrobe.
What is an Outfit Formula?
Well it’s fun math. I know some of you think math can’t be fun but just trust me. Simply put, it’s a combination of pieces that create a complete look. It’s much like combining the ingredients in a recipe to create a meal. However, unlike meal planning, you can take liberties with these ingredients without totally ruining the dish.
If you think about the formula in mathematical terms, it’s meant to be evaluated. It starts with the basic variables of any outfit formula: bottoms, tops, topper, shoes, accessories
You can then use pieces from your own closet to replace the variables with specific values for example:
Jeans + T-Shirt + Cardigan + Flats could be
White Jeans + Striped T-Shirt + Navy Cardigan + Red Flats
When you consider an outfit formula, look at your closet for your specific values, what types of bottoms, tops, toppers and shoes do you have? Your outfit options become endless. You’ll never say you have nothing to wear again!
You have BIG things to do in this world too. It’s all about impact and making change and whether that means setting an example for your kids or influencing the lives of hundreds or thousands, I want you to show up as the best version of yourself. What you do matters, you make a difference in the lives of others so I want you to SHOW UP and make that impact. Feeling confident in your clothes is a powerful way to do that.
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Alison Lumbatis is the founder of the style blog Get Your Pretty On and creator of Outfit Formulas, a first of its kind online personal styling program with over 100,000 members. Alison has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal and Life & Style. Alison is a mom of three and a self-described recovering yoga pants addict.
Alison’s latest project, The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas, releases next month, but is now available for preorder.
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