#100DaysOfBulletJournalIdeas: 45 - Outfit Planner

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Welcome to Day 45 of my #100DaysofBulletJournalIdeas Project! 

Idea 45: Outfit Planner

Outfit Planner

One of the things that can help you cut down on thinking about which articles of clothing go well with each other is planning them out beforehand and pairing certain items together. A few days ago I shared the Closet Inventory idea, you can use this as the first step before planning out which pieces go well together. First inventory, then plan (just like with meal planning!).

You can do this in several different ways:

1. Use columns

You could have columns for:

  • Tops

  • Bottoms

  • Outerwear

  • Underwear (different ones suit different outfits best)

  • Footwear

  • Accessories

Or by color. You could even have a different collection per season. 

2. Mindmap

You could brainstorm all the clothes you have, add a color swatch next to each item, and connect them with one another to pair things together. This will be messier, but also a little more organic to help you get it all out there.

3. Sticky Notes

This one might be a little more involved, but you could grab sticky notes and color-code by assigning an article of clothing to a color or using the color of the clothing for the sticky note and then planning out your outfits that way. This can make it simple to shuffle things around as needed.

4. Calendar

You could use a Monthly Log style calendar, a calendar in a grid form and then you could draw little pictures of the different articles of clothing (ooh, that's a cute idea, I kind of want to do that now :)), a weekly calendar, or something else. You could break it down with rows to add in tops, bottoms, shoes, and more. 

And several more ways, these are just some ideas off the top of my head :)

Other tips for planning your clothes ahead of time:

1. Plan the next day's outfit the night before

Put all the pieces together in one area so that in the morning you can toss them on. This method works especially well if you have something anxiety-inducing the following day such as the first day of classes, work, an interview, a meeting, or another event. By taking the initiative to plan and prepare, you reduce your anxiety - at least that's been my experience.

2. Consider the weather

Before I go out, I always check to see what weather will be like to know what to wear. Will it be cold? I'll wear a jacket. Will I be out for long? I'll wear comfortable shoes. Is it going to rain? Time to grab an umbrella and wear warm clothes. Is it going to be hot? I'll wear something light and breathable. Am I going to be out in the sun? I'll wear something I'm willing to get a possibly strange tan in. Things like that. 

3. What's the occasion? 

It's important to consider what you'll be doing for the event at hand. For example, if I'm going to see an old friend, I'll probably wear something that I feel good in. Chances are I'm probably a combination of nervous and excited to see them after such a long time, so wearing something I feel good in helps lessen that anxiety and I can share kind of where I'm at in a small way. So on and so forth with other occasions. 

4. Consider how your clothes make you feel

Clothing has been on my mind lately simply because I don't usually give it much thought, but I feel like it's time to give it a little more thought and I'll explain why. Part of the reason is because I think what you wear says a lot about how you feel. Choosing (or not choosing, and simply tossing something on) is telling about your mental health. Don't you sometimes feel like when you're sad you give less effort? Of course, the amount of effort anyone puts in to their getting dressed is entirely up to them, but I'm talking about basing it on your own standards.

There's probably a level of care you put in, and maybe when you're sad you don't put as much in. That's fine, that's part of the healing process, but it's also those little things to notice so that you can take steps to heal your heart. Maybe you didn't brush your hair, perhaps you forgot to or didn't even notice you didn't, and you tossed on a big oversized jacket and called it good. But inside maybe you don't feel good.

I've been there. I'm sure we all have those days.

However it may sound, sometimes when I'm sad and wear something that I feel good in, I feel a little boost, because it helps make me feel better. In that moment, I feel like some small part of my life was improved and that in turn improves my outlook mentally. Try it out for yourself and let me know how it goes.

Part of self-care is taking care of yourself. One of those things is dressing in a way that presents your style, what fits, what you feel good in, and what says how you're feeling. These are all things that have been on my mind lately and that's why I've been so keen to pretty much do a wardrobe update. Today I bought some fresh new basics I needed and I'm super excited about it. I'll feel more comfortable and there's just really nothing quite like finding the right fit. I think it helps you not notice it, and this way you can get more out of your day because it's one less thing to worry about. I'm all about streamlining and improving your foundation to help support your goals. 

Do you plan your outfits out ahead of time?