For the last 6 months I’ve been (over) thinking about how I get dressed and if I could make it any easier for myself. The first answer was no. But after overthinking some more, I came up with something I’ve been calling my Style Framework. And it includes three parts: The Usuals, The Uniform, and The Unicorns. In the plainest language, the usuals are your essentials, the uniforms are you go-to outfits and the unicorns are the personality.
Now this is just a blueprint of style; not a capsule, not a guide, which is why I call it my framework. There’s no rules and no gatekeeping, no unnecessary subtractions or additions. A capsule is great in theory but can become restrictive and….let’s just say it: kinda boring. I did capsules for a number of years, each month a new capsule but found that what I liked best about it was the same thing that I liked best about my remixes: the mixing and the matching. Not the constraints or the self-imposed rules. I liked the creativity, so was there a way I could hack back into the creativity but without the cage?
This ‘framework’ is just the way my brain thinks and it can be the way your brain thinks, too. Let’s break it down as this is actually what my content will look like each month with some essays in between, of course.
The Usuals
These are the items that you always reach for, i.e. your basics, your base, your closet foundations. What you consider your usuals will be different than mine, but mine are basically my favorite pieces I tend to wear week after week. Jeans, shorts, favorite shoes, tees, etc. You know, your usuals, the workhorses of your closet. I’ll be sharing my monthly usuals, the items I reach for each month and how they’re the basis for a great working wardrobe.
The Uniform
These are the outfits that you typically reach for in your closet. For me, it’s a simple top and jeans or a dress, you get it. This is what you typically go for each and every day. It’s OK if it’s simple and it’s OK if it’s complicated! It’s YOUR uniform. This usually combines a mix of The Usuals but overall this is your core wardrobe. Outfits that are easily created and repeated and that’s why they’re the uniform. You know them, you love them, you wear them.
The Unicorns
This is what I like to bring in for a boost of personality, to change things up, to give a little dopamine hit to my outfit. Now I personally have shied away from ‘unicorn’ pieces over the years because I ended up with too many unicorns and not enough simple pieces. I’ve since sold most of these pieces and now I’m starting from scratch building up my little collection of unicorn pieces. These are your show ponies, if you will let me continue on with my horse girl analogies. The pieces that don’t get everyday wear, but when they show up, everyone’s looking.
If my brain were on paper it would look something like this:
Along with a color palette and a little mini moodboard with style inspiration. This could be pretty photos, outfits I’ve screenshot, musings from Pinterest. Just anything I am currently thinking about that can translate into clothes.
And not just on paper, but online of course! My content will follow this formula each month, sharing my usuals for the month, my uniforms for the month and how I can upgrade my looks with a few unicorns. Shared once a week, building on each other throughout the month.
If you’re interested in looking at your closet this way, it’s quite easy to sort through because there are two categories: The Usuals and The Unicorns. The icing and the cake. Your closet combo could look like 75% Usuals x 25% Unicorns or 50% / 50%. It doesn’t matter as long as it works for you. Right now my closet is 80% Usuals and 20% Unicorns. (I’ll be honest the Unicorns are mainly from some rented pieces I’m borrowing this month!)
In my mind to have the right mix, I should be able to create a week’s worth of outfits without really even trying. By that I mean if I were to plan out using a formula (top + bottom + shoes + accessory) then I could easily build 7-10 outfits. If you can do that, then congrats! You’ve got a good mix. If you can’t and your pieces are all over the place and not really cohesive, then it might need some work. I say that with love and personal experience, my friend. I’ve spent the last 2 years figuring this out on my own. I’ve been clearing out my closet and really nailing down what I like to wear and what I don’t or won’t. Honestly do you want to know what happened when I started this process? I became really boring in my style. That’s because I had to take everything done to the studs and rebuild with the basics, or in my case, The Usuals. But I feel like know I’ve got a great foundation to start building my personal style on. (Bring on those Unicorns!)
On a personal note, I am still trying to figure out what my actual style is compared to what my jobs dictates. As career style blogger, I’ve rode the waves of trends and the demands of affiliate marketing and retailers over the last 16 years. I’ve lost myself in a few of those years, trying to figure out what readers wanted to see and buy. Sometimes getting caught up in the what instead of the why. But as it turns out, every time I tried to guess your style, I ended up losing a little bit of my own. Quietly I’ve spent the last 2 years trying to bifurcate the girl from the blog. Once I took my closet down to the studs, metaphorically of course I was able to start building back the basics. (If you are interested in how I did this, let me know!)
So then I know I can take any of my usual pieces and recreate any of my uniform formulas, if you will. If I’m feeling like I want to zhush up my outfit, then I’ll add in a unicorn piece.
And that’s it! That’s my Style Framework and the simple little method that I’ve been learning and living out. It’s helped me shop and style myself so I’m rarely caught with the thought, ‘sh*t I have nothing to wear.’ If this excites you, then stick around! Next week I’ll share my ‘Usuals’ for summer.
By the way, I’m going to keep my first few posts free, but I hope you become a Regular (AKA a subscriber) soon! We can navigate building our wardrobes together because even at 41, I’m still figuring out my style. Let’s refine, not reinvent together.
Thanks for being here! See you next week.
I hate that you are on Substack now! I loved your blog. I don’t intend to subscribe, and that makes me sad.