Uniform Thoughts

Most of us, when we consider the concept of wearing a uniform, find it somewhat restrictive. A few, however, would be relieved. If you are one of those few, pay close attention now. I am going to make your life easier.

When I was growing up, my mom wore a uniform. Not a company logo polo shirt, or fatigues, or navy shirt and shorts; she had a certain formula for dressing that just worked for her; a template, if you will. Wearing a suit everyday in my former professional life was the same concept. Easy, but with variety not afforded by a traditional uniform.

My early post Facing Tomorrow Without Trauma struck a chord with some of you. In it, I chronicle my development of a personal template for what to wear to church.

The project (this should be fun):

• Get out your collages (or envelopes or piles) from the Sunday project I previously suggested. You should have one for each lifestyle segment.
• Work on one season at a time. Depending on where you live, you may choose to work on Winter or Spring, or even Summer at this time of year.
• Identify a "template" you would like to use for the season you are working on, in each category.
• "Bottoms up": Start with pants or skirt, add shirt, top with jacket or sweater. To be very thorough, plan also for shoes, coats, accessories, and even undergarments.
  

Here's a fictional Winter template plan:

Leisure = jeans + cotton tee-shirt + wool sweater
Casual = wool trousers + dress shirt + blazer or cardigan
Business = pant or skirt suit + silk blouse
Social = dark sleeveless dress

Enormously helpful in my life, this concept adds structure to our thinking about what to wear. Comments, suggestions, snide remarks?