The Benefits of Daily Outfit photos, part two

The other day I wrote about what benefits you may experience from taking photographs of your daily outfits. Continuing from there, I have some more suggestions for you.

Have you started photographing your clothing yet? I hope so. (Of course, you don’t have to put any of the pictures online unless you have strong exhibitionistic tendencies or want other people’s advice.) If you want to take it further, have slight Virgo inclinations or want to re-organise your wardrobe but are unsure where to start, I suggest you try making notes about what you’re wearing. You don’t have to write 1000 words, but a little bit about how you felt in your outfit will help you next time. Try to make the notes throughout the day — for example, you might feel good leaving the house, but as you walk to the bus you might find that your shoes are rubbing, your jacket’s too short, your hands are cold & you have no pockets or gloves, etc. I am a huge fan of the Hipster PDA & Moleskine notebooks & I tend to make notes in those.

An example of your notes throughout the day might go like this:
WEARING: Green jersey, short black skirt, black fishnets, black boots with green laces.
7am — Feel really good & sassy, even have eye makeup to match!
8.30am — Cold. Should have brought my scarf.
Would a green beret or beanie be too much? Fingerless gloves?
11am — Under fluorescent lights skirt looks dirty. Why God why?! Wash at home, if no better, dry-clean.
12.30pm — Maybe shouldn’t have worn skirt this short to work, creepy Wade from Accounts has been leering & it is unwelcome.
5pm — Wish I had a knee-length black woolen winter coat. Ebay!

You get the idea. If you keep this up, you’ll find that there are some things you can’t wear together, & some things that match like a dream. You’ll learn that some skirts need petticoats underneath them or they’ll stick to your stockings. It’s very liberating to feel like you actually have control over your wardrobe, rather than just throwing things on & hoping for the best.

When you couple the notes with the photographs, you’ll pick up other things. That jacket that makes you feel like a gridiron player actually makes you LOOK like one too! (Eek.) The plain black dress that bored you previously actually gives you an amazing silhouette from a distance. Of course, the major thing to note is that if you feel uncomfortable in something & it doesn’t look great on you, GET RID OF IT. Otherwise, every time you look at it or try it on, you’re only going to feel frustrated & unattractive. The best clothing minimises the parts of you that you’re not so keen on, & draws attention to the things you like. You don’t have to wear things that make you feel bad about yourself!

More tips on updating your wardrobe coming soon!

P.S. Happy New Year!