Outfit Recipes Part 2: the perfect go to low energy day personal style tool

Welcome to outfit recipes part 2! Outfit recipes are the perfect go to low energy day personal style tool and in this post we’ll dive into why.

Embracing your personal style and dressing fabulously when you feel confident with all the time in the world is one thing. Dressing well when you’re rushing out the door, or on a low energy day, or when you work from home 99% of the time and don’t remember going into the office is another. This is where outfit recipes come in (you could also think of them as outfit templates).

Again, this is part 2 of 2. In the previous post we covered what outfit recipes are with some examples (catch up on part 1 here). In this post we’re covering why to use an outfit recipe and my favorite outfit recipe use cases.

Even just a small handful of well built outfit recipes can change the game when it comes to dressing stylishly every day.

Why use an outfit recipe

There are plenty of reasons to use outfit recipes. Some of my favorite reasons include: 

Energy conservation 

Of course you can use the perfect go to low energy day personal style tool for energy conversation!

Outfit recipes are an amazing go to tool for days when you just don’t have the energy to put together an outfit. Having a couple go recipes that include specific pieces of clothing means you can stay stylish even on days you can’t put in the effort. 

For example: X shirt plus Y pants plus Z sweater for a low key work outfit.

When you’re using outfit recipes or templates for energy management, it’s a helpful thing to note in your wardrobe inventory. That way you don’t even have to remember what your outfit recipe is. (If you don’t have a wardrobe inventory, check out The Wardrobe Inventory Workbook for how to build one that works for you.) 

Less decision fatigue without resorting to a uniform

A personal style uniform is great if that’s your jam, but clothing uniforms don’t fit everyone’s personal style qualities or everyone’s lifestyle.

Plus if you happen to be femme presenting, personal style uniforms can make navigating interpersonal relationships more complicated – femme presenting personal style usually comes with the expectation that you’ll be wearing something visually different (but still fitting with your personal style and your surroundings) day to day. 

This is where outfit recipes come in: consistent and adaptable but visually different.

More creativity, like a fast sketch on a blank canvas

Outfit recipes let you have a framework that you know works for you, while also letting you explore your creativity. An outfit recipe needing X, Y, and Z, is the equivalent to a landscape painting needing a foreground, a middle ground and a background – start with the horizon and build from there.

Knowing what needs to go into the landscape painting or outfit lets you focus on getting creative with the details because you know the foundation is already solid. 

Systems vs vibes personal styling

In day five of 5 Days of Style I mention 2 ways to build outfits: systematic and vibes. Of course there are other ways to build outfits – systems and vibes just tend to be two ends of the “how to style” an outfit spectrum.

Outfit recipes are one of the systematic ways of building an outfit and are a wonderful personal style tool to have in your back pocket. 

3 of my favorite outfit recipe use cases

We’ve covered what! We’ve covered why! Let’s cover when! 

Outfit recipes can come in handy for a number of reasons. Three of my favorite use cases are… 

1. Styles or types of clothing that tend to be intimidating (ex. Bodycon dresses)

Some styles or types of clothing are just plain intimidating. Others feel like there’s only one way to wear them. This is a great time to use outfit recipes because these templates can help you see clothes in new ways. 

For example bodycon dresses (accurately or not) are often classified as drunk sorority girl dresses worn with heavy makeup and heels in hand. But that’s not the only way to style them.

Bodycon dresses are wonderfully versatile, but not if you think they only work with one outfit template. This is where something like the bodycon outfit recipe ebook can help you by providing a variety of starting points for new outfits. 

2. Rushed days (when you needed to get out the door 5 minutes ago)

Outfit recipes are wonderful for getting out the door fast. They have the benefits of a personal uniform. But without feeling as constrictive. 

Like the example from Part 1: Sneakers + jeans + graphic tee + blazer will get you out the door and look very put together. 

3. Nailing your personal style on low energy days and /or when you’re just not feeling it 

These can be full blown low to no energy days, or they can be days when you just don’t feel like putting an outfit together. 

Personal style is really easy when you’re feeling confident, brave, and secure. It’s not so easy when you don’t feel your best. (This is why I tend to work with people who are in a life pivot or transition or stepping up to be themselves – you don’t need my help with your style when you’re feeling sure about what to wear.) 

This is where outfit recipes can come to the rescue! Sometimes a starting point and a container to be creative within is the perfect thing to spark your styling genius. And if it doesn’t spark your creativity a good outfit recipe will still leave you wearing a cute outfit. 

Here’s to embracing your personal style even on low energy days!

One more suggestion: You can also pair a pre-built outfit recipe (from yourself or someone else) with dressing 5% fancier. This can work magic on days you’re just not feeling very stylish or when you want to take your style even further. 

And there you have it! 

What an outfit recipe is (from part 1), why you might want to use one, and my favorite outfit recipe use cases. 

One last beautiful thing about outfit recipes is they can be used with any type of wardrobe set up – from capsule, to seasonal, to mix and match, to uniforms, to subgenres, and more!