Has anyone successfully transitioned to a minimalist work wardrobe/uniform?

[Anonymous]

I really want to do this but am afraid I’ll get bored with it unless I pick the the right look(s). My office is business casual at best. I feel most comfortable in dresses with tights/boots or ankle pants with a sweater or blouse. Anyone do this and stick with it?

[Anonymous]

Yes. My coworker and I do this. She wears all black, navy blue and grey only. I wear black, grey and emerald colors. We both only wear solids (except sometimes in cardigans). She wears Rothys, I wear driving mocs.

You could do one set of clothes for fall/winter and another set for spring/summer so at least if you get bored you know that there's a change coming in a few months.

[Anonymous]

I wear 5 out of the same 7 outfits every week. Does that count?

[Anonymous]

My entire wardrobe is black and grey, with some rare olive green or camel colored pieces. Nearly always solid. I don't get bored. I can mix casual leggings with a nicer sweater, and then put that nice sweater w a dress for work etc. I love it.

[Anonymous]

Its a hard look to pull off without looking frumpy and your clothes looking really worn. Just make sure you can easily replace the basic pieces and dry clean your pants. The dry cleaning keeps them crisp looking longer. Good jewelry really helps too.

[Anonymous]

I do this. It makes my life so much easier.
I wear white / beige blouses, black pants/ trousers and black or babe blazer if needed. Everything solid color, no pattern.
This way I don’t have to keep buying new work cloths.
I have a lot of nice, pretty fashionable, non working clothes that I am enjoy wearing them off work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its a hard look to pull off without looking frumpy and your clothes looking really worn. Just make sure you can easily replace the basic pieces and dry clean your pants. The dry cleaning keeps them crisp looking longer. Good jewelry really helps too.

I disagree—Most ppl with capsule wardrobes that are carefully selected and tailored look less frumpy than the people with huge wardrobes of trendy stuff that doesn’t fit well but looked good on some Instagram person.

[Anonymous]

Tailoring, high quality fabrics, and good accessories are key. I find I spend a lot more on things like hair, nails, skin, etc now that my clothes aren’t the focus.

[EyeCandyOP]

I just wear dresses. In the cold weather, dress + boots. In the warm weather, dress + shoes.

I have five cardigans I can throw over them.

Separates are where I always get tripped up, so I just let them go. If it's really, really cold. I'll put some tights on.

[Anonymous]

I did. I have about 5 outfits that I alternate.

The reality is---short of looking shabby--no one cares at all what I'm wearing. I'm a 45 year old woman. My work speaks for itself. I'm not trying to find a date at work.
My hygiene is impeccable and my clothing is up-to-date and in good condition. I'm not going to embarrass the company in front of a client. That's really all that matters.

[Anonymous]

If you are in good shape and wear high quality tailored clothes you can pull it off

[Anonymous]

Pls post outfits I need to shop

[Anonymous]

EyeCandyOP wrote:I just wear dresses. In the cold weather, dress + boots. In the warm weather, dress + shoes.

I have five cardigans I can throw over them.

Separates are where I always get tripped up, so I just let them go. If it's really, really cold. I'll put some tights on.

+1

I only wear dresses so that I never have to match my clothing. I have sleeve lift/short sleeve/thinner material for summer and lots of sweater dresses with leggings or tights in winter. I shop a lot at Marshall’s or online, typically everything’s $30-50 and as soon as it starts to look worn, I gave it away.

[Anonymous]

Have been doing it for many years, although I'm not super rigid (i.e., I have a small variety, not the exact same thing/brand every day). I don't wear dresses/skirts and only wear neutrals and mostly black (a little grey, white, ivory and light tan). I do have scarves in other colors. I also wear the same jewelry and pick from a limited number of shoes. I don't get bored - too much else to think about and it's a relief not to have to think about clothing. I do like fashion, but I'm not into having it rule my life or wallet.

[Anonymous]

Like others have said, the key is to stick to one color palette and only get accessories (jacket, shoes, jewlery) that look good with multiple pieces.

Interchangability is key, because it prevents scenarios like, "I can't wear that dress because the only cardigan it looks good with is dirty," or, "I'm running around searching for a specific necklace-earring set because it's the only one I have that's the right shade to match this outfit," or, "I never wear these pants because I don't have any shoes that match them."

My palette is mostly black and gray. I'm pleasantly surprised to find others here say the same, because most people think it's boring (but it doesn't have to be!). For color, I look for solid (non-patterned) pieces because those are easier to mix, like blue dress with any black jacket, green jacket and any white top with any black pants, etc..

One exception is that I try to avoid dresses that have black on the bottom in winter, because I like to wear black tights and I don't like when blacks don't match. And I don't like sheer tights.

I honestly have three pairs of shoes I actually wear: black flats for wearing with any/all dark colors, nude flats for wearing with all light colors, and black heels for fancy times.

If you want to keep things interchangeable, avoid navy. There are so, so many shades of navy and it's impossible to match from store to store. Heather gray can also present this problem.