One of the most frustrating ways to begin your morning is by rummaging through your closet
and struggling to calculate a perfect outfit. Starting your morning off like this can be exhausting
and at times a dread, but what if you made the outfit scavenging a game instead? The formula for
the stressful encounter can be as simple as inspiration + 8 points game + color wheel = the
perfect outfit.

Mood Boarding

One of the easiest ways to jump out of a rut is to find inspiration on apps like Pinterest or
physical media like magazines. Seeing those images can introduce you to different styles,
designs, and ways to wear them. Circle or save some of your favorite photos that showcase your
dream look. Then, paste them onto a mood board so that you have a good idea of the patterns
you find most appealing. Understanding the overall style you click with makes creating outfits
flow more naturally.

Ready, Set, Outfit!

The second step to solve this predicament is to turn your outfit sculpting into a game by adding a
point system to your different clothing and accessories. An example of this is basics (1 point),
eye-catching like ruffles and patterns (2 points), basic shoes (1 point), appealing shoes (2 points),
and accessories (1 point each). Your goal is to reach 8 so you can add appeal and dimension to
outfits.

An example of an outfit may look like this:

• A striped top with lace trim = 2
• Jeans = 1
• Knee-high boots with lace trim socks = 2
• A belt = 1
• Bangles = 1
• Statement earrings = 1

The point system can go up or down; the important thing is that the style looks complete to you.

Mix and Match

Being able to put together accessories isn’t the only part of building an outfit. Colors can play a
huge role as well. Understanding the color wheel and using it to your advantage can help you
quickly decide colors to mix with ease. The trick is to know a few simple combination methods,
such as complementary, analogous, and split-complementary.
Complementary: colors on the color wheel that are directly opposite each other.
Analogous: Neighboring colors on the color wheel.
Split-complementary: A color and the neighbors of the opposing color.
Colors can be any shade or tone, but practicing with your color combinations can make second-guessing finally fade away.

Morning Flow

Setting up your mornings to go as smoothly and easily as possible is ideal, as it gets the ball
moving for the rest of the day. Knowing the formula for outfitting gets the dressing up part out of
the way so you can make way for the extra steps of the morning and feel confident in yourself
while doing so. Now that you have the extra time, mornings are going to have less rushing to
class and more walking with style to grab that coffee on the way out.