With a flutter of excitement you realise that the event that you’ve been waiting for is just a couple of days away. You’ve been so busy doing what you do that time has whizzed by and you’re thinking WOOOHOOOO!!! It’s just a few more sleeps and I’m THERE…. Until…
Until you start thinking about what you need to pack. Ugh. Packing. Stupid packing. “Who packs in advance anyway” runs through your head and so you put it off till the next day.. and then the next day…
Oops! It’s the night before. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning. Better get this packing DONE. Generally speaking, you’re efficient. You GET. THINGS. DONE. So why can’t you do THIS?!?! It’s just packing. It’s just an event. GAH!
If any of this sounds like you, it’s OKAY. This happens to the best of us!
So, if you are attending an event soon (or RUNNING one) and….
If the thought running through your head “Argh! What am I going to wear” you are NOT ALONE!
At events I run, I hear this! When organising retreats, I hear it from clients! They weren’t sure what to pack. What to bring. What kind of dress code. What’s the weather going to be like…. so many OPTIONS!!
Honestly. It’s something I think about too.. but these days I have a strategy to it rather than leaving it to chance.
It DOES take a little organisation… but you’ll be right once you have it sussed!
The first thing I do is think about what I am LOVING wearing right now in my wardrobe. Generally that’s jeans (blue or black doesn’t really matter) and I kind of work my way up from there.
I always PLAN for the room to be cold (or cool) and so I think.. what’s the least amount of clothes I’m willing to be seen in and then layer up from there!
Flats for through the day (despite my lack of height) or wedges at a push. And then a jacket to throw on over the top and a scarfe to finish it off.
HERE’S THE THING…. WHAT YOU WEAR DOES MATTER.
It MATTERS.
Don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me please. What you wear MATTERS.
Like it or not, first impressions are made within MILLISECONDS of someone seeing you – so you want to make that first impression count.
I’m not saying you dress in a way that has them seeing you for who you are NOT… I’m saying dress in a way that CLEARLY COMMUNICATES who you are and what you’re there to do.
Don’t suit up if it’s not right for you.
Don’t hippy tie-dye outfit if it’s not right for you.
I LIKE to feel ‘dressed’ when I’m at events, so tend to go a little more dressed than I do if I’m working from home… but this is the rule of thumb.
Dress for YOU as well as dressing for HOW YOU WANT TO BE SEEN.
The next thing that I do, is create a checklist.
PLEASE. FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HATE CHECKLISTS, I’M WITH YOU!!!!! I don’t like them generally, either.. but at least if I’m making a checklist, it means I have ZERO decisions to make around wardrobe while I’m away!!!
So here’s the deal and this is exactly what I do:
- Write each day down including your travel day if necessary.
- Monday (Travel)
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday (travel)
- I then write down what kind of ‘look’ I want to achieve for each day
- Monday (Travel) – casual
- Tuesday – laid back
- Wednesday – smart casual
- Thursday (travel) – casual
- I THEN actually write down what I’m going to wear
- Monday (Travel) – casual – Blue jeans. Grey top. Cami. Silver flats. Blue scarfe. Black jacket.
(And I do this for each day)
- Monday (Travel) – casual – Blue jeans. Grey top. Cami. Silver flats. Blue scarfe. Black jacket.
- What this gives me is an outfit blueprint for each day. When I unpack upon arrival at the hotel, I get my little checklist out and have it visible and then get dressed according to the outfit list!
If you think about it… the ‘big’ decision makers use strategies to DECREASE the amount of decisions that they make so that their brain is left available for the BIG decisions.
Image credit: Forbes.com(You can read more about it here on Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/10/05/steve-jobs-always-dressed-exactly-the-same-heres-who-else-does/ )
Let’s face it.. if you’ve been at an event and your brain is leaking all over the floor because it’s SO FULL OF GOODNESS.. the last thing you want to be thinking about is what the hell am I going to wear!
Have fun with it.
Life’s too short to wear clothes you don’t FEEL good in.
