How to Build Outfit Formulas

Outfit formulas.  What are they?  Why are they important?  Or are they?  Well, for one, if you’re looking to make getting dressed simple, say like, you only have 10 minutes to get yourself ready, after you've made breakfast for your kids, packed lunches, helped tie shoes, and filled the water bottles, the clock reading 7:38 a.m and you've got to be out the door by 7:45 a.m. type of 10 minutes.  Then yes, outfit formulas are for you.

Actionable Steps

For one week, take photos of yourself in your outfit, 7 days= 7 outfits. At the end of the 7 days, review your photos of your outfits and fill in the blanks:

________ (top) + _________ (bottom) + _________ (any other piece(s)) + _________ (shoe)

Example of mine:

  • Monday: striped button up vest + cream jeans/pants + black blazer + black sandals flat

  • Tuesday: Cream top + black shorts + black sandals

  • Wednesday: cream top + wide leg jeans + ballet flats

  • Thursday: white halter tank + blazer + cream pants + tan flats

Do this until you have your 7… Then, go back and CIRCLE your repeat pieces and make a list.

My repeats are:

Crew neck tops (wore 3X a week)
Flats (worn 2x a week) x Sandals (worn 2x a week)
Blazers (wore 4x a week* not shown in all outfits)

Bottoms* I noticed that I vary my bottoms the most - I have jeans, pants, denim shorts, and light jean/pants - so this is where I have some wiggle room to play around. If I wanted to, I could take one bottom, the dark wash wide leg jeans for example, and rewear them a few times, to create an outfit formula around them.


My list of “repeats” are part of 1) where I start building my outfit formulas and 2) the pieces I need to have most of in my closet (in differing shapes, styles, and colors)

Three clear outfit formulas of mine are:

Outfit formula 1: Pant + Cream crew neck top + flats
Outfit formula 2: Wide leg jeans + halter crew neck tank + blazer + flats

Outfit formula 3: Wide leg jeans + cream top + sandals

Style Takeaways

When you’re done reviewing your week of outfits, you should have at least ONE, if not up to three, outfit formulas: consistent pieces you put together in outfits.

You don’t need to create a TON of outfit formulas, three to start is great.

Knowing your outfit formulas will help you understand your style better, what you should invest in, and will help you get ready faster.

Daily Outfits, Define Your StyleConni Jespersenoutfit formulas, spring outfits, spring styleComment