How To Build An Outfit Inventory

OW3 - On Wednesdays We Wear

This game changing styling advice will be your new favorite thing to do.

Have you ever started to get ready earlier than usual, super confident that you’ll be ready on time this time? Fast forward to being 10 minutes late and still having no clue what you want to wear because you feel like everything looks terrible on you. Kinda feeling like this…

@dropsetgorgeous

It’s always the first outfit isn’t it? 😂 #fashiontiktok #luxuryfashionstyle #fashioncomedy

You need an Outfit Inventory.

What Is An Outfit Inventory?

An Outfit Inventory is your new best friend. The thing you never knew you needed until you made it.

It’s essentially a collection of your best looking outfits, visually displayed in one place and organized by occasion and season. It’s a resource you can reference back to it whenever you’re stuck on what to wear. It’s built on your phone for easy access and will be a growing and changing resource you can always refer back to when needed.

The best thing about it - it’s 100% free to create.

We guarantee this will shave a significant amount of time off your getting ready process, make you feel more confident in your style every time you leave the house, and be your new favorite styling tool.

How To Build An Outfit Inventory

Go into the Notes section of your iPhone and create a Folder called Outfit Inventory. In that folder create a note called Outfit Inventory - Season.

Create headings for the types of outfits you want to inventory. You can list whatever headings you want, we recommend grouping outfit types together and creating headings like:

• Casual Chic - When you’re going somewhere casual like out for lunch with the girls or a day date and want to look casual but fashionable

• Comfy Casual - For running errands, going to your nail appointment, because you never know who you’ll run into

• Night Out - Needs no further explanation - time to look hot!

• Work Looks - If you work a job where you’re able to dress up this is a great category to add

When we transition to warmer months you will create the same note for the next season.

Next, we need to fill that bad boy up!

If you don’t own a full length mirror, we are confident you at least own a phone with a photo timer. Find a spot with good natural lighting, ideally so the light is coming from in front of you, not behind.

Every time you wear an outfit that you feel great in, take a photo, ideally in the same spot with similar lighting. Make sure it’s a full length photo that includes the full outfit, and shoes.

Do not edit this photo in any way - you want to be able to see exactly how the outfit looks on you IRL.

Do not take a photo of the outfit laid out on your bed - you must be wearing it so you can visually see how it looks on you without having to try it on again.

Open the photo. Press and hold on the part of the photo with you in it. You should see it highlight a cutout of you with the option to copy.

Select copy.

Go back into your outfit inventory, find the correct category for your outfit and hit paste.

Select the image again and change to “View As - Small”.

If you have any notes to add such as how to do your hair with this outfit or what jewelry you paired it with then feel free to add those comments.

Repeat this process until you have an inventory of what you love to wear, for every occasion, and every season.

Why Not Add All My Outfits?

Pretty simple, we don’t want any outfits that you might second guess making it into the Inventory. The goal is to build a library of outfits you’ll always feel amazing in no matter what so that it makes choosing an outfit as quick and efficient as possible.

If you add outfits you only feel so-so about, chances are you’ll only feel so-so when you try them on again. Then you’ll be repeating the endless try-on cycle that leads you to be late for stuff all the time.

You want to be able to go into the inventory and pick an outfit that’s already styled and put together. These outfits should all be ones you’re confident in and won’t second guess. After you build your inventory you should only have to get dressed once.

Do I Only Wear What’s In The Inventory?

Definitely not. Outfits will get old and you’ll move on. Those should be deleted from the Inventory over time - and the clothes would likely be good candidates for donation at that point in time.

You also want to continue to try new styles and trends, or pair different items together to create new outfits. No one wants to wear the same wardrobe for years on end. As you try new outfits and find ones that you love, simply add them to the inventory.

The inventory is designed to be a quick reference for what to wear when you’re not sure what to wear, or don’t have time to try on different outfits. You’re not chained to only wearing what’s inside it though, it’s supposed to be a liberating tool not a suffocating one.

What Else Is The Inventory Useful For?

It’s a great way to visually see the aesthetic you feel most comfortable in. Sometimes we want to fit into a style category so badly because it looks awesome on social media, but we aren’t actually comfortable in that style IRL.

Seeing what you actually enjoy wearing can help you shop with more intention as well. It can help you learn what you won’t actually wear and stop you from making impulse purchases that will just sit in your closet and collect dust.

If there’s an off the shoulder sweater in your closet that never makes it into your inventory, you probably shouldn’t buy items similar to it.

On the other hand, the inventory can help you identify what’s missing in your wardrobe or what is worth buying again. Maybe you had a striped sweater you wore in multiple outfits that just got destroyed because your man put it in the dryer on high heat (we’ll pray for his safety).

Pretty safe to say that is an item you’re going to want to replace because you know with confidence it’s something you wear often and style in multiple ways.

Lastly, the inventory isn’t just for seasons. You can build an inventory for traveling as well. This can help you pack strategically and bring pieces you can wear in multiple ways to cover all scenarios for your trip.