Black Uniform
I have a thing, maybe it is infatuation, maybe it is love but it has been going on for some time now. What can this thing be, well I love black things! If you know me and we happen to be shopping together, I always ask “Does this come in black?” if I can’t initially find the item in black, I am usually heavily disappointed if it doesn’t.
I’ve been reading a few books on making decisions and designing your life and decided that choosing what to wear was taking huge chunks of time in the morning that I can use to do other things. The energy and frustration it was taking to decide what I wanted to wear and pulling many options out of my closet and still not finding anything was driving me crazy. Having an overfilled closet with many options and still mot finding anything to wear, was leaving me frustrated. It appeared the more options I had, the less I had to wear and for the most part just repeated outfits.
Over the last year, I have become an enthusiast about the concept of self-editing. One of the self-edits I desperately needed to make was me arriving places late. The self-edit required me to take stock of how and on what I was spending my time, and choosing an outfit in the morning was clearly eating up my time, it was munching away at the clock.
I also took an inventory of my closet and realized most of the clothing was black or contained black elements, if there were other colors it was because I was chasing a trend. Other colorful pieces were usually bought for me a present and someone trying to impose their color choice on me. It really irks me, when people refuse to give people what they like, but I’ve digressed.
I’ve opted for a uniform. I use the word uniform broadly and because I get bored fast and I couldn’t limit myself to just a few pieces of clothing, so I’ve limited the color. As you may have guessed, it is black. Black is very versatile, and I feel comfortable in black and when I’m comfortable I’m my most confident self. I have left a few other colors in my closet, but that is for when I have extra time or out of the ordinary event. However, in the morning I can grab anything black from my closet and look appropriate for work or running an errand or hanging out. A quick check of the weather will determine if it is a turtle neck or a crew neck sweater and if it is really cold an extra layer from my Uniqlo heat tech undergarments.
There are the initial benefits of a personal uniform that make life easier.
Conservation of Energy – I don’t have to use brainpower to make a simple and easy choice. The rest of the day is filled with making choices, I can use that energy to make impactful decisions. I don’t have to unpack my entire closet to find something to wear and then repack it, I can use that energy to work out or stretch to stay flexible.
Financial Conservation – I spend less money. I’m using clothing from my closet, but when I do have to buy an item now, I don’t buy for quantity, I buy for quality. This lends to stopping the mindless shopping.
Refined Taste - Upgrading the quality of the items insures longer wearing ability. Making sure all items in my closet fit and fit well.
Distinguished Style – I would become associated with the color being my personal brand, it would become timeless making me timeless, my clothing will no longer be a distraction. Tip – buying clothes that are free from logos allows me to wear them more often because there are no distinguishable markings.
Confidence – Having well-fitting and comfortable clothes allow confidence to shine through. People rarely care what you are wearing if you have something important to say. Honestly, you shouldn’t care what other people think.
Reduction in Waste – If you care anything about the planet, reducing the amount of waste by throwing away less and buying fewer products that will end up in a landfill is a major plus.
There are quite a few people who have maintained wearing a uniform like, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Karl Lagerfeld, and Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel said “I’m for style. Fashion changes too quickly.”
Design and define your personal style by having a uniform, that’s what I am doing. My personal uniform is about having both function and form blend effortlessly. My personal uniform is affording me freedom, you just have to change your perspective, It is part of designing your life. Your uniform is just that, yours.
Updated 09/18/23