A personal uniform is a standardized look that people create for themselves to simplify their daily routine. Many folks with personal uniforms don’t struggle with figuring out what to wear everyday because they’ve created a formula to help them get dressed instead.

Personal uniforms are:

• Optional and generally created by the person wearing them

• Consistent with specific pieces, styles, and color palettes

• Reflective of the wearer’s values

Personal uniforms are not:

• Necessarily wearing the same exact outfit everyday

• Permanent and can be modified as lifestyle or style changes happen

Personal uniforms are optional and generally created by the person wearing them.

If you’re interested in creating your own personal uniform, it’s important to focus on the goal rather than getting too caught up into rules. Personal uniforms can help you simplify your daily routine, declutter your closet, and focus your shopping experience.

It’s up to you to decide if you wear the same outfit every day or if you create a set of guidelines to adhere to that add variety to your daily looks.

Personal uniforms are consistent with specific pieces, styles, and color palettes.

Personal uniforms require thought and intention to create a consistent look. 

Some personal uniforms are more standardized than others. A few of the people featured in this post currently, or at one time, had extremely consistent uniforms with little variation: 

• Steve Jobs was famous for wearing a black turtleneck, light wash jeans, and New Balance sneakers. 

• Barack Obama wore gray or navy suits while president and famously said:

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” [Obama] said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

• and Mark Zuckerberg wearing a gray shirt, hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. 

However, personal uniforms can also have more variety while still maintaining consistency, such as:

• Ellen DeGenerous wearing a fitted blazer, slacks and button down shirt in a variety of colors and patterns

Anna Wintour wearing crew cut necklines, chunky necklaces, patterns, black sunglasses, and bob hairstyle with bangs

Georgia O’Keeffe wore simple dresses. suits, and blouses in a variety of black, white, and pastel colors.

Personal uniforms are reflective of the person’s values.

As discussed in the “What is a uniform?” post, uniforms are a way to visually identify someone’s occupation or role in society. 

Similarly, personal uniforms can visually identify someone’s values. 

Tech executives like Steve Jobs and Mark Zukerberg challenged the status quo for what an executive looks like. While a suit was the standard look for executives, opting to wear the complete opposite - casual jeans and pull over shirts - reflects their values of boldness and dedication to their technology work over appearances. 

TV personality Ellen DeGenerous choosing to wear suits over more feminine looks, especially at a time when being openly gay was uncommon, reflects her values of authenticity to be herself regardless of societal expectations.

Vogue Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour choosing to wear a sophisticated bob and dark sunglasses combined with structured blazers and dresses reflects her values of authority. Her look has some parallels with military uniforms, but softened with feminine patterns and colors.  

Conclusion

Choosing to wear a personal uniform is a way to simplify decision making, create consistency, and visually express values.

Coming up next:

What are the different types of personal uniforms?

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