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Do you ever stand in front of your closet, trying to decide what to wear?
For people with ADHD, this daily task can feel like a big challenge.
But what if there was a way to make mornings smoother while looking and feeling your best?
This article explores why getting dressed is harder with ADHD and how creating your own uniform can help transform your routine.
Why Getting Dressed Feels hard when you have ADHD.
- Decision-Making: Even small decisions, like what to wear, can be mentally exhausting.
- Groggy Mornings: Mornings aren’t your best time. You might not feel fully awake for 3-4 hours, which makes it harder to think clearly.
- Social Uncertainty: Dress codes and social expectations can feel like a mystery. Social rules are a bit of a mystery, so you aren’t sure if there is a dress code you don’t know about. You aren’t confident about ‘what goes together’.
- Unsure about Style: Pairing items might feel tricky; you aren’t sure about ‘what goes together’.
- Laundry Challenges: Keeping on top of laundry is a challenge, so you don’t always have items that work together clean at the same time. outfits clean and ready to go is an ongoing struggle.
- Sensitivity to Textures: This means some clothes make you itch or are very uncomfortable to wear.
Create Your Own Uniform
If you went to a school that had a uniform, you know it was very easy to get ready each morning. No decisions were required. All you had to do was put on the standard shirts and skirts/trousers.
Even though you might not have an official uniform to wear now, why not create your own?
It takes the brain work out of getting dressed every day, and it means you always look good and feel confident and comfortable.
Real-Life Examples of Uniform Success
Creating a uniform isn’t about being boring; it’s about making life easier. Here are some real-world examples:
A news anchor proved that people weren’t paying attention to what he wore by wearing the same suit for a whole year.
Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck, Mark Zuckerberg wore a grey T-shirt, and Anna Winter is known for her sharp bobbed haircut and shades.
In an article that went viral, Matilda Kahl explains her decision to wear the same thing every day. She has been doing it for 3 years.
Alice Gregory has a uniform of a black long-sleeve shirt and stylish jeans. In an article for J Crew, Alice explains that having a uniform means that your personal style becomes memorable in people’s minds, even iconic.
She points out that characters in children’s books always wear the same clothes so they are easy to recognize and that adults, like children, love familiarity and continuity.
The Mindset Shift
In a world of fashion bloggers and outfit of the day hashtags (#OOTD), we tend to equate being successful, stylish, and fashionable with wearing different outfits every day.
So it might require a mindset shift to believe that you can be all of those things AND make life easy for yourself by having a uniform that you become known for.
Another plus is because uniforms tend to be made up of classic items when you look back at photos of yourself in a few decades’ time, you won’t think, ‘What was I wearing?!’
How to Build Your Personal Uniform
Ready to create your own?
Creating your own uniform doesn’t mean you have to wear the exact same thing every day. You can create a formula that works for you and then interchange clothes within that formula.
Let’s say you like ballet pumps and have a brand you get on well with.
Buy a couple of pairs in different colors.
If you like a certain style of trousers (and they fit nicely and don’t itch), buy them in black and linen.
Next, pick out a few tops you love, and there you go!
Small Tweaks for Big Time-Saving Wins
While you are rethinking your clothes, here are 3 other tips to make the decision of what to wear easier.
- Simplify Socks: Choose one brand and color for all your socks. This way, they always match, and laundry becomes easier.
- Pre-Plan Outfits: Lay out your clothes the night before to reduce morning stress.
- Declutter Your Wardrobe: Remove items you don’t love to make finding your uniform pieces quicker.
The Mindset Shift
In today’s world of fashion bloggers and #OOTD (outfit of the day) posts, it’s easy to equate style with variety. But having a uniform doesn’t mean sacrificing style. Instead, it’s about creating a signature look that’s practical and polished.
As Alice Gregory notes, your uniform can make your personal style iconic. Plus, because uniforms often consist of timeless items, you’ll look back at photos decades later without wondering, “What was I wearing?”
Conclusion
You don’t need an official dress code to wear a uniform. By creating your own, you simplify mornings, conserve energy, and make sure you always feel your best.
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My work self-chosen “uniform” changes with each season. And now that my company allows jeans, getting dressed is even easier! Lots of black skinny jeans with a wide variety of boots or sandals. Lots of solid sweaters, lots of camisoles and thin, long sleeved shirts. Statement necklaces. Gotta have excellent hair to pull off such a casual look. So easy!
About three years ago I lit upon this unexpectedly after reading about Steve Jobs and have worn a red dress with blue accessories for work since. Sometimes I present video. It is THE most liberating thing I’ve done. Lots of people think I’m being smart with branding as I’ve had our company logo and marketing all branded with the same red. Plus it makes weekends/going out more fun when I get to choose something a bit more eclectic.
As a Professional Organizer (and veteran ADHD’r, I can attest to my personal goals of having the ‘one rack wardrobe’ with all of the classy and ‘classic’ Banana Republic looking closet I’ve longed for… my creative juices and colorful personality keep that from happening but I do somehow assist my Clients in getting this down, then coach and inspire them to maintain it 😃 Most of my Clients (in fact none that I know of ) have ADHD… after ten years of this. Huh??? I guess “we” wouldn’t hire someone for this, right? Hahaha Well, we should! That would be genius!!! An organized ADHD’r, with a uniform is a killer combo! 😉
I always decide the night before what I’m going to wear. I put ever thing out on my chair. Occasionally I may change my top. I too have many pairs of skinny jeans. My Blundstone boots for fall, winter and spring and my Birkenstocks for supper. My tops vary. I say …Keep it Simple!
I agree, mostly sweaters and a nice turtle neck underneath unless I go for training, then it is lighter clothing, always Ecco zip up boots, jeans or Kuhl pants that are classy yet tough wearing as sometimes, I veer from swimming, training or meeting art pals and stop off at scenic spots to photograph or sketch. The ROC ( rest of Canada) laughs at us on the wet coast but the dampness is deadly , always hoodies or toques as it rains a lot. Jazz it up with classic black when out to receptions. It is very hard to look classy when you are a wet rat. lol
I love, love, love nice clothing (not necessarily “fashion,” because I have a style that stays fairly constant), and I have a LOT of clothes. BUT pretty much all my clothes work together – all my basics are black, or a black-and-white print, and then I have jewel-tone tops and cardigans, mostly solids. And I wear mostly black shoes to keep it simple, too. I threw out all my brown shoes and never buy clothes that require a different color shoe. 😃
I usually use a scarf of some kind to make me look pulled together, e.g. black dress pants (trousers! 😉)/skinny jeans/A-line skirt/pencil skirt plus emerald green top plus black cardigan, then add a purple-and-green scarf and purple earrings. Same scarf works with purple or green cardigan and green earrings. I wear about five bright colors on rotation and have four scarves that work with all of them.
I know this sounds like a capsule wardrobe, but I also have a collection of dresses 😂 – carefully chosen to work with all my black and jewel-tone cardigans, of course.
Hi. GIGI: I do almost EXACTLY the same thing!! Black shoes, pants, skirts, dresses and tights – paired with jewel toned tops, cardis, scarves and dresses! I keep a brown skirt and boots for an occassional change. And a navy skirt, slides and long cardi. I also have some burgundy for fall and a few pastels for winter/Spring. But very mainly, it’s mostly black and jewel tones for me, especially purple, teal, cobolt and magenta. As I age, I favor gold/beige tanks to white. Anyway, I love having mix/match clothes! Cheers!
I put out my clothes the night before. It works most of the time but some days I have to go through a few changes before getting the right feel. I need to feel comfortable- I don’t want to be thinking about my clothing at work so that is my number 1 priority. I like clothes and like having different outfits to wear depending on weather, my mood, and my schedule for that day. I do get tired of my clothes easily so switching things around helps. Most of my clothes are in similar color group And I mainly wear solids so it easy to put together.
Most of my clothes are versatile and interchangeable so I won’t ever have to worry about being mismatched. However I still have trouble deciding what to wear sometimes so my go to has always been a black v-neck tee, raw denim, and chukka boots. I don’t have many jackets so I just throw on what is weather appropriate and this formula has worked for me quite well.
For work, I only wear black pants. Everything goes with black, so pick a work-appropriate top from the rack, and I’m done. I’m no fashion plate, but my clothes work-appropriate.
This is a hard subject to master as I have many different roles during a day. Ultimately, I go for sports clothes that keep me warm and that I can get into after swim training daily. Merino wool all year is best and have a dedicated section for meets. Then there are my reception art clothes because I have respect for my fellow artists to look good and dry without wild hair lol. Most of the time I am happy with jeans, shirts and hoodies under heavier jackets and will wear the same thing all week cuz I spend more time in the water. I have many colurful swim suits from Funkita ( that express my personality with fluorescent cats whilst everyone wears the tech suits)..,and black for everything else. I express my adhd in my home pool and am friends with everyone. People always respond that I look cool although sometimes I don’t feel up to seeing people but; once I get it together with a few classy clothes that are timeless, I feel better.
Skinny jeans are a big part of my winter uniform Susan because its so cold here. They are very practical. When you have lots of roles like you, you can have subsets of your uniform for each activity. It sounds like you are already doing that, so great job!
Hi Jacqui
At school I hated the uniform because of the colour and the itchiness but as an adult I always like a uniform and like you suggest, make my own up 🙂
x x x
Val
Absolutely Val! we are creates of habit, so we usually wear similar items already. Its just a question of giving yourself permission and expanding it a little.
Getting rid of almost all my clothes and switching to a capsule wardrobe has helped enormously. Everything works together, so decision-making is really simplified. I got rid of my dresser altogether, and all my clothes fit on one garment rack. This also meant no longer storing off-season clothing and so much less laundry. Win-win!
Capsule wardrobe is the perfect term Jen! Yours sounds so liberating!
What a great idea! Somehow, there always to be a lull between winter amd spring and summer to autumn to wonder what to wear….
Yup!!! Capsule wardrobe is the way to go for me too! I have picked out two main colours and an accent colour that I always feel good in and black as my neutral. Everything goes together so I don’t have to think about it. The only thing I really need to worry about is if something doesn’t feel good(too tight, scratchy, too hot/cold) on that day and I need to find something that does or the inevitable boredom that comes from wearing the same thing over and over again. To combat that I have a few pieces that I keep for the warm months and a few for the cold ones so that I have something to look forward to. I also have a weakness for accessories and so as long as I don’t blow my budget then I allow myself to buy a few sparkly things from time to time.
LOVE the Harper’s Bazaar article, Jacqui! I’ve always worn similar types of things, but never this narrow as the woman in the article. However, as soon as I get back from the trip I’m leaving on tomorrow, I’m reorganizing my closet and designing my uniform for real! Thanks a bunch for this idea.
Awesome Marcia!!! so excited to here how it goes!!!!!