Whether you normally work remotely, or you’ve had to start in the midst of the pandemic, having a process for managing your wardrobe while working from home is something a lot of people find helpful. While working from home might sound nice at first, you’ll soon realise it’s not as easy as it seems. As Denise, our Account Manager said in our tips for working from home “The risk when working at home is to find yourself working outside office hours, so make sure to have a schedule and to follow it.”
So, how do you maintain a work-life balance in these overwhelming times, when your office and your home are now one? Having a schedule isn’t the only way to find equilibrium while working from home. In fact, the wardrobe is a great place to start separating work and leisure. Just like you get dressed before going to the office, changing out of your pyjamas might be just what you need to switch to “work mode” in the morning (or afternoon, you do you).
But what does “getting dressed to work from home” mean? And how do you manage your wardrobe when working from home? Here are our best tips and tricks to help you find your wardrobe work-life balance while working remotely, while simultaneously giving you something fun and productive to do while you’re stuck at home for the foreseeable future!
Simplify your wardrobe
Even when working from home, you might find yourself standing in front of your wardrobe, overwhelmed by the decision of what to wear, all while feeling like you don’t have enough clothes you actually like. That’s when you know it’s time to simplify your wardrobe.
Start by doing a big cull: separate your clothes by season and into categories so you can see how many you have of each type and identify what you absolutely love and want to keep, what you can cut down, and what might need to be altered or mended. Once you’ve identified what you don’t want to keep, you can either responsibly donate or sell these unwanted items, or find cool ways to upcycle them.
Find YOUR dress code
Working from home means you’re less likely to have a formal dress code, but we strongly believe the way you dress can affect the way you feel. While it’s okay to work in your pyjamas or tracksuit for a day or two, you’ll soon realise these are not the outfits in which you’ll feel the most productive.
So take a look at what you have, how each item makes you feel, and how you want to feel while working. Do you want to feel put together because you have a virtual meeting? Casual-yet-professional because you want to feel productive? Or do you want to feel extra comfy for your admin sesh?
Setting a dress code doesn’t necessarily mean buying new, it could mean sourcing a few curated pieces to create unique WFH outfits. And luckily there are plenty of online second hand retailers you can browse from, such as Vestiaire Collective, thredUP or AirRobe.
Once you have your work from home dress code all clear in your mind, remember to get dressed in the morning, but most importantly to change out of your work clothes at the end of the day.
Organise your wardrobe
Now that you’ve decluttered your wardrobe and found your WFH dress code, it’s time to get organising. Separate your wardrobe into your “work” and “life” clothes, so you have a clearer vision of what you own, what you like, and what you can play with. That way it’ll be easier to create that work-life balance in the way you dress, and you’ll be less likely to reach for that stained jumper in the back of the closet that sure looks comfy but might not be the most productivity-boosting option. This also means KEEPING your wardrobe organised: fold your clothes to the best of your best ability and keep them in neat piles, or even consider the Kon Mari organisation method!
Fall back in love with your wardrobe
So you’ve been following your WFH dress code and keeping your wardrobe organised, but how can you make this ritual fun and fresh? The answer is: fall back in love with what you already own. Now that you know what’s in your wardrobe, have fun! Re-discover your pieces, try new pairings, find inspiration, dare to play with different colours, patterns, prints, and materials. This is a great way to boost your fashion creativity and confidence, but also to get more wear out of what you already own (sustainability, yay!).
You can certainly do that on your own, but there are also some great wardrobe-organising apps that will make your job ten times easier.
One fantastic initiative that launched recently is the Save Your Wardrobe app. It is a digital wardrobe management platform that enables mindful fashion consumption behaviour. Using AI and Computer Vision, the app helps users keep track of their daily outfits and provides compelling insights about their wardrobe, like which items you wear most often. Plus SYW also connects users to service partners that can easily help you dry-clean, tailor, repair, or upcycle your items, with platforms that specialise in eco dry-cleaning, tailored to your clothes’ needs—and ultimately encourages users to wear those pieces more often, hassle-free. Similarly, Cladwell is a personal styling app that allows you to appreciate what you have, do more with less, and clear out the clutter in your life. These apps make it easy for you to figure out what’s in your wardrobe and how to pair everything up in new, fun, and interesting ways.
Et voilà! By decluttering and organising what you already have, and dipping your toes into the world of wardrobe-organising apps, you’ve ended up with unique, manageable work from home outfits that you can play with, so you can reach your goals at work while finding that sweet work-life balance.
