How many wardrobes do you have?

Whilst I would be intrigued to know how many actual physical pieces of furniture you have to keep all your clothes this is not what this blog post is targeting really!

It is about the number of roles you may play in life and what you need to wear to fulfil those roles.

Basically does your wardrobe suit your lifestyle?

If you are employed you spend on average 40 waking hours a week at work. That means 50% of your waking hours are spent at work. If you are self employed or in the early stages of running your own business you probably spend significantly more time working, but much of which may be behind closed doors.

So if you are spending say 8 hours at work and just a small proportion of your time socialising or playing sport or relaxing at home, does your wardrobe reflect those activities?

If your time pie chart looks similar to this one, what would a pie chart of your wardrobe look like?

We all need specialist clothing for certain areas of our life be it golf, yoga, running, rock climbing, walking the dog or riding a horse. But if only 10% of your time is spent doing the activity then only 10% of your wardrobe should be dedicated to it. It is the same for going out. If you go out once a week but actually have enough outfits to be able to go out 5 nights a week there is a mismatch. You could be wasting money on things you will never wear. Could that be true? Most of us wear just 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. Is that you?

The common issue I find with clients is that they want to climb the career ladder and yet do not invest in their work wardrobe. If work is where you spend most time, this is where you should invest. If you want to earn a high salary and get noticed and get a company to invest in you then maybe you should invest in you too.

Gaining respect from others starts with showing respect for yourself. You should be reflecting your skills talents and expertise on the way that you look and whilst we all know you shouldn’t judge a book it’s cover but we all do,it is a natural instinct so we have to be mindful of our personal image.

So next time you cry I have nothing to wear think about your lifestyle and your wardrobe and perhaps reDRESS the balance.