I recently found myself thinking a lot about repeating outfits at work. After half a decade of remote and hybrid workdays, I’m being asked to show up four, sometimes five, days a week to the office. The problem isn’t the commute—it’s the closet.
There are more in-office days than there are shirts, pants, and dresses in it. The challenge is especially sharp when you work in the fashion industry.
Planning replaces panic
I no longer trust my 7:20 a.m. self to invent new looks. Instead, I plan every outfit in advance. On a recent Sunday, I took a single pair of bermuda shorts from Aritzia and turned my bedroom into a dressing room. The goal was to create different looks.
One garment can become multiple outfits. A dress becomes a skirt when layered with a cardigan. A button-down disappears under a crewneck, its collar peeking out.
The knee-length skirt’s quiet power
My favorite piece is a knee-length skirt—not mini, not maxi, not the midiskirt that dominated summer runways. It’s the kind celebrities like Zendaya, Kendall Jenner, and Zoë Kravitz have styled in endless variations.
Some days call for a preppy striped cardigan with a headband; others require an elegant top with heels. For the office, I like to tie my sweater around my shoulders as a visual focal point.
Related: Five Summer Necklaces That Transition Into Fall
I do the same with bermuda shorts. One day, they’re paired with a satin cami and a draped cardigan. The next, they’re dressed down with sneakers and a button-down. Pops of color instantly change the mood of an outfit and will draw the eye away from the hero piece you’re rewearing.
This isn’t about deception. It’s about efficiency. Most people don’t scrutinize outfits the way I do. They remember the color, not the piece underneath.
Layering as a professional skill
My most reliable trick is layering. A button-up shirt with elbow-length sleeves becomes multiple outfits: under a crewneck, under a blazer, or over trousers. A black spaghetti-strap dress transforms when I add a crewneck sweater, making it look like a skirt-and-top combo.
Accessories do the rest. A belt cinches a dress into a new silhouette. Statement earrings draw eyes upward. A brown suede bag replaces a black leather one, and suddenly the outfit feels fresh.
The system isn’t foolproof. Some mornings, I still stare at my closet and feel the weight of the week ahead. But planning turns the problem into a puzzle. The puzzle, at least, has solutions.
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