
I don’t know about you, friend, but I will admit that every so often, I’ll have a day when I DO NOT feel like getting dressed. Whether I’m running on too little sleep, I’m not feeling 100%, or the weather is dreary and I know I don’t have to...
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Unknown Speaker
I don't know about you friend, but I will admit that every so often I'll have a day when I do not feel like getting dressed. Whether I'm running on too little sleep, I'm not feeling 100% or the weather is dreary and I know I don't have to see anyone other than my immediate family, I will seriously contemplate staying in my pajamas. Do you ever have these ugh days when putting together an outfit feels like too much? If you're in a style rut or your wardrobe isn't working for you right now, I know it can be even harder to find your motivation. So let me start by saying this is a totally normal experience, but we don't have to stay stuck in it. You can look and feel great even with very minimal effort. And today I'm going to help make the art of getting dressed, even on your worst days, even easier for you. In this episode, I'm sharing my down day styling strategies and mood boosting hacks so you can take all all the work out of putting yourself together. Go ahead and refill your mug and let's dive in welcome to her Style.
Heather Riggs
Podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started.
Unknown Speaker
I thought about starting this episode with a quick list of all the reasons we sometimes don't feel like getting dressed, but I decided that's not really necessary. I suspect we all have those days and we all know how crummy they feel. Even if you are feeling your best physically, and maybe it's just that the weather isn't cooperating or you have nothing on the agenda for the day. It's easy to brush off the daily task of getting dressed, especially if no one else is going to see you. So instead, I think we need to start with a brief chat about why it's worth making the effort, especially when you're just not feeling it. And here's the truth. What we wear directly impacts how we feel. There's actually a term for this. It's called enclothed cognition, and it refers to how clothing affects our mood, our mindset and performance, and even small intention choices like putting on a cozy matching set or your most flattering top can boost your confidence and totally shift your energy. This is not about looking perfect or pushing yourself on hard days. It's about creating small rituals of self care and feeling a little more like your best self, even when you're craving a sweatpants and sofa or a no Bones day as we like to call it around here. And this is going to be a little bit of a tangent for a minute, but I have to say my sister's family gave my son the most adorable book one year. I don't remember if it was for his birthday or Christmas, but it's called Noodle and the no Bones Day and it's based on a true story of this adorable pug in real life who has sadly since passed away. But he started a whole social media frenzy a few years ago with his daily game of determining whether it was a bone Bones day, meaning he would stay up on his feet when his owner gently lifted him up from his bed in the morning, or he would determine it was a no Bones day if he immediately went limp and laid back down and his owner would post this every day on social media. And a Bones day meant that it was going to be a great day to take action and go for your goals. And a no Bones day is a day to day. Take it easy and relax and be extra kind to yourself. So you can have a no Bones day or a day where you're just not feeling it. But my advice is to keep listening to this episode and try even one of these easy hacks that will gently lift your spirits and help you to still show up in a way that makes you feel good. I'm gonna give you a few of my favorite no fail outfit formulas for my low energy days or when your goal is to to basically hide out if you don't really want to get dressed, you aren't feeling great in your skin. Whatever the case might be. I think it's great if you can try one of these little tricks. So the first thing I will always put on is a cute matching set. Whether it's loungewear or elevated knits, a matching set is going to make you look really put together instantly with almost zero effort outside of the 30 seconds or so that it takes to slip it on. The next thing that I will typically default to is a one piece wonder and I'm talking about a loose fitting dress for me, that's always my go to. But you could also opt for a casual jumpsuit or a romper if the weather's warming up where you live. Some kind of easy head to toe outfit that is going to eliminate the whole what goes with what dilemma that you just don't feel like dealing with on days like this. So opt for a simple one piece outfit just to take out all the guesswork and make getting dressed simple easier than ever. The next thing that you could try is wearing elevated basics. I'm talking your softest T shirt, a cozy wide leg trouser or your nicer sweatpants, a cozy cardigan or an oversized button down blouse that just feels like a big hug. Anything that's soft, elevated, a little bit special and cozy is going to make you feel a whole lot better on these days when you'd really rather not get dressed at all. And the last thing that you can easily do to still look and feel your best is to slip on some stylish shoes. I know we talk about the fact that your shoes can make or break your look quite a bit around here and for a day when you want to put very little time and attention on your outfit, stepping out in a pair of comfortable yet stylish shoes can quickly uplevel your entire look. So what I want you to do is try to keep your your go to comfy but cute items visible and accessible because you are gonna be lots more likely to reach for them when you're tired and uninspired. If you don't have to do a lot of digging around to find what you want, you don't need to have a million options, just a few that work really well for you. Now I wanna dive a little bit deeper into a handful of feel good styling hacks that are gonna help to boost your mood and make you feel more fun, fresh and confident and even on those pesky down days. So the first thing this is probably not going to surprise you, but I would encourage you to try some color therapy. Wearing your best colors, especially around your face, can not only impact how you look but how you feel and can help give you a more fresh and awake look. Personally for this I love wearing a blush color pink like my best blush color. So definitely wear your best blush blush color. You can also try one of your skin tone beiges. Any of those kind of personal skin tone related colors are really going to help to lift up the way that you look and your spirits when you're feeling low energy. I do advise on days like this that you skip the black heavy colors that might pull you further down into feelings of fatigue. I know for me I will often reach for a happy butter yellow color or something else that's going to cheer me right up on a dreary day. Now if dressing in a very intentional dopamine color feels like too much, you could also try choosing a monochromatic or one color family for your outfit instead, even if it's a neutral or a darker hue like a navy. This can help make your outfit feel more thoughtful and chic and it's going to take some of the guesswork out of getting dressed. So just pick one color story and stick with that for the day. Especially if you are feeling more like you want to hide out and avoid some of those more cheerful, happy colors. That's not a problem either. The next thing that you could do is add an accessory. Think about like maybe a simple hair clip, some hoop earrings, a stackable ring set. These really don't require any extra energy, but can add so much personality and intention to your look. You can keep your favorites in a tray next to your mirror or on top of your dresser for quick access even on your most hectic and low level days. You can also try playing with textures. I love combining cozy fabrics like waffle knits or cashmere with some sleek textures like silk, maybe some comfortable denim or even a faux leather if you want for a nice balance in your outfit. And with the right combination you're going to feel like you're in loungewear but look more intentionally styled at the same time. So try thinking about different textures you can bring into your outfit. Definitely focus more on those comfy, cozy pieces in your closet, but think about doing some interesting combinations just to make your look feel a little bit more polished and put together. I love some simple two minute tweaks to make your outfit feel more refined as well. So for a quick makeover of even your most basic pieces, you're going to want to take just a moment to style them up. You could try half tucking your top, rolling your sleeves, scrunching a sock. Remember that tiny tweaks can add a ton of polish to an outfit. So even on my days where I'm just wearing a simple T shirt and sweatpants, I'll maybe tuck in the tee a little bit or cuff up the sleeves. Just do something to make it feel a little bit more elevated and like I thought about putting it on for the day. Now if you just do not feel like getting dressed and you are bypassing every single little hack that I have shared so far, but you still want to lift your spirits a bit on one of these down sort of days, then I will say you've heard the expression look good, feel good, but I think you can also smell good feel good. So you could try a signature scent, opting for some dry shampoo or a scented body oil, which is going to instantly refresh your mood even if you are still in sweatpants. I'm a big fan of the clean fragrances from Henry Rose and I do feel instantly elevated whenever I finish my look with a little spritz of perfume, even if it's just for me to enjoy something sitting at my desk. I could also add here that styling your hair or makeup can make a massive difference on these days too, but sometimes a quick dab of fragrance is all you have energy for, so choose what feels good for you. And on days when you don't want to do it all, I really like to follow the two out of three rule. This is basically picking two out of the three things to aim for in your outfit. Number one is feeling comfy, secondly is looking polished, and thirdly is adding an energizing element. I already shared all of these tips, so you're going to pick two of them to try integrating into your look for the day. And an energizing element could be a pop of color like we talked about, maybe a simple accessory or a bold lip. This is going to give you a lot of freedom and structure. So if your outfit is ultra cozy, you could try adding a structured jacket or a fun sneaker to give it a more polished effect. If your pieces are all neutral and you might want to pop on a lip stain or a statement earring for a little energizing element. So just pick two out of those three things. Whether it's feeling comfy, looking polished, or adding something to energize you. That's really going to help to lift everything for the day without going overboard. And to continue on the theme of our last episode, which was all about outfit planning, it's especially helpful to set yourself up for success as much as you can. You never know when a difficult day is going to strike. So before we wrap up, let me share just a couple of pre planning tips to empower you on your next low energy day. The first thing is to create a blah day or a no Bones day outfit library. You're going to set aside 3 to 5. Go to outfits that are cozy, cute and ideally confidence boosting. I want you to think about your favorite joggers and a soft cropped hoodie. Maybe it's a jumpsuit with a simple pair of earrings or a long T shirt T shirt dress with a denim jacket. You can hang them up together in your closet. You could take a photo of each one. You can keep them saved in an album on your phone like we talked about last episode I always recommend referencing your curated style mood board on Pinterest if you have one, so you can get some more ideas that are really going to suit your personal style. But you do want to think about this as you're building an outfit library. Put a couple of cute looks together for those down days when you really don't feel like getting dressed and the last thing that you can do is to create a couple of beauty bundles. I taught this technique in depth at our recent Shop your Closet challenge. It is something that I picked up from the legendary image consultant Brenda Kinsell way back in the day and the idea is to take one starter piece, maybe it's your favorite jacket or a fun hair accessory, and then you're going to build out a simple accessory kit that complements it. Ideally, you want your beauty bundle to work easily with any outfit. This can include even things like lipstick. Maybe it's a coordinating jewelry set. I want you to look for items that work well together. Maybe they have a similar color scheme, some repeating textures or other elements that are really going to pull it all into a neat little bundle. You could put these into little bags and have them ready to go so you can just grab one fast on the next day that you don't feel like putting any thought into your outfit. You you can have a couple little preset beauty bundles or accessory kits ready to roll. And I have to say it's okay to not want to get dressed on some days, but having a few supportive habits and some outfit shortcuts in place can completely shift how you feel and move throughout your day. You don't need to wait until you feel amazing to get dressed. Sometimes the right outfit can help create that feeling. So this week try picking out a blah day outfit or a feel good accessory kit to put the finishing touch on even your most casual outfits in advance. Make it easy on yourself and have some fun. And of course, if you want to share your go to low energy outfit ideas or see what other listeners are wearing, come join us inside her style community on Facebook. This is a free group where we talk about all of these things and support each other with showing up fully, authentically and with greater intention. Remember, these tips today can totally shift your mood, your mindset and your momentum. So don't underestimate the power of getting dressed and taking care of yourself. Even on those no bones days. We all have them and I hope that this episode empowers you to tackle the next one with a lot more fun.
Heather Riggs
Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at.
Unknown Speaker
The link in the show notes.
Heather Riggs
If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.
HER Style Podcast Episode 242 Summary: "What to Wear When You Don't Feel Like Getting Dressed"
In Episode 242 of the HER Style Podcast, hosted by Heather Riggs, listeners are guided through practical strategies and uplifting hacks to effortlessly navigate days when getting dressed feels like a daunting task. This episode is a valuable resource for anyone experiencing "no Bones" days—moments when motivation is low, and the idea of assembling an outfit seems overwhelming.
The episode opens with a relatable confession: everyone occasionally battles days when the effort to get dressed seems too much. Heather acknowledges these feelings, emphasizing their normalcy and the impact they can have on one's confidence and daily routine.
Quote:
"Do you ever have these ugh days when putting together an outfit feels like too much?"
— Unknown Speaker [00:00]
Heather introduces the concept of enclothed cognition, explaining how what we wear can directly influence our mood, mindset, and performance. This underlying principle serves as the foundation for the episode's strategies, highlighting the importance of intentional dressing even on low-energy days.
Quote:
"What we wear directly impacts how we feel. It's called enclothed cognition."
— Unknown Speaker [01:32]
To simplify the morning routine and reduce decision fatigue, Heather shares several go-to outfit formulas designed for minimal effort:
Matching Sets:
Opting for coordinating loungewear or elevated knit sets can instantly make an outfit appear put-together with little effort.
Quote:
"A matching set is going to make you look really put together instantly with almost zero effort."
— Unknown Speaker [05:00]
One-Piece Wonders:
Dresses, jumpsuits, or rompers eliminate the "what goes with what" dilemma, offering a seamless, stylish look in one step.
Quote:
"Opt for a simple one-piece outfit just to take out all the guesswork."
— Unknown Speaker [07:30]
Elevated Basics:
Incorporating soft, cozy pieces like oversized sweaters or wide-leg trousers can enhance comfort while maintaining a polished appearance.
Quote:
"Anything that's soft, elevated, a little bit special and cozy is going to make you feel a whole lot better."
— Unknown Speaker [09:15]
Stylish Shoes:
A pair of comfortable yet chic shoes can elevate any casual outfit, providing a quick lift to one's entire look.
Quote:
"Stepping out in a pair of comfortable yet stylish shoes can quickly uplevel your entire look."
— Unknown Speaker [11:00]
Heather delves into specific techniques to enhance mood and confidence through styling:
Color Therapy:
Wearing favorite colors, especially around the face, can brighten mood and appearance. He advises choosing uplifting hues like blush pink or cheerful yellows over darker shades that may exacerbate feelings of fatigue.
Quote:
"Wearing your best colors, especially around your face, can not only impact how you look but how you feel."
— Unknown Speaker [12:30]
Monochromatic Outfits:
Selecting a single color family for an outfit simplifies decisions and creates a cohesive, chic appearance without overwhelming the senses.
Quote:
"Pick one color story and stick with that for the day."
— Unknown Speaker [13:15]
Accessorizing:
Adding simple accessories like hair clips, earrings, or rings can infuse personality into an outfit with minimal effort.
Quote:
"These really don't require any extra energy, but can add so much personality and intention to your look."
— Unknown Speaker [14:00]
Playing with Textures:
Combining different fabrics, such as cashmere with denim or silk with knits, can make an outfit feel more dynamic and intentional.
Quote:
"With the right combination, you're going to feel like you're in loungewear but look more intentionally styled."
— Unknown Speaker [15:45]
Small Tweaks:
Simple adjustments like half-tucking a shirt or rolling up sleeves can transform a basic outfit into something more refined.
Quote:
"Tiny tweaks can add a ton of polish to an outfit."
— Unknown Speaker [17:20]
Signature Scents:
Incorporating a favorite fragrance can enhance mood and provide a personal touch to any look.
Quote:
"A little spritz of perfume... can instantly refresh your mood."
— Unknown Speaker [18:50]
To prevent feeling overwhelmed, Heather introduces the "two out of three" rule. This approach allows listeners to focus on two of the following three elements when assembling an outfit:
By selecting two, individuals can create balanced outfits that uplift without overcomplicating their morning routine.
Quote:
"Pick two out of those three things—whether it's feeling comfy, looking polished, or adding something to energize you."
— Unknown Speaker [20:10]
Heather emphasizes the importance of preparing in advance to ease morning stress:
No Bones Day Outfit Library:
Curate a collection of 3-5 go-to outfits that are both comfortable and confidence-boosting, making them easily accessible on tough days.
Quote:
"Set aside 3 to 5 go-to outfits that are cozy, cute and ideally confidence boosting."
— Unknown Speaker [22:30]
Beauty Bundles:
Create accessory kits centered around starter pieces like favorite jackets or hair accessories to streamline the styling process.
Quote:
"Build out a simple accessory kit that complements your favorite starter piece."
— Unknown Speaker [24:15]
Heather concludes by reinforcing the idea that self-care through styling doesn't require exhaustive effort. By implementing these strategies, listeners can transform their daily dressing routine into an empowering and mood-enhancing practice, even on the most challenging days.
Quote:
"You don't need to wait until you feel amazing to get dressed. Sometimes the right outfit can help create that feeling."
— Heather Riggs [28:00]
Listeners are encouraged to take Heather’s Free 5-Minute Personal Style Quiz and join the HER Style Collective on Facebook to share their experiences and outfit ideas. These platforms provide additional support and inspiration, fostering a community where ambitious women can build their dream wardrobes together.
Resources Mentioned:
Quote:
"Don't underestimate the power of getting dressed and taking care of yourself, even on those no bones days."
— Heather Riggs [28:30]
This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for anyone seeking to maintain style and confidence on days when motivation is low. By blending practical outfit strategies with psychological insights, Heather Riggs equips listeners with the tools to effortlessly enhance their mood and appearance, reinforcing the powerful connection between style and self-esteem.