It's January and I Don't Know How To Get Dressed

but leave it with me because I've found some answers

Image found on Pinterest (source unknown)

When I was fourteen and listened to this song almost as often as I thought about the very cool leather-jacket wearing boy who lived next door (often), there was genuinely something within me that believed that four days was a long time to be wearing the same pair of jeans. I can see my inner mini Lizzie McGuire cartoon self saying ‘EWW, GROSS!!’ But, the older I get, and the more I value comfort, warmth and practicality (despite the pull my heart has towards anything but)- I realise that actually, four days isn’t that long at all- is it? Is it? Is it????? Isn’t it the point at which freshly washed jeans finally become soft again?! Aren’t we supposed to be washing jeans less?

I say that- but hear me out. It’s January. The not-quite-novelty of winter has almost worn off and the rose tinted visions I had of me wearing anything other than ill-fitting jeans and a heavy misshapen knit are merely but a twinkle in my sartorial eye. I’m not surprised either- because this always seems to happen. In the weeks and days leading up to a seasonal shift I am fuelled by the reinvigoration a change in the weather does for dressing. In summer it’s the promise of Birkin-esque mini dresses (regardless of whether I’ve ever even worn them), thirties silk nightdresses with suede jackets, crochet co-ords, and sailor-style nauticals- THIS IS THE WOMAN I WAS MADE TO BE! In my tiny excited mind I am Joan Baez and Florence Welch’s love child on a balmy June day! It doesn’t matter that four days into July I am in a plain white boyfriend t-shirt and stretchy Uniqlo striped shorts! It’s the thought that carries the excitement! In winter, I am equally swept up with visions of terracotta two pieces, red roll necks and an eye for colour which makes grey days more exciting, and layering feel like an opportunity rather than a necessity. In my imagination I am in shearling coats and big sunglasses, knee high boots (of which I own 0 pairs, my legs are longer in my head) and I am dressed head to toe in possibility. It’s a Bianca Jagger January, folks!

Everything I aspire to be come October, care of Florence and ELLE Russia

BUT. Dear reader, it has gone. Like ice on a June morning- it has disappeared. I am sartorially sleepy. Fashionably flat! Winter has the technicality to be my favourite season for dressing, but when I’m cream crackered at 7am, nowhere is as warm as my bed and it’s dark outside- all windows of excitement flee and I’m left with the same jeans, boots and thick black coat I’ve been wearing all winter because my mind suddenly shifts into ‘if I’m out of here I NEED TO BE WARM’ mode. I’m about as creative as a writer using AI to write a new bestseller; something is simply not right. And I’m bored of it! I have proven to myself time and time again with a ‘here’s one I laid out the night before’ approach, that even in the coldest, darkest of mornings- planning a great outfit the night before gives you a slither of something to get excited about and I’m here to start giving it a go. I’ve pulled together a handful of things that I’m doing when I struggle to get dressed- so, if like me you’re feeling swept up in softs, lusted up in Lycra and fashionably fleeced out- maybe this one is for you…