Historically speaking uniforms have been used to rob individual expression and to control the body. But this post is about another kind of uniform, which is quite the opposite. A personal style uniform is about what feels true to yourself, about ignoring trends and bringing simplicity into your life.

According to the urbandictionary.com a personal uniform means ¨a standardized wardrobe cultivated autonomously by the wearer / user. A personal uniform promotes consistency and commitment to ownership of clothing and wear, reducing waste of material, energy and time.¨ 

Of course, fashion is a beautiful world, that brings together creativity, design, innovation, diversity, but let’s not forget that fashion is also an industry. So its main goal is to make money. Trends, body ideals, unattainable beauty standards are built on our collective insecurities. So try to discover your real self, and then you’ll be able to dress in a way that reflects who you really are, every day. That will be your personal uniform.

So where to start?

I’ll take my case. Only by understanding my personal history, I was able to be aware of what is my personal style and what feels organic to me. A lot of my influences come from growing up in Romania in my teenage years (2002-2008), with MTV, listening Linkin Park, Outkast, Alicia Keys, Kelis, N.E.R.D, No doubt, and Nelly Furtado. I was looking up to their music and style, so the hip hop culture was part of my life. I loved playing basketball (still do) and dancing hip-hop. I also used to wear my brother’s sportswear clothes, which I really liked, I was wearing a lot of second-hand clothes that we were receiving from my mom’s friends from abroad. They were all ex-football and handball players, like my mom, so yea, most of the clothes were sportswear. Also growing up with all my family members wearing uniforms at work, and they still do, made me really appreciate functional materials and utilitarian designs. So I knew for sure that my personal uniform is going to be about utilitarian aesthetic, functionality, masculinity, urban, high-quality materials, and practicability.

Once you get to know what is right for you, in terms of style and aesthetics, thinking about your lifestyle is gonna help you structure your uniform based on what you’re doing on a daily basis. Do you go out often? or you´re mostly working all day? museum girl? travel a lot? I’ll take you through some uniform ideas tailored to my lifestyle. I´ll leave the link below of each photo, in case you want to find more about these stylish ladies. 

Everyday uniform

Going out uniform 

Leisure time uniform (museums, coffee meetings)

Travel uniform 

A personal uniform, as I was mentioning above is about consistency and simplicity. As you can see in these outfits, there is little variety regarding the colors, the shapes, and the materials. 

What I really love about deciding to have a personal uniform is the daily convenience that brings with it. It also helps me to avoid decision fatigue and save the energy for the important things. I save money, and I’m able to diminish the environmental impact of my purchases. On the whole, it helps me live a minimalistic life, to free my mind, to be grateful for what I have and to take much more care of my clothes.