Reader request: 8 steps to finding your new uniform for a new life

First up, people talk about a style “uniform.” What do they even mean? Anna Wintour is a perfect example.

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Google image Anna and you’ll see her uniform is a colorful print dress (below the knee), a heel, sunglasses, and at least 2 strands of colorful sparkly necklaces. Sometimes she varies this slightly (wearing a suit, or black with interesting design elements, etc.) but it’s clearly a uniform. Others might be less specific. You don’t have to wear it every day to be a uniform. But you’ll want to wear it a lot because a uniform is something guaranteed to make you feel good. A shorthand to that feeling of stylish rightness in your skin/self, that “something’s happening” feeling I call Lofted Settledness.

Last year I finally found my midlife uniform. And I’ve written about what it is. I’ve also explored whether I could wear my uniform for the whole duration of a season, using

Liza Belmonte

‘s 7 looks approach. (BTW here’s a 7 looks take from Anna of The Wardrobe Edit!)

But as long as it took me to find the uniform for this part of my life, I don’t think I’ve looked at HOW I did it. And I know I haven’t given any real, followable guidance to help you find yours. So I loved this question. And here’s your how-to: