Now that we know what is meant by a style uniform, and we know of the great reasons to try it at some point, let's figure out how to do it. I've created a few personal uniform guidelines to make sure that what we come up with for our uniform has what is necessary to keep it both simple and flexible.
KLM UNIFORM GUIDELINES. Your personal uniform should
1) works for work, going out, and home life/running errands
2) the pieces must be items you can find in store at any time of the year, regardless of what the trends are
3) uses at most 2 neutrals and 1 color (which could be a 3rd neutral if you prefer)
4) rotate through your closet
It's a lot to ask for women's clothing, as the expectations are higher, and the options are all over the place, but it can be done. (If you need individualized help, see my services and email me if you don't find what you were looking for). It's essential that a personal uniform be appropriate for every common occasion that takes you out of the house.
When you're in-home, you can be in your loungewear, and when you're at the gym you can be in your fitness garb, but to and from, where you're out, about, and seen, you should be in your personal uniform. The president wears a dark suit, Steve Jobs wore blue jeans and a black turtleneck, and you must discover what is right for your public life.
For work there are often hemline and neckline considerations, sometimes sleeve lengths as well. There may also be color restrictions. Make note of all of these. If you have a special uniform for work (e.g. scrubs at a hospital), that will not count in any way toward your personal uniform. If your job has requirements that you don't like, rather than having a black sheath dress for work and a white pant suit for personal, first try to find ways to make the dress a look you like, because it's something you will be seen in a lot.
For going out, you'll want the feeling to be less stuffy, which may require notes as to fabrics (suiting won't be your best material unless you only go to fancy pants attorney cocktail lounges or something). It may be as simple as swapping jackets (e.g. black crepe blazer instead of black wool blazer).
For wearing at home, you're looking for a certain level of comfort, which is both fabric and silhouette. You can always change into loungewear if you know you're home for the day, but if you'll be intermittently at home and running errands, you'll need your uniform to be both polished and somewhat comfortable.
To ensure you'll always be able to find the pieces of your uniform in-store, make it broad enough. This is part of why most well-known uniforms are some variation on White top + Black bottom. They can be found in almost any store, any season, any year. Know that the more creative you get with your uniform, the more time you'll have to sink into shopping for your uniform. When you find what you're looking for, buy multiples.
If you've chosen more of a signature style than a personal uniform, but still want to keep your mornings simple, rather than taking additional time to choose clothes and shoes each morning, and possibly falling into the trap of wearing only one or two favorites (that you perhaps should have bought 8 of instead of having the small varieties that create a largely unworn wardrobe), rotate through them. Always grab the top on the left, for example, and when you wash your clothes, hang them up on the right side. Do the same with your shoes- wear the first pair on the left, and at the end of the day, put them down on the right end of the row. If there is an item you disliked wearing, and if the reason for dislike can't be fixed, remove it from your wardrobe.
Rotating through your closet is good routine for personal uniform as well, to keep in the practice of wearing fresh clothing, to spread out the daily wear and tear, and to be clear on how many of each item you actually need. If you bought extra for the future, keep these safely in storage with moth balls and out of your visual space.