Outfit Planning

BY: KAYLA ZADEL, @KZADEL

What’s up Molly Green fam? My name is Kayla Zadel and I’m the founder and creative director of KaylaZadel.com– a go-to resource for my TV segments, as well as all things style, travel, and more.

Whew! With the formalities out of the way, let’s talk about outfit planning. I’m thrilled to partner with Molly Green to chat about this because if you ask anyone that knows me, putting together ensembles are what I love to do. (Besides eat, of course!) I’ve been told that I always look “put together” and I’m sure that has something to do with planning. With that being said, I hope by reading this you can fool people into believing that too! But seriously, my goal is to give some valuable pointers.

I feel like I have two different types of looks (well, three if you include the yoga pants and workout shirt uniform) – the put-together look, as well as the casual-comfy “I just threw this on” vibe. Especially with some of today’s styles, I feel like anything goes and the throw-on-and-go is a dominating trend. I mean c’mon, we’re mixing prints and bringing back bell-bottoms – things we would’ve been laughed at for wearing just a couple years ago.

Before I commit to plans, typically the first thought that crosses my mind is, “what am I going to wear?” If I’m able to, I like to plan my outfit – unless this is a spur of the moment, let’s go grab something to eat outing. It takes the stress off of me and the time spent standing in front of my closet, getting more and more frustrated when I can’t “find” anything to wear from my closet full of clothes.

Here are the nuts and bolts. When it comes to choosing my outfit, I always consider where I’m going and what I’m doing, plus if there’s a dress code. After that’s established, I run through some of the outfits I’ve worn in the past and if they’ll work for this outing. I’m a very visual person, so if I’m not able to imagine a couple of pieces of clothing together, I’ll go to my closet and start pulling outfits. If I can’t seem to find anything, then I will resort to adorable boutiques, like Molly Green, for inspiration.

Another factor that plays a role is the weather. While this doesn’t always discourage what I wear, it does give me something to think about. Once I’ve considered all these factors I now move onto what type of clothing I’m thinking about wearing – like a dress, skirt, shorts, etc. This is typically decided when I think about where I’m going and what I’m doing.