Every morning, I wake up half an hour later than planned, roll out of bed and get ready for work as quickly as possible without checking the time or looking in a mirror.
On a bad day, that means I literally brush my teeth, put on my glasses and throw on the nearest dress. On a good day, I might wear some mascara. I’ve even curled my hair twice, but I certainly don’t plan to make that a habit until I have proof the humidity won’t ruin it the second I walk outside.
If you cared about me while I studied abroad last fall, this may sound vaguely familiar to my How To Be Beautiful Abroad post, or whatever it was called, but I promise this is TOTALLY different. I can’t promise, however, that I’ll stop linking to my own content. If I don’t promote myself, who will?
A N Y W A Y. The point it’s taken me three paragraphs to get to is that my office has a very laid back dress code, so I have no motivation to look cute in the morning, even though I look cute all the time. Despite that, I think I’ve done a preeeeetty good job of not looking like a walking trashcan on most days of the week. Emphasis on "I think."
To illustrate this point, I’ve decided to walk you through a week in my wardrobe so you can all see just how great I look every single day, and how I’ve tricked people into thinking I have my shit together. Yes, I did take all of these mirror selfies at work.
On Monday, I was feeling particularly motivated after falling asleep at 10 p.m. on Sunday. I woke up voluntarily at 7 a.m. (shocking, I know) and actually curled my hair AND put on makeup. I couldn’t be bothered to wear contacts, though. That’s just asking too much.
This dress has somehow been with me since my freshman year of high school, although I didn't start wearing it until more recently. Somehow in the past eight years, my style has gone from bright and floral to all black and back to bright and floral. Stay tuned to see if the colorful thing lasts through fall.
You may wonder why I was wearing a jacket in mid-August, when it’s consistently 90+ degrees and 80% humidity. Not only did I need it to cover up the three places my bra was visible, I also needed it to protect me from the subzero temperatures of my office. But I can’t complain; I’d rather freeze here than sweat to death in my apartment.
Thanks to my hair’s incredible curl-holding power and my lack of personal hygiene, I had cute hair two whole days in a row (and let’s not forget, Jonathan Van Ness told us all to only wash our hair twice a week. I’m just following the rules here). This gave me extra time to actually put my contacts in AND put some makeup on. Practically unheard of.
Although it’s not pictured, the jean jacket did make a comeback today, as my iconic kate spade pineapple dress was just not warm enough for the office. It was, however, perfect for the two happy hours I attended after work. I know, my social agenda is so hard to keep up with.
I did actually wash my hair on Tuesday night, so by Wednesday it was back to its natural, kind-of-curly, kind-of-gross state. By wearing a dress, however, I make it look like I cared about how I looked that day.
I don't really understand why people consider wearing a dress "dressing up," seeing as it's the laziest outfit a gal could possibly wear. At least if I wear pants or a skirt, I have to put some effort into making sure my shirt matches. But whatever. I love dresses. Especially this one, even though it slides up every time I sit down, thus making it not very work appropriate. Oops.
More coordination went into Thursday's outfit, as I matched my shoes to my jacket. All denim everything, amiright? (Yes I wore my jean jacket 3/5 days this week, let me live). I was too tired to care, so glasses + party pony + no makeup was the look for today. I really have nothing else to say about this outfit. I don't think I even like this dress. Sorry, Anthropologie.
Friday is where it gets interesting. I wore jeans. If you haven't seen me since anytime before 2017, you'd be shocked to hear this. In fact, once when I was getting drinks with my high school choir teachers (I know), Denise Cotton said, "Maddie Stuart is wearing JEANS?! You're not prissy anymore!" So you could say I wore this outfit for her.
I carried a red bag with a really cool strap my mom got for me on this day, but sadly I forgot to bring it to the bathroom with me for my photoshoot. The rose gold sandals definitely complete the look, though.
So there you have it. A week in the life of Maddie Stuart: Fashion Icon. I'd like to say I'll start waking up earlier as I get more comfortable with my work schedule, but knowing me, I'll just keep waking up later and later until I start running straight to work in my pajamas. I'll let you all know if/when that happens.