
Dawn to Dusk Dressing
AND The Two Tools that WILL Improve Your Style!
Happy day, reader dear!

Laundry. Love it? Or hate it? I’m not a huge fan. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE fresh clean clothes! It’s the cycle of wash, dry and (only sometimes) press that I don’t love. I try to remember that I have clothes and a way to wash them right at home which is a privilege, but sometimes that gratitude slips… Please tell me I’m not the only one! Truth be told, I much prefer laundry to unloading the dishwasher. I have no idea why, but that chore is the rock bottom of my list. Thank you Mr. CP for handling that in the mornings. I love you.
Which means that I do NOT want to make more laundry than necessary. I’m sure I did that in my teens, dressing and discarding outfits higgledy-piggledy. I didn’t do laundry then. Yes, I was spoiled. Mama did my laundry until I left for university. AND she did it when I came home to visit with a bag full of dirty duds. I don’t love my children that much. Actually, I do, but I decided that sending males out into the world who knew how to do their own laundry would bless the world and their future partners. Megan and Monica, you’re welcome!
Another laundry lessening tip? Wear your clothes more than once before you wash them. I know, that’s anathema to many people, but unless it is dirty or smelly, a good airing is all that pair of jeans, trousers, blouse, etc. needs. Most of us in the West wash our clothes FAR too often. Washing is harder on clothing than the wearing! (OLD video. Don’t know WHAT was going on with my hair that day…Ugh.)
Since laundry isn’t my favorite, how do I make less of it AND keep a modicum of style? Think Dawn to Dusk Dressing! (Here’s another post about D2DD.)
NOTE: Dawn to Dusk Dressing doesn’t work for ALL personality styles. OR for special occasions like weddings and galas! Unless you are a wear-the-ballgown-to-the-grocery-store kind of woman. Then run with it! XO
You’ll Need:
- A wardrobe that splits the middle. That means having plenty of pieces you can dress up or down. To learn more about the building blocks that make up a versatile everyday wardrobe, read this!
- A weather app.
- Your calendar.

If all you own is yoga pants and tees and cocktail dresses, you are lacking versatile pieces that can go anywhere with a little styling and some awesome accessories. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Why the weather app and your calendar? Because part of style is being appropriate for the circumstances! If you don’t know what your day and the weather holds, style will elude you. The cutest outfit won’t be stylish if worn in the wrong context! Even better? Knowing what your day holds allows you to make choices that span the day instead of requiring a run home (Or worse–A quick shop!) for an outfit that works for that Fill-in-the-Blank that you forgot about.
Here’s how these factors played out for me last week…
The weather was warm and I was working from home. No real outdoor activities besides the daily photo! I had an online business meeting Friday morning, a client call later, and a pile of deskwork. No, the life of a blogger isn’t all cute photo shoots and coffees at outdoor cafes. Sorry to disappoint. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? No evening plans other than dinner at home with the fam and some time to relax with Mr. CP.
Work (Business Casual)

The thought process here? No one will see me below the belt, so jeans and an untucked blouse works perfectly. The blazer adds professional polish, and the sparkle and pearls reflect light back to my face and keep the dark navy from looking too heavy. Why pumps? Heels tell my brain I’m at work. Crazy, right? We all have sartorial signals we can use to our benefit! Heels are one of mine.
If jeans weren’t acceptable, I’d swap for a pair of dress trousers and tuck the blouse.
Work from Home

Same basics. Lose the jacket for work-from-home style. You already know why I’m wearing heels. If the weather was really warm, I might trade the pumps for sandals. (But they’d still have heels.)
If the dress trousers were in play, I’d still be wearing the blouse untucked. It’s #wfh for goodness sake!
Play

Day is done. The computer is off! Lose the jeans and grab the shorts to head out to the patio for tall, cold drink. Then back inside for some kitchen time with Mr. CP! (I’ll pop on some flats. I won’t cook barefoot.) The weekend begins… If this evening was out with drinks for work or someplace more posh than my kitchen, I’d have thrown on some metallic sandals, grabbed a clutch and unbuttoned the blouse and popped the necklaces inside. Easy peasy! need more polish? Tuck in the blouse. Done.
Dress trousers? If out for drinks, the metallic sandals and clutch swap would be fab! For the back patio? Yes, I’d change into shorts. Cooking? I ALWAYS wear an apron!
How About You?
What’s your least favorite chore? How do you feel about laundry? Do you air your clothes between wearings? Or wash after every wear? Do you prefer to dress once for the day or change as circumstances require? What’s your go-to super flexible outfit? Are you an apron wearer? If so, what does your favorite look like? Do tell! I love to hear from you…
Stylishly yours,

6 Comments
OnceUponaTimeHappilyEverAfter.com
Not crazy about doing the laundry but the ironing is really tiresome. PC has begun draping his pants over the rack after wearing them once to work so that he can wear them again before I have to wash and iron them. So thoughtful!
Liz K
I’m ALL about wearing more than once! And I LOVE my steamer!
carolkarl
I don’t love laundry – lord knows I do enough of it. What I do love though is ironing. I find it very rewarding. Maybe it’s because I have memories of when I was very young begging my Mum to let me do the ironing – she used to let me iron the tea towels. I dawned on my the other day that maybe she only ironed her tea towels so that I could do them.
Liz K
Come to my house! PLEASE! I love freshly ironed clothes, but hate ironing…
Meredith
I wear a lot of separates outfits to work. Just like planning a weekly menu, where you know you are making chili one night and two nights later you plan for serving chili Mac and cheese, do that when planning your weekly outfits. If I know I will wear a red blouse with one outfit, I plan to wear it if it is still clean, with another skirt/pants and third piece topper another day. If I do that most days I end up with less laundry, less wear and tear on my clothes. If I wear linen and it is still clean, I moderately mist it, place it on a hanger and place clothes pins around the hem to gently weight the damp dress or skirt, shirt or pants and they dry almost wrinkle free, less ironing and washing! I can also place jeans in a plastic bag, place in freezer over night and they smell fresh again.
Liz K
I love how that works, Meredith! I’ve certainly learned a LOT about people who plan and don’t over the years… I wasn’t much of a meal planner until we entered a season of life with one car, two jobs and three children. Then planning became essential! If it wasn’t on the plan, it didn’t happen. My two favorite quotes about planning are: No plan survives first contact with the enemy. (Paraphrase of Helmuth von Moltke) and even better: Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. (Dwight David Eisenhower) Thank you for coming by and for commenting!