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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wear the same outfit to work everyday

263 replies

Adamsants · 07/01/2022 13:50

I am starting a new job soon..I need to buy new clothes as not worked for a few years as been a sahm. I was thinking wearing the same outfit everyday. Not the exact same....clean but the same Like a uniform. Is this weird? Does anyone else do this....or AIBU?

OP posts:
Iamanicepersonreally · 07/01/2022 17:27

As long as your clothes are clean, who cares?

Wrongaddress · 07/01/2022 17:27

I wear black trousers every day, and have 5 or 6 different tops, some of which need a black cardigan with them. I always look similar but not exactly the same. I literally couldn't give a shit what anyone thinks, got little interest in clothes

Godsplan21 · 07/01/2022 17:36

I tried this once. Wore the same trousers all week and just changed the top a couple of times so I didnt start to smell. Noone noticed! Not even my MIL who I lived AND worked with at the time. People are generally so caught up in themselves (not necessarily in a selfish way) that they dont notice such things. As long as the items dont smell, why not?!

On a side note, charity shops are my go to when starting a new job! I have family who disagree with charity shops and think its weird I shop there. Those same ppl will stay at a hotel where thousands of people sleep on the same sheets doing god knows what but not wear a top that possibly 1 other person has worn?! Lol. Thank God for a little invention called the washing machine!

SouthernFashionista · 07/01/2022 17:41

It’s just a bit boring isn’t it? I love dressing up for work. I have a very stressful, full on role and thrive on the buzz of it all. I don’t have heaps of time to plan my outfits but enjoy looking good and wearing lovely pieces.

Onlinedilema · 07/01/2022 17:42

I disagree about men getting away with dressing shabily.
I had a boss and I really, really wanted to say to him for God's sake buy a new pair of decent leather shoes and polish them! Then buy yourself a decent, well fitting suit. He always wore the same suit, I assume he wore a different shirt every day, it looked cheap and Ill fitting.
There again I believe the manager should lead by example. We had a whole list of what we could and couldn't wear. It got on my nerves to be honest.
Any way wear appropruate, clean, good fitting clothes is my mantra. Yes to charity shops too.

Cam22 · 07/01/2022 17:46

It wouldn’t be terribly hygienic to wear the same trousers for an entire working week.

Confiscatedpopit · 07/01/2022 17:56

As long as it’s really simple- e.g black plain suit or black trousers (no patterns). I’d change the blouses though daily unless they were crisp/ out of the box white.

Runnerduck34 · 07/01/2022 17:58

I know quite a few men who do this!
However sadly harder to get away as a woman,could buy very generic black trousers and get a few different tops, I'd get a couple of outfits and see what others are wearing in case it's more casual than you think before buying too many work clothes. Its an expense if you are starting from scratch and and buying new clothes before payday.
Wearing exactly the outfit every day in an office will look odd and possibly like you haven't washed even if you have and they are clean clothes every day.

woodhill · 07/01/2022 18:01

@Cam22

It wouldn’t be terribly hygienic to wear the same trousers for an entire working week.
Yes, they get a bit whiffy in certain areas or perhaps it's just me
gabsdot45 · 07/01/2022 18:04

I do something like this. I have 2 pairs of navy trousers and 5 similar shirts in various colours and 2 cardigans and I wear combinations of these each day.

ChocolateOatly · 07/01/2022 18:18

I do this. Nobody has ever mentioned it. They're all very nice to my face, at least Smile

OP, do you actually care if your colleagues think it's weird?

IntermittentParps · 07/01/2022 18:21

Gilbert and George dress the same all the time as it's one less thing to think about and frees them up to work and think/create more.

Makes perfect sense to me!

user1477249785 · 07/01/2022 18:25

Honestly OP, I think it's fine. Buy the same top in five colours and rotate through them. Men wear a suit every day. It's sexist to suggest women must change the way they present themselves daily. Fine if they want to but not compulsory.

amidsummernightsdream · 07/01/2022 18:29

Go for it! It was good enough for Steve Jobs…
Funny the amount of people telling you to not do something you want to do, just because it’s against the norm.
Why cant you wear the same clean clothes everyday?
I love clothes but totally get the ease and headspace you would get through doing this.
Also as some others have already said, if you were a man no one would bat an eyelid.i think if you did it op a lot of people would admire your stance!

maddening · 07/01/2022 18:29

I have the same dress 3 times, I always have a few kf the same items and cycle through then, eg 3 skirts the same and cycle through tops

Hankunamatata · 07/01/2022 18:32

I have 5 trousers and 5 tops that I rotate as work wear. They are different colours though so doesnt look like same outfit everyday

Getmeoutta1ere · 07/01/2022 18:34

Similar situation here OP, most of my siblings are very into fashion, I haven't a clue, my other half lives in manual labour work n hi vis stuff, I don't really know where to start, mostly have been in part time or uniform required jobs previously, im feeling a little intimidated, I won't know anyone, no uniform and full time hours 😬
Was thinking of doing same, having to wash kids uniform all time etc so I guess maybe I'll either end up being the weird one who doesn't wash or the weird one who wears odd outfits as I ain't got much of a clue 🤣 with clothes also hate hate shopping 😂

Annasgirl · 07/01/2022 18:34

OP, if it’s good enough for Vera Wang (and I don’t think people would question her interest in style🤔) then it should be good enough for you. And, as everyone has said, many, many men do it and no one cares. Why do women always have to put themselves out so that people won’t think badly of them🙄?

RollaCola84 · 07/01/2022 18:37

@Onlinedilema the guy I mentioned doesn't dress shabbily, he looks perfectly smart. He just wears the same thing every day.

Yogagrandmum · 07/01/2022 18:37

I wear the same things most days and I don’t work.

AdmiralJaneway · 07/01/2022 18:51

How many of you actually remember what your colleagues wear every day?! (And devote mental energy to it!). I have a set of black/blue trousers and various tops and look very similar day in and day out.

Most people think that others take more notice than they actually do.

AlbertBridge · 07/01/2022 19:16

Mark Zuckerberg, is that you?

turbonerd · 07/01/2022 19:28

It is a great idea. I do nearly this; have 4 outfits that I rotate. Shock horror, over two weeks as I work 4 days a week.
I do wash, and no-one has yet backed away in horror and disgust!

I do this because I have actually autistic kids who looove colours and different styles, and there’s not enough time to plan (or wash) all these elaborate outfits.

BarbaraofSeville · 07/01/2022 19:29

@Annasgirl

OP, if it’s good enough for Vera Wang (and I don’t think people would question her interest in style🤔) then it should be good enough for you. And, as everyone has said, many, many men do it and no one cares. Why do women always have to put themselves out so that people won’t think badly of them🙄?
18 people who always dress the same

14 men

4 women, two of whom are/were prominent in the 'fashion'/Vogue world, plus an author and a singer.

PupInAPram · 07/01/2022 19:47

I wear 5 pairs of black trousers and 5 tops very similar in style, different colours. It saves time and stress trying to figure out what to wear every day. I personally am not that interested in clothes but I realise they are very important to others.
Difference is what makes life interesting.
To people who are chucking about the word weirdo in relation to others who think slightly differently to them, what do you think this says about you? Nothing good I'm sorry to say.

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