For the first several months of my marriage, I had to keep explaining I wasn’t going out and partying at night.

Around 10pm, while my husband would be watching TV in bed, I would be changing out of my pajama’s and into a sparkly top and jeans, or a skirt, tights and a blazer. After several bewildered looks from both him and the dog, I explained I was prepping outfits for the coming week.

I learned a long time ago that deciding what to wear minutes before I’m supposed to leave, is not how I best operate. At least not on a regular basis. And especially now that I’m a mom and have another human being to get out the door.

Having that quiet time to just try on clothes and be creative is how I walk out the door, fully confident and in love with everything I’m wearing.

It’s also how I’m able to get the most use out of what’s in my closet. Like this sweater vest! Here I’ve created two completely different outfits out of the same piece. It’s a cozy piece that’s perfect for this wish-washy weather we’re having.

With a great black and white pattern, it livens up my neutrals/solid colors and can obviously go form comfy to business causal with a few tweaks.

(I’ve got two more (totally different) outfits with this vest coming at you tomorrow, too!)

This plays into that post I did about tweaking your brand. In order to polish your style this year, you’ve got to give your looks a little bit of time.

And I understand, not everyone pees a little bit from excitement when it comes to creating outfits. That’s not something I do at all, for sure. Without question, not me uh uh, no no. Weeeird.

Anytime you’ve got about 20 minutes on your hands, get in your closet and play around. No pressure. No judgement. Just try stuff on!

And don’t feel like you should do it every week. Think about the next event you have coming up. Maybe a baby shower, or a dinner out with friends. Try it with that! Sure, it takes 20 minutes now, but the day of the event, it will save you even more time than that. And you get to choose something while you’re totally relaxed and without the pressure of time. You might even enjoy it.

Until then, follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for more outfit ideas, and gorgeous pictures by Sarah Moser!

Coming up this week…more outfits with the vest and money saving tips to help you have great style and a FULL bank account!

Here are other vests like the one I’m wearing (which came from Target).