Building runaround outfits for days filled with casual activities

Wearing casual outfits
My Saturday runaround outfit

Do you have a uniform for when youre out and about running around doing life? Are you a jeans and a sweater kind of person? Do you wear casual dresses, boots, and jean jackets to run errands?

Todays post is all about running around outfits. In my life, most of my running around happens on the weekends. For some people who are retired, much of daily life could fit into this category. Its a category that many women can get stuck in. They want to be comfortable, but still look respectable and put together. Im all for that!

Sharing my professional life with colleagues

My colleagues love to see how I work with clients. This year at the MMB Retreat with fellow stylists and image consultants, I did a masterclass in one-one-work, how I style outfits in a clients closet. I demonstrated how I style casual outfits, dressy outfits, and everything in-between while staying true to a clients style words.

I love working in clients closets, merging new purchases with ones theyve had forever, and charting each outfit. That way they can do life without having to think about clothes at all. Every detail they need to know about their outfits is written down in a wardrobe chart.

Revealing what happens in the closet with Veronica

My lovely client Veronica was my model for the masterclass. Shes a woman in her 70s and very active. She lives in Mill Valley, just this side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Much of her life is spent going to dinner, theater, and lectures in San Francisco, which is just a few minutes from her house. San Francisco is a cosmopolitan city if you dont count the tech community. (Think jeans and hoodies for the techies.)

Styling Session with Veronica
Erin and I introduce Veronica to the MMBers

But much of her life is spent running around Mill Valley, which is a more casual, rustic town tucked into looming redwoods at the base of Mount Tamalpais.

Every time I make an outfit and Erin charts it on Veronicas wardrobe chart, I ask the question: Where will you wear this? Often the answer is, I could wear this running around Mill Valley. So in 2010, we created the term running around Mill Valley as shorthand for this casual category of outfits.

Running around Mill Valley outfits

So what comprises her running around Mill Valley activities? Appointments, going to the library, breakfast with her wonderful husband, Richard, meeting friends in downtown Mill Valley for lunch. Two of her four daughters live in Mill Valley so on some days shes running around collecting grandkids from schools and taking them to afternoon activities, picking them up, coming home and baking with them. Its also going to the grocery store, picking up dry cleaning or repaired shoes from Tonys.

These outfits are casual but not sloppy, and theyre always accessorized.

Details of a run around Mill Valley outfit

In this picture from last week at the retreat, Veronica is wearing a velvet jean from J.Jill in boxwood green, a boxwood green J.Jill vest over a white shirt and a scarf around her neck to keep the chill away. Mill Valley is often foggy and colder than any other part of Marin County. She wears a crossbody Rebecca Minkoff bag in a color thats close to boxwood. Leopard flats add some fun.

My running around Saturday activities

I thought about Veronica this weekend when I got dressed to run around Marin County. My Saturday was starting with a 10 a.m. gathering in San Anselmo of my 7&7 friends in our spiritual group thats been meeting monthly for about thirty years. We take turns meeting at each others homes.

After that, I was meeting a friend for coffee at Good Earth in Fairfax, which is an iconic health food grocery store in a space that was Luckys supermarket. (Large.) It has indoor and outdoor seating for people getting coffee drinks, smoothies, lunch, or dinner from their big takeout sections of warm and cold prepared food.

Debra and I met for lattes and caught up on life, got hungry and decided to grab lunch from the hot bar and lingered even longer.

Details of my running around outfit

I was dressed comfortably in my J.Jill full-legged jeans with the tuxedo stripe down the side. I wore my red cashmere sweater and my navy crinkle long topper thats been in my life forever. It certainly adds style to my casual jean outfit.

It was a sneaker kind of day. I wanted something happy on my feet so I chose my Play Comme des Garcon lace-ups with the heart faces peeking out.

Feeling on the fun side, I added my Sol Sisters beaded necklace with the feather dangling from the end. That necklace always makes me smile.

When I left my friend Debra, I stopped by my studio apartment, which I hadnt been in since the week before seeing Dad for the last time in Minnesota. (A tear just appeared). It was nice to be reminded of my creative, me place. I visited the ladies at SAX Consignment, stocked up on some chocolate from the backroom and headed back to Sonoma.

Thinking about my next running around with Viv outfit

This Saturday outfit would be a great babysitting outfit for me. Id have to take the necklace off while playing with Viv. But I could keep it on as we stroll to M&H Bakery and Cafe for breakfast and a cold Josie coffee. Which, actually, Im doing tomorrow. Viv and I are meeting another friend whos a gramma too! Good times ahead.

MMB Retreat
Viv visited the Veronica fashion show at the MMB Retreat

So what goes into your running around outfits? Do you accessorize them? How? Let me hear all about your casual life and the outfits youre wearing while you live it!

XO

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