The key to looking presentable without daily effort lies in your preparation. You must plan to look presentable always. Preparation is key.

In today’s video I’m sharing 5 tips to help you look presentable always.

1. Service your clothes ahead of time. Make sure your clothes are steamed and ironed ahead of time. If you get behind on laundry, or if you find yourself really busy (who doesn’t?) you might, after washing your clothes, simply place them in drawers or on hangers without preparing them to be worn. Then on a busy morning, you want to wear one of your presentable core items, but it’s wrinkled or rumpled. The thought of bringing out the iron or steamer at that point in your busy morning seems too much for you so you either just wear the wrinkled garment and hope no one will notice, or you opt to wear something else… maybe something less appropriate. Set aside one day a week, preferably the same day you wash your clothes, to finish the task completely by ironing and/ or steaming whatever needs to be prepared.

🗝 Resources for looking presentable

Clothing steamer

Sweater pill machine

Velvet hangers

Padded hangers

Vacuum storage space bags

Lint roller

2. Store your clothes properly. I like to fold my tee shirts and sweaters, but I find that even if I iron or steam them before doing so, they are still wrinkled when I go to wear them. So I like to iron them and then hang them up. I still fold some tee shirts, but the ones I know I’ll likely wear that week will be pressed and ready to go, hanging with my other core items. If you do the ten-item wardrobe, you might be in the habit of only hanging your core items and folding your extras… but there are no rules here. You can hang up your extras next to your core items if it means you will be more prepared to wear them each day.

Lilysilk black silk trousers Daily15 15% off

Rungolee Louise blouse

Jon Josef ballet flats

3. Create outfits ahead of time. Spend time creating presentable outfits from the clothes you already have. This will require an hour or so in the afternoon. Have fun with it! Make yourself a cup of tea, put on some music and create outfits. You might discover outfit combinations you never thought of. Channel your inner influencer and take a mirror selfie to remind yourself of the outfit and also to see how you look in it. You can create a lookbook of sorts for this season that is custom for you.

4. Only display the current season of clothing in your wardrobe. Most people display all seasons at the same time. If you have a small closet, this is even more problematic. Your eyes will only meet confusion each morning as you try to select an outfit. You must visually and physically sort through the out-of-season clothing to even see what you have. When you do the ten-item capsule wardrobe, this is one of the first things you tackle. Think about your closet as you would a chic boutique. If you walk into a nice clothing boutique on a warm summer’s day, you would not expect to see heavy sweater dresses next to pretty sun dresses. You would immediately think something was wrong with the management of that boutique and you might walk out. You expect to see the curated summer items. Your closet should be no different. No, if you have a large walk-in closet with room to house all seasons, make sure the out-of-season items are off to the side and out of view, separate from your current season of clothing.

5. Be okay with wearing the same things repeatedly. When you find “outfit winners” you will be wearing them over and over again. They will become your go-tos. This does mean that you might wear the same things all the time. This was an initial concern for me years ago, but I have so gotten over that. I used to have the mentality that I needed a new outfit every day and people couldn’t see me in the same thing twice. Where did we get that from? Perhaps television? In television shows, the characters are in new outfits in each scene and generally don’t wear the same thing unless the director wants to convey that they have fallen on hard times. Even when you read articles on the royal family, if The Duchess of Cambridge wears the same thing twice, the media makes a big deal out of it saying she is “recycling” an outfit. No, she’s just wearing it again because it’s normal to wear an outfit more than once. When you adopt the ten-item wardrobe, you get over that eventually. You don’t care that people see you in the same outfit over and over again because you know you look good and that’s what matters anyway. Taking this stress away helps you to look presentable.

🗝 The Ten-Item Wardrobe eCourse

🗝 Jennifer's Books

Lessons from Madame Chic

At Home with Madame Chic

Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic

CONNOISSEUR KIDS

🗝 Outfit Details/ Clothing Featured

Rungolee Louise Blouse

Mott & Bow Beige Jean JLS10 for 10% off

Oliver Cabell caramel driving shoe

Miranda Frye Crawler earrings Jennifer10 for 10% off

Mott & Bow v-neck tee JLS10 for 10% off

Fennwyth scarf

Londontown pink illuminating nail concealer JenniferS for 25% off

Thank you to Babbel for sponsoring today's video.

News

📍 Lessons from Madame Chic hardcopies are finally back in stock! Pick up your copy today ♥️

📍 The Chic Assignment will appear later this month and will act as one assignment for the whole summer in order to accommodate our travel schedule.

📍 The Ten-Item Wardrobe eCourse is newly updated and back online with all new video, text, and new lessons. If you have previously purchased the ten-item wardrobe eCourse, you can access all of the new changes for free.

📍If you are looking for more content, consider becoming a member of The Daily Connoisseur through the Channel Memberships. In The Chic Society, I publish one vodcast every Friday and do one livestream or zoom call once a month. It only costs $1.99 a month. There are also upper tiers available for people who are interested in supporting the channel on a higher level and receiving monthly mentions in the videos. *NEW* We now have a penpal program too! 

Instagram

Madame Chic on Instagram... 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UNË LEXOJ 💡 (@une_lexoj)

Comment of the Week

Irene writes, "Speaking of listening to audiobooks while doing household chores...I am currently listening to a familiar one...POLISH YOUR POISE WITH MADAM CHIC! I am thoroughly enjoying its content! I am so grateful that you are doing your best to try to bring ELEGANCE back into daily living."

Hi Irene, I'm so happy you're enjoying the book! Thank you for your kind comment.

I hope you enjoyed this video and that it gives you motivation to look presentable always.

NEW* Join The Chic Society on YouTube and become a member of The Daily Connoisseur.

Visit my newly designed Author Website

Shop my Amazon page for a comprehensive list of my favorite things and mentions on the blog.

Facebook facebook.com/JenniferLScottAuthor

Twitter @JL_Scott

Instagram @dailyconnoisseur

Take my affordable eCourses on the POISE *NEW course*, debt-free living, and efficiency at home

FTC: This post is sponsored by Babbel. I use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for your support. 

Watch this video when you must clean… but you don’t feel like it.

Welcome back to the Daily Connoisseur and another homemaking video. I’m hoping to provide inspiration for you today. You might be wondering why I’m outside stabbing sweet potatoes.

Well, that’s because the kitchen is still a hot mess from breakfast. It’s just one of those days… School is out. My kids are still in their pajamas. One of them has a cold. My work is piling up. I’m just not feeling it. We all have one of those days. But I need to get these sweet potatoes in the oven for lunch and clean up the kitchen. So I thought I’d capture it and give you a bit of encouragement because let’s face it… WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE.

You’re not alone. Do you know that? I think every homemaker in the history of the world has felt this lack of motivation at some point, if not frequently. It’s totally natural and cyclical. I equate it to burnout. We go through cycles in our homemaking. Sometimes we are on top of it all. On point. Raring to go. Loving every minute of it. Then enter an illness in the household or a work deadline, or a beautiful day outside that you’d rather frolic in. Totally normal. Well, when I go dark about wanting to do my tasks, I like to shift my mental reality. Call it triggering the Matrix. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he, after all. So what do I need to think in my heart about this situation? If I moan and prolong this inevitable task, I’m only making it worse. The other day my son had a gross-tasting medicine he had to take. He was prolonging it by taking wee bitty little sips. I told him he was prolonging the bad taste. Just get it over with, I tried to encourage him. He took it in two shots and it was done with. I’m going to take this kitchen in two shots. Because I have plans this afternoon.

Afternoon tea is a daily pleasure for me. The whole ritual from start to finish is calming and centering from the pouring of the water into the pot, to the stirring of the sugar and milk. The coconut tea cake will be served with heavy cream and blueberries. I take it outside to enjoy my rest along with this volume of Henry James’ letters… Remember, make time to relax. It’s imperative. I know your to-do list is still long. There’s so much more you need to accomplish today but that can wait. Use the pleasure of the afternoon as your goal post. When you reach it and reward yourself you will feel a sense of joy.

🗝 Jennifer's Outfit Details

SKYE Eolia cream smocked dress Jennifer20 for 20% off

SKYE satin oversized scrunchie Jennifer20 for 20% off

Spanish Sandal Co JEN10 for 10% off

Miranda Frye Crawler earrings Jennifer10 for 10% off

Pearl bracelet by SKYE Jennifer20 20% off

Londontown pink illuminating nail concealer JenniferS for 25% off

Pajamas by Mer Sea & Co

🗝 Featured in the video

At Home with Madame Chic

Keep Calm and Remain Classy Mug

Glirst Air Pod case in Vintage Bloom

American Blossom Linens Jennifer20 for 20% off

French apron

Long red cleaning gloves

Portmeirion Botanic Garden

Spode Blue Italian

Striped cloth napkin

Tea cozy

Thank you to Birch Living for sponsoring. Visit to get $400 off your Birch mattress plus two free pillows!

News

📍 Lessons from Madame Chic hardcopies are finally back in stock! Pick up your copy today ♥️

📍 The Chic Assignment will appear later this month and will act as one assignment for the whole summer in order to accommodate our travel schedule.

📍 The Ten-Item Wardrobe eCourse is newly updated and back online with all new video, text, and new lessons. If you have previously purchased the ten-item wardrobe eCourse, you can access all of the new changes for free.

📍If you are looking for more content, consider becoming a member of The Daily Connoisseur through the Channel Memberships. In The Chic Society, I publish one vodcast every Friday and do one livestream or zoom call once a month. It only costs $1.99 a month. There are also upper tiers available for people who are interested in supporting the channel on a higher level and receiving monthly mentions in the videos. *NEW* We now have a penpal program too! 

Instagram

At Home with Madame Chic on Instagram... 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by How Lovely (@howlovelyhome)

Comment of the Week 

Jilly writes, "Jennifer, a favorite treat you might like for tea time is strawberries dipped in sour cream and then dipped in brown sugar. Trust me. It’s so delicious."

Hi Jilly, thank you for the dessert suggestion. That sounds like a simple and easy way to enjoy an afternoon treat! I'll have to try it.

Thank you for joining me today on the Daily Connoisseur. I hope this video helped motivate you with your homemaking today.

This video is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to offer nutritional advice. If you are interested in intermittent fasting, please consult your doctor.

Day 1

Teatime 2:00 p.m. Fried apple waffles with ice cream. Hibiscus beauty elixir tea to drink DAILYC for 5% off 

Day 2

Luncheon noon Roast salmon with mashed sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and vegetables

Thank you to Thrive Market for bringing us today's video. 

Comment of the Week 

Jennifer! This is so profound and such an anchor! I think the thing that I miss and am longing for is structure. And the wisdom that you are sharing is priceless because it highlights the fact that as a culture we have become way too casual with our dress, with our homes, with our conversation, on and on. I think your video today is profoundly at the heart of why we have lost quality in life. And it is a bullseye for any of us who struggle with our weight. You mentioned boredom as well and I believe this is a key factor - the lack of structure. What is so needed is for people to have a sense of purpose and I believe this meets that need. I thank you so much for the influence that you have had in my life. I am going to pass this on to my nieces. God bless you richly! Mary 💖

Hi Mary, thank you for your comment. I enjoyed reading your observations and I think many of us can concur with them!

I hope you enjoyed today's video. Let us know what your favorite meals are so we can share ideas. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you soon!

NEW* Join The Chic Society on YouTube and become a member of The Daily Connoisseur.