This woman has worn the same outfit to work every single day for the past 4 years

Courtesy of Matilda Kahl

Last year, a former art director named Matilda Kahl went viral for writing about her decision to wear the same outfit to work every single day.

She has since switched industries and moved to Sweden — but she's still rocking her black and white "work uniform."

Back in April of 2015, Kahl wrote an article for Harper’s Bazaar about the decision to implement her work uniform after realizing her male coworkers didn’t face the same sartorial stress she felt every morning while getting ready.

For someone in a creative field who made a lot of decisions throughout the day, she longed for one less choice to make.

Kahl decided on a professional silk white top and standard pair of black pants for her new everyday look. She bought multiple pairs of each item so she could rotate them throughout the week without needing to do constant laundry, and added a black leather bow around her neck for flair. If it was cold, she would  throw on a blazer.

Courtesy of Matilda KahlShortly after writing about her newfound sartorial freedom, Kahl began receiving interview requests. Her story resonated with countless people, partly because she had accidentally tapped into the zeitgeist desire for minimalism, capsule wardrobes, and living like Japanese professional organizer Marie Kondo.

"During one period, I answered about 35 newspaper interviews via email, talked on four radio shows, and did two TV interviews a day," she tells TI. "On top of that I had a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. job and a new apartment I was trying to get in order. During that month, I almost lost it."

But all the positive feedback she received made the stress worthwhile. Kahl says people around the world messaged her to say how inspired or empowered they were by her story. "I felt like I had to keep going as long as people listened," she says.

It's been four years since Kahl started the experiment. In some ways, a lot has changed: She has since left her art director career to become a creative manager at Sony Music in Sweden. But when it comes to her work wardrobe, Kahl still owns five pairs of the black pants, three black blazers, and ten of the silk white shirts — down from her original 15 — that she dry-cleans after wearing twice.

Today, she doesn't give her work uniform any thought at all.

"I can feel a real difference in my productivity, but even better than that is I feel a lot less self-conscious and can focus better on what I actually want to do when at work — my job," she says.

Courtesy of Matilda KahlThough her dedication to the work uniform might seem constricting to some, Kahl doesn't let it rule her life. She saves her more creative outfits for the weekends and weeknights and still loves to shop. She recently bought nearly a dozen silk scarfs from Nepal in a variety of colors.

She also wants to invest in more shoes — "that's my little creative channel where I like to go all-in on the color," Kahl confides.

The only thing Kahl sees stopping her lifelong love affair with her current uniform is the inarguable fact that her shirts and pants can't last forever.

"I can feel they are getting a bit worn out," she says, immediately adding, "Soon it will be time to get a new hero look!" As for what that future look will be, Kahl already has a Pinterest board filled with ideas. 

Courtesy of Matilda Kahl

But no matter what the work uniform, Kahl says there's no question she'll still have one so she can keep focusing on making decisions at her job during the week, not her wardrobe.

"[I'll wear the uniform] for as long as I love what I do for a living," she says.

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