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July 11, 2005
and Cathy says...Aaaaack!!!! (insert animated anguish/stress lines here)
I've been working with my current employer for just under two years now. Until last week, the 'dress code' has been ultra-casual - jeans, t-shirts, spaghetti-strap-tops, flip flops, pretty much anything that covers mid-thigh to under-armpit (with straps, of course, we don't stoop to tube tops...which has been awesome, as any money I've spent on clothes in the past year has gone towards jeans and hoodie sweaters and clingy designer t-shirts. you know. stuff that you can wear anywhere, if your office is comfortable-casual and you tend to go to movies and live shows and stuff on your off days...
anyway. for some reason (which will now be known as "the newhart tube top incident") we've been reeled into a 'business casual' dress code at work.
which means, at my ultra-low salary, I'm going from "wearing whatever I have around the house" to "spending money on clothes I pretty much only wear at work, in my cubicle where no one sees me".
it's frustrating, shopping for clothes (YAY!) that follow the new "khakis, polos, heels, stockings" structure.
I find myself falling into the weird money wasting habit I had when I was a summer intern after college: buying stuff because it's cheap and because it's vaguely office-y, never mind if it makes me look like a sitcom office schlub. (think Anything Worn at The Office On Dead Like Me or The Office).
I know it's a trivial and stupid complaint: "I hate my work costume, even tho I personally choose each outfit" but I still find myself buying the truly ugly silk wraparound skirt on sale at Benneton or the striped pants with the cuff at Banana Republic because they're cheap and machine-washable, rather than going for the 'ooh! cute! I totally love that!!' factor.
Perhaps it's because I have a body that looks haaaaarible in off-the-rack jackets (newsflash to designers: real women have waists! we actually dip in more than 2 inches above the hips! honest! there are size 6 hourglass shapes here in the midwest - I swear!)
or perhaps I just feel like a stupid grownup in office clothes, instead of the clever hipster chick I want to be - the one who wears tiny thrift-store-tees (with clever/ironic statements on) with her jeans?
ah well, either way, I'm stuck in pink stilettos, office-friendly blank white t-shirt, and a super-ugly lettuce-green silk skirt. with beads at the hem. and pleats. and ruffles. because it was $12 at anthropologie and I couldn't resist.
maybe I'll cling to the ugliness as my oh-so-unoriginal "dress code protest".....
or perhaps I'll just get a life and stop thinking about such horribly unimportant things such as dress code when what I really should be doing is figuring out how to up my salary range....
interesting...pirate wench has a post that touches on my wardrobe issues....
Posted by Heather at July 11, 2005 05:20 PM
Comments
You don't wear stockings and heels with khakis.
Posted by: Blondie at July 13, 2005 09:22 AM
Seriously honey, you could look good in a paper bag and on occasion you have.
mmm... paper bag
Lady: Sir, are you wearing a paper bag?
Homer: I have misplaced my pants.
Posted by: Mordecai at July 13, 2005 12:54 PM
Well, if it's any consolation, I think everyone falls prey to "business casual" at least one time in their lives. My wardrobe is half-khaki these days, but hey, it's better than a full-on suit.
And it's definitely an improvement over the plaid skirts and "Peter Pan" collars of my Catholic school youth.
--karen
Posted by: Karen at July 14, 2005 09:03 AM