Thank you so much!!! This must be the first time I see hospitality workers mentioned in the context of the professional wardrobe!! Yes there's so many of us and we have lots of challenges and constraints! (I work in a fine dining establishment, where everyone is expected to be impeccably suited up... while still being able to disassemble a dishwasher at any given moment) Thank you so much, I am excited for this!!
Subrina! I’m excited to read what you have to say about dressing for work. I’ve navigated dressing work in a variety of ways. When I was in my twenties and working in a male-dominated field, I created my own restrictions based on the amount of attention my dressing would receive. I didn’t completely change my look, but receiving unwanted attention always lingered in the background. As I moved into my thirties, I dressed to blend in. Being in uncomfortable corporate environments pushed me to try and blend in as much as possible. Now that I work remotely, I'm focusing on what makes me feel comfortable and what looks nice. It needs to be a 50/50. Even when I’m at home, I need to feel and look good.
Thank you Subrina! So excited about this theme for your writing, look forward to learning.
I work in government, and when dressing for work try to balance embodying authority and blending in with expressing confidence (and not boring myself too much with corporate attire). I don’t mind the restrictions of work dress necessarily - I find it is easier to feel creative within those bounds than when I am set completely free in the weekends. Being in Scandinavia means dress codes are looser than the US but still on the conservative side.
I have experimented with the Tibi-idea of ”not having a bifurcated closet” etc but given my budgetary restraints and the fact that I have small children have ended up on the contrary feeling that the best way to create a work wardrobe for me is to silo it off and protect it - so as not to wake up in the morning and realize too late that all my work clothes are full of yoghurt stains and marks from the playground. Would love your thoughts/philosophy on this.
Side note: the subject headline reminded me of this book - I have a thing for old style guides, however old-fashioned and outdated they are if you can look past those parts there are usually gems as well. https://www.amazon.com/How-Dress-Success-Edith-Head/dp/0810921332
Today was a great up-do day. I have been practicing this style since last April, and finally found a method that works most of the time in September. Thank you for noticing it! I am so proud of it!
I work in the arts and bringing a sense of style to work is often expected or encouraged. But it’s also a delicate balance of not attracting too much attention, and being comfortable. I try to dress smart so people take me seriously, because it’s been very hard to maintain jobs over the years. I used to wear a lot of trousers but after gaining some weight I have been wearing long skirts. My husband thinks I need to really embrace my greys and wear glasses so people will give me a job lol but I resist this. I want to feel vibrant and myself when I’m at work. I often wonder what the best way to dress for an interview is. And for the zoom screen. Lots of questions !
My self imposed dress code is that I need to be dressed in a way so I can take a meeting of behalf of my boss and feel comfortable. There's no dress code at work, but most of the managers tend to wear business casual or suits. Once on a hot summer Friday some years ago when I knew I had no meetings I had dressed quite casually in patterned trousers and a coral spaghetti strop top - and that was of course the day my boss asked me to take a meeting for her (for the first time) 😆 So since the I dress in business casual attire 🤷♀️
Looking forwardto your newsletter on work clothes!
I love this question! I don’t think i have ever put restrictions on myself, but there are constraints that exist for me because of the life and job I have : I take public transit, I walk everywhere, I have bad feet, and I work in public schools, so having a practical wardrobe and shoes, is the base of my wardrobe…fancy and more ornate stuff I get, still has to fit in with the practical shoes I have and/or the few low-heeled shoes my feet can stand! Excited to read Part 1 ;)
My New Year’s resolution this year was “no t-shirts at work”. Sometimes I can’t be bothered/don’t have the time to iron a button-up shirt but finding other work-appropriate tops has proved surprisingly difficult.
I work in a technical field so for me dress codes have never been very rigid—but perhaps that’s why they have also been tricky. Because being surrounded mostly by men there’s sometimes this stereotype of the geek that doesn't care about their looks because they're too busy coding or whatever. And that if you put some more effort in your appearance you're probably not very competent. I'm exaggerating a bit, but at least when I was younger and more insecure that was my feeling. Still, I've always tried to dress well and tended to be even overdressed (but you'd have to understand that even wearing heels can seem overdressed next to people who look like they're ready to go on a hike on a daily basis). That's because my mother instilled in me the habit of dressing well for any occasion and, most importantly, for yourself as a self-care practice. Now I'm more comfortable at my current workplace, as there are people from more fields with various levels of formality and I don't feel like I'm standing out anymore.
I feel as though I have a few imposed dress codes, some self and others learned. I think the one that has been the most influential has been being raised catholic. My parents, mainly my mom were adamant at following the dress rules at church; not showing shoulders or knees. Tights worn if you wore a dress or skirt. And I still carry that with me in the workplace; i never show my shoulders and if I do wear something that shows my knees, I am Uncomfortable, even if people in positions higher than me wear a dress or skirt that shows kneecaps! Bringin this together with work clothes, I dress up more than others at work; i do think that is directly related to us having to look nice and be dressed up for church. My mom was always like if you have nice clothes you need to wear them. So I do end up being more “dressed up” than others, which I’m ok with!!! I personally am not an athleisure person at work, now at home that’s another story LOL.
Thank you so much!!! This must be the first time I see hospitality workers mentioned in the context of the professional wardrobe!! Yes there's so many of us and we have lots of challenges and constraints! (I work in a fine dining establishment, where everyone is expected to be impeccably suited up... while still being able to disassemble a dishwasher at any given moment) Thank you so much, I am excited for this!!
Subrina! I’m excited to read what you have to say about dressing for work. I’ve navigated dressing work in a variety of ways. When I was in my twenties and working in a male-dominated field, I created my own restrictions based on the amount of attention my dressing would receive. I didn’t completely change my look, but receiving unwanted attention always lingered in the background. As I moved into my thirties, I dressed to blend in. Being in uncomfortable corporate environments pushed me to try and blend in as much as possible. Now that I work remotely, I'm focusing on what makes me feel comfortable and what looks nice. It needs to be a 50/50. Even when I’m at home, I need to feel and look good.
Thank you Subrina! So excited about this theme for your writing, look forward to learning.
I work in government, and when dressing for work try to balance embodying authority and blending in with expressing confidence (and not boring myself too much with corporate attire). I don’t mind the restrictions of work dress necessarily - I find it is easier to feel creative within those bounds than when I am set completely free in the weekends. Being in Scandinavia means dress codes are looser than the US but still on the conservative side.
I have experimented with the Tibi-idea of ”not having a bifurcated closet” etc but given my budgetary restraints and the fact that I have small children have ended up on the contrary feeling that the best way to create a work wardrobe for me is to silo it off and protect it - so as not to wake up in the morning and realize too late that all my work clothes are full of yoghurt stains and marks from the playground. Would love your thoughts/philosophy on this.
Side note: the subject headline reminded me of this book - I have a thing for old style guides, however old-fashioned and outdated they are if you can look past those parts there are usually gems as well. https://www.amazon.com/How-Dress-Success-Edith-Head/dp/0810921332
Love your updo!
Today was a great up-do day. I have been practicing this style since last April, and finally found a method that works most of the time in September. Thank you for noticing it! I am so proud of it!
the updo was inspiring to me too!
I work in the arts and bringing a sense of style to work is often expected or encouraged. But it’s also a delicate balance of not attracting too much attention, and being comfortable. I try to dress smart so people take me seriously, because it’s been very hard to maintain jobs over the years. I used to wear a lot of trousers but after gaining some weight I have been wearing long skirts. My husband thinks I need to really embrace my greys and wear glasses so people will give me a job lol but I resist this. I want to feel vibrant and myself when I’m at work. I often wonder what the best way to dress for an interview is. And for the zoom screen. Lots of questions !
extremely excited for this newsletter
My self imposed dress code is that I need to be dressed in a way so I can take a meeting of behalf of my boss and feel comfortable. There's no dress code at work, but most of the managers tend to wear business casual or suits. Once on a hot summer Friday some years ago when I knew I had no meetings I had dressed quite casually in patterned trousers and a coral spaghetti strop top - and that was of course the day my boss asked me to take a meeting for her (for the first time) 😆 So since the I dress in business casual attire 🤷♀️
Looking forwardto your newsletter on work clothes!
I love this question! I don’t think i have ever put restrictions on myself, but there are constraints that exist for me because of the life and job I have : I take public transit, I walk everywhere, I have bad feet, and I work in public schools, so having a practical wardrobe and shoes, is the base of my wardrobe…fancy and more ornate stuff I get, still has to fit in with the practical shoes I have and/or the few low-heeled shoes my feet can stand! Excited to read Part 1 ;)
My New Year’s resolution this year was “no t-shirts at work”. Sometimes I can’t be bothered/don’t have the time to iron a button-up shirt but finding other work-appropriate tops has proved surprisingly difficult.
I work in a technical field so for me dress codes have never been very rigid—but perhaps that’s why they have also been tricky. Because being surrounded mostly by men there’s sometimes this stereotype of the geek that doesn't care about their looks because they're too busy coding or whatever. And that if you put some more effort in your appearance you're probably not very competent. I'm exaggerating a bit, but at least when I was younger and more insecure that was my feeling. Still, I've always tried to dress well and tended to be even overdressed (but you'd have to understand that even wearing heels can seem overdressed next to people who look like they're ready to go on a hike on a daily basis). That's because my mother instilled in me the habit of dressing well for any occasion and, most importantly, for yourself as a self-care practice. Now I'm more comfortable at my current workplace, as there are people from more fields with various levels of formality and I don't feel like I'm standing out anymore.
I feel as though I have a few imposed dress codes, some self and others learned. I think the one that has been the most influential has been being raised catholic. My parents, mainly my mom were adamant at following the dress rules at church; not showing shoulders or knees. Tights worn if you wore a dress or skirt. And I still carry that with me in the workplace; i never show my shoulders and if I do wear something that shows my knees, I am Uncomfortable, even if people in positions higher than me wear a dress or skirt that shows kneecaps! Bringin this together with work clothes, I dress up more than others at work; i do think that is directly related to us having to look nice and be dressed up for church. My mom was always like if you have nice clothes you need to wear them. So I do end up being more “dressed up” than others, which I’m ok with!!! I personally am not an athleisure person at work, now at home that’s another story LOL.