For whom am I dressing up?
A few things have been inspiring me to get more dressed up for work lately (of course, keep in mind that my version of “dressed up” may be very different than yours!):
- Closet Consultation with Erin – Erin came over and
reminded metaught me how to dress myself, with clothes I already had! Brilliant! If you are in the Chicagoland area, and are fashion-challenged like me, fill out her Closet Consultation form so she can come help you out! - Work Schedule – I work 2-3 days in the office a week, and 2-3 days at home (I work 5 days one week and 4 the next). Being in the office fewer days per week makes it feel less daunting and tiresome to come up with something to wear when I do go in. My clothes feel more “fresh” because I am not wearing them all the time.*
- Work Morale – Somehow I got this idea in my head that putting effort in to my work outfits would make work more interesting. That turned out to be a bust. Oh well. Points to me for positive thinking.
Let’s say 3.5 reasons:
.5. I think it’s kind of fun.
Not much variety in my outfits this week, but I like them. I was particularly proud of the fact that I wore a pink top with a black and white skirt. I have a zillion black and white skirts and used to think I could only wear solid black on top. That got kind of boring.
Okay, but here’s the thing. See item #2 about work schedule. Hardly anyone is in the office when I do go in, and I don’t have many in-person client meetings. I am kind of starting to wonder why the hell I am making an effort to look nice, when I don’t see many people at work.
And also? Quite a few of the people I do see in the office are wearing jeans. We don’t have a dress code at work. As much as I love wearing jeans on travel days and near the end of the week, it weirds me out to see jeans paired with a polo (or t-shirt! a t-shirt!!!) on a random Tuesday. We’re not a construction office.
Of course, that is not to say that everyone is wearing jeans. Some people wear ties every day. Some women always wear dresses. Favorite coworker always looks fab and I love her style. She is starting a blog and I hope she shares some of her outfits.
I digress!
The point of this post is, well, I am wondering what the point of dressing up is. For whom am I dressing up?** Am I doing it because it makes me feel better about myself and more professional (it does – kind of like wearing jeans instead of sweatpants on the days I work from home)? Am I doing it because I want other people to think I am “put-together”? Am I doing it to make an impression?
Is it worth it?
Do you all have these deep, deep thoughts (joking) about your wardrobe? Seriously though, do you think about who you will see during the day before you pick what you are going to wear for the day (either to work or not)?
I do know that I am more likely to dress nice when I have a lunch date (or client meeting) then when it’s just a regular old day in the office.
And it does make me feel better to not look so much like a slob. I wish you guys could see my fashion evolution. When I started working in May of 2007 it was all dress pants and button-downs, but not tucked in! Ha ha ha! Then my boss told me I needed to get some fashion sense (niiiiice). I started wearing pants with blouses in the end of 2008 and that was a big deal for me. Now I am much more adventurous. I hope I do not evolve in to one of those jeans and polos people though. Maybe at home, but not in the office!
*Not in the smell/cleanliness sense, but in the fresh and new fashion sense. Ha ha.
**Someone please tell me the correct way to say this question and not end it in a preposition and use the correct version of who or whom. I struggle with English.
Themocracy
I dress a little nicer when I know execs will be in the office or when training is going on at our location. But really, it’s the same business casual look almost every other day. I’m boring. :p
I do tend to dress nicer if I know I have a meeting with one of the higher ups or something else going on. I was a little nervous on Friday when I wore jeans and found out via email when I arrived that I would be likely having an important meeting that afternoon. It was postponed til today so I made sure to wear something somewhat nice to work today.
I think if it makes you feel good and you find it fun to dress up, go for it! Do it for you and not for anyone else. I will wear skirts or dresses to work occasionally and I mostly do it for me because it really doesn’t matter in my office.
I always feel better when I look better. So you are doing it for YOU! (coming from the girl who never made it out of her pajamas yesterday)
my boss is here today..i’m more dressed up 🙂
I dress about the same every day for work. However, if its a client meeting or lunch/dinner day, I always make sure to do my hair and wear jewelry. Those are areas I lack when I am being lazy. For example, today my hair is a half blow-dried, half air-dried while walking to and from the train disaster! No meetings today. 🙂
My hair is a disaster ever single day. I do not seem to have the “girl” gene. I have no idea how to use a blow dryer (and don’t really want to learn!).
Bobbi is dead on! Do it for you!
I NEED CLOTHES.
I think you look cute!
When I was still working I had to wear a red scrub top and khaki scrub pants. Every. Single. Day. It was awful. The only way to spruce it up was to fix my hair/makeup, which was a waste of time because I’d always get hot and put it into a ponytail.
Of course, now I look like a slob most days unless I’m leaving the house.
I actually think my morning goes more smoothly when I get ready at the gym, mostly because I have to pick out my clothes the night before and pack them up. It also forces me to wear new combinations, because the outfit that I thought looked great in my head but isn’t quite what I envision is what I have to wear to work that day.
I only go to the office 2-3 days a week as well, and I work in a casual office. We were business casual when I started here in 2004, but dropped the dress code in 2006. People went crazy wearing jeans and super casual stuff for a few years, but I’ve noticed that business casual is happening all on its own again, so it seems like some folks actually do like dressing a little nice for work.
Since I’m only in the office a few days a week, I definitely make more of an effort than I would if I were in everyday. But I also need the structure of dressing nicer to remind me where I am and what I’m supposed to be doing. I actually used to get flack for dressing up from people at work that just don’t care about their job or their image at work, but whatever, I dress for me before anyone else.
Yesterday I wore jeans, beat up retro tennis shoes, a t-shirt, and a striped sweater. People asked me what was up since I wear dresses or skirts every day. I was just feeling uninspired. And honestly? I felt strangely under-dressed. I don’t like wearing casual clothes to work (and own very little of them). I usually dress for myself first and foremost. I feel better about myself overall when I put effort into my appearance and outfit.
Black and white are neutrals which means you can wear pretty much any color you want with them. That pink looks great!
I always say I’m going to start putting in more effort into my at work appearance, and then I dont. Today for example, I’m semi-presentable and there’s nothing really wrong with my outfit. It’s not great though, and for sure today will be the day that someone super hot comes in. That’s how it always works.
SO did the super hot guy come in? 😛
I have gotten in the WORST rut of wearing jeans to work. I dressed up one day, and everyone freaked out, and was asking me what was going on that i would dress like that. That was the “sign” that i need to stop going into work looking like a slob.
Ha ha. That kind of happened to me when I started wearing skirts a lot. Someone asked me if I was going to a job interview!
I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about a work wardrobe. For years I coached figure skating and lived in fleece pants and North Face jackets. Now I’m going to be a nurse and get to wear scrubs all day. I planned my life well. hahaha
“For whom” is correct. “Whom” is used for objects of prepositions (“for”) and for objects of verbs (“Whom did you meet?”) A+!
Thanks for the closet consultation link! I just submitted it to Erin!
I’ve been making (pretty) good on my resolution to wear a skirt/dress once a week here. Today though, my Korean teacher actually clapped her hands in delight about me wearing a skirt and asked if I had some special event. Apparently, even when I dress up, people usually don’t notice. 🙁
I am happy I got it right! I was trying to look it up and was getting more and more confused.
Yay! I am excited to hear how your consultation goes!!! 🙂
Ha ha ha. People must be noticing!!! Can we blame that on a cultural thing?
Obviously I enjoy looking nice for work. Even when I worked at the courthouse and spent some of my time hauling boxes or kneeling on the floor I still preferred to dress nicer than most of the other people there. It makes me feel good. If I don’t know what I’m doing at work then at least I can feel put together some other way!
Also, getting compliments is always nice. Our student worker told me this morning that she loved my outfit. Now, who doesn’t need to hear stuff like that now and then?
Speaking of which, you’re doing a great job mixing up your skirts and tops! Love it!
Sometimes I feel the same way! I dress nicely all the time but most of my coworkers wear jeans and polo shirts all the time. Sometimes I wonder why I bother but I always thing that people respect me more for taking the time to dress myself nice and take the time to care about my appearance. So I think its worth it – even if you don’t see a lot of people, you do take the time to look nice and it shows that you care about yourself!
It is sometimes hard to find a balance but, sone one told me to dress for the job you want. So you never know who is keeping an eye on you.
I’ve been a stay at home mom for 17 (gasp!) years and it does make a difference if I dress nice and put some makeup on, even on the days I don’t really see anyone. I just feel less of a slouch.
I don’t think about who I will see before picking out what I am going to wear, mostly because I work at home a lot and my office is super duper casual and I never see anyone fun at the office. But, I do think about whom I’m going to see before I decide whether or not to wear make-up for the day. =)
I meant to respond to this yesterday but just didn’t have a chance. I can completely identify b/c I work from home 2 days a week, and my department is tucked away in a corner so really, the only people who see me are my boss, our admin, the intern, and possibly other employees on the way to lunch. Also, we are pro-jeans and a lot of employees are either off site at clients or working remotely.
I dress up for meetings and if I have a candidate coming in, or if someone important is in the office. But honestly, picking out outfits and doing my hair and ironing clothes ends up making me late for work. :p I feel like I work a lot better at home these days, where I can be focused, grab a bite without having to go very far, and take a walk in the middle of the day if I’m frustrated.
I try to dress cute on the weekends for parties and if P and I have a date night. 🙂 Oh, and I’m that person that never leaves the house without makeup, even if it’s just foundation, mascara and lip gloss.
Oh also, I never tuck shirts into pants because I am high-waisted and it makes me look like a pregnant cow. I guess I am a slob. 😉
I used to dress up more for work than I do now. You are inspiring me to make a little more effort because I do like feeling put-together and professional.