Casual Weekdays

My office has a casual dress code. Casual as in jeans are acceptable...even the norm every day. It can be a little difficult to become accustomed to such casualness. It's always entertaining to watch someone transition from a corporate type of job wearing suits or at least "business casual" wear every day, to working at my company. I went through the process myself. You look around and see all of your coworkers in jeans...but something about getting up in the morning and putting jeans on to go to work every day doesn't feel right. But, you don't want to feel out-of-place at the office in nice business wear...so you settle for nice pants and a sweater most days, and jeans on Friday or occasionally. A few weeks/months later, you've transitioned to jeans 3 days a week, and nicer clothes the rest of the time. The final step is when jeans are the norm. That's where I am now...

I have a closet full of nice clothes that I don't wear to work anymore! I still need them occasionally...for the once in a blue moon client visit or when I want to look nice at church or a social event. But when I get up in the morning, I tend to go for comfort over looks. It's gotten so bad that some days recently I haven't even worn jewelry, and very little make-up. This is a serious change from the days when I worked at the bank and walked out of the house looking like I should be heading to Wall Street! I'm trying to get back into the swing of dressing nicely and being "put together" during the day. It's difficult, though, when most coworkers don't really seem to care! Perhaps if I can force myself to wear something nicer than jeans and a sweater 2 days a week, then I'll get out of the "look" rut that I'm in right now.

It's always funny at the office when someone dresses up though. If I wear a skirt, people start asking if I have an interview. It's kind of funny...I think, "Do you really think I'd just wear a skirt and sweater to an interview?" If I'm wearing a suit...then you should worry. But even then, I think I'd probably change in the bathroom of McDonald's or something. Usually, I'm wearing nicer clothes if I have a date. My boyfriend has a job where he is often wearing a suit...so if I'm meeting him for dinner, I try to wear something a little dressier. It's no fun to take a woman wearing jeans, a ratty sweater, and sneakers out to dinner!

At least when I look at the management here, I know that promotions aren't based on how you look or dress!