Overdressed

Here's how my days have been back at the job:

8 a.m. - arrive at office
9 a.m. - attend first meeting; acquire 4 "to do" items
10 a.m. - attend second meeting; acquire 3 more items for Task list
11 a.m. - attend extended lunch meeting; enjoy food bought by someone who is not me; add 7 items to Task list
1:30 p.m. - attend fourth meeting; learn of 2 new Tasks under my jurisdiction
2:30 - try to remember where my desk is located; pee; check voicemails
3 p.m. - attend really long, really loud conference call; contract headache from everyone trying to talk over everyone else; 8 additional Task items assigned to me
4:30 p.m. - Return to desk; notice everyone is just leaving, catch up on multiple emails; flag 17 that require some follow-up task for me; consolidate all task lists from meetings and emails into one To Do list
4:45 p.m. - begin to whittle away list by attacking highest priority items first
6 p.m. - print out tomorrow's calendar since it appears I will not be at my desk at all tomorrow either; call it a day; give thanks for being paid hourly.

As one lady on the team told me, "These are the meetingest bunch of people I've ever worked with." Sheesh. I can't figure out when the heck they expect me to actually accomplish all these tasks I've been assigned!

But on to more important things.... like clothes.

Here is my dilemma: CASUAL FRIDAY.

Which, I believe at one time, back in the late 80s, when it was first born, may have actually been "Jeans Day." Which is a much more accurate description, if you think about it. Because really, are we supposed to dress "casually" or are we merely allowed to wear jeans? Let's get this clear, can we?

Because if you say it's the same thing, then I say you must be a man. Because that's who Jeans Day was really created to benefit, wasn't it? It was saying, "Look, forget the tie. In fact, leave the loafers at home too, and wear tennis shoes if you want. Even those pleated Dockers can have a rest - throw caution into the wind and wear JEANS! Yea! Aren't we great employers??"

'Cause listen, any girl worth her weight in Manolos can tell you that wearing jeans in this day and age constitutes a pair of low rise, tight-fitting, skinny jeans and high-heeled platform shoes. AM I RIGHT?? So telling me I can wear jeans on Friday isn't really doing me any favors on the comfort scale.

Anyway, I am extremely anti-denim in the summertime.

So if it really is "casual day," would it be all right for me to wear a casual little summer skirt and flip-flops? I'm thinking "NO." You put jeans on with a button-up blouse and maybe heels and a suit jacket and you can still look relatively professional. Just because it's 100 degrees and Friday doesn't mean you can come to work dressed like you're making a pit stop on your way to the beach.

Or to wash your car (hello, sweat pants), but that's a whole other post....

Labels: fashion and style

Posted by Kalisa on Thursday, July 27, 2006 at 9:30 PM | Permalink