Sep 02 2003
Suitable
I’m not kidding about the interview outfit. While there is some truth to my being one of those women who walks into her walk-in closet and says she has nothing to wear, in this case it’s true. I blame “business casual”.
A few years ago, my former firm changed to business casual dress code. No-one knew what it meant, other than the forbidding of the always forbidden jeans. Why are jeans such outlawed attire? Given the fact that almost everyone in the entire US of A has them, making them the televisions of clothing, they are scarcely rebellious. Unflattering, possibly, and why most wearers would care to advertise their waist size to an unsuspecting public is beyond me, but they are practically a uniform at this point in time, which does make me wonder why they are considered to be as inappropriate in an office setting as, say, a tube top. After all, jeans really only reveal all too personal measurements instead of all too personal flesh. I can’t see anything inherently shocking in them.
But I digress. Those of us baffled by the new business casual dress code tried to find out what it was, and no definitive answer was forthcoming. It was rather like pornography, in that it’s difficult to define but the powers that be are convinced they will recognize it when they see it.
Not that I minded the new world order, which released me from the tyranny of nylons. But it does mean that I haven’t bought any dressy clothes in several years, so my wardrobe goes directly from wedding dress (probably not the right choice for any job interview other than mail order bride) to pants and tops (probably not the right choice for a job interview, either). Seems I have just justified a shopping trip, though a very dull one. Do I really need a suit? I don’t want to work where I would have to wear one and/or be re-introduced to the tyranny of nylons.
What’s worst? Having a job or looking for one or having to have one at all?
5 Responses to “Suitable”
When I came back to Detroit I wore one of the pant suits that I bought in SF to a headhunter interview. The woman went on and on and on about how funky the suit was and how it was too hip for the conservative law/financial Detroit world for which apparently my salary requirements suited me. I positively hate interviewing and having to “dress” in the requisite blue suit. Good luck! And find a nice funky pant suit! 😉
I really can’t help, even when I worked in the office, I wore jeans or casual wear. Plus, I really have no sense of style! Perhaps you can get some new cool shoes to make the shopping trip a little more fun!
I think having to have a job is the worse case of all!
You should get a business pants suit so you can wear knee-highs instead of actual hose. The horrors of hosiery!
By the way, I think work sucks no matter how you look at it. When I’m busy, I bitch about not having any time. When it’s slow, I bitch about not having any money. You really just can’t win either way.
I think they should double everyone’s salary and cut hours in half.
The worst would be the horrible combo of having to have a job, so you have a job, but you really need to have another, different job, so you have the agony of working plus the defeat of looking.
Ugh … what fresh hell each day brings when you’re searching for a job and interviewing. I recently had to bring my suits out of the depths of the closet for interviewing attire. Oddly enough, the suits *shrank* a tad over the last year. Hmmm.
Good luck with your interviews!