it happened

My boss (new to the office) looked at me today, and said, "Oh, no holes in your jeans today then."

I looked her. I weighed her tone. I said: "Nope." (I had a rip at the knees of my jeans yesterday, the result of an enthusiastic squat in skinny jeans without stretch.)

She looked at me, and said, "Yes, well how you guys dress has surfaced as an issue." (Surfaced? Couldn't she just say "came up"?) Pressed, she said it had been brought to the bosses' attention that the way we dressed was "too young" and didn't quite convey authority and made us "forgettable".

Eh? We (that's me and the rest of the team) dress "young"? What does that mean? We ARE young. The oldest of the bunch is about 35, the rest of us are under 30.

This is what I wore today -




I would say this is the median of my looks, which are generally on the casual side, though I have looked more casual than this, and also more formal. I adjust to the occasion, and I rarely feel out of place or inappropriate, except perhaps when I once had to be at a gala for work, and walked around in capris and a tank top while everyone wore gowns. Plus, mine, put it simply, is not a corporate-type job.

I told her I dressed accordingly and wouldn't dream of attending a function in professional capacity in ripped jeans.

She countered: "Yes, but you know sometimes something expected crops up and I have to send you out..."

I whipped out my secret weapon. "I have an emergency pencil skirt."

She looked confused, and frowned, as though I just confessed to some unseemly habit, like clipping my toenails in public.

I explained. I kept an all-purpose black kneelength skirt in my drawer in case of emergencies, a lesson drawn from this.

She retreated, but tossed out a final shot: "Well, you know, you have to attend the course anyway."

Bugger.

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