Morning AFFers! (or afternoon, delete as applicable for your part of the world.)
I'm on holidays at the moment, which is why I'm hanging around here so much, but am back on the job in a fortnight and want to spice up my work wardrobe a bit. I'm getting too old to be able to pull off the oversized-band-t-shirt-and-jeans look without sending out unprofessional vibes.
It's essentially an office job, at the more casual end of the scale - the guys mainly wear polo shirts and jeans or slacks. There's no other women in the office doing my job, so I can't take my cues from them. Working in online media, I can also get away with looking a bit rock-chick - a skirt, tights and boots, for instance.
So, I've got myself a nice short haircut that doesn't look too bad even if I forget/can't comb it in the morning. I can't apply makeup and don't intend to learn, so they're just going to have to put up with my face the way it comes.
Is there ANY way to wear a T-shirt in such a way as it looks professional? Is a T-shirt with a denim A-line skirt, for instance, considered smarter than a T-shirt with jeans?
And should I leave it hanging out, or tuck it in, or do the tucked-in-but-hanging-over-slightly look? Mum insists the last way is 'correct', but Mum and fashion haven't been on speaking terms since 1962.
Or should I just forget about the T-shirts altogether and get myself a supply of blouses? If I've got a presentably dressy blouse, are jeans OK?
lets see if i can help: Dress Cuasal.
Jeans:
Dark wash jeans look more professoinal than light wash.
which is which?
dark wash is the color of the sea at night or navy colored, light wash is the color of the sky on a cloud-less day.
top a dark wash jean with a button down shirt either colored or not.
now as to buy these things , look first thrift sores are the best places to by button shirts cheap. the jeans may need to be bought new,though. If your contry has Salavation army shops i would check there first be for going that route.
if you want more tips from me pm me and i'll try and help some more.
your boots and tight would work fine with ^'s look.
Thank you, everybody!
I shall leave the Rolling Stones T-shirts for days when I know it's just going to be me and a video editing suite, and make a little more effort on office days.
Having had a look in the shops, the fashion round here for blouse-type tops seems to be tunic cuts that come down to mid-thigh - which is nice, because they avoid the 'tuck/don't tuck' question I'm never quite sure about. Can you tell at school I was teased mercilessly for having my shirt in when it should have been out, or vice versa? I've developed tucking anxiety!
And on an off-topic note, being size 16 is annoying. The regular clothes come in sizes up to 14 and then the plus sizes start at 18! I'm going to have to either get my sewing machine working, or lose some weight...
If the t-shirt has a collar, then it ought to be OK.
I'm 45, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think it's best to tuck in any shirt (tunics excepted, but I'm not sure how acceptable that look is at work). My brother would never tuck his shirts in, and it just looks sloppy, which is fine IF that is the impression you want to make. Working at my dinky library job, I dressed extremely casually, like the students I supervised. After grad school, I started dressing more "professionally" thinking it would help me land a professional job at the same library. It didn't, but people did treat me better. FWIW
As for makeup, my last year in Engineering school I caved in and started wearing makeup (just mascara and eye shadow) and also shaved my legs regularly, and the effect on others was ASTOUNDING. I even made an A in my senior lab class.
Of course I have little respect for people who insist on these outer signs of acceptability, and have since dispensed with all of them. FWIW
for Xmas I bought Hope Dress Your Best by Stacy London and Clinton Kelly who also have a show on cable tv here in the US. The book is divided into the following sections for each body type, male and female:
Bigger on top
Bigger on the bottom
A little extra in the middle
curvy
not curvy
extra curvy
I am a cross between not curvy and just a bit extra in the tummy...
Men:
short
average
tall
atheltic
small framed
barrel chested(my hubby)
tummy
hips (the worst for men- these men look like women from behind, yuck!)
Anyhow, it's available from amazon.com
Subtle hints on how to look your best, like where a man's tie should end, given his weight (barrell chested- the tie should end at his belt; boxy sweaters look best also, not fitted.).
I did the color thing in the late 70s and it is absolutely key to wearing THE best colors for your coloring. I am a "fall" (pale redhead), so need to wear warm colors, gold jewelry, etc.
Check it out!
Ellen
Hi Ethel
I think tee-shirts are quite smart if you get the long-sleeve, scoop-neck or deep v-neck style (the high round neck looks too casual I think, and isn't veryt flattering either). Especially if you add a necklace as already suggested. They also need to be 'fitted' rather than loose, and that way they can be untucked.
In the UK, the tunic tops are very popular and can look really smart.
Also, if you can bear it, boots with a medium to highish heel also look smarter I think.
It is often the little details that give an overall 'smart' look. You can wear good jeans, highish boots, a white tee-shirt and a jacket, and with a necklace and a nice handbag you can go pretty much anywhere and look good.
I wood get some nice handbags, necklaces and some skinny scarves to dress up the fitted tee-shirts and jeans/skirt combo. Add a fitted, smart jacket and you'll look fabby!!
Have fun.
B
another veration to the long slleeves is one i use all the time put a thin long sleved cotton turtle neck(tucked) in a darker shade or light shade than the tee itself.(untucked) the turtle neck gives it a little more flare i think.
Generally, Web developers.... more discretion than front line soldiers.
For our Faith Based and Community Initiatives conference support, three front-line staff were commended in the company newsletter.
The three Web developers who look after
http://www.dtiassociates.com/fbci/ were not them.
Maybe that is why no one seems to notice if I forget to take off my white gym shoes in the morning and put on the black orthopedic ones. (A podiatrist told me to wear well-ventilated $150 Drew black leather shoes that close up have much in common with my gym shoes, and also wear moisture wicking socks. Scratching feet until they bleed is not good for diabetics). After all, customers seldom go see the back lines of our operations, but if they do, we are required to conform to the dress code as follows.....
All employees across the board
Men: slacks, shirt and tie minimum except Friday and Federal holdays when short sleeved button neck or button front golf or polo shirt (or even beach shirt) may be substituted for traditional solid color (and tie dispensed with). No gym shoes, no jeans, no shorts, no T shirts.
Women: Choice, skirt or slacks with blouse, or dress. No gym shoes, no jeans, no shorts, no T shirts. (I have seen the blue jeans rule violated, and we have been encouraged to go jeans each Friday during a American Heart Association fundraiser, $5 a week, for 9 weeks, and I did all 9). Again, shirt liberties apply on Friday and federal Holidays.
In past jobs, my brother was not told how to dress, but he did not work here. On the other hand, dressing like a professional makes us think of ourselves and each other as professionals, and is a deterrent to treating each other causally, such as asking out on dates.
Ha, all the more reason to dress a bit more casually then. I mean, things are bad when it's considered a cardinal sin to ask a co-worker for a date! Are these people for real or what?
I told you the various issues re: dating at work
1. She or he wants him or her, but not him or her
a. sexual harassment complaint, or domestic violence, can drag company in
2. They wanted each other, but one doesn't want the other any more
a. ditto sexual harassment and violence
3. They want each other but
a. one oversees the other and other co-workers complain of jealousy
b. female (or sometimes male) co-workers are upset that one of theirs is going out with a (charming, attractive, well paid) desirable guy at work (when they aren't supposed to) and they are jealous and compete for him
Sensory issues would certainly rule out any jobs for me which involved wearing closed in shoes unless it was in a cool temperature. Ditto with any kind of hot or constricting clothing. Other aspies have similar issues but thankfully not all of us.
The air conditioning keeps us at maybe 78 degrees Fahrenheit (or in Celsius or Centigrade, 25.56 degrees). The cost of air conditioning, heating, and lighting is factored into what we charge the customer for Federal labor schedules, GSA schedule, etc.
Don't worry. We only work between 74 and 78 degrees F. (23.33 to 25.56 C), almost a promise.
....I don't care about pollution
I'm an air-conditioned cowboy
That's my solution
Sometimes I have gone in without shaving or brushing teeth. I have seen my fellow Web developer unshaven too. God forbid, I would not leave the flat unless it was on fire without a shower.
I admit it is scary simply having a dating relationship.
I am dating C's (fmr employee Accounting) adult daughter. I asked her for a date at Christmas and now she has started initiating the dates herself. Her mother no longer works for us, and she never did. Fine and dandy.
I need to fight the urge to want to run and not be talkative, or she (K) will think I am ignoring her.
I still think there are some potentially valid issues why not to date at work. Employees can get emotionally hurt, God forbid there is a domestic incident, seriously hurt, company can get sued what with United States liberal litigation laws. I won't deny the company is not doing this out of fear for itself. I know what it is like to be incapacitated as a result of a breakup. The book Sybil just came to mind, after "Sybil" dumped "Ramon" and "Ramon" pushed all her psychological buttons on his way out, she quit her job at the hotel where she met him.
At least when China and France did their nuke tests they did them far away so they didn't have to eat shit (don't shit where you eat). Same principle as doing them deep underground. After Chernobyl food was too precious in the USSR to just throw it out, everybody in the USSR got a small dose of radioactive produce instead, mixed in with the good stuff, everyone had a little bit of shit, maybe not a lethal dose of shit.
So if the K thing goes to shit, I won't have to eat it Monday through Friday.
20 degrees, is that Centigrade?
I remember Midnight Oil singing (Beds are Burning)
The Western desert lives and breathes, at 45 degrees......
That has to be Centigrade. It would be Western tundra on the Fahrenheit scale.
I also remember Kylie Minogue's rendition of the Locomotion
...chugga chugga motion like a railroad train now
...chugga chugga motion like a railway train now
And I noticed this while visiting Detroit and watching Canadian Broadcasting Network's commercial of Subway
Henry, Clay Henry
He was big on burgers and fries
now he's trying Subway on for size
Henry, Clay Henry
Henry, Clay Henry
He got big on burgers and fries
now he's down to a smaller size
Henry, Clay Henry
Subtleties of advertising and music in the English speaking world.... maybe because Americans are more obese than Canadians?
Yes, Australia uses the Celsius temperature scale.
Good advice! Looking like a sack of potatoes is not a good look and that is what can happen when you tuck in a shirt (not always but if you are a bit big, you can). I also think if you are big around the middle, wearing a tight belt doesn't look very flash.