Last night was Opening Night for a children’s theatre production my family is involved in. Working the “will call” table at this scruffy old church, I was functionally a hostess. I know what I should have worn: a dress, something retro-looking since the show is set in the fifties. But I don’t have one and I was disinclined to spend $30 at the vintage store (cost per wear, you know).
As it turned out, I could have worn the as-yet-unworn beaded neckline. Both the director and the coordinator dressed up.
Parenthetically, the coordinator is a friend and one of the people God used to point me toward objective answers to my life-long questions about why certain things look good. She taught a class on that book I push.
Which leads me to the real topic of this post. Three variables concern us when selecting what to wear for an event:
- Setting,
- activity,
- and self.
But I often forego my first thought because of an optional fourth consideration : the feelings of others. I suspected the other couple we were working with would dress more casually and, not wanting to make them uncomfortable, I went with my uniform and added a necklace.
What would you have done?
So Rebecca, you said you wore your “uniform” so from backtracking it sounds like you may have worn a straight skirt, a top and blazer. That sounds perfect to me! If it was a fancy occasion, I may have worn a dress, but generally, I’m a skirt-gal.
~Jody
I tend to go with what I am comfortable with and not worry about others — but then I am used to being more dressed up than others around me. For me, its a matter of what I am comfortable in rather than what others will think. (Yes, it can be taken too far either direction. But in general this still is true.)
I would have worn what I thought appropriate; I wouldn’t think about what others were wearing unless it were a true case in which someone else could not afford to dress appropriately, which I cannot really imagine happening too often here in the USA. I would prefer to be more dressed up, but appropriate for the event, as opposed to wearing the “common denominator,” especially since most people today tend to underdress. I see much of the “underdressing” as lack of respect for others and/or the occasion.
Susan
Rebecca,
I hear you, know one wants to make other around them feel uncomfortable. And I do take in consideration the what and were of were I will be going. But in the end I go with what feels good. And every day that is different. Some days I feel very formal and some very casual. So I am not always “dressed” for the occasion but I hate to wear something that does not feel right on me that day. I have no problem bucking the system but do not want to be in your face about it either. It is a fine line. Clarice
Probably retro, since I still have clothes that look like they are from the fifties; but, I might have checked with the other couple. (I’m not sure the fourth consideration is optional.)
Did the Uniform work? I take it this was the first time you ‘hosted’ for the theatre group. I find that, after the first time doing something — or doing it in a new place — I’m much more comfortable and confident in my choice of what to wear.
Another choice, the one I’ve mostly taken up, is to simply have a uniform that can be dressed up or down. I’ll go so far as to take the ‘up’ or ‘down’ with me and slip aside to make absolutely necessary changes. An ‘up’ example would be to exchange enamel earrings for emerald; it’s amazing what a little sparkle will do. Your choice of the necklace is another good example.