My Spin on the (Winter Office Party) LBD
LBD = Little Boring Dress
I know we’re a bit behind, but Spokane was closed to a winter weather emergency on the date my hero’s office had scheduled their holiday party. Although the venue changed from the Country Club to Barrister Winery, and the time from just before Christmas, my outfit remained the same:
- dark green satiny shirt dress
- brown suede boots
- skinny brown belt
- enormous gold/purple paisley scarf
What can I say? Sunset magazine says, in an article this month mentioning Barrister Winery (which is a big room with brick walls, wood floors, and exposed beams), Spokane’s dress code is LBD for the symphony and fleece and boots everywhere else. *chuckle* Sad, but true. This outfit combines the idioms.
I never gave my outfit a second thought for the entire evening, including not being too hot or too cold. 
What’s your favorite LBD alternative?
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The Oval as Feminine
A glimpse into my brain: is that what it means? I can’t believe I’ve never stumbled onto that path before: oval, ova, egg, egg-shaped …
Am I the only one who thinks these kinds of things?
Recently I observed a female acquaintance, one with very short hair but whose feminine appearance I had never questioned. Until this one day. It wasn’t that I thought her unfeminine at first, but something was definitely less attractive than her usual. After a moment of dissecting her presentation, I concluded that her short, tidy hair combined with a collared shirt and no makeup somehow added one too many “masculine” points to her look. Which lead to wondering whether a quiz could be developed to help pin-point that fine line, because, face it, we all know lovely, very feminine ladies with short hair who don’t wear makeup. What is it that makes those ladies unquestionably feminine? And what is it about taking away some of the “feminine” which equates to less attractive, even somehow boring?
And now for the personal application part. Somewhere I picked up the following concept (any idea where?):
oval = feminine
rectangle = masculine
Tracing my recent hair makeover, what do you notice in terms of my face and hair shape?
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Fabrics for Professional Clothing
Personally, I have a strong preference for natural fibres. For one, many of them produce less static, which is an issue for me because I don’t use hairspray. Secondly, they smell fresher.
However much I prefer natural fibres, I am not a purist. If you find high quality polyester garments and are comfortable wearing them, why not? In any case, it’s nearly impossible to find tailored clothing lined with anything other than synthetic. But here’s another common office faux pas: wearing a cheap polyester jacket with good trousers. It even looks tacky with jeans.
Combining tailored pieces to make “jacket looks” requires considering factors beyond just whether these two colors can be worn together. Do the textures of the fabrics work together? How about the drape?
One final suggestion: if you must wear the cheap polyester jacket, wear it only with its actual suit counterpart.
Your thoughts on appropriate/inappropriate business-wear fabrics?
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Simple and Professional Stocking Guidelines
Sometimes it truly is the little things that make or break an outfit. Or a person’s professional image. Beginning my deeper look into professional clothing, here are a couple of sock do’s and don’ts.
In the common misconception department: socks, like accessories, can be an accent color, match your shirt, or anything else in the outfit.
Truth: socks should disappear. Best practice is blending with the trouser or hem. (Nude hose is generally an appropriate alternative with a dress.)
Also in the common misconception department: because stockings are appropriate professional (office) attire (which statement I agree with) and mules are “in style” (which statement I heartily disagree with), if follows that wearing stockings with mules to work is acceptable.
Truth: wearing stockings with mules makes you look (and sound) like an idiot. Save the mules for Saturday!
It took all my self control not to title this post “Save the Mules!” lol
Anyway, I’m sure this is not a comprehensive list. What’s your pet stocking peeve?
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Out with the Old (Budget), In with the New
Moving on, it’s time that my 2008 spending page disappears and one for 2009 appears in its place. Hopefully, I will be a little more timely in keeping it updated (but don’t hold your breath).
I confess I went over. I’m not worried about it because:
- The extra money I spent came out of my pocket money, rather than being put on a credit card or taken away from family needs.
- Having under-spent the year before, I was beginning to look scruffy and that REALLY doesn’t fit my idiom.
- I’m still learning. :) I also confess there are some things I bought over the past year which have not ended up working for me. But not many.
Annual total for 2008: $801.30
- $654.83 as of December 2nd.
- $14.44 to Jo-Ann Fabrics for clear bra-strap holder and bra cups to add to my new swimsuit.
- $17.81 for fashion jewelry.
- $4.07 at Target: half-sleeve, bow neck knit top in raspberry.
- $24.99 at Target: roll-sleeve, button-front, woven, with knit panels, shirt in dark blue.
- Alterations and dry-cleaning.
Total over-spent for the year: $70.30. Oh well.
Going into 2009 with a budget of $543, I expect some significant wardrobe challenges, especially finding a mother of the bride dress. So far, I’ve bought one item: a purple paisley cashmere v-neck ($42.39 at TJMaxx). Notice my most recent purchases are a bit more colorful?
So … what is the state of your wardrobe and annual budget?
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Budget Busters: Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning isn’t really a budget buster - but, like alterations, if you forget to plan for it, it could be.
Qualifying for dry cleaning in my wardrobe: wool coats, suits, trousers, and skirts. Typically, I am able to wear these pieces all winter long and then, long about June, take them to the cleaners. My bill from this past July, which I have yet to record on my budget page, was $30.16.
With that $30, I was able to re-purchase two wool coats, a pair of wool trousers, and a two-piece wool trouser suit.
My philosophy on dry cleaning:
- I pay for it from the regular clothing budget
- Each garment is worn the full season before being cleaned (barring some disaster)
- Nothing is put away dirty for the summer
- When it’s time to pay the bill, I ask myself, “would I pay $X to purchase this item?” If the answer is yes, it’s well worth it to clean.
Clearly, if I still wore suits to work all the time, dry cleaning would be a larger slice of the budget pie. On the other hand, if I lived in The South, I could conceivably get by without dry cleaning.
How does dry cleaning fit into your wardrobe plan?
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Budget Busters: Alterations
True confession: my studio is full of random garments I can’t bear to part with. While the situation is not as bad as it has been in times past, nevertheless, I am sitting on a number of items which I love in every way but ____ .
One of those items has been my charcoal gray wool trouser suit, previously featured in a fashion lab. I think I paid twenty bucks for it at the thrift store and have worn the trousers quite a bit, but the jacket never felt quite right. The shoulders fit fabulously, but the back was baggy. Viewing it somewhat as an experiment - if it worked, perhaps next round I’d take in the vintage tweed skirt suit or the red formal - I took the plunge and took it to an alterations shop.
Long story short: it cost me $55! And yesterday I bent over and split the lining in the trousers! 
Conclusion: I need to learn to do my own alterations. Alternatively, since I have an easy enough time fitting off the rack clothes, I could just biff the stuff that’s not perfect and shop harder, perhaps making my own dresses from scratch.
A question or two for you:
- What part do alterations play in your wardrobe?
- How do you budget for them?
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What’s the Dress Code in Your Office?
In preparation for putting some thoughts on business clothing into posts, I thought I’d throw this question out there:
How would you categorize appropriate business clothing at your place of employment?
In my former business life, I wore almost exclusively suits (feminine, stylish ones; not boring, cookie-cutter ones).
So, I’m wondering: do many people still work in an environment where formal dress is expected?
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Color, Accent, Repeat
This post was conceived the moment I walked past my Pumas in the Footlocker store and noticed they were exactly the same color as the sateen trench, which I was wearing. (Not that I would wear the two together.) And they have black trim. In that moment of epiphany, I knew what color gloves to buy and I knew it was going to be easy: black.
Repeating a color; whether fabric, leather or metal; lends a coordinated air to an outfit. That’s what makes accessories infrastructure. Compound the effect by repeating two colors together.
A note about wearing black: While I am actively avoiding the aging effect of large swaths of black near the face, I see no reason to avoid black leather accessories, especially those nearest the lower half of the body such as shoes, belts, bags and gloves. Which realization, in view of black’s popularity among the masses, is rather freeing to this bargain hunter.
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