BS: Your Life in Polyester

Subject: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 01:58 PM

There's a phrase I use to describe the professional side of my life-- "polyester pastorwife"-- because it captures the shift I experience between the natural fiber/no-makeup/frankness/closeness that come naturally to me and the polyester/made-up/coordinated fashion/purposeful speech/professional boundaries that are required by the career path I have chosen to follow.

I'm shifting now-- washing the cotton clothes I wore during the weekend's Mudcat Gathering and checking to be sure my polyester clothes are ready for going back to work tonight at the weekly Lenten Series supper and liturgy. Ferrara sent me a photo from the Gathering. I sure won't look anything like that tonight, although I will feel some of the same feelings because I do really love what my husband and I do. People will treat me differently-- the costume will send different signals, as we do that dance our work involves.

In a past career phase, I tried an experiment once. The school superintendednt had put me on his personal staff at a REAL nice salary, to help him change our school system. I'd gone from activist, to consultant, and now to paid staff. A career in blue jeans, then bluejeans and blazer, and now all businesswear. Anyway, another member of his staff who I had never met was booked to appear twice in one day at my son's school in that same district, in an AM info meeting and again that night for an evening repeat. "Your School District Today" type thing. Press the flesh, see and be seen.

At the first session I wore my bib overalls I'd been wearing for years to everything I did. I raised my hand to make a point and was totally ignored. I walked up to introduce myself after, and was totally ignored. Invisible. Po' clothes, you see, in an upscale district.

That night I dressed upscale and put on my power shoes. I was sought out, not ignored. I was asked what I thought-- didn't even have to raise my hand. Afterwards I went up to the staffer who had invisibled me that same morning, and introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Susan O____ on Jack's staff," I said with a smile.

"Great to finally meet you!" he excaimed, "I've heard a lot about your work on the school referendum and I'm really looking forward to your community invlovment programs!"

"Oh, we almost met this morning," I said, continuing to smile.

"I'm sure I'd have remembered you being here this morning....." he said, puzzled.

I explained my little experiment, still smiling. It wasn't anything personal-- I just wanted to see and feel for myself how our poorer parents were treated by our district and school staffs and by their fellow parents. He blanched-- I hadn't really meant to scare him, and I never told my boss about it because really, it wasn't personal. But this man remained terrified of me until he left the district the next year.


What's YOUR "polyester" life like as opposed to your "natural" life? Are you in Birkenstocks one minute and pointy-toed spike heels the next? Are these two aspects of your life integrated? Or do you shift? What is the shift like for you--and/or how did you integrate them?

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: CarolC
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 02:20 PM

Slight drift... does it have to be polyester for you? I highly recommend tencel. It's made from trees and has a feel and behavior similar to rayon (also made from trees) and silk. Also linen and wool flannel.

My "polyester" clothes are wool blazers, silk and/or rayon blouses (purchased on sale over the internet), cashmere cardigans ($30 each at Sam's Club), khaki trousers, and the occasional skirt. You don't have to be uncomfortable to be stylish (you don't have to be fashionable to be stylish, either).

I guess that's how I integrate the two "lives". I try to dress in a way that is difficult for people to pigeon hole. Keep 'em guessing, I say. Not too long ago, while wearing a gray wool blazer, khaki pants, a black silk blouse, and Scandinavian clogs, a kid saw me walking by and, pointing to me, said to his mother, "look Mom, she's a police".

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 03:21 PM

I'm assuming polyester is merely a generic term for 'show clothes'.

It's been oh, about 16 years since I had to 'dress'...as in tie and slacks and jacket. I did it because it was expected, and I sometimes got sent by MY boss to his customers who would not have given be their attention otherwise.....the costume is part of the credentials.

Now, a funny story. My ex-boss was quite proper and formal (ex-Naval aviator) and well-dressed, but he had to go out and GET business for his computer consulting firm. He and the VP of the firm had an appointment in downtown DC to sell our services to a well established client, and they dressed UP for the occasion. When they were ushered in, he said he knew within 45 seconds that they would not get the job, as the potential clients dressed in suits at least twice as expensive as his. He was right...

I realize now that I would have NEVER risen very high in academia or business, as I just do not SEE past the minimal requirements. I can't tell a $200 suit from a $1000 suit....If I put ON a tie & jacket that is clean and not ragged, that should be enough to signal that I am at least aware of the basic rules and that my abilities should be all that counts after that...

   I have worn a suit only two or 3 times in 15 years, for, a friends wedding, my Mother's funeral..and maybe one other something...

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 03:43 PM

Yes, Bill, "show" clothes. I didn't see you in spike heels, quite.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Wesley S
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 04:25 PM

It's not right – but face it – there are people out there that will judge you by the clothes you wear. IF those people have something you want or need then you can try to dress to impress them. If you feel up to it. I've seen it dozens of times – I get better service if I'm in my "Sunday go to meetin' clothes". And I've seen waiters and salespeople blow past me to get to the guy in the suit when I've worn casual clothes.

In a former life I sold men's suits for a very expensive chain of stores {NM}. Not a lot of men can do it – but I CAN spot an expensive suit of clothes. The problem is that a lot of the folks who have that talent are also the same people that are going to judge you for it too. That's why I always felt out of place there. Now I work for a place that has almost no dress code whatever. So I get to wear shorts and sandals all summer long. I'm a happier person. But if I'm going to meet with folks in the school system who can have an effect on my sons future I'm going to wear a suit. No sense taking chances.

And I don't wear spiked heels anymore either.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 04:33 PM

I don't dress to impress, but to let people know I am enough like them that they don't need to shy away. The clothes are a temporary measure-- they find out soon enough I'm pretty intensely non-traditional-- but they make a starting point possible.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 04:35 PM

I gave up on power dressing a long time ago. It doesn't matter what you wear, if you are the 'wrong' shape under the padded shoulders then you're still invisible.

Now I wear what I'm comfortable in and just shout louder to be heard. It works a lot of the time.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 04:38 PM

I always wondered how one negotiated sidewalk grates in spiked heels....dumb invention! And I am reliably informed it does nasty things to feet and calf muscles. I personally would trust and respect a woman's judgment more if she looked reasonably comfortable and didn't abuse her body with torture devices.

weird attitude, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 04:40 PM

Actually, Liz, no-- there is a way to dress for any shape that results in an impression of quiet but definite "power" (or whatever attribute you want to highlight). I accidentally found mine and new purchases go accordingly. I had everything else remade to work with it-- dresses that were all wrong became skirts, etc.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Sooz
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 02:50 AM

I find that the division between work and play clothes is becoming narrower as I get older and I don't have a problem being heard or taken seriously. I never feel the need to be "fashionable". BTW I hardly ever do polyester because I crackle when I walk!

PS I did once succumb to my daughter's request that I wore "big girl's shoes" to a parent's evening.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 03:05 AM

There may be a way to dress for power, but to be honest, I can't be arsed. If people can't respect the way I am in my normal comfy clothes, then I don't really need their respect. It's what's inside that matters. I could go stark naked with a pink feather boa on my head, but I'd still have the same intelligence and opinions inside. My concert gown may not be some haute couture name or have the correct length of sleeve, but people come to hear me sing, not eye up my dress sense.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 06:48 AM

I work in a Govt agency & our hierachy goes from Regional Director, Directors, Assistant Directors, Managers, Supervisors, teamleaders, my level & 2 below me.

Some years back our Director left & most of her staff went to her farewell lunch. I was the only representative of the lowest levels at the lunch, & the only person wearing colour.

All those above me wore dark suits, male & female, all in corporate dress. Females in jackets & trousers or short straight skirts, the uniform in Oz!

I was wearing a mid-calf length, shocking pink silk skirt, gathered on to a waistband, a black waistcoat (never go without one) & a top I can't recall now. And of course I wore a hat (never go without one of them, either)

I don't have clothes to impress people. I wear the same style of clothes every day - longer gathered skirts, long sleeved tee shirts, silk blouses, loose Indian dresses or shirts, waistcoats, shawls, hats.

fashion? nah, not me, mate

power dressing? no way

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: JennyO
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:34 AM

Sandra doesn't NEED to power dress. She has her own style and is always noticed. Otherwise, she wouldn't be Sandra!

As for me, thank goodness I don't have a polyester life. Even when I did have to dress up for work more, it was not what you'd call power dressing. Comfort has always been very important to me, and soft flowing fabrics with lots of colour are the things that delight me. I have probably always been regarded as slightly eccentric, but that's fine with me. I'm sure Trinni and Susannah would like to get their hands on me though :-)

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 11:25 AM

"...the potential clients dressed in suits at least twice as expensive as his."

Well, Bill D, are the guys in the expensive suits still in business, or did they go down in the dot.com crash?

IMHO one of the characteristics of a good suit of clothes is that it's paid for.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Scoville
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 11:29 AM

I don't need to "power dress" but I have too look conservative, "normal", and stay warm (cold library setting). I shop at the thrift stores in expensive parts of town--last year I got an orange crate of expensive cashmere, silk, and rayon turtlenecks, a dark wool flannel skirt, and a couple of suits (just in case) for $1 apiece. Clothes I would never buy new.

Outside of work, I wear a lot of calico. I've started making more and more of my own clothing since commercial clothes don't fit me well, are usually made by children in Sri Lanka, and are boring. Also--the weekend is my time. If I want to wear the yellow calico 1940's housedress I made from an old pattern, it's nobody's business but mine.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 02:47 PM

Now that we live in a beach town in a warm climate, I'm noticing that there are times and places here where "power dressing" consists of wearing flip flops all year long.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: frogprince
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 03:04 PM

I guess I dress close to...uhh..."homeless chic" a lot, so I can step in my shop and mess with whatever without worrying about trashing good clothes. Time was had to wear a tie to work, but I never really had to "power dress"
Last Sunday was "camp Sunday" at our church; promotion of summer camp programs for the youth, and all ages encouraged to dress at camping level. I keep telling my wife we should go in what we wear when camping at our favorite resort, but for some reason she won't go along with that...

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 06:45 PM

That's why most people are uncomfortable naked - no easy way to play 'power games'.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 08:36 PM

That's why most people are uncomfortable naked - no easy way to play 'power games'.

LOL

Oh, yeah? Where do you think the idea for the neck tie came from?

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: frogprince
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 08:54 PM

Guess I'm having a dense moment; I guess maybe I've seen someone (usually on the distaff side) wearing just a necktie, just for the heck of it, but it didn't have much to do with power moves. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 09:53 PM

Get Freud to explain it to you, frogprince.

;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: jacqui.c
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:22 PM

I'll go along with Liz - I wouldn't want to have to dress to impress any more. If my mode of dress offends then that is the problem of the person who is offended - I prefer to be me, not pretend to be something I'm not.

By the way Liz, Kendall says that he wouldn't be surprised if you wore a real boa constrictor. Take that as a compliment!

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:32 PM

To dress so that people GET who you actually are, and what you are trying to convey, is not dressing to impress. There is a very large gray area about this that I think a lot of people are not willing to look into.... This does not surprise me :~) in a setting full of independent-thinking, anti-control :~) folkies, but I am suggesting :~) that sometimes what we present does not come across the way we feel, inside, that it ought... and that sometimes we unawarely confuse people we would like to be able to communicate with well, and effectively. Of course :~) that is their fault-- but we can still choose, if we wish to, to do something about it.

And sometimes, there is actually a dress code to be followed, with appropriate self-expression measures creatively taken of course. Examples: I'm supposed to be wearing conservatively cut business wear, but that doesn't mean it can't be a bright pink and purple floral skirt, with a purple shell and a bright pink jacket. Or-- I'm supposed to look, in my field, as if I didn't break the bank on clothes, but that doesn't mean I have to wear grandma accessories or shoes. Classic but not trendy does the job, and if I choose a lurid scarf to set off the colors, it's all good and I am not buckling to a stereotype about what I ought to wear.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Moses
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 07:49 AM

Dressing well is not always about power dressing, its not necessarily about trying to impress.

It can be about complimenting the people you are meeting with. It can say, "I took the trouble to try to make myself look presentable/attractive in your eyes because I value your opinion".

I think we say as much about how we feel about others when we dress in a particular way as we do about our own self-esteem.

When we go on a first date, for example, the way we dress gives clues about us. Shoes clean and heels not worn down? Clothes fresh and well fitting? Hair brushed or artfully mussed? Nail varnish not chipped? It all adds up saying to our date "I care enough about our meeting to make the effort".

Dressing well can be just an extension of good manners, of making someone else feel appreciated.

I'm not saying it also cannot be "Look at how expensive my wardrobe is compared to yours".

Depends on the person I suppose.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: GUEST,Happy Being Myself
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 10:01 AM

Be clean.
Be nice.
Ugliness (from within) shines through no matter what you wear.
The rest is a mind game that you are playing with yourself.
People are experts at spotting insincerity and that's what I hear being promoted in this thread.

Happy Being Myself

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 10:20 AM

LOL!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: LilyFestre
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 10:59 AM

Hm. My husband has long hair, lives in blue jeans, t-shirts and flannel shirts. He also holds a prestigious position at an ivy league university. So much for power dressing. It's not what you wear but what you bring to the table. If you're full of BS, you're still full of BS in a suit.

When you are discussing dressing according to standards set by the place of employment, that's an entirely different situation. That's a case of rules and being dictated to. That's not dressing to impress, that's dressing to maintain a job. Big difference.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 11:17 AM

Yeah, LF.

And-- None of you "anti-dress-up" posters have EVER dressed differently for a special occasion, from how you dress most of the time, and did it in such a way that you felt good about it and expressed who you are on the inside???

Is you going-to-a festival garb the same as what you wear to shovel snow? Same as you'd wear to perform at the same festival?

Costume for gigs?

New outfit for a photo-shoot for your CD?

Makeup for a TV appearance?

Wash your hair a day early and put on a new hairclip to meet a pal for coffee?

Bought new socks because the old ones, still serviceable, have gotten dingy in the wash?

[shocked] SHAME on you if you did, you poseur! :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: jacqui.c
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 11:28 AM

Kendall Doesn't!
SINS on their computer

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Kaleea
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 01:35 PM

Music can be the great equalizer. When you go to a Music festival, such as the annual Walnut Valley Music Festival where one may camp & jam for 10 days & nights, most folks are dressed as campers. Some of the "paid performers" may have special "polyestery" stage attire, then don their grubbies & head for the campgrounds & the jams. Campin' & Jammin' can cause those who see only the clothing of the person to be taken aback. Those seedy looking folks over there playing those old, worn out instruments can rip the strings right off your fancy new Taylors & Deerings. Sometimes the seediest looking feller sleeping in an old, worn out tent is some guy from the hoity toity corporate world who goes to spend one week & a half of his year remembering what it's like to be where the only thing that matters is the Music.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: kendall
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 03:23 PM

I'm reminded of the movie, FATHER GOOSE. Cary Grant was an ex professor who was fired because he refused to wear a neck tie. He said, "I figure what's in a man's head is more important than what's around his neck."

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: SINSULL
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 05:27 PM

At IBM, the ultimate put down was the expression "He's and empty suit". Says it all.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: lady penelope
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 05:45 PM

I'm with Einstein on this one - well, when it comes to work clothes. I don't want to have think about it. I also cycle to work so I do have change out of the lycra leggings etc. as I no longer wear a lab coat (which hides a multitude of sins.....).

However, my job entails unpacking deliveries and sudden adventures in DIY and bucket engineering. So my trousers are slightly stretchy and my tops are just smart t-shirts. But they're all the same style so i don't have to think, just stick it on.......

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: jacqui.c
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 06:49 PM

I have different clothes for different occasions but all my clothes represent me, whether it be jeans abd a tee shirt, basic black top and trousers or skirt or the long blue velvet dress that I wore for our wedding reception at the Getaway.

The one thing that they all have in common is that I wear them because I like wearing them and they do not become a uniform that does not reflect the person.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: SINSULL
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 06:56 PM

And the hats at the Salvation Army, Jacqui? Do they reflect the person.
I'll leave now.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 07:03 PM

Hear, hear jacqui! I have to dress in "teacher-professional", which I interpret to mean, clothes that are a bit newer, a bit neater, and yet which I can still wear while sitting cross-legged on the floor (which I'm able to do less and less, but I digress...) or jumping around the room as we do creative movement in my music classroom.

Still, I shed my "teacher clothes" the minute I get home and pull on comfy fleece, wool, denim, or other "country clothes", the better to lounge on the couch, hike up the hill, or stoke the fire.

Festivals, contra dances, and just-when-I-feel-like-it I tend toward the flowy long skirt, cotton tops, bangles, shawls, etc.

It's all me!

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: LilyFestre
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 11:25 PM

Susan,

    Of course we all have to dress for some occassions but dressing to impress just isn't for me. You know me. You've seen me. If it's not comfortable, I'm not wearing it. Period. I don't care WHO is in the building! I get dressed up sometimes but it's strictly because I WANT to, NOT to impress someone else.

Dressing for work is another story....that's a MUST....and then it's still comfy wear for me. :)

Each to their own. If the power dressing thing does it for you, go for it!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 06:34 AM

Kendall - how right you are!!!

We had a fire alarm last week. 3000 people all congregating at the evac site, ALL wearing black. It was as if someone had taken my eyesight away.... The one bit of relief was the poor bloke caught in the gym and appeared in a white Tshirt and shorts.

As soon as I can afford it, I'm buying a red coat!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 10:25 AM

LF, I was AGREEing with you. You've seen me too-- it ain't power-dressing!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 10:34 AM

My life in Polyester? I've never even been to Polyester, much less lived there. There's a town near here called "Mary Esther". I've been there. Not much to it, just an overgrown strip mall.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: jacqui.c
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 01:08 PM

Liz - I used to notice that in London - walk to the station on a cold day and there were so many dark colours that the occasional bright one really shone out.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 02:08 PM

Yellow umbrellas always make me happy. Same reason.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 09:49 AM

No colour umbrellas make me happy.. at 5'2", I'm the exact height to be stabbed in the eye by the majority of brollies held at an angle over taller people's heads. Had someone whip their brolly round and snatch the glasses off my face before now... I was not amused!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: SINSULL
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 10:42 AM

You lead an interesting life, Liz!

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: jacqui.c
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 01:43 PM

Liz - I used to counter that by holding the brolly forward. Acted as a battering ram!

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 May 07 - 07:54 PM

Here we are a year later. (I actually started all this 18 months ago.) My closet is transformed. I think my life is, too. We accept a lot more invitations, now.

I have found several clothing sources that are better for me, I have identified what my work "uniform" should be and can be, and I have all-cotton layers next to my skin under any polyester. I have accessories for all occasions, I have shoes and bags that go together, and I have a seasonal rotation that has worked well and added years of wear to favorite items. I cull whatever I am not using.

I have not been stuck for a good outfit for any event, even standing in the very formal receiving line that greeted our new Bishop's guests the weekend of his consecration. He had been the Dean of the Washington National Cathedral; Desmond Tutu was in town to preach for his consecration..... FORMAL. My clothes were graced and centerpieced that night with a stunning pink jade necklace a dear soul gave me.


Tricks--

Salvation Army
... and better second-hand stores for good quality shoes, bags, scarves-- and jewelry that I remake as needed. If it fits, if it's a classic style, and if it's good quality-- I buy it, because I have learned that I will probably find its mate soon, at another thrift store.

Remaking Things
Jackets de-collared for a cleaner look. Short choker necklaces disassmebled for parts to make new, custom things that work for me. Uncomfortable dresses I hated to wear, cut down to flowing, comfy skirts to wear with dressy blazers. Colorful "dress" tee shirt sleeves removed to make shells in all colors. I can do all those things myself.

The Magic Sewing Kit
I started the kit when we were camping last summer, because so many old camping clothes and linens needed quick repairs. Now a second one sits chairside, where I stitch away most evenings to fix or alter things. It's a small plastic pencil box, with everything! :~) Especially a needle-threader and a pair of magnifying specs!

Bike Shorts
I can sit comfortably for hours at the many receptions we attend on a regular basis, because I have long-leg cotton knit bike shorts under the slinky slip and pretty polyester skirts. No formal knickers for me!

Ladies' Garment Bag
Found a used one, very pretty, that holds a total change including shoes and accessories, so that when we drive long distances to formal events (3 hours or more sometimes), I can travel comfy but change discreetly when we arrive. All the clergy attending these have to vest for the liturgies that are inviovled, so I vest too, in my formalwear.

Seamstress
Alterations, difficult repairs, and good pieces copied-- affordably, locally, and reliably.

Dry Cleaners
Found the right one. They will do a piece same-day if really needed.

The Perfect Closet
I had a tiny space to work with, next to the shower. It's like a tiny ship's cabin in there now, with every half-inch used to the max. I put a comfy rug in front of it so I can stand there with aching feet when we get home, before the pet hair gets all over what I will take off, air, and hang for re-use. (Most events are only a few hours long).

Makeup Kit and Remover
I gave up the bathroom for this, because we share one and because my recliner is the comfiest place in the house. I put on and remove, there. Earrings are stored nearby too, that I only wear for occasions, and it's handy to put them on there, too. I never, ever sleep with makeup on, because I know what that does to aging skin.

The Uniform
There are several, for the various things we go to, and I treat them as such. I can be showered and out the door in 20 minutes, and that's good because often, that's all the time I have.

Easy Hairstyle
Well, I always had one, really. Slick it back wet, and go. QUick toss with the comb when we get there, and it's dry.

The Miracle Coat
I didn't know it would be a miracle coat when I bought it; it was just all I could find at the time that fit. It's a textured, almost-metallic gold, lightweight raincoat> It's very long, and very soft. I bought it even bigger than I needed, so I can wear it over anything. It goes on as soon as I am dressed and that keeps the pet hair in the air off the dark clothes on underneath. :~) And I have a half dozen large, colorful print scarves to run under the collar, that make it look FABULOUS no matter what time of year it is. I made a golden rope belt to tie it loose like a trench coat, and I get comments on it everywhere I go. I think it was about $30 new. :~) I hope it never dies. I should be buried/cremated in that coat. :~) I have been known (privately) to wear it to events on occasion with crap clothes underneath, and just not taken it off. :~) Or to wear it into wherever I am going to change into the formalwear after a long drive.

The Beauty Parlor
What a name! :~) Found the one where I never feel embarrassed, where I can go in at the last minute. Cheap! They can quickly fix just about anything, from facial hair to rough hands and bitten nails, and send me out looking like a conservative lady of leisure going on the town.

The Attitude
These are all events we really must attend, in my husband's line of work. They can be stiff and uppity, and they can be boring-- but we attend them partly as chances to dress up for each other and sit together, holding hands. Maybe that's a small no-brainer for the rest of you. For a clergy couple, it's not. At all.
    The other aspect, for us, that I am sure the rest of you don't have to deal with, is that we spend a lot of time at these events giving people good-quality, one-way attention. It's great to be dressed in a socially acceptable fashion and be comfortable physically and emotionally about it, so that we can just relax and listen, and so we can stay focused on being positive and encouraging in the face of the world's ills laid at our feet. (Well-dressed, well-off people have troubles too.)
    I think some of the folks posting in this thread earlier didn't understand about that, but it's the kind of attention y'all probably have received from someone, at some time, when you needed it, and it's the kind people count on us to be able to offer.


I still much PREFER to spend most of most days in loose, comfy cotton, but my life in polyester is actually working well at last, and I have fun with it!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Alice
Date: 05 May 07 - 08:02 PM

Monday - Friday I wear professional pants, pressed with a sharp crease, black, grey or brown - rayon, polyester or silk blouses. Sometimes a grey vest over the blouse. No pointy heels... feet can't take that anymore, but rather polished black Danskos. Hair is set in curlers each morning.
Weekends - jeans (or sometimes just my bathrobe for half the day) whatever comfortable shirt is laying on the back of the chair and Keen clogs or flip flops, depending on the season. May or may not wash my hair on the weekend. Of course, people in public respond differently depending on how I am dressed.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: GUEST,Scoville
Date: 05 May 07 - 08:27 PM

I finally had to find "polyester" clothes that more closely approximated my "cotton" ones. Luckily I don't have to wear makeup to work and my hair will not do anything but lie flat in a bob no matter how badly I heat-and-treat it, so there's no point even in trying to make it "big" (as we are wont to do in the South). I get secondhand cashmere turtlenecks cheaply from the Salvation Army in an expensive part of town and try to keep the rest mix-and-matchable and inconspicuous.

I save the bright colors and wacky stuff made from vintage patterns for weekends. I have a weakness for calico and 1940's housedresses.


I used to wear blue scrubs to my old job, day in and day out. Talk about simplifying. "What shall I wear to day? Navy blue or . . . navy blue?"

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 May 07 - 08:48 PM

Oh yes, mix and match. Always. No "outfits," all separates.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Your Life in Polyester
From: Joe_F
Date: 05 May 07 - 09:06 PM

I have been very lucky in that I have never had to bother with dress codes. I put on a coat & tie so seldom that it is fun -- putting on a costume & pretending to be grown up, at the age of 69. Most of the time I wear clothes that I have altered to suit my convenience in sartorial engineering.

I did have one amusing experience with clothes & class, tho. It was in London in the spring of 1959. I left my hotel, bought a Times, and took it to a park (I forget its name, but it was near London University). Before I could get to a bench, two or three people tried to buy my paper from me. I was wearing jeans, so I had to be a newsboy. When I sat down and started *reading* it, a man at the other end of the bench surveyed the spectacle & solemnly congratulated me on paying attention to the Times Literary Supplement rather than the football pools.