STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

bex · Chanel

i'm torn :(

FashionPrincess · Hermes

Wear what you want! Don't be a sheep. They'll all secretly envy you and your color.

atlgirl · Gucci

I agree with FP. Life's to short to conform if you don't have to. You'll be known as the woman who does great work and always looks fabulous doing so. *s*

Elle · Hermes

Maybe instead of wearing a whole outfit like that, break it up and incorporate one piece at a time? That yellow top would look cool and unexpected under a blazer, and that skirt would look really cute with a belted sweater, or even a button-down/sweater vest combo ...

Liz · Kenneth Cole

I had a friend who had the same problem. She went with Elle's suggestion and snuck sunnier items in with her more somber ones, and then when people got used to that she started wearing brighter outfits. It's so funny though- she thinks she actually gets more business now (she's a hairstylist) because some of her customers say she seems a lot more cheery and friendly than her "uppity chic" co-workers.

I say go for it. Worse thing that could happen is that it doesn't work, and then you go back to black. At least you can say you tried!

bex · Chanel

Liz wrote:

It's so funny though- she thinks she actually gets more business now (she's a hairstylist) because some of her customers say she seems a lot more cheery and friendly than her "uppity chic" co-workers.

that is so funny that you posted that Liz b/c i work in the hair industry too. just on the business side of it and if you think the stylists are bad at "uppity chic" you should see the business side of it!

i think elle is right though, i could start sneaking the more colorful items into my wardrobe and see if that works out. its sad at company meetings though b/c if you wear a color- you stand out like a sore thumb. EVERYONE is in black or grey or white. *sigh*

but i am determined to put my clothing personality before theirs! i'm going to go through my closet and work on getting what i want out it.

thanks girls.... i just needed a vote of self confidence. and i'll probably need more as i venture down this path...

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

I can see this both ways. As a food writer, I stuck out for my outfits and some people at work made fun of me for being little miss fashion. But other people started wearing brighter things too (the younger ones) and I sort of became known for it, and the bosses ended up stopped to talk to me about some of my brighter accessories. It became a signature - part of my persona. And it worked. but at law school, I'm learning to tone down my outfits because, well, professors don't like it and fellow students make judgments about me. I think the difference is, at my last job, I could back it up. Here, I'm just another student so I need to fit in more. Once I'm established in a job and people know me, I can break out again. So it just depends.

NCshopper · Hermes

I think you can get away with wearing stuff like that too. You might want to ease yourself (and your coworkers) into it though. You could start by wearing a basic outfit but have one piece that's a color. Do that for a little while and then you could start incorporating, oh, say two colors into the outfit. Or you could do a color and something that's ruffly or has a bow. Basically, baby steps until you feel comfortable dressing how you want to dress and knowing that you're not going to be judged or frowned upon for wearing something colorful and feminine.

For example, that yellow top would be gorgeous with those white pants and espadrilles and that skirt would look really cute with a beater tank and some long necklaces in the spring. Then you could take the yellow top, white pants and add in a colorful shoe, like the green ones.

ETA: After awhile, I wouldn't be at all surprised if your coworkers started following suit. They're probably wearing black because they think that's what the norm is. I'll bet if you started dressing how you want to dress, people will admire your individual style and start going after their style. The bright side in all of this is that you work in a creative industry where it's okay to express yourself fashion-wise. At least you're not in a conservative banking environment where you'd really have to stifle yourself.

-- Edited by NCshopper at 18:56, 2006-01-11