Friday, February 8, 2008

The J. Crew factor

It's funny how people can influence your fashion choices.

At work, we can't hire people fast enough, and we've had an influx of girls who dress in a very preppy style. It's funny because the dress code here is pretty much nonexistent, and as a matter of culture, everyone's wardrobes are dominated by jeans and - if you're really cool - accessorized with tattoos and some unnaturally colored hair. Apparently, though, these girls have not absorbed this message, and every day they're dressed in smart business casual clothes.

Now that we've got the Preppy Girls in, it's like there are two factions. The "I don't give a shit" faction, exemplified by one of the co-owners of the company who seemingly wears the same shirt and pair of jeans every day; and the J. Crew/Banana Republic faction.

Of course, I DO give a shit, but I don't own anything from J. Crew, so I'm somewhere in the middle. The J. Crew crew (heh) makes me feel downright rock-and-roll when I sport my boots-over-pants look, though.

However, I secretly covet these girls' wardrobes. Beautiful cream-colored long coats, silk blouses in saturated jewel tones, wonderfully tailored pants, beautiful pumps and Mary Janes, expertly applied makeup, shiny, perfectly coiffed hair...it's definitely inspired me to upgrade from a tee to a proper blouse some days, and to pay lots of attention to my makeup and jewelry. One girl seems to have a shoe collection that rivals mine, which is simultaneously exciting and depressing.

One of the coolest things about working in a creative environment with an open dress code is that I can show off the full range of my wardrobe. One day, it's jeans and a funky hoodie; the next, a dress with tights and boots; the next, my trusty gray dress pants and a preppy cardigan. It's all a lot of fun, and I can create a practically unlimited number of outfits simply by remixing my wardrobe.

Now that we have Le Snappy Dressers here, though, I definitely think twice before wearing one of my more sloppy outfits. (In my defense, though, I never ever look truly sloppy. As my grandma always says, as long as your hair is done and you're wearing nice shoes, you'll never look sloppy, and these are rules I live by. You will pry my patent leather heels from my cold, dead hands.)

Still - someone needs to tell these new girls that they're making the rest of us look bad. Hehe.

1 comment:

Anne At Large said...

That's funny, I have always kind of liked the business casual J. Crew look but I have never had a job where I have been able to wear it. Right now I try and not wear clothes I am too fond of as they are guaranteed to get dirty and there is often a possibility of getting acid on them. So I stick with sporty/casual and look forward to being able to have an excuse to wear my suit. I am starting to wonder if I would be one of the preppy girls if I got the chance, but I don't think I could afford it.

Reading this, I like that you don't sound threatened by the influx of posh dressers though, I think it's good to stick with your own style if you've got such a clearly defined style as it sounds like you have but it seems like they've had a good influence if you're less tempted to slob out. I bet they're not making you look bad.

Sorry for the random ramble but I found your blog via Apartment Therapy (in a very roundabout way) and have been really enjoying it!