Not Dressing for the Job You Have!

Ever enter the office on a Monday morning and wonder whether or not your fellow employees comprehend the term "business casual"? Don't get me wrong, I understand how mundane it may be to constantly wear the typical white button-up shirt and black pencil skirt to the office; but, how far can one venture without crossing into bad form?

As a child my mother insisted that I never leave the house looking like "nobody's child". In other words, she wanted me to be a reflection of her and present myself as such. As a adult, I have a great appreciation for that lesson and hopefully I can offer some of mother's wisdom to a select few.

1) Part-Time Party Girl: Ladies it is time to separate the closet. Pieces worn for a night out
at the discotec are not interchangeable with office attire. Let's bring the skirts down a
few inches and leave the low-cut glittered halters for after-hours when your choices can be
sheltered by the shade of night.

2) The Ironless: It appears that this title befalls many young corporate employees. Maybe it
takes a few years to transition from the rollout of bed, grab and go college lifestyle; but
I find this particular look incredibly disturbing. Slowly I imagine myself spouting phrases
such as: tuck in your shirt, brush your hair, iron your slacks, and I immediately
become Sister Silbrowne of Our Lady of the Unsettlingly Wrinkled.

3) The Business Too Casual: This final staff member is the most rebellious of the group. It
appears this particular employee (often attired with sneakers, jeans and/or Ts) has forever
extended the rules for Casual Friday.

I do not personally expect all office personnel to appear as though they stepped off the runway, but hopefully the previously addressed missteps will cease. You know who you are (insert sinister laughter here).

(Picture provided by www.coojob.net)

Where have all the Fashion Icons gone?

Being that a week has lapsed since the actual Costume Institute Met Gala, I figured I needed to address the event more creatively than the typical "best and worst dressed" motif. Aside from my intent to offer my readers more considered feedback, it was necessary to take that time and wrap my mind around the parade of poorly translated runway couture.

I suppose this post refers back to my clever rant regarding hollywood celebrities and their fashion take over, but picturesque moments such as the Met Gala only prove that there are few with the stylistic know-how to be labeled icons. Rather, it appears that celebrities of today are labeled icons, but are really just well styled individuals. They have the fortune of working with stylists who help them to frequent the best dressed list; though, few have the trendsetting ability to become fashion royalty.

When we think of fashion icons, many of us revert back to those who have brought timeless staples to the world of style: Audrey Hepburn and the little black dress, Twiggy and the Mod look, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis for the formed suit look that became known as the "Jackie". Although, I think it is far too soon to dub these ladies fashion royalty, women such as Blake Lively and Rhianna have been labeled fashion icons of today. Blake Lively, though she claims to function without the use of a fashion stylist, has yet to establish a look that is uniquely outstanding. Rhianna, though very experimental with her look, has not been able to isolate one look long enough to make it a staple. Currently she is operating under a sense of fashion chaos that I find all too reminiscent of a performer from the past. A young, West Indian, singer and performer with an outrageous and ever changing style highlighted by extreme hairstyling choices...Grace Jones anyone.

I do not intend to propose that these young ladies may not one day come into a sense of self more easily proclaimed in their style of dress, but I wouldn't chisel any stone tablets just yet.

(Pictures provided by sell-clshoes.com and zimbio.com)