Photo by Anna Epp Photography
When I was a Chartered Accountant and VP Finance, I loved wearing nice suits to work. It made me look and feel professional. Even if I didn’t feel like an accountant on the inside, I looked like one on the outside. I was dressed for the role.
What I didn’t like was how uncomfortable I felt as the day wore on. I would be sitting at my desk or in a meeting and I could feel my waistband digging into me. I wanted to undo my pants. You know that feeling after you’ve eaten a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Some days it felt like I was wearing a suit of armour that just didn’t breathe.
And do you remember back in the day having to wear pantyhose? It was part of the dress code for women. Just the thought of it makes me squirm uncomfortably. I believe that’s why I started wearing more ‘pant’ suits rather than a jacket and skirt. Mercifully, bare legs are acceptable now, well at least in the summer. And somehow wearing tights in the winter isn’t as bad. They’re not as restrictive as the dreaded ‘hose’.
If I go even further back to my days in retail, I remember torturing my feet in high heels, standing in them for 8 hours at a time. Ohh, my aching dogs! Foot baths and epson salts were my regular nightly date.
Photo by Andrew Tanglao on Unsplash
The workplace has relaxed over the years. I credit the IT industry for the casual dress code. Picture programmers and help desk people (predominantly guys back then) squirreled away in a room in faded t-shirts and baggy shorts with empty soda cans and pizza boxes strewn about the place. Not a necktie or cuff link in sight. Thank you, guys!
For me, I couldn’t wait to get home every day to hang up my suit and pull on my yoga pants. I often wished I could marry the two: the pulled together look of a suit with the forgiving nature of stretchy pants.
This is my “why” for doing what I do. How can I make women’s lives just a little bit easier, a little more stylish and comfortable?
COKANNA is all about style and comfort. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. I believe the two should go hand in hand. If you think so too, then join the COKANNA Community! Sign up for my newsletter in the bright pink box below.
And let me know in the comments what you wear or have worn to work in the name of professionalism, fashion, and following the dress code.
Until next week,
~ Colleen
