Dress for the Life You Want

It was brought to my attention several times during the past week that I look unusual.  I'm not sure if the commenting customers meant to be complimentary, but that's how I chose to take it.  Most recently I was told that I am "an old soul", that my face and dress are from a different era.  Since I consider Joan from Man Men a style inspiration, I was flattered.  The other customer flat out asked, "You're not from around here, are you?" I thought I had been short with her or said something in an accent that only shows up on certain words when people are looking for it.  No, it was the fact that I looked put together at work.  She confessed to me how she loves to wear vintage but hates the looks she gets from people in this area.  Why is looking put together or polished so uncommon?

At least I know I'm not the only one saddened by the general lack of style in this geographic area.  Honestly, its almost as if some people don't even bother to get dressed.  I see more than one person out and about in their pajama pants daily.  If you count sweatpants as pajamas (which I do - wear them at home or at the gym!), that number quadruples.  Forget tailoring.  Not everything must be knitted, people!

  

Sometimes its tempting not to care because it seems like no one else does.  I get depressed when I start feeling like this, as if everything is starting to deteriorate at once.  It takes courage to take charge of your life and your wardrobe! I firmly believe more people should do both.  I don't want to get stuck in the complacency that I see all around me.  They say you should dress for the job you want, particularly in interviews, but I say, dress for the LIFE you want.  Clothes make us feel a certain way, are you going to be ready to talk to that really important person about your latest and greatest idea in your sweatpants? I don't think so!

What I'm Wearing:

Tie-Front Blouse: The Limited

Button Pocket Trousers: Kohl's

Satin Slingbacks: Nina (probably from Marshall's a long time ago)

Gold & Cream Cuff: The Limited 

Hey! It's OK to be Awesome!

Day 1: Something You Hate About Yourself

Something that has become increasingly apparent in the recent months and something that I never thought I'd say about myself is that I lack self-confidence.  It isn't something that plagues me all the time but when it does, it's crushing.  I consider myself a confident person. I am unafraid to speak up or offer my opinion, but when it comes to my career...yeesh, I need some help.

I first realized this fault a few months ago when I knew that it was time to move on from my job in retail.  I began scouring the internet for job postings related to my degree.  It didn't take me long to realize that I didn't feel qualified for many of the positions that wanted someone with my type of degree.  It was then that the threads of self-doubt began to wrap themselves around me.  I went to what most people would call "a good school". I certainly paid for "a good education", however, I wouldn't say that a good education is what came of it all.

I wasn't the best student and I regret that.  I had decent grades, but I could've put so much more into my classes.  I started realizing my own fault when I started looking for a career, wondering if I would have a clearer direction if I had given more to my classes or chosen a different major.  This insecurity, this doubt in my own abilities, makes searching for a job difficult. I can send my resumes in to as many people as I want and for as high a position as I could imagine, but always with the fear that I will be hired (or won't be hired) and that I won't be able to perform to their expectations.

I accepted a mediocre job yesterday.  Today, I am calling to rescind my acceptance.  Its not the best I can do.  I could possibly, and even probably, be successful at it, but if I think through the situation with confidence, it isn't where I need to be.  It doesn't provide the security that I need, in fact, the few possible pros don't even come close to outweighing the potentially devastating cons.

I want to procede in my job search with confidence. I need to.  I want to get out of the Midwest after this year is over, and I want a career that will propel me in that direction.  All I need is the confidence to get that job.