October 7, 2010

Yeah Yeah Yeah so I hate the uniform.

Ugh. It happened. Again.
I shouldn't use the word 'again' because it makes me look irresponsible and/or forgetful. I'd like to think that I am neither. I have my moments, but that's not really the point here. Or it is...or something.

I forgot my work polo at home yesterday.

disclaimer:
This never happens.
I hate wearing a uniform, but I always have it and I wear it M-Th when it is required.
This one particular day, I dressed to change into a uniform and
realised that I had forgotten the one I left in my car as a backup, in the dryer.

and of course it was the day my shoppe owner came in. greatttttt.
If you know me well, you might think this was done on purpose due to the face that I find uniforms to be a complete abomination. I find few people really agree with me. I seem to be the only person, at most of my jobs, who cannot quite grasp the idea of a "daily uniform". If you look at my previous jobs, you will see a definite trend of disdain towards whatever uniform I was handed my first week of employment. The visors I've had to wear in the past have caused the most problems with me- and the managers. I feel putting on a visor slapped with a big company logo is the last thing I ever want on my head. I am forever grateful that those days are long behind me. I have an extremely difficult time not having any choice in what I chose to leave my house in that day. Well, technically, I am able to wear whatever I want to work, as long as I meet the black or khaki pants option and no color anywhere else. This is rather restrictive, well, extremely restrictive. As you can see, this is a problem for someone that likes to bring the funk to an outfit. I think this is the whole reason why I cannot adapt a "signature look". I feel my creativity becomes stifled at the slightest mention of a uniform. The greatest joy comes to me when Friday rolls around and we can dress in what we'd like. Don't worry, I take full advantage of this.

I read an article that struck rather close to home that can be found in the autumn/winter edition of Pop entitled "Working Class Chic" by Shala Monroque. This highlighted uniforms, mostly ones found on people roaming around Europe, where the daily ensemble is rather, well, chic. It is seen as something that forms a unity between people. As she mentions, some people love the idea of having a uniform and adopt them even when work doesn't require them to. It was reassuring to read this article and knew that someone else felt the same way I do; someone that could admire people that embraced the required threads. Perhaps it has everything to do with the polo itself. If my uniform were something nice, slimming, and could be tweaked to allocate a little creativity, I probably wouldn't be so resistant. But it's not, it can't, and I am.

It is increasingly difficult for me to look like someone else. If I see another person in a shirt that I own, I am most likely to never wear it again- regardless of how it looked on them. It's just the facts.

I hung out with Cady today before work and we dissected Vogue over bites of food at the local deli after meandering around Target for forty minutes. It is time well spent. Finally, a friend that shares my adoration of the wonderful, wonderful publication. She is one of those friends I feel I need to hang out with at least once or twice a month (I secretly hopes she decides against moving to New York in November, even though it would be awesome at the same time). But I'm glad we added the art of fashion to the conversation.

All in all, a shaky day yesterday made up for itself today. Thank goodness for great lunches and casual Friday. I'll post my outfit tomorrow.

I listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Fever To Tell' album all day today.
I love the Yeah Yeah Yeah's & Karen O rocks.






3 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah... you got real unlucky when the "boss lady" came around that day. That really sucked. Don't worry, she'll forget about it in a week, and it won't even have happened!

On one hand, I can see the point of uniforms... they are supposed to give everyone an air of community and stifle competitiveness, it makes people feel a part of something bigger than themselves. I feel like these are all good things for schools actually. I guess I'm biased because I wore a uniform to school for most of my life and I liked waking up in the morning and knowing EXACTLY what I was going to where and I didn't have to worry about how it would be perceived by my peers. We were able to express ourselves a LITTLE bit through shoes and socks and hairbands that we'd wear, and of course fridays were dress down days.

BUT for a work environment where we are all adults... I don't think we will get distracted or competitive about what we wear. I agree with you that if you come to work, dressed like a work of art and feel great about yourself, you will be more passionate and inspired to put that much effort into the cookies you decorate. You will feel like an artist versus a craftsman.

Tessa G. said...

The thought of uniforms doesn't bother me in a school setting as much because it does stifle competitiveness between each other over what the labels say. Often you are able to jazz them up in a certain way whether that be jewelery or tights/socks. However, I had such a blast wearing all sorts of fun stuff throughout high school and I just had fun with it. That's where I learned how to build outfits and learned about the art of mixing designer with goodwill threads. It would just be sad if I didn't have such a large period of pure experimentation.

Yes, I also agree that it does categorize you and put you in with a collective group of people for improved chance of recognition and promotion of the brand.It's just too corporate for me when we corporate doesn't enforce uniform code.

It is what it is. I'm sure she will remember since it was noted and filed away.

I just finished your CD and I am excited to give it to you.

Unknown said...

At my high school, there were so many rich people there that you felt so much pressure to put on anything... and if you wore it the week before and such. It's wonderful that you didn't feel that pressure and could just be yourself in high school! If I knew what I know now, i wouldn't worry about what others think in high school, but at the time, I was victim to it like most other adolescents!