There are certain challenges associated with working for an institution with no set dress code. On the one hand, the lack of dress code is liberating; after all, I’m the girl who once turned down a job in an archive because women were required to wear hose (in my defense I was 22 and it was New Orleans in August)! But on the other hand, minus the guidelines it can be hard to know what is okay, and what isn’t.
To compound the issue, my job requires that I regularly move between three buildings (itinerant preservation, y’all). Each building has a distinctly different style - in Building A I can easily go an entire day and never see another person, in Building B (where I have spent the past three weeks) I am the only woman on the floor, and the guys are about 1000 times more interested in discussing digital asset management systems than the fine art of pattern mixing. Building C, however, tends to be a little more fashion conscious, and there is a much higher likelihood that I’ll run into a higher-up.
Today I was at Building C for a meeting with members of several departments throughout the library system. In honor of this meeting I decided to take a break from the very functional (and rain proof) clothing I’ve been wearing most of the week for a more polished look. I favor this whole blouse under dress look (here and here), and the simple cream blouse and black combo is timeless. The dress (worn backwards) was my grandmothers.
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