Thoughts on Life and Stuff (TOLAS)

Random in both frequency and topic, this is my life. Sort of.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

And I start to complain that there's no rain

So I might very well be the worst dresser ever. I'm not talking about style-wise, although I know people have some complaints after the whole fedora thing (IT'S NOT TOO POINTY!). I just have trouble getting dressed in the morning. I've been working for months now, and my wardrobe hasn't changed much at all. I have 5 pant choices (blue, black, and three shades of khaki), 7 or 8 shirts, and a dozen or so ties. That's 480 options, but in reality, I have like 20 combos that make any sense at all. And yet, every morning I stare at my closet, trying to figure out what to wear. I only have 2 really killer combos: Black pants Red shirt Red/Grey tie, and Black pants Beige shirt Black tie. But I can't over use them, or they lose their edge, so I save them for (metaphorical) rainy days, when I need a confidence boost or have an important meeting. I have three other standby combos: White shirt Blue pants Baby Blue tie, Khaki pants Green shirt and tie, and Blue pants Blue shirt Red tie. I don't want to overwear them, or I lose my average looks. So most days I just stand there, staring at my closet, thinking things like, "Can I pull off Grey shirt Blue pants Gold tie? No, I did that last week, and it looked horrible. Um, alright, I know this shirt matches nothing, but let's see how it looks with this." Multiple days a week I get dressed, am about to head out the door, and have a crisis of confidence and change everything. I'm also the worst clothes buyer ever. I see something, think it'll go with something else and buy it, but it never quite goes right. I have a whole tie rack of ties that match nothing. Then, knowing this, I go to the store, see a tie I like, buy it, bring it home, and realize it matches even less than the ties I have. The guys at the store are no help. They make suggestions, and it looks all great in the store, but they never quite work either. I think they pick something, send me away, and as I'm leaving they have a huge laugh at how foolish I look.

Today, I woke up late, showered quickly, got dressed without much thought, and headed out the door. Then, in the elevator, I realized that I had no tie on. It was very disconcerting. So I headed back up, the whole time thinking about my tie options so I wouldn't waste time staring at my closet, since I was already late. I picked one that had roughly the colors I was wearing and tied it in the elevator. I never even looked at it all day, so I have no idea if it actually worked. But I saved a bunch of time. I think this is my new strategy from now on. The no look dress. I won't ever use my mirror. It'll be great! Until something disastrous happens like Blue pants Green shirt Black tie, and I get fired for not being able to dress myself.

7 Comments:

  • At 10/26/2005 7:40 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Are you sure you're not a girl?

    As far as I know only girls will stand there looking at a closet full of clothes and then complain that they have nothing to wear.

     
  • At 10/27/2005 6:33 PM , Blogger mmm... said...

    See, it's more than having nothing to wear. It's a much more manly conundrum of not being able to match stuff, and as a result looking bad. The fact that I care might be construed as "lady-like" by the less cultured, but the new no-look policy makes that argument moot. Though I appreciate your concern.

     
  • At 10/29/2005 1:11 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Your observations are so true. I'm down to only five pant choices (3 khaki, charcoal, and olive) and I can't figure out what else I could where with olive besides a plain white shirt. Then, it gets worse because I only have one tie that I think matches...

    How can employers just assume that new hires will be able to match their clothes? Seems like a stretch to me.

     
  • At 10/31/2005 4:29 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Hey Mike:

    It's funny that you wrote about this, given that I've had the same connundrum lately. Recently at work (Sears), they expanded our dress code from the classic Black/White and Khaki (No thought needed, woohoo!) to solid colors. Yea, so now I spend abnormal amounts of time in front of my wardrobe trying to decide which shade of charcoal pants to wear with that blue shirt and debating over the black 3-button blazer.

    What makes this *that* nuch more embarassing is that I am the manager for the Men's department, so I spend 40 hours a week dresing other customers, manequins, merchandising new stuff, and doing so rather well. Yet I still can't dress myself. Again, I think it all comes down to confidence. I have no problem reccomending a killer shirt and tie combo to someone else, but if I have to wear it, then I start second guessing myself. Bleh.

    Anywho, good entry :p

    --Dave (Da Lives!)

     
  • At 10/31/2005 5:49 PM , Blogger mmm... said...

    Down with Da! Anti Da League!

    So YOU'RE the guy that sells me things that barely match and then laughs at me as I walk away... I appreciate your support for the cause of helping people wear matching clothes, however. And I am amused though encouraged that you struggle with closophobia too. Good to hear from you!

    bhulvvh

     
  • At 10/31/2005 10:09 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I added a comment. It's not here. Sorry if this becomes a dup. Problem solved, dude. It's from Annie, Oct. 28, 2005.

    Dear Annie: Can I put in one more word about the guy who wore the same shirt 18 days in a row? Albert Einstein purposefully purchased numerous duplicate white shirts, brown jackets, black trousers, black socks and black shoes. He said with all the exciting and wonderful things to ponder in the universe, he didn't intend to waste one minute of his time thinking, "What shall I wear today?"

     
  • At 11/07/2005 5:06 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Ok, I checked the facts and it was the Oct. 29, 2005 Annie's Mailbox. Anyway I can't believe there has not been one ...

    BRILLIANT!!!

    reply here. Who knew Albert Einstein was really that brilliant.

     

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