Brains, 10. Looks, 3.
On Jezebel today they're discussing a show I love, What not to Wear. I love both the American and the British versions. I've stated before that I'm really good at dressing everyone but myself, and watching WNTW and seeing what Clinton and Stacy suggest for women whose body types are similar to mine has helped me build a decent work wardrobe. (That, and the fact that Mr. Cedar has taste and knows when I've put something on that doesn't look good.) One of the commenters on the Jezebel entry said of the people that go on the show:
They don't sign up for it, they're signed up by their co-workers for it; to me it's reducing their often very real accomplishments down to "Oh, I can't take you seriously because you wear shitty clothes, here, go have a makeover and completely change the way you're perceived because we're sick of it."
This might make me sound like a bad feminist, but the fact is, you can have all the real accomplishments in the world but I won't take you as seriously if you dress inappropriately, because clothes do matter.
I'm not saying that everyone has to dress the same. Fashion and style are not the same thing. I'm good at picking out what looks good on other people but I don't tell people how to dress. I love me some H&M and Target and I certainly don't expect that people will wear designer clothes. I don't expect everyone to be a size two. Hell, the most fashionable librarians I've worked with have all been at least a size fourteen. But in the world of grownups, you are judged on how you look. Sure, you get an interview based on your resume, but we all know there are acceptable and not acceptable ways of dressing for interviews and the workplace and frankly, many people who are made over on What not to Wear dress inappropriately for their workplace. They are NOT taken seriously because they wear shitty clothes and they're not perceived as the smart, successful women they are because their insides do not match their outsides.
As much as I would like to go to work every day in workout pants, a hoodie, and running shoes, I can't, because I'm a professional in a professional position and I am expected to dress in accordance with my job experience. People in my field rely on me for wisdom and advice and they're not going to take me as seriously if I dress like I'm going to the gym, or like I haven't bought clothes since 1998. It also doesn't help that I'm younger than many of my colleagues. Dressing like a grown-up helps them take me more seriously. I don't wear anything special, just trousers and wrap tops and the occasional skirt, but I know it makes a difference when I dress like I've made some effort in the morning.
Dressing appropriately for the workplace...it's like using proper grammar when you write fic (or anything else). You can have the best resume, the most experience, the most unique plot idea and the best characterization, but if your surface leads people to believe that you just don't care about what other people think of you, they'll click the back button. Or hire someone else.
They don't sign up for it, they're signed up by their co-workers for it; to me it's reducing their often very real accomplishments down to "Oh, I can't take you seriously because you wear shitty clothes, here, go have a makeover and completely change the way you're perceived because we're sick of it."
This might make me sound like a bad feminist, but the fact is, you can have all the real accomplishments in the world but I won't take you as seriously if you dress inappropriately, because clothes do matter.
I'm not saying that everyone has to dress the same. Fashion and style are not the same thing. I'm good at picking out what looks good on other people but I don't tell people how to dress. I love me some H&M and Target and I certainly don't expect that people will wear designer clothes. I don't expect everyone to be a size two. Hell, the most fashionable librarians I've worked with have all been at least a size fourteen. But in the world of grownups, you are judged on how you look. Sure, you get an interview based on your resume, but we all know there are acceptable and not acceptable ways of dressing for interviews and the workplace and frankly, many people who are made over on What not to Wear dress inappropriately for their workplace. They are NOT taken seriously because they wear shitty clothes and they're not perceived as the smart, successful women they are because their insides do not match their outsides.
As much as I would like to go to work every day in workout pants, a hoodie, and running shoes, I can't, because I'm a professional in a professional position and I am expected to dress in accordance with my job experience. People in my field rely on me for wisdom and advice and they're not going to take me as seriously if I dress like I'm going to the gym, or like I haven't bought clothes since 1998. It also doesn't help that I'm younger than many of my colleagues. Dressing like a grown-up helps them take me more seriously. I don't wear anything special, just trousers and wrap tops and the occasional skirt, but I know it makes a difference when I dress like I've made some effort in the morning.
Dressing appropriately for the workplace...it's like using proper grammar when you write fic (or anything else). You can have the best resume, the most experience, the most unique plot idea and the best characterization, but if your surface leads people to believe that you just don't care about what other people think of you, they'll click the back button. Or hire someone else.