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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Suburban Stylist – Day 1

Today is day one of my Suburban Stylist experiment.

LOOK OF THE DAY
Today was designed to contribute to comfort while seated at a computer all day. Taking into account the moderate California temperature and ease of packing, tis outfit was selected in Issaquah late Thursday night while also packing for a weekend away.

TIP OF THE DAY: When packing for a business trip, keep in mind that one outfit will likely need to fill multiple roles throughout the day. Packability should also be a concern. These pants were ironed prior to packing and then folded neatly in my eagle creek packing systems that keeps items flat and bundled for easy transport.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How casual is too casual? As I roam around the campus here I see varying degrees of dress. I find many folks who are in business casual wear, jeans and logoed polos or t-shirt are everywhere. There are lots of native dress for folks of Indian and Pakistani nationalities. There is also a high number of individuals who tend to dress with a certain personal flair that ranges from cut off shorts to 6 foot tall men in spiky high heals. Is there a point where your individualism gets in the way of general work performance?
LOCATION OF THE DAY: Restroom in the Fashion Building of the eBay San Jose campus.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT; This outfit was selected to blend into the eBay environment, take advantage of the warm weather and coordinate with other items in my travel bag in case the pre-selected outfit didn’t FEEL right while dressing at the hotel.
THE PANTS: These red capri’s say “Hi! I’m a woman in my late 30’s and early 40’s who wants to be casual, but not wear shorts. “
WHERE TO BUY: These were purchased at ROSS on a rainy day in June in Issaquah. The brand is nothing I’ve ever seen before, but they have held up well for numerous washings.
PRICE: $14.99
THE TOP: This black top has an attractive scoop neckline and just enough sleeves to hide the unfortunate extra skin on the back of my arms from the weight loss.
WHERE TO BUY: Nordstrom
PRICE: Oh gosh, I don’t remember, I think it was $29.99 during the sale and going to be $35 something after the sale. I do know that I bought the top in Red and Purple.
THE SHOES: Ooh these were a great find! These are ECCO’s with kicky red “Alligator” leather straps . They caused some blistering on the first wear, but how that the base of the shoe has conformed to my foot they are the most comfortable shoes. ECCO’s C424951
WHERE TO BUY: Nordstrom (I found them in Indianapolis, and haven’t seen them anywhere else.)
PRICE: eek, they were $114 – but I have worn them at least 3 days a week since purchase. Totally worth it!
THE WATCH: Swiss Army Watch with a white face and stainless steel band. It is casual and holds up well under normal activity. It is not water resistant, and thus should be removed upon showering or car washing.
WHERE TO BUY: Nordstrom
PRICE: $350 At the time of purchase it was the most expensive watch I had ever acquired. I have been very happy with it and have been able to eliminate the purchase of an annual $80 watch. I do switch out into the uniquely colored SWATCH watches every now and then, but this is my every day watch
THE ENGAGEMENT RING
WHERE TO BUY: You don’t buy your own engagement ring, your fiancé buys it for you.’ We got ours at a store called SWISSA. It is a nice ring that makes me smile. Your jewelry should bring you joy.
PRICE: I’m not telling
THE OTHER ACCESSORIES: I am also wearing “The Leo” a ring I purchased for myself a while back. I had decided (before the “right hand ring” ad campaign) that I didn’t need to wait for my dream guy to buy me pretty jewelry so I invested in a very pretty 1 karat diamond ring for my own enjoyment.
My earrings – which you can’t see under my mop of hair, are little green peridot & itty bitty diamond earrings. These were purchased on overstock.com and my recommendation is to pay attention to the sizing information – they are cute, but MUCH smaller than I thought.
eBay Badge – the sign of a person with employment, and my ticket into the workspace here in San Jose.
WHERE TO BUY: Weisefileds.com for the Leo, overstock.com for the tiny earrings and nowhere for the ID badge..
PRICE: I’m not telling, don’t remember and not available.

ABOUT THE DAY
I woke up in my hotel room, talked to Jason, and then headed to the train. Upon arrival at eBay I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at my desk until lunch. Had lunch on the plaza with an auditor and a former colleague from “the Mu” . Returned to my desk, sat there until 6 and then took the train back to the hotel. I met up with a fellow consultant for dinner and then retired back to my hotel room to log on to the Internet and then watch terrible TV until bedtime. Talked to Jason before going to sleep.

1 comment:

PNB Dave said...

This was very entertaining. Did you say "6-foot tall MEN in spiky high heels?" Does Dan Savage work there?