Dressing for your other life. And your other ass.

I put on about 10 pounds in the last year for a variety of boring reasons, but somehow neglected to notice that I had done so until I couldn't fit into my fall slacks this September. Any of them. None. No trousers. Pantsless.

After a horrified and stunned moment of silence and self-loathing in front of my full length mirror, I went shopping. I'm not a big believer in punishing your body with clothes that do not fit. If I've gained weight, then I need to dress for that weight.

Interestingly enough, when I went out to shop for my new rear end, I found myself not in the pinstripes but in the party dresses. I intended to buy something pretty for a play I was seeing on opening night, but what I needed was several pairs of decently-cut slacks that I would wear this fall and even this winter. Instead I walked out with a real party dress--purple, silky material, empire cut--plus what I called a Mad Men sheath dress in black, and a brown dress straight out of the 1970s. Oh, and a pair of gold strappy heels.*

This is not work wear, needless to say.

What the hell happened? I was mildly distressed about my shopping expedition until I got home and tried the dresses on again for friends. As they noted, these were not things I could teach in. (The Mad Men dress was dubbed the Sexy Megarita Dress, and was not to be worn except in dating or non-work-party situations.) I had bought items that made me look pretty. Pretty in a non-work way. Pretty in a life-outside way. Pretty in the way that every woman looks pretty in a pair of gold strappy heels.**

I needed work clothes! I needed clean lines and dark colors! I needed a suit that didn't look like a sausage casing! No, my purchases purred. I needed to remember that I was still ok, that I had a life outside of the classroom, and that I needed to get out more.

The clothes were right. I needed to refocus on me. On my writing, on my life and plans, on my future, on my present priorities. How did I gain weight? Among several other reasons, I packed on pounds because I chose my students over the gym. There is always another request for help, or another stack of papers to grade, or another class to prep (especially at my uni, where I have had 1-2 new courses to prep every single semester.) I gave up me for them. And now I have more of me to blame. :) My students, while adorable, will be seeing me in my grad school uniform for a while this fall. They can get past the jeans-boots-blazers triumvirate for a spell while I get past sacrificing my time (and my figure) for the sake of teaching and sitting and reading and grading.

In short, dear reader, I was nearly overtaken by the Academic Frumps. Watch carefully for signs of your own fashion martyrdom! Then treat yourself to something pretty.

*How the hell did I afford this on an academic salary? Well, two were from the sale rack at Macy's and the sheath came from Ann Taylor, full price, because it's beautifully put together. (Always invest in quality when you can.) The shoes were $20 at DSW.
**This is like a scientific fact. Gold in general is good for nearly every skin tone, but gold shoes, especially strappy ones, are like magic. Plus you feel as though you're really dressing up because your SHOES ARE GOLD. Try it.