ShareThisDress better in public
Completed
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Wear a blazer, dress shoes and belt, and decent gloves, scarf, and hat in public. |
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o see how my self image changes
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I'll try it for a few months. |
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o enjoy the feeling of not looking like a slob ;-)
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Comments & Observations
Matthew Cornell Went to four parties this past week, and felt great about my appearance. Even better, I got a handful of compliments >from ladies< :-) I likey. Had to wear some think "smart wool" socks to keep my feet from freezing in the dress shoes. Also, needed to be careful walking on snow - the have zero tread!
Dec 22, 2009
Matthew Cornell I surprised myself today at the local coffee shop when I felt like ordering a new-to-me beverage, instead of my usual tea. Went with my new image - Mr. Important :O)
Dec 22, 2009
Matthew Cornell Impossible to do when biking somewhere. Cars - Drat!
Dec 23, 2009
Brock Tice Get a good waterproof rain suit and panniers? This was my solution when I only had a bike.
Dec 28, 2009
Matthew Cornell Good suggestion, Brock. About the experiment, I got lazy the last few times - it's not much additional work to get dressed, but there's psychological resistance from my inner slob. I can only imagine how much work it is for women, with their make-up and all! I may slacken the "whenever I go out" rule, but still dress up more often...
Dec 29, 2009
Brock Tice I kind of wonder if I should write a little eBook on bike commuting. I'm not really a "bike commuting blogger" or the like, and I don't even do it right now, but I sure learned a lot while doing it, and I want to share that somehow. Hmm...
Dec 31, 2009
Matthew Cornell Brock: Great idea! Why not?
Re: dressing up, I've learned a few things traveling here to the Midwest for a funeral. First, I "half dressed" because I wanted to balance dressing up with dressing smart for winter. So I wore my nice wool coat, but put put on a polar fleece under it, along with warm boots instead of (cold) dress shoes. I learned within an hour that this was a poor compromise between the two extremes (dressy vs. warm). I had the right instinct re: cold, because what I wore wasn't as warm as my usual casual-but-toasty-warm garb. I also realized that I didn't like how I looked and felt without my dress blazer. The polar fleece didn't hack it! The problem was I didn't want to pack two completely different sets of clothes, and that I didn't have three blazers. (I needed to keep one in the bag for the funeral, and one clean for a workshop when I return.) As in all experiments, I've learned a lot.
Jan 11, 2010
Matthew Cornell As a sub-experiment I decided to buy and try wearing some mens' hats. I've been wanting to try this for a while, so I was excited when I found a hat shop in a nearby city. I shopped for an hour (something /amazing/ for a guy like me) and found a few modest ones to try out. One is casual and was a no-brainer because it looked so natural with my wool coat. The harder choice was a dress one I could wear for business. I found a black crushable "stingy brim" fedora like this: http://www.mybabyjo.com/hats/melroseblk_lg.jpg . I wasn't blown away by it, but decided to give it a shot. But while traveling to and around the airport, I was self-conscious about wearing it - felt a bit silly. Now on the one hand this is probably natural since it's something new. But I realized it was because I don't like the way I look in it. So I'll keep hunting.
Good experiment so far.
Jan 11, 2010
Matthew Cornell The big surprise since starting the experiment is how much I like going out with a blazer and nice shoes on. I feel drab when I dress "usual Matt".
Jan 11, 2010
Brock Tice I know how you felt. I've definitely felt underdressed, last time was at a wedding. I was one of the only people not wearing a jacket, but I was wearing my trademark black dress shirt, which doesn't stand out like a white one. Hard to travel light with proper dress clothes!
Jan 12, 2010
Matthew Cornell I also experience the desired to drive the car instead of walk or bike to town. Discomfort, mainly, because dress clothing is so much less functional for physical activities other than sitting and standing. Actually, the clothes aren't good at those either! :-) Makes me long a bit for an age (i.e., Sci Fi) where dress clothes were the ultimate in comfort, regardless of appearance. Hey, a new fashion!
On the hat front, I'm getting more comfortable with them, esp. the "stingy brim" dress fedora.
Jan 17, 2010
Matthew Cornell "You're looking spiffy today." :-) From an acquaintance I ran into at local coffee shop who always dresses classy. Gave me a lift!
Jan 19, 2010
Matthew Cornell I'm still liking this. Also, wearing my dress hat feels more comfortable. In fact, I'm open to adding a second "look".
Jan 22, 2010
Matthew Cornell I'm convinced: I will integrate this permanently into my life. I simply like myself better. Great experiment!
Jan 25, 2010
Brock Tice Congrats!
Jan 29, 2010