Over the last month or so, I've been slowly trying to assimilate into the culture of the corporate world. Market research is generally as corporate as they come, but I was lucky enough to be able to wear jeans and t-shirts to work. Not so much anymore. Since I started working in my new position, I've been faking my way through with black pants that I bought the week before I started college in 1999, a pair of khakis from about 2002 with the rivets missing from the back pocket, and a second pair of black pants that I bought in 2004 before my MA thesis defense. To go with that sad collection of pants, I have quite a few decent-looking shirts that are too small for my post-baby chest, so I've been wearing what amounts to a girdle under them and a sweater jacket over them. Oh, and I haven't even gotten to the shoes - my $10 special that I found the night before I started at the new place when I realized that I had no shoes that weren't sneakers or flip flops.
My, how far I've come. I'm still wearing the 1999 black pants, which are in good condition and way too comfy to give up, but today I also have a nice new purple sweater that I got for $9.99 at the outlet mall from a real grown-up store (thank you 30% off coupon). I also have make-up on and I've blow-dried my hair instead of throwing it in a sloppy ponytail. And the biggest shocker? I went and bought new shoes yesterday. They have a HEEL. Well, to be fair, they have a wedge heel, and it's only 2 inches, but still. It's a heel. Something I haven't attempted since senior prom in 1999.
Big thanks to the lovely women who helped point me in the right direction and responded to my desperate texts and emails from the shoe store. Yes, I lined up 4 pairs of shoes and sent pictures to anyone who I thought could help me. It was an agonizing decision.
Now how in the hell do you drive a standard in heels?
