Work Clothes Are Boring - Who's With Me?

It never, and I mean NEVER once occurred to me that I would regret my chosen career path for one main reason: the clothes. I don't actually regret becoming a lawyer, but there are a few things that I never thought would bother me. The main one is that I have to dress like a grown up EVERY DARN DAY. And when I say grown up, I mean BORING. Suits, skirts and sweaters, tights in the winter, uncomfortable shoes. Now, before anyone gets up on a high horse and tells me that there ARE cute professional outfits out there, I know! There are! But I have neither the time, money, nor really, the inclination, to spend acquiring and putting together cute professional outfits. Besides the fact that when one strays from the normal buttoned-up business wear, there is a serious risk of appearing unprofessional. And as much as I hate to admit it, as a woman, I feel compelled to avoid being too sexy, too childish, too outlandish, or otherwise rocking the boat, because I think a lot of the people I work with would see it as a sign that I'm not "serious" enough. Lame. Totally lame and boring! And even if I had enough money to buy all of the Banana Republic suits and silky shirts and cute, but not ridiculous shoes, I would still feel constricted by the uniform.

This is, of course, a pretty minor concern. Lots of people in this country a) don't have any job at all, or b) have jobs that require them to wear (and do!) things I would hate even more. See: Long John Silver's employees. I speak from personal experience when I say that the tri-color polo shirt/duo-color baseball cap, polyblend pants look is also a bit dehumanizing. I know that I'm basically complaining about something that many people would be extremely happy to have as a problem. I just never contemplated when I signed on the law school dotted line that I would be devoting a pretty hefty chunk of my future income to dry cleaning (OMG! so expensive!) and replacing torn tights. (And no, I don't wear pantyhose. I find them altogether TOO demeaning, as an item of clothing. I like tights because they a) don't turn your legs into strange, brown monstrosities, and b) don't (usually) contain a handy "tummy panel," aka "bladder/soul-crushing item designed to cripple you into womanly submission").

So, if any young person out there is considering law school, I urge you to first take a quick gander into your closet. Do you cherish your favorite jeans? Hate high heels with a fiery passion? Love to wear patterns, stripes and garish colors, often at the same time? Do you dread the idea of buttoning yourself into a suit day after day, harnessing your bazoombas down so as not to offend the elderly men who populate your profession, and teetering to and from the printer on heels that give you a Charley horse? RECONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS.