In which I ask questions about office wear

I have good news! I have at last succeeded in attaining a proper graduate job. I’m really happy with the job I have got, but instead of being a celebratory post this one comes with its own set of fashion questions.

Firstly: office wear. This is actually a major thing. The office is pretty smart so I want to look good. I’ve been on a major hunt for new smart clothes. I want things that are cool because the office is very warm and I got really hot very quickly. I want things that are comfortable and look smart, but not frumpy and actually suit me. It seems that pencil skirts are not for me, no matter how hot they look on other people. My little belly bump shows up a bit too much. So if anyone has any advice on good looking office wear feel free to throw it my way!

I went shopping yesterday and got this beautiful new dress. I don’t know if you ever have this, when you try something on and you have to have it because it feels so comfortable. I just put this dress on and it felt like it belonged on me, the fabric is so soft and lovely.

However, it has one problem. The sheer panel at the top. Can this somehow be transformed into office wear or is it just a little too sexy? It’s funny because I feel that if there was no fabric there it would actually be more acceptable, but it’s just a little bit like “Hey! I have boobs, but you can’t quite see them!”

I asked someone else and they reckoned it is just *not quite* office style, but might be acceptable after I’ve been working there for a while. Not good to push the boundaries yet. I fear I have already been pushing the boundaries because I just own lots of colourful clothes! I’m not so good with black.

If I can’t wear it for the office then I shall save it for nights out so it’s definitely not a waste, but I hope it is because that was the intent of my shopping trip.

Thoughts?

These photos were fun to do. I spent a lot of time spinning in circles whilst my boyfriend took the photos and I got very very dizzy.

On a very different note I have been realising that in the last year I have become a great worrier and lost a lot of self-esteem. A number of things went wrong and now, even when I finally have a great job, I find myself obsessing over other worries: Do I look good? Do people like me? Am I good at this? What if they fire me? What if I mess up? What if no one wants to be my friend?

I just feel like I have become accustomed to things going wrong and so I expect them to.

I bought another dress for work which when I tried it on I thought it looked pretty good, but when I tried it on again this afternoon (pre-planning Monday’s work outfit to avoid morning stress) it seemed to hang off in all the wrong places and show all my bumps when I sat down. I then spent ages freaking out about how I don’t look good in my work clothes. It is funny that when I have masses of clothes all of sudden it seems genuine to say “I don’t have anything to wear”. I really need to learn to stop worrying though because I think it is affecting me a lot, I seem to always have too many thoughts on my mind. Even now as the weekend draws to a close I am worrying about my to do list at work, what I will wear, how much I will miss my boyfriend and friends, whether there was something else I should have done this weekend... etc. I really hope that once life settles down this continuous little knot of stress will leave me.

Instead of leaving you on that gloomy note I will show you a photo of a giant toadstool from the garden.