2 July 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed.

• Navy blazer: BR Outlet, endlessly remixed
• Magenta tank: F21
• Pinstriped bermudas: Gap Maternity
• T-strap wedges: Target.com
• Earrings: gift from my husband

End Notes:

I’m a little shocked that I’m able to say this, but the weather has been behaving quite nicely in our little patch of the Midwest. So well, in fact, that I got to pull out this favorite navy blazer of mine today. All of us have praised structured little jackets to the skies at some point or another on this blog, and I know that many of you agree that a blazer adds a sense of polish and a boost of confidence that few other single items of clothing can elicit.

I don’t have a meeting today, nor do I have plans to see anyone I know. I’m still working my way through my “things to do before baby arrives” checklist, which requires mundane outings such as trips to Target, Home Depot, and the campus library. And yet, I am wearing a blazer. In my mind, it transforms my list of errands into a responsibility I should and can handle with composure and aplomb, rather than anxious fretting.

A month or two ago, A. and I did dress up for a meeting with an administrator who has frequently and frustratingly refused to take us seriously. One reader who is also in academia wondered if our efforts were in vain. “Do you think he can differentiate between your standby denim and this gray skirt?” she asked.

That question got me thinking a lot about who I dress for. Indeed, I don’t think that either that administrator or the cashier at Target will necessarily treat me differently if I wore this navy blazer instead of a navy hoodie. But I know the difference…is that reason enough? Is dressing for your own self-confidence and dressing to garner others’ respect mutually exclusive? I tend to think not. Is there a symbiotic relationship between the two? Does one lead to the other causally?

Most simply: who do you dress for?

Earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.