I have just spent three days at a professional conference in the company of some very serious-minded gregarious people with very high tolerance levels for whisky and wine. It would appear to be a career characteristic. I was a bit of a fish out of (mineral) water in my self-stitched finery. I made some social gaffs (I suppose you knew to take the bread roll from the left hand plate, didn't you? You could have warned me) and there were a few occasions when I just plain wanted to run away. But somehow I survived to tell the (edited) tale.
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| Day One: This is not a cocktail dress! |
I should have worn my little black dress. But when I tried it on the night before, I realised it was too damned big. So... I wore a Sencha blouse and my wide-legged trousers. Fine by day, but hopelessly inappropriate for a formal dinner. Nobody had explained what the female version of a "lounge suit" comprised... it would appear to be a cocktail dress. The other ladies were all dressed as if they were going to a wedding.
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| Day Two: Total blackout |
I shone in the art section of the dinner-table quiz, boosting my group's score.
I wandered about taking photographs... of which more another day.
If I am going to dress like a disfunctional arty person I might as well behave like one. I ate lots of fruit salad, and stuck to water and coffee. Weirdo.
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| Day Three: grey socks?! |
As soon as the last lecture ended, I headed for the station: I had an hour free to zip to Mandors Fabrics before I caught my train home. Woo hoo!
I have purchases to show you, but right now I need to go to bed.
There is a reason why I live in the middle of nowhere: there aren't many other people there.
9 comments:
Ooh lovely Mandors, look forward to seeing what you picked up as last time I was in they were getting in all their autumn fabrics including Harri Tweed - exciting!
It sucks feeling like a fish out of water.. I really like your outfits, especially the Audrey-beatnik one. :)
Ooh, that sounds challenging to say the least. You survived! And there are like minded individuals - US!
I've heard loads of good stuff about mandors, and would like to visit one day.
I am at the point where I really don't care how odd I look...but then I am not trying to fit in with the workforce, so I have an advantage there.
I'd definitely have been out of my element, too! But I'm sure many of the people were a little envious of your guts to wear your own style. A Sencha blouse and wide-trousers sound more comfortable than a cocktail dress (:
You wouldn't be nearly so much fun if you were the type of person who fit in to that conference! Be true to yourself and let the corporate types focus on networking if that's what they like to do. I agree with Joy, I bet some of the people there wished they could be like you.
I've always used the rule:
business suit = interview outfit
lounge suit = cocktail dress
black tie = full length dress
white tie = turn down this invitation. The function will be full of nobbers.
Thank you, my supportive friends! Mooncalf - the presence of rules is the bit that confuses me most, like the one about the bread roll to the left when everything else seems to work to the right! I suppose I should just be grateful it wasn't white tie, eh?!
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