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What would you/did you wear in isolation?
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When the pandemic started we worked from home for the best part of a year and then transitioned back to the office only 2-3 days a week.
When I work from home I wear comfy pants like leggings, 'nice' sweatpants, or shorts in summer (Australian here so that's most of the year). I have a lot of online meetings and workshops so I tend to wear a nicer top or knit/cardigan with jewellery for those.
I have mostly switched out foundation for a good quality BB cream and basic makeup. I don't always style my hair, depending on the day, and often wear a headband to push back my shortish hair.
When I first started to work from home I bought some basic t-shirt dresses and button through cotton blend dresses that are cool and comfortable, wash and dry quickly and don't need ironing. I LIVE in them. It's the perfect compromise between comfort and 'being dressed' for me.
I am lucky to have a very autonomous role and lots of flexibility so I can fit in exercise at different times of day depending on my schedule.
I do enjoy going back to the office a couple of days a week and dressing up but the one thing I'll never compromise on again is shoes. I have invested in really good, comfortable 'dressy' shoes.
When I had COVID a couple of months ago it was cold and mostly I lived in pyjamas while I was ill. I did work from home some but I was in no shape for meetings so I didn't make any effort at all!
One thing I did notice is how much money I saved on clothes in the last 2 years. I work in events management and would buy new clothes seasonally (not excessive) but I haven't bought new 'work' clothes for a long time. My 'old' clothes all feel quite 'new' to me again as I haven't worn them in so long. I won't be buying anything new for some time.0 -
I worked from home for 9 years before the pandemic. During conference calls, we showed screens, not each other. I worked in my pjs until lunch, at which point I put on exercise clothes. If I didn't get too sweaty, I'd stay in them for the rest of the day.0
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When I go out, I switch into purpose-specific workout clothes for outdoor rowing/cycling (water shoes for rowing, running/cross-training shoes for cycling); jeans/plain t-shirts for errands and such (with cross-training shoes or casual leather shoes); and "dress casual" for medical appointments (plain t-shirts, nicer sweaters than for errands, black/gray dressier jeans/chinos or loose linen trousers, black leather shoes). I've found over the years that medical staff treat me as if I were smarter if I dress a bit more "white collar casual" vs. more "blue collar", so I do that for convenience. I don't do dress-up stuff often, but have a couple of simple dressy dresses for warm/cold seasons, and usually wear ballet flats with them. (I hate heels, don't own any. Didn't, even when working in IT management and wearing dresses/suits routinely.)That's an interesting observation. I've often played with wardrobe and the assumptions of others for fun, like dressing very casually (almost grunge) and browsing in a high-end clothing store, or checking out a mall real estate display. If you don't want to be approached by pushy salespeople, dress like you can't afford the merchandise.
I would never have applied that principle to medical settings though. I tend to dress for convenience... if I know I'm going to need to strip for tests, I wear things that go on and off easily, no jewellery etc. When I went to Emergency last year I strongly suspected that surgery was going to be the end result (and I was right) so I deliberately chose loose comfy clothes that could go back on after surgery.
As an aside, when I was reading your "dress casual" examples, I initially misread one of the items as "black leather pants" and I thought "Oooh, GO Ann!"
I'm getting monthly Lupron injections and just wear shorts and a tank top, so they have easy access to various injection sites. However, if I'm going for a medical *consultation* type visit, I will dress up more so as to be taken more seriously.
I very rarely need to go to the bank in person, but I dress better for the customer service people than tellers.
I will never ever forget two people I saw at a job fair years ago. One was an older white woman in messy pig tails and a t-shirt that said, "I got out of bed this AM; what more do you want?" The other was a young black man who wore a suit. He was pulled out of line and taken out back. I imagine he walked away with a job.0 -
smithker75 wrote: »My 'old' clothes all feel quite 'new' to me again as I haven't worn them in so long. I won't be buying anything new for some time.
Because we were allowed to dress down in casual clothes from mid-March 20 until Sept 21, this is the first summer in three years that I've worn my light summery dress slacks. Many people at work think they're new clothes.
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kshama2001 wrote: »When I go out, I switch into purpose-specific workout clothes for outdoor rowing/cycling (water shoes for rowing, running/cross-training shoes for cycling); jeans/plain t-shirts for errands and such (with cross-training shoes or casual leather shoes); and "dress casual" for medical appointments (plain t-shirts, nicer sweaters than for errands, black/gray dressier jeans/chinos or loose linen trousers, black leather shoes). I've found over the years that medical staff treat me as if I were smarter if I dress a bit more "white collar casual" vs. more "blue collar", so I do that for convenience. I don't do dress-up stuff often, but have a couple of simple dressy dresses for warm/cold seasons, and usually wear ballet flats with them. (I hate heels, don't own any. Didn't, even when working in IT management and wearing dresses/suits routinely.)That's an interesting observation. I've often played with wardrobe and the assumptions of others for fun, like dressing very casually (almost grunge) and browsing in a high-end clothing store, or checking out a mall real estate display. If you don't want to be approached by pushy salespeople, dress like you can't afford the merchandise. I would never have applied that principle to medical settings though. I tend to dress for convenience... if I know I'm going to need to strip for tests, I wear things that go on and off easily, no jewellery etc. When I went to Emergency last year I strongly suspected that surgery was going to be the end result (and I was right) so I deliberately chose loose comfy clothes that could go back on after surgery.
As an aside, when I was reading your "dress casual" examples, I initially misread one of the items as "black leather pants" and I thought "Oooh, GO Ann!"
I'm getting monthly Lupron injections and just wear shorts and a tank top, so they have easy access to various injection sites. However, if I'm going for a medical *consultation* type visit, I will dress up more so as to be taken more seriously.
I very rarely need to go to the bank in person, but I dress better for the customer service people than tellers.
I will never ever forget two people I saw at a job fair years ago. One was an older white woman in messy pig tails and a t-shirt that said, "I got out of bed this AM; what more do you want?" The other was a young black man who wore a suit. He was pulled out of line and taken out back. I imagine he walked away with a job.
Admittedly, when a medical professional knows me well from a long association, how I dress is less a consideration.
Coincidentally, I had a discussion with one of my friends about dressing more "white collar casual" for many medical appointments, because of my perception that I was treated as more educated if I did so. She was outraged that how a person dresses made this difference. Personally, I'm not outraged - kind of the opposite.
We expect our medical professionals not to overwhelm patients by explaining in arcane medical terminology that doesn't actually communicate. What are they - the medical folks, who are actual regular humans - to do? Of course they're going to use normal social cues to make their best first guess at how to communicate with patients, how technical or simple to be. What else could they possibly rationally do, as a starting point? Of course, if they guess wrong - either start out too technical, get blank stare or deer in headlights; or start out too simple, get detailed questions - I think it would be good if they adjust (and IME, the good ones -i.e., most of them - usually do).
For clarity, I support anyone's choice to dress in ways they find comfortable, convenient, otherwise desirable. But I think it's unreasonable to expect strangers to immediately grasp that stereotypes related to our style choices don't apply in our very special particular unique case. Our choices have consequences, and among those consequences is that others will assume things based on our appearance. Again, ideally, further interaction can quickly counter that stereotyping, but to expect it not to be the starting point is unrealistic.2 -
Baggy stretch pants, t-shirts and Crocs, which is the same way I dress even when I'm not in isolation or staying at home. I'm married & in my 40s and have nobody to impress & my husband loves that I'm low maintenance.1
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kshama2001 wrote: »When I go out, I switch into purpose-specific workout clothes for outdoor rowing/cycling (water shoes for rowing, running/cross-training shoes for cycling); jeans/plain t-shirts for errands and such (with cross-training shoes or casual leather shoes); and "dress casual" for medical appointments (plain t-shirts, nicer sweaters than for errands, black/gray dressier jeans/chinos or loose linen trousers, black leather shoes). I've found over the years that medical staff treat me as if I were smarter if I dress a bit more "white collar casual" vs. more "blue collar", so I do that for convenience. I don't do dress-up stuff often, but have a couple of simple dressy dresses for warm/cold seasons, and usually wear ballet flats with them. (I hate heels, don't own any. Didn't, even when working in IT management and wearing dresses/suits routinely.)That's an interesting observation. I've often played with wardrobe and the assumptions of others for fun, like dressing very casually (almost grunge) and browsing in a high-end clothing store, or checking out a mall real estate display. If you don't want to be approached by pushy salespeople, dress like you can't afford the merchandise. I would never have applied that principle to medical settings though. I tend to dress for convenience... if I know I'm going to need to strip for tests, I wear things that go on and off easily, no jewellery etc. When I went to Emergency last year I strongly suspected that surgery was going to be the end result (and I was right) so I deliberately chose loose comfy clothes that could go back on after surgery.
As an aside, when I was reading your "dress casual" examples, I initially misread one of the items as "black leather pants" and I thought "Oooh, GO Ann!"
I'm getting monthly Lupron injections and just wear shorts and a tank top, so they have easy access to various injection sites. However, if I'm going for a medical *consultation* type visit, I will dress up more so as to be taken more seriously.
I very rarely need to go to the bank in person, but I dress better for the customer service people than tellers.
I will never ever forget two people I saw at a job fair years ago. One was an older white woman in messy pig tails and a t-shirt that said, "I got out of bed this AM; what more do you want?" The other was a young black man who wore a suit. He was pulled out of line and taken out back. I imagine he walked away with a job.
Admittedly, when a medical professional knows me well from a long association, how I dress is less a consideration.
Coincidentally, I had a discussion with one of my friends about dressing more "white collar casual" for many medical appointments, because of my perception that I was treated as more educated if I did so. She was outraged that how a person dresses made this difference. Personally, I'm not outraged - kind of the opposite.
We expect our medical professionals not to overwhelm patients by explaining in arcane medical terminology that doesn't actually communicate. What are they - the medical folks, who are actual regular humans - to do? Of course they're going to use normal social cues to make their best first guess at how to communicate with patients, how technical or simple to be. What else could they possibly rationally do, as a starting point? Of course, if they guess wrong - either start out too technical, get blank stare or deer in headlights; or start out too simple, get detailed questions - I think it would be good if they adjust (and IME, the good ones -i.e., most of them - usually do).
For clarity, I support anyone's choice to dress in ways they find comfortable, convenient, otherwise desirable. But I think it's unreasonable to expect strangers to immediately grasp that stereotypes related to our style choices don't apply in our very special particular unique case. Our choices have consequences, and among those consequences is that others will assume things based on our appearance. Again, ideally, further interaction can quickly counter that stereotyping, but to expect it not to be the starting point is unrealistic.
I asked my partner to come with me to a doctor's appt today, as I was expecting bad news, which I did indeed receive. Without discussing this thread with him, he dressed "white collar casual."1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »When I go out, I switch into purpose-specific workout clothes for outdoor rowing/cycling (water shoes for rowing, running/cross-training shoes for cycling); jeans/plain t-shirts for errands and such (with cross-training shoes or casual leather shoes); and "dress casual" for medical appointments (plain t-shirts, nicer sweaters than for errands, black/gray dressier jeans/chinos or loose linen trousers, black leather shoes). I've found over the years that medical staff treat me as if I were smarter if I dress a bit more "white collar casual" vs. more "blue collar", so I do that for convenience. I don't do dress-up stuff often, but have a couple of simple dressy dresses for warm/cold seasons, and usually wear ballet flats with them. (I hate heels, don't own any. Didn't, even when working in IT management and wearing dresses/suits routinely.)That's an interesting observation. I've often played with wardrobe and the assumptions of others for fun, like dressing very casually (almost grunge) and browsing in a high-end clothing store, or checking out a mall real estate display. If you don't want to be approached by pushy salespeople, dress like you can't afford the merchandise. I would never have applied that principle to medical settings though. I tend to dress for convenience... if I know I'm going to need to strip for tests, I wear things that go on and off easily, no jewellery etc. When I went to Emergency last year I strongly suspected that surgery was going to be the end result (and I was right) so I deliberately chose loose comfy clothes that could go back on after surgery.
As an aside, when I was reading your "dress casual" examples, I initially misread one of the items as "black leather pants" and I thought "Oooh, GO Ann!"
I'm getting monthly Lupron injections and just wear shorts and a tank top, so they have easy access to various injection sites. However, if I'm going for a medical *consultation* type visit, I will dress up more so as to be taken more seriously.
I very rarely need to go to the bank in person, but I dress better for the customer service people than tellers.
I will never ever forget two people I saw at a job fair years ago. One was an older white woman in messy pig tails and a t-shirt that said, "I got out of bed this AM; what more do you want?" The other was a young black man who wore a suit. He was pulled out of line and taken out back. I imagine he walked away with a job.
Admittedly, when a medical professional knows me well from a long association, how I dress is less a consideration.
Coincidentally, I had a discussion with one of my friends about dressing more "white collar casual" for many medical appointments, because of my perception that I was treated as more educated if I did so. She was outraged that how a person dresses made this difference. Personally, I'm not outraged - kind of the opposite.
We expect our medical professionals not to overwhelm patients by explaining in arcane medical terminology that doesn't actually communicate. What are they - the medical folks, who are actual regular humans - to do? Of course they're going to use normal social cues to make their best first guess at how to communicate with patients, how technical or simple to be. What else could they possibly rationally do, as a starting point? Of course, if they guess wrong - either start out too technical, get blank stare or deer in headlights; or start out too simple, get detailed questions - I think it would be good if they adjust (and IME, the good ones -i.e., most of them - usually do).
For clarity, I support anyone's choice to dress in ways they find comfortable, convenient, otherwise desirable. But I think it's unreasonable to expect strangers to immediately grasp that stereotypes related to our style choices don't apply in our very special particular unique case. Our choices have consequences, and among those consequences is that others will assume things based on our appearance. Again, ideally, further interaction can quickly counter that stereotyping, but to expect it not to be the starting point is unrealistic.
I have to say, as a doctor, I find this all very strange.
It's my job to explain things in ways that people can understand. I base that on their responses to my questions, not what they are wearing.
I've treated toothless homeless people who got more technical, detailed information because they wanted it and were very invested in what I was saying and I've had executives who need crap dumbed down for them because their heads are so far up their a--es that they aren't really listening while I'm explaining things.
If dressing up for doctors legitimately gets people better care, then I apologize on behalf of my dumba-- colleagues.
Me? I always wear essentially loose pyjama type clothes that are easy to remove as needed. I hate fussing with clothes in examination rooms. I *always* wear a tank top to make taking blood pressure easy.1 -
Doctors and nurses are human too and have unconcious biases, just like the rest of humans.
and Ann wasnt saying getting dressed up gets better care - just that doctors subconciously pitch their dialogue at what appears to be the understanding level of the new patient - and of course adjust if their initial impression was off the mark.
Nothing dumb *kitten* or strange about that - it is just understanding human nature .
I think it is better to recognise that and have some self reflection on what one's prejudices or stereotypes might be, in order to avoid assumptions or bias- rather than think one is different to everyone else and has no biases or prejudices.
of course none of that relates to my intial OP though - since question was what you would wear in isolation and if that affects just your own mind set.1 -
paperpudding wrote: »Doctors and nurses are human too and have unconcious biases, just like the rest of humans.
and Ann wasnt saying getting dressed up gets better care - just that doctors subconciously pitch their dialogue at what appears to be the understanding level of the new patient - and of course adjust if their initial impression was off the mark.
Nothing dumb *kitten* or strange about that - it is just understanding human nature .
I think it is better to recognise that and have some self reflection on what one's prejudices or stereotypes might be, in order to avoid assumptions or bias- rather than think one is different to everyone else and has no biases or prejudices.
of course none of that relates to my intial OP though - since question was what you would wear in isolation and if that affects just your own mind set.
Exactly my point. It's normal, natural, human for doctors to start by pitching conversation based on what amount to statistical probabilities, and adjust from there based on early feedback from the actual conversation. Personally, I find it efficient to dress accordingly.
Of course I also dress in ways that facilitate the expected medical procedures, that are seasonally appropriate, that are consistent with my comfort and sense of personal style (or lack thereof) and all that jazz. None of those things are mutually exclusive.
And I'm 100% not saying I was treated worse medically or in terms of kindness or dignity when dressed in a more casual or working-class kind of way.1
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