It's
been almost two months since I wrote last, but I'm still working from
home, and still trying to keep a semblance of sartorial standards. By
that, I mean at least I try not to scandalize my coworkers on the days I
have a video call, but still my daily attire certainly has reached new
heights of casual.
The
temperature routinely rises to 84 degrees in my house by the end of the
workday, so I'm committed to wearing the minimal amount of clothing
possible. I've completely given up on shoes, and have been sticking to
simple jewelry if I wear it at all. Wearing shorts to work has gone from
a novelty to an everyday occurrence, but most importantly, I've been shunning anything with sleeves.
Although I've made an effort over the last few years to get more short-sleeved graphic tops,
sleeveless tops haven't been subjected to the same type of push. That
wasn't much of a problem last summer, when I had my whole body to be my
canvas, but now that I'm dressing down daily and the only part of my
outfit that people can see is the shoulders, I pretty quickly ran out of
video-worthy clothes that excite me. It was becoming clear: I needed a
new collection of cute "Zoom tops." Yes, that's apparently what they're
calling the work-appropriate shirts you'd wear to wow your colleagues
during video chats, and I only have one.
As
soon as I realized this was a problem, I set about solving it with some
diligent online shopping—before realizing everything I needed was
already right under my nose. With boxes upon bins of clothes I'd been
planning to donate or sell, this was a prime opportunity to give new
life to some of the old stuff I'd given up on. Before long, I had dug up
two animal-printed gems—a T-shirt with grey elephants, and the already-much-refashioned bird dress.
I
had retired the elephant shirt because I'd recently gotten another
elephant-themed tee in a similar color, and I don't need an infinite
selection of T-shirts with elephants! I didn't like this one much,
because I didn't find its rounded hem, loose fit, or saggy-baggy breast
pocket to be a good look on me. To freshen it up, I removed the pocket
and shaved the pills off the fabric
to the best of my ability. I cut off the sleeves and hemmed the
openings, leaving just a little raw-edged cap at the top. Normally I
don't do cap sleeves, but removing the sleeves entirely would have left
me with something resembling a muscle tee, which I don't think is
work-appropriate, even with my new lower standards. The problem of the
rounded hem was easily solved by tucking the shirt in. I personally
think tucked-in shirts make me look dumpy, but I'm trying to expand my
horizons. A roomier fit on top is probably a good foil to the skimpy
short-shorts I favor.
But
I only have so much room in my heart for roominess; the other shirt to
come out of this mission is my usual close-fitting standard! This one,
the parrot dress, suffered from static cling even on the most humid July
day, and I was never fond of the sack-like fit or the dangerously short
length. But the bird print was A-one, and I was super-excited to revive
it in shirt form! I simply cut off and hemmed the bottom, added
princess seaming in the back, and attached the sash (now in 2 pieces!)
at the waistline, so it could be tied in the back for a fitted shape.
