When I was a young legal intern in Chicago, I was very conscious of looking the part. In retrospect, it’s painfully obvious that I didn’t really look the part (fashion has never been a real strong suit), but I certainly thought I was trying. The dresses, the suits, the jackets, the shoes. So I was almost scandalized when I first saw a secretary from my office walking to the “el” (elevated train form of public transit) after work in tennis shoes with her classy skirt.
I had the audacity to think she looked funny…and certainly not like a professional. Professionals wore heels and moms at home, or those who had to work on their feet all day, or women playing sports wore tennis shoes. I sort of admired her chutzpa – most of the women hurrying to and fro wore the same uncomfortable heeled shoes I wore – but I never had the guts to follow suit, or rather…shoe.
Now, twenty-something years later, I just laugh at my foolishness. As the owner of my own business working from home, I can look whatever part I want. And I want to be a woman comfortable in tennies (or sneakers as we called them where I grew up!) or heels.
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