Well, I’m looking at my closet again and feeling bad about the waste.
I spent all these years building a business casual wardrobe for the office, but now that I’m working from home permanently, and the totality of my professional human interaction will be from the shoulders up, I’m realizing I don’t need 90% of what I own, and the remaining 10% isn’t meeting my needs. I’ll be slowly putting up a lot of my clothes for sale on Poshmark if you guys are interested.
One category of clothing in my closet that is definitely over represented is sweaters. In the office of the old days, the male overlords had the AC inexplicably blasting at all times. It was almost always freezing cold. This led to my steady (over-)accumulation of light sweaters and cardigans. As a result, I didn’t bother purchasing nice blouses or nice short sleeved tops because it was pretty much a guarantee that they’d get covered up by sweaters anyway.
These days, I’m keeping the temperature at home comfortably at 72 degrees F. A sweater feels fine for a short while at this temperature, but after about an hour of work, I feel overheated and need to rip that extra layer off. So now I’m in need of a few more presentable short sleeved tops. My criteria is simply that they feel timeless and easy.
I recently found this oversized mandarin collared shirt at Alter and love it. The coconut shell button detail that goes almost all the way up to the top adds a little formality but remains casual and easy. I might layer a chunky gold chain necklace with it next time to add some visual interest. For bottoms, I’ve been gravitating towards loose pull-on styles in the same color as my tops. I’ve been enjoying the look of pajama sets, and try to re-create a similar look by wearing matching pants whenever I can.
In the previous post, I mentioned purchasing the Baggu cloth masks. Well, they arrived and I love the shape and colors, but I’m not a fan of how humid they feel in hot weather. There’s obviously some trade-off between protection and breathability when it comes to fabric masks though, so some might prefer a thicker fabric for safety reasons. I’m personally sticking with reusing my more breathable disposable masks when the weather is very hot (the electrostatic filtering property compensates for higher breathability). That being said, I still recommend the Baggu masks, especially for the cold winter months when you might enjoy some added warmth. It’s also worth noting that they wrinkle easily when machine washed and dried, so to keep them looking sharp, you’ll need to quickly press them with an iron, which might have been a deal breaker had I known before I ordered.
We are settling into our new place and I still have so much more I want to share with you all. Maybe I’ll throw in a recipe or a DIY decor project in a future outfit post.
Did you watch the Studio McGee Netflix special yet (Dream Home Makeover)? If not, what are you waiting for?!! I’ve been a big fan since their early days, so it’s exciting to see them get this big. I was crying into my red wine by episode two, lol. But seriously it was a joy to binge watch all 6 episodes in one sitting and catch a break from the relentless bad-news-cycle.
Dr. it girl 
I had to double check what kind of dr you are since I forgot! Do you think more psychiatrists will be permanently remote? I feel you on the work from home wardrobe. I’m a medical editor and I live super close to my job but there’s no reason for me to be in the office. I expect I’ll go back just because the culture is in person (micro and molecular bio) but not full time… and that could be a while from now. But at home work clothes just feel less exciting. I always wore short sleeves because I overheat in a very unladylike fashion even in the winter. I don’t know, this isn’t coherent, but I like your blog and hope you talk more about wfh life/style. Did you invest in any wfh office stuff? My husband and I bought standing desks, nice ones that were $$ but made a difference.
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Hi Amy! Most psychiatrists are working from home these days, and I think there will be a lot more that choose to do so permanently from here on out. One barrier to fully transitioning is the Ryan Haight Act that requires physicians to see patients in person at least once per year if they are prescribed controlled substances. In addition there are some conditions and medications in psychiatry that require a physical exam (although not many). The vast majority of patients, though, will be able to be seen through telehealth. Generally, the evidence shows that psychiatric care through telehealth is just as good as in person. Patient satisfaction is high and it makes getting help more accessible to people who live in low resource areas. Back when I worked in the hospital, it was very difficult to see patients while wearing a face mask. It was harder to show emotion and empathy through a mask, and harder to pick up cues from the patient when half their face was covered. But anyway, thanks for the nice words. I will definitely be posting more about WFH related topics, including my desk set up.
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I wouldn’t call the clothing you’re not wearing/selling because of the shift to working at home waste, and I wouldn’t feel bad about it. You built a wardrobe that made sense for the life you had, and are changing as your life shifts. It’s great that you’re selling items and finding good homes for the items you bought – you’re passing them on in a responsible manner, and that’s important.
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You’re right. You might even say that I’ve graduated from this wardrobe, haha.
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Each time I’ve switched jobs (3 times total since graduating law school), I’ve felt like my work wardrobe needs were materially different even if all those jobs where in the NYC metro area and were all in the same industry and had the same official dress code (business casual most of the time, some business formal). So I can only imagine how much is changing for your wardrobe needs now that you’re switching to full-time work from home! Looking forward to your future posts, and to hearing about your new living space.
I’ll check out the Studio McGee show on Netflix! I wasn’t familiar with them before so the show didn’t initially catch my eye.
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I’m excited for you to watch the show. There’s a ton more content on their youtube channel if you’re interested in interior design. Enjoy!
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