To wear a blazer or not to wear a blazer, that is the question: whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous uppity fashion, or to take arms against a sea of bad fashion.
Enough Shakespeare… So, I started wearing a blazer at the office this week. It’s definitely a step up from what I usually wear – namely a graphic tee, a pair of jeans, ankle sock, sneakers, and a zippered hoodie. The blazer acts as a replacement for the zippered hoodie. I originally started wearing zippered hoodies because they’re comfy, the pockets are convenient, and they cover me up outside well.
The problem is that zippered hoodies aren’t a good substitute for a decent rain jacket in the Seattle, and the bunching up around the back of my neck has been annoying me slightly more these days.
As such, I decided to be a grown up and settle on a coat specifically for outside use, and keep a suit jacket I could keep at the office for when I feel like I want something more than a t-shirt on my arms. The suit jack does have the practical pockets, and the comfort. Actually, I really don’t know how much of an adult I’m being; I do have a Nintendo Seal of Quality t-shirt on underneath that blazer after all, as you can see in the photo. A metaphor for a man-child trying to be professional, perhaps?
Predictably, you’ll likely get looks and comments, all good though, but if you’re like me (i.e. somebody who considers sweatpants to be business casual) you will raise some eyebrows. So far, I’ve gotten “Look at you, all fancy!”, “Hello, boss.”, and my personal favorite “Good morning, Mr. Gentleman.”
Being the proverbial class clown that I am, I couldn’t help making jokes when somebody brought up my blazer like “Ya, I’ve got a job interview later this afternoon.”, “My wife made me wear it.”, or “I got a side-gig as an encyclopedia salesman.“
So far, I’m definitely enjoying the trade-up of the hoodie for the blazer. I get looks, but ain’t that part of point? Covid is over. We’re back in the office. Embrace the office attire. Lastly, I work for mother-effing Nordstrom, and we make blazers look good!