Lately, I’ve noticed, at the store I work at on the weekends, a slight shift away from skinny jeans to cargo, painter, corduroy, khaki-style pants, and wide- leg jeans. I’ve also seen a looser version of casual pants worn with either equally loose tops or midriff tops, sneakers, platforms, chunky-soled loafers and boots.

These styles are reminiscent of the 1980s when baggy was in and TLC topped the charts. Although I’ve never been into the totally baggy silhouette I’ve always been a fan of the work pant look.

Paired with a delicate, feminine blouse, pearls, a scarf, and other pretty accessories that contrast baggie or rough and sweet it’s as charming as masculine and feminine.

An alternative to to these looks but one that’s nonetheless as rugged and charming is a jumpsuit made out of corduroy or denim, a pair of slouchy, or slim fitting jeans and overalls. Topped with a swanky vintage hat and retro coat also helps to turn this look around from plain to cool.

After reading Dress Your Best Life by Dawnn Karen and Sarah Chuck’s post about fashion uniforms I wondered if I could ever wear one since I’m such an eclectic fashionista.

Throughout what I hoped would be a thought-provoking experiment, I began with theme (masculine/feminine or vulnerable/strong) then I chose my individual components.

Initially, my my toppers consisted of button-down shirts under a pullover sweater and my bottom, a pair of Dickies overalls. Following the first day, however, I felt trapped and stifled by the denim so I decided to partially revise my uniform.

While I loved pairing the overalls with a white silver-trimmed ruffled pull over sweater from Macy’s with a dark blue denim button-down Universal Threads denim shirt from Target I didn’t love how much of a rut I’d be putting myself in if I repeated the pattern. So, instead I decided to pair different pants with the sweater and button-down shirt combo, making the top portion of the outfit the uniform.

On the second day, I wore an off-white crocheted sweater over a light blue and white button-down, Abercrombie and Fitch shirt, and red plaid pants. Unlike the outfit I wore the first day, this one was a mix of secondhand and contemporary with a sweater and button down hailing from two thrift, stores, (Council and Goodwill) and the pants from H & M.

When I re-examined what story, I was trying to relate with my revised uniform. I came up with strength overcoming adversity. I examined the events and occasions I’d have to contend with during the week, such as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on Monday, work as a Special Education Instructional Assistant Tuesday through Friday, and a yearly visit with my oncologist Wednesday and assessed whether or not my uniform would function effectively and be a winner.

Unexpectedly, I realized my uniform was a winner when I had to go to the ER on Thursday, because I was severely anemic and needed four blood transfusions. Anxious and exhausted, the soothing texture of the crocheted pull over sweater, and the soft, harmonious light blue and white palette of the button-down contrasting with the vivid red of my plaid pants made me feel internally calm enough to deal with such a stressful situation.

On Friday, the last day I wore this uniform was easy enough and consisted of a vintage off-white Williwear sweater vest over a blue and white striped shirt from H & M and a pair of wide leg jeans. Comfort was on my mind, after such a harrowing week, so I kept it light. Blessed with a low-stress day, minus a lot of unnecessary drama, I ended my experiment on a high note.

While I’m still not a fan of uniforms, this type of dressing does have one advantage it helps you dress well, in a pinch, during a busy and unpredictable work week.

One Wednesday morning when I woke up, I didn’t know what to wear, but for some reason I was feeling the color brown. Famous for being grounded, secure, and mature the outfit I ended up wearing- a vintage off-white belted cardigan, brown plaid shirt, beige fashion tee and brown sweatpants caused a co-worker to comment, “You have on every type of style!”

My story was all over the place that day, and wouldn’t have made sense, if I hadn’t been feeling brown. At times, when I wear a monochromatic outfit, I accent it with a contrasting color by accessorizing with a scarf, hat, or purse, but this time I felt like wearing one color that I could sink into as long as it was well coordinated.

Emotionally the outfit made me feel calmer and more collected than I usually am on Wednesday, so I guess mood-wise it did the trick. So the next time I need to feel like the earth is steady beneath my feet I’ll choose brown again.

Caucasian woman I saw at Kaiser-Permanente Cadillac, taking photos and wearing a tight leather jacket, skinny jeans (cuffed), brown suede ankle boots and a cool short coif.