Work at home wardrobes: then and now
Spring Fashion
Written by cjhammon in Life in Yesterday's Clothes, Style
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What have you missed the most that you didn’t pack? This is the question my Mom asked of me on the third Thursday of our stay in Florida. Honestly, I haven’t missed a thing from home. Not. A. Stinking. Thing.
When I turned the question around, she rattled off a list. Sandals? That I understood. It’s been warm, and I’ve been loving mine all month. Swiffer dust cloths? Uh, no. They haven’t yet crossed my mind. Perhaps I’m not as embarrassed about that as I should be.
Women today spend half as much time cleaning house, compared to women in the 1960s. That’s according to a recent study in the UK, where women spend about 18 hours per week on cleaning and other domestic chores. (Divide it in half again, and it might come close to my effort.) Thanks to dishwashers, washing machines and other appliances, our workload is lighter at home. Do I ever think about those conveniences? Do you? Probably not. We take them for granted.
Growing up in the 1960s, I remember Mom with a dust rag in her hand. It’s not hard to believe that she spent an estimated 44 hours per week on domestic chores—the average for women of her era. That’s a full-time work-at-home job, ladies.
A friend once told me that her mother did housework in a dress and heels a la June Cleaver. Not my Mom. For as long as I can remember, her work uniform for housework has been jeans and a shirt.
As a work-at-home writer, my work uniform certainly isn’t the stuff fashion blogging. Sometimes, it’s nothing more than yoga pants and a sweatshirt. If I’m really busy, they allow me to steal a quick workout whenever there’s a break in the day.
Tell the truth: what’s your work-at-home style? I love this article showing 70 start-up women and what they wear to work at home.
2 comments
Marlow said:
January 23, 2015 at 11:41 am
I listen to audio books borrowed from the local library while I clean house. I tuck a vintage Sony Walkman into a pocket on a big bib apron. Having someone read a story to me while I work takes the tedium out of rearranging the same dust, and the apron pocket lets me carry the device with me wherever I go. The clothes underneath the apron are usually not very stylish.
Jill said:
January 23, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Hmm, when I worked from home I was definitely more casual than the office. My uniform these days, a comfy pair of denim and a tee with a sweater. Unless it is summertime, then all bets are off, it may be a cute skirt or pair of shorts, or a dress. No matter what I am wearing I am comfortable. If something itches, I take it off, if it is somehow too tight now, I take it off! Oh yes, I love my Jack Purcell slip on canvas shoes by Converse. I can wear them with almost anything to almost anywhere.