#professional stuff

Comfort is the most important thing for me. I’m weird about textures and seams and things touching my neck. So first I make sure whatever I’m wearing won’t drive me insane. I know I’m good with linen, silk, and alpaca wool (occasionally other kinds of wool). Cotton is typically okay unless it’s mixed with something. Polyester is a no. Most synthetics are a no. Anything that’s crepe-y/bubbly is a no.

I also have anxiety and sweat more when I’m nervous. This means that, for professional clothing, I have to wear a dark color for my top, or a fabric/pattern that doesn’t show sweat. Which means I typically get creative/colorful with my bottoms and any blazers/sweaters.

I love bodysuits because they cling in a comforting way, don’t get weirdly bunched up/require fiddling with, and are generally flattering. So most of my base top layers are bodysuits.

Keeping that in mind, I have two ways I purchase clothes.

The first is in-person thrift stores, in which I look for the aesthetics I enjoy, then weed out non-starters via the fabric tags.

The second is via ThredUp (an online thrift store), which lets me start my search by filtering out the kinds of fabric I don’t like, and then I can base my entire search process on what I find most pretty.

I guess the best advice I have is to find an outfit you feel most confident/comfortable in. And then figure out what components of that outfit make you feel that way. Is it the way the blouse hugs your ribcage? Or the way your pants sit high on your waist? The chunky heel on your boot that gives you a couple more inches in height? Once you’ve figured that out, try to replicate those aspects with new clothing items until you have a nice little selection.

Here are pics of my professional outfits from the last 3 years. Everything is thrifted. And you’ll notice I re-use items a lot even as I move back and forth between more fem to more masc looks.