Skirting the Issues

Pinch me please. My good friend and perennial purveyor of articles that might provoke a post from me during a particularly dry spell sent me a dilly last night. It was a piece about a piece advising young women starting out in legal careers to choose skirts and heels over pants and flats if they want to succeed.

Really! It didn't even have anything to do with showing a little leg. (Case in point: an elderly blind male judge routinely asked his clerk what women appearing before him were wearing; and no mention was made of his hands disappearing beneath his robe if the answer was "skirt.") The piece was all about women kowtowing to the prevailing view among older men that a woman wearing a "skirt suit" is powerful, competent, and grown up. Apparently, a young woman in pants and low heels, no matter how skilled she might be, is not to be respected. Even if she's really tall. Jeez, it's the twenty-first century and life beneath the glass ceiling is still in a state of chaos; it is, indeed, nasty, brutish, and short. Especially if you're a woman wearing flats.

My hideous experience the other night with premium denim that did not stretch as had been promised notwithstanding, I have proudly eschewed uncomfortable clothing for years. No Spanx, no control top pantyhose, no spiked heels except for black tie affairs. I still bare the scars of corns on my toes from foot squeezing pumps, can still recall the frustration of stuffing myself into a gait-restricting skirt suit and needing extra time to get where I was going. Don't even get me started on the delightful feeling of thighs rubbing together on a particularly hot day. Come to think of it though, the writer of the piece might be on to something. I may be comfy sitting here in Starbucks in my workout clothes, but I am not exactly being paid the big bucks for anything. No pain no gain, I suppose.

So what of short men? Why are they not expected to wear lifts to achieve credibility? And is there not a decent argument to be made for spending less time on frivolous pursuits like skirt shopping and more time on things that matter? Not that I really think most legal briefs matter, but, honestly, where's the substance in all of this? When the geezers who think women should be stuffed into strait jackets die off, there will be a whole new crop of unenlightened men running the show. If they decide bikinis are the way to go for credibility of young women in the work place, are we going to listen? Will there ever come a time when women become the sovereign voice on dress codes, when we can tell young men there is a direct correlation between success and wearing a Speedo to the office? (Lord, I hope not; just sayin'.")

I suppose we all need to follow some silly guidelines for making first impressions. But until somebody can prove to me that years of wearing skirt suits and foot destroying heels does anything to raise or retract the glass ceiling, I'm going to tell my daughters to work hard and play hard and love well, and to wear the proverbial pants -- both at work and at home -- as they see fit. If that means wearing a skirt and heels every once in a while, go for it. Ladies' choice.