On April 1, I attended “You Do You: A Gender Inclusive Professional Style Workshop,” an event sponsored by the Office of Internship and Career Development & the Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion. This workshop was created and facilitated by Agnes Scott alum, Courtney Creer ’13. It was designed to encourage students to explore and find their personal styles as well as to think about ways to incorporate that into the workplace.
When I walked into the room, I was pleasantly surprised by the seemingly countless amount of “Glamour” Magazines sprawled across the table and Scotties intensely rummaging through the magazines, carefully ripping out the pages that inspired them. They were working on creating their vision boards with pictures they felt reflected themselves, their styles, and their inspirations. I eagerly found a seat and began to join them in the process. Although I am pretty active on Pinterest, I had never taken the time to cut out and glue inspiring pictures to a board before. Before I knew it, I was so concentrated on the project that I barely knew what was happening around me.
This opportunity allowed me to be able get a better sense of what inspires me. Usually, when it comes to fashion I simply add a bunch of nice outfits to my Pinterest or give a cute shirt a second glance in a magazine; however, this time, I was mindfully thinking about what I liked about certain outfits/ articles of clothing and why I liked them. This allowed me to become more conscious of what I liked. When I go shopping, I usually find myself collecting clothes because I think they’re cute or because they’re on sale, but end up never wearing them because they don’t really fit my style.
While looking at my finished product, I noticed many things about my style and the way I present myself through clothes. One thing I noticed was that I have a thing for patterns… especially leopard print. My board had two leopard print shoes and a leopard print clutch. Another thing I realized I was particularly fond of is sequins and glitter. My board also had a significant amount of gold accent pieces, (faux) furs, and various other clothing designs that were just straight up extra. I found this funny because I generally tend to be more on the reserved side and am not very adventurous with my clothes.
The process of making the vision board allowed my subconscious to tell me that deep down, I want to be more adventurous and expressive with my clothes and I intend to do just that! Although I haven’t had the opportunity to explore this yet, that is definitely a new task that has been added to my list. At first, I was unsure of how I could incorporate this “extraness” into my everyday life; however, the panel of alum that was held after we completed our vision boards reassured me of my ability to freely express myself in any setting. They gave tips about how to budget, how to work around a dress code, and how to make sure a workplace will suit your form of self-expression (via hairstyles and clothes).
I am so glad that I was able to attend this event! Now, I feel more confident and prepared to express myself in a way that suits my personal tastes and styles as opposed to “playing it safe.” I encourage my fellow Scotties to take advantage of future ASC events like these in order to advance both their personal and professional ways of life.