Life After College in Detroit •

Suit Searching

Post-College Blues

How much does what you wear determine what you do? .

s a child, I once had

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

en I was a 21-year-old
college senior, I didn't
know the first thing
about buying an inter-
view suit. And everyone told me
something different about what
they believed to be the rule on suit-
wearing.
One friend said navy blue or
gray would get the "good" jobs. She
even suggested that women had
\ to pull their hair back off their
faces, forget make-up and only
wear nude nylons — supposedly
to make everyone appear the same
physically and thus stand out ac-
cording to skills and qualifications
I wanted a job, but not that badly.
Under those rules, nothing in
my closet qualified. Having
nowhere else to turn, I decided to
consult my parents.
My dad, a small business own-
,---'er, never followed a formal dress
code. In his office, ifs corduroy or
wool pants, sweaters, an occa-
sional tie but nothing fancy. He
hasn't interviewed for a job since
the time tab collars and wide cuffs
were in. And besides, men always
own a suit. My little brother
had his first by the time he
turned 5.
My mother, a travel
agent, only owns suits fit-
ting the description of
"classy," which she wears
for social occasions with
hose in colors like ice and

as a bitch, tough broad or lesbian.
Either way, you're viewed as a
woman first, businessperson sec-
ond.
Toward the end of senior year,
I became haunted by clothing. I
dreamt about suits. Even at par-
ties, I lapsed into suit talk. Even-
tually, I broached the topic with
my East Coast investment-banker
boyfriend. He owned four suits, all
in slightly different shades of navy
blue.
Go conservative, said John. "It
doesn't have to be blue. It could be
gray."
Out for dinner one night, we
stumbled upon a preppy women's
clothing store. He pulled me in-
side.
A saleswoman with platinum
blond hair led me to a rack. There
was a black suit, a tan suit, a gray
suit and of course, navy blue. "All
the young girls tend toward the
blue," she informed me.
The woman lifted a suit off the
rack, grabbed a starched white cot-
ton blouse with lace around the
collar, and led me to the dressing
room like a cow to pasture.
rrr f-)y John sat on asouch, leaf-
ing through the latest issue

longing for the coveted career lost
because I didn't wear the right
clothes. I'd have to live with the
thought that somebody else, in a
great suit, was succeeding at my
career.
The sociology of suit-wearing
goes deeper than mere shopping
stress. It's obviously a positive step
to have women in every corner of
the work force — from Wall Street
to Wal-Mart — looking the part.
But it's a catch-22.
On the one hand, we are forced
to copy the habits of men by don-
ning androgynous navy blue or
light gray ensembles, stripping
women of individuality and femi-
ninity.

of Money.

bit o'black.

My parents preached in- f`i'
dividuality and nonconfor-
mity instead of the old blue-suit
adage.
"Why would you want such a
`bland suit?' asked Mom. "Besides,
I don't want you working for a
company that doesn't hire you be-
cause of what you're wearing."
"Yeah, Lynnie," Dad piped in.
Issue unresolved, I landed an
interview for an internship with
Detroit Monthly. Desperate, I
dropped in on a female journalism
professor.
"My female colleagues agree
that those stiff, bland suits yell
`bank teller,' " she said. "I prefer to
wear blazers and skirts. If you get
them in neutral tones, you can mix
and match. Definitely don't wear
a full suit."
Really?
My outfit for the Detroit Month-
ly interview was a soft, floral skirt
and silk blouse. Still, I remained
\_--puzzled on one point: I couldn't let
silly thing like my outfit inter-
fere with landing the perfect job. If
I did, I would live my whole life
dreading work every morning,

)

But we are supposed , to be

women — feminine, yet tough;

smart, but attractive.
Bright colors and wild jewelry
will get you noticed, but likely not
in the way you want. A cleavage-
revealing silk shell under a jacket
will draw your colleagues' eyes
away from your presentation.
Three-inch stilletos in any color
are a no-no, and pumps in unnat-
ural shades like orangeish-red,
stark white or pink, scream Sweet
16. The overly floral route (Lau-
ra Ashley jumper or Land's End
shirtdress) could send your po-
tential employer on a quick calcu-
lation of how long you'll work
before leaving to carpool and cook
macaroni-and-cheese. And a skirt
above mid-thigh is dangerous
when you sit down.
But nine times out of 10, if you
wear a classy, subtle pant suit with
toned-down jewelry and a French
manicure, you might be classified

Done with school. Now what do I do?

He thought I was rebelling
against society by not suc-
cumbing to navy blue.
The suit issue represent-
ed more than I had orig-
inally realized — our
different suit opinions
mirrored divergent long-term
life goals.
When I looked in the minor,
I knew the gig was up. I tied not
to laugh — the skirt reached the
middle of my knee and the jacket
looked like one of Mr. Howell's on
"Gilligan's Island." John and the
saleswoman loved it. A second
woman flew to my side with pins
and a measuring tape. John's
glance was amorous.
I hated the suit; John thought
it was smashing. "Ifs what all the
women wear," he said. "In corpo-
rate America, you're not there to
be an individual — you're there to
be part of a team. So you wear the
team uniform."
A few months after we broke up,
I bought a bright red crepe suit.
The suit you pick does deter-
mine the kind of job you'll get. It
also represents the kind of life you
wan t to lead and the kind of per-
son you are.
And by the way, I did buy a
navy suit. It hangs in my sister's
closet — she's a teacher, I thought
she might like it. Wrong again. 0

cares what you do, and if you
don't figure out where you want
to go and start moving, you won't
get anywhere.
Enough of the bad news. Here
are some tips for overcoming
post-graduate culture shock and
getting on with your life. And
don't worry—my sad slacker sto-
ry turned out happily.
I interned fora year in Israel,
bor, I stopped at Oberlin one writing public-relations materi-
afternoon on the way back from als for a nonprofit organization,
visiting family in Pittsburgh.
then came back to the U.S. to
Wandering across the
write and temp and
familiar campus was se-
eventually landed a job
ductive, but eerie. I al-
at The Jewish News.
most felt that if I walked
And my best, friend is
down the street to my
now winding up a suc-
former house ofr-campus,
cessfixl stint in Panama,
all my friends from se-
as a Peace Corps volun-
nior year would be there,
teer.
waiting.
And the six months
But
seeing
one
young,
of
soul-searching
cured us at
of
E N E R zingennaes
ti / . 1,FE WIENER
unfamiliar face after an, JsTL
WRITER
glamorizing boring jobs
other, I was jolted back
into reality. I was not a student, and helped us realize what I
but a cashier at Zingennan's Deli wanted (and didn't want) fiorri a
in. Ann Arbor, I was living with career.
my best friend from college
Keep active. Sitting around
also a cashier - and neither of too long emdes self-esteem, mak-
us were sure what we was doing Mg even the smallest tasks seem
with the rest of our lives.
daunting.
Like our friends who were
Busy can be volunteering with
working in cafes and restaurants, an organization you believe in or
we'd thought our temporary jobs which is related to a career you
would be mindless fun, and that may want to pursue. Try an in-
in our spare time, we'd have in- ternship. Take a (not necessari-
tellectual discussions, read great ly academic) class.
books, do all the projects we
The more active you are, the
hasn't had time for in college and more you'll be learning about
launch brilliant careers.
yourself and enhancing your
Instead we came home after skills. Most importantly, you'll be
10 hour shifts complaining about meeting other people, who will
rude customers and aching feet be not only potential friends, but
With no energy for the projects possible job contacts.
we'd planned, we talked about Rhonda Brown, career center
work gossip, how overwhelming coordinator at Oakland Corn-
the world seemed and our fears 111Unity College's Orchard Ridge
that we'd be cashiers forever.
Campus, advises recent grads to
roe encountered very few peo- "consider every experience and
ple who graduated in the past opportunity as ajob-seeking one."
Ask people what they like and
decade and didn't experience at
least some depression their first don't like about their jobs. Find
ye a r out of college. Unless you are out how they found their job, if
one of those people who has they Imow of other jobs, what you
known your career path since age could do to get hired.
Be flexible So you can't find
12 and are bent on pursuing it
graduating from college is over- a full-tirrie job with benefits?
whehning.
ping gives Y°u
For more than 16 years, you've
Te,V
been part of a structured frarne- fitres
m tEig oe3ttydofdffr
pthe:e re
polenP
p tanrd
of:
work in which the expectations not get locked into something you
were clear Dottie work assigned hate. I once took a temp job as a
and try to get good grades. Peo- secretary`that led to a freelance
ple care what you write and public-relations writing contract
think, and they hand it back to
Don't be a drone. Even if
you've found the right job, try to
you with comment&
Now to the `'real . world': There keep an active life outside the of-
are no assigned classes. There flee. Striking a balance between
are no requirements. No one else work a.nd fun keeps you sane and
— except your parents — really prevents burnout El

a nightmare in which
I went home to find
ers walking around
my house and my family gone. I
felt panicky, unsure where to go.
I experienced that same sur-
real feeling of displacement six
months after graduating from
Oberlin College in Ohio. Al-
though I had moved to Ann Ar-

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