Working Woman Style: Molly, librarian
Welcome to the next installment in the Working Woman Style series! Many of my badass blog friends are also earning a living in fields other than blogging, so I asked a few of them about what they do for work and their approach to workwear. I hope you find this series informative, helpful, and inspiring!
Next up is Molly, the blogger behind Librarian Style. She’s one of my favorite follows on Instagram; I’m obsessed with her colorful California style and jealous of her proximity to the ocean and her many California adventures! As a librarian, she also often shares her current reads, and I appreciate her many book recommendations.
Working Woman Style: Molly, Librarian
I’ve lived a thousand lives on the internet, having come of age in the AOL era and joined Facebook when it was only for college students. My online life book blogging inadvertently and accidentally led me to a career in librarianship, and my current blog was born out of a desire to cultivate a life outside of my work with limited success—my identity and even my blog is very much tied to my professional work in lots of ways (it’s called Librarian Style). Still, I manage to write about what I do in my personal life, including vegetarian cooking, travel, wine, and yes, I still write about books. But it also chronicles my journey finding a personal style within the constraints of the limited options for larger bodies. And if you’d asked me in 2020, I’d have said I figured it out.
I wrote a guest post on what I wear to work almost two years ago on a blog I’ve been reading as long as I’ve been reading Kimi’s. At the time I had just made a big career transition, as well as some intense life changes: moving to California, quickly being promoted in my job (twice), surviving a natural disaster, losing my mother. Surely I’d had enough time to get comfortable in this skin and figure out how to be. I even documented 10 weeks of work outfits on my blog over a year.
And then the pandemic happened.
This is my favorite Anthropologie dress (above left) that I used to only wear on weekend wine tastings and to converts at the Santa Barbara Bowl, and then this year decided I could wear to work. When Anthropologie first started carrying plus sizes, I was overjoyed. Since I was in college I’d loved the aesthetic of their vintage-y boho vibes but never really could find that style in my size. This Madewell bubble sleeve sweater is my favorite item I’ve purchased in the past year. The fit is great and the sleeves make me smile. Slip-on vans complete the look (and every look—I have several colors and prints to coordinate with pretty much anything in my wardrobe). This bag is from a local 3rd generation artisan leather company, Make Smith.
Sweater blazers by J Crew are a godsend for when you want to look put together but also be comfy. I have one in camel and this blush color, and both are in regular rotation (above right). They do pill, but I bought a sweater shaver and giving them a trim made them look as good as new. The Madewell top is such a fun print. These Nisolo mules look put together but are also comfy, and they are ethically made.
So much about everyday life has changed over the past year, and a lot of these changes are much more profound than clothes. But clothes reflect our reality, and through them we construct identity. I’d been focusing on building a wardrobe that reflected where I was in my career and what I thought that meant. For a while I was struggling with imposter syndrome and wondering how I had become a manager and worrying everyone was going to notice my tattoos and nose ring and realize they’d made a mistake.
My job as a librarian brought me to Santa Barbara, and a new climate, and a much more formal city, and I felt I had to compromise a lot. A few of my co-workers said things like “women should always wear dresses” and would never come to the office in jeans, and I didn’t realize how much they were influencing me (even if I outranked them) until they had moved on to new positions or different departments. Now, when I dress up, it’s for me and not because I think anyone expects it of me.
Over the last year, cute block heels and sheath dresses and blazers did not help me navigate running a department of a city government and maintaining public service while our building was closed to the public. The pandemic peeled back layers and brought me back to my self. In a way, it’s one of the silver linings I’ve found in all the trauma and loss and uncertainty of the past year.
These Only Child tencel cove pants (above left) were a big splurge, and to be honest, they haven’t held up in the wash as well as I’d thought, but I love the rust color and am glad I gave them a try. I’d been only wearing skinny jeans and straight leg slacks for a long time, but now I’m all about wide leg and “soft” pants. Eileen Fisher is great when you can get it on sale, and I love this black blazer (I also have the matching pants).
The last year has made me feel more confident about mixing prints, and I love this stripe tee with the J Crew pleated midi skirt (above right). I have this skirt in multiple colors and it’s key to one of my favorite outfit formulas. I absolutely did not need these slip on Vans but loved the print.
The last year let me get back to my more casual roots, embrace comfortable footwear, and loosen the strict divide between work and not-work clothes. Some of my wardrobe has stayed the same, but I’ve sent a ton of clothes to Thred Up and donated even more, and purposefully invested in more sustainable and ethically produced clothes from brands like Free Label, Christy Dawn, and Only Child, but still shop at favorites like Anthropologie, Universal Standard, Madewell and Nordstrom. In January I also started a Nuuly subscription, and it’s been fun to get to test drive different styles (and refresh my wardrobe without committing to owning a piece that would take up more space in my tiny closet). If I had to just pick one place to shop, it would be Universal Standard. They do quality basics and a few pieces with personality that are well made and have the largest size run of any retailer. I’ve never been disappointed from any garment from them.
Pre-pandemic, I wore a lot of dresses and cardigans, sometimes blazers and slacks. Jeans only on Fridays, and a full face of makeup every day.
Now, I’ll wear jeans whenever I want. Since I’m wearing a mask anytime I’m around anyone else, I rarely wear makeup. Dresses I’d previously thought too casual or fun for work I wear with slip-on Vans and cardigans with dramatic sleeves. T-shirt dresses from Universal Standard now seem completely work appropriate. The only blazers I’ve kept are sweater blazers or linen. Who says you can’t wear something boho to work? I used to have a much more tailored look for the office, now I am all about flowy outfits and wide leg pants in linen or tencel. Most of my outfits are comfy and cute enough for a dinner out, but some are practical enough for a bike ride—I now sometimes check in on operations at our neighborhood branches by cycling across town.
The only thing I’ve decided is definitely off limits for work are my collection of ironic or quirky graphic tees, leggings, sneakers, shorts, and sandals (closed toe shoes are part of the dress code).
I might not have had the confidence to wear this busy plaid sweater blazer from Anthropologie a year ago (above left), but I love it and I’m over what anyone thinks! The colors make me so happy. These Sam Edelman loafers are the best, and I recently go another pair in fuschia patent leather, too.
Universal Standard makes several styles of t-shirt dresses, and I have them all, but this Geneva in raspberry (above right) makes me feel sassy and fun (I got the petite version). These Dansko Mary Jane clogs are the most comfortable and versatile shoe. I wear them constantly.
Work from home wasn’t a big part of my life the past year, and for that, I’m grateful. City government is essential and so my office was always available (there were many weeks I spent more time there than at home). If I’m going to be on Zoom for several hours, I might work from my couch, but for the most part I feel much more productive at my standing desk with a big computer and monitor rather than on my laptop on a TV tray.
I did just buy a pair of Ugg slippers to keep at my desk for when my feet get cold, because that was the one perk of being at home I missed. My number one office wardrobe hack is to dress for the climate control of your building, not the weather outside. For me, this means keeping an extra sweater and a scarf at my desk, and now that I’ve just leaned into cozy and gotten the office slippers, I’m never cold no matter how high the air conditioning is blasting.
No matter what field you go into, I’d still advise not to take a job where you can’t show your personality and personal style at work. Sure, there are norms and dress codes and practical considerations to be made for a work wardrobe, but if your boss is judging you solely based on your clothes, it’s a red flag. I’m actively trying to disrupt notions of what is “professional” in terms of dressing for work, because the term has long been weaponized and used to reinforce racism, sexism, and classism. People often share the advice “dress for the job you want” but I say dress for the person you want to be.
Thank you sooo much for being a part of the series and sharing your insights and advice, Molly! Be sure to follow her blog and Instagram and stay tuned for more in the Working Woman Style series!