Tuesday, October 04, 2005

So I got myself a job. As in a real job. With a yearly salary (albeit not a tremendously impressive one, but that's alright), health insurance, 401(k) plan, my own office with (gasp!) a window, the works. In my head, getting a job was this long-term project that I would venture into slowly by first dipping my toes in and just sort of splashing around (or should I say interviewing around) until sometime in December, at which point I would be desperate enough to accept just about anything I was offered. I had this impression because of "war" stories I've heard from the jobless law school graduate trenches. But somehow, that didn't quite happen. What did happen was that I got myself a part time job, and meanwhile went on 3 interviews. A couple of days after my 1st interview, I got an offer. And an hour after my second interview I got another offer, and the next day (after hours of agonizing) I accepted that 2nd offer.

And since then it's been this whirlwind of me running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to buy business suits. And let me tell you, buying suits for someone who's under 5 feet tall is an extremely tricky business. Can you imagine the frustration when you finally come across a skirt that fits perfectly, only to discover that the jacket is too small, or try on a lovely jacket with huge un-alterable pants? It's torturous! But today, today was a beautiful day. Because I discovered SYMS - yes, that store which proclaims that an educated consumer is their best customer, that store which I always thought was ultimately UNcool. Well, apparently SYMS sorts out their clothes by sizes. And by some miracle, they have a whole section with "Petites", and among those petites there are small sizes which actually fit me without need for major alterations. And did I mention how good the prices were? After buying (and returning) 2 suits at Ann Taylor Loft for full price, SYMS was a dream come true.

I completely forgot why I started writing this post, which is to ask whether a skirt in a business suit must be below the knee, or whether it should reach the knee, or even be a little above the knee. The skirts I bought are all about 2 or 3 inches below the knee, and my husband thinks this is exactly as it should be. I, on the other hand, am more inclined to alter the skirts to make them shorter. Who is right?