It’s kind of nice being taken for a civilian. There are lunch breaks, out of doors. Away from your actual desk. When you take one, no one stares at you. Because you’re in civilian clothes. Just like everyone else.
I have arrived upon a system: When I wear a shirt for the day’s work, I place it at the back of the queue in the closet at the end of the day. The next morning, a new shirt offers itself up, is worn, and takes it’s place at the back of the stack, yesterday’s shirt advancing one step in the line. But as for the trousers? These I leave in their original order! Thus guaranteeing a certain degree of randomness in my sartorial display.
Having worn nothing but flight suits and khakis for the last three decades, I reckon this as something of a stroke.
The politics of the job are… interesting. It’s the acquisition world, not the operational one. It isn’t always about getting the mission done. Sometimes it appears to be about playing “stump the dummy.” So far I have avoided the cross hairs. Knowing full well that nothing lasts forever.
I work for a guy that was recently a lieutenant. Who works for a guy that is still a commander. Trying to be a team player and help out the side, I set up a meeting for a former colleague at the old job who is, like your correspondent recently was, a US Navy captain. And there was much rejoicing. For the access that was in it.
Until the assemblage started to ponder the consequences of briefing an Actual Captain. This would all have to be staffed through Higher Authority. Where there would be much tut-tutting and pulling of chins.
I positively weep.
But. They are all decent people, attentive to their duty, and I’m very happy to be a part of it. After all, it hasn’t got to be forever. It’s just for the now.
“Stump the dummy?”
*feeling like one*
All you need now, Cap’n, is one of those Ronco late-night TV closet specials. You know, the kind where y0u push a button and the rotary tie rack brings a new selection around the carousel.
I’m just certain you can rig it up to hold a shirt hanger. It’s a push-button fresh shirt delivery system (FSDS) from then on…
Lex,
I’m getting re-introduced to the world myself. Last week it was a “thought you were too busy or we would have tossed you at a job we have in Singapore for not more than a couple of weeks”. Today it was, “got a little job providing supervision and assistance to a project in VA Beach for a couple of weeks. You know, maybe next week.” All this on top of the regular jobs.
Would you care to call a Happy Hour at the Shakespeare anytime in the immediate future or are you too busy for that sort of thing these days? I could wear a big watch if that would make you more comfortable…… Just, don’t ask what time it is since none of my watches have survived the cell phone era.
Lex, your idea of placing shirts and trousers on separate queues is a masterstroke of genius. However, I must caution you against falling into the pit of the nuke crew.
You must wash the clothes before placing them back on the rack.
This has been a public service message.
– Max
I was thinking the same thing Max, Heh.
Here I am 16 years since I decided the USAF was not for me and I still do something VERY similar with my shirts. Primary reason was so that I did not wear the same shirt too often. I thought only I was that OCD
For the pants, since I work in a typical silicon valley company – it is jeans every day. Except for the days I wear shorts.
All the shirts are either blue or white, but all shirts go with any suit. And any tie goes with any suit. I’m not about to trust my sartorial taste. I have my fashion gurus with me when I buy, with the expectation that whatever I grab out of the closet will look at least normal, if not appealing.
Oh yeah. The last time I had to wear a suit and tie, for a funeral, a coupla years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a woman along as color consultant when picking a tie. Hey, I don’t care what it looks like, but some people apparently do care.
This is why I hate the efforts of teh wimminz and the kind of men who read GQ to make men’s clothing up-to-the-minute fashionable.
Uh, no. Uh, HELL no.
With a little tailoring just for fit, my Dad’s Hickey Freeman suit which he bought in 1940-something is still a respectable thing for me to wear anywhere.
Lex, civvies ain’t a uniform, but compared to what the girls feel the need to do, we still have it better than they.
The aquistion /DOD agency world has not been an easily digestable thing for me. However I am coming to the renewed appreciation that the Navy is light years ahead of the other services in a lot of ways.
Now if the Navy could just figure out a way to build ships.
Justthisguy … you need a woman who thinks like yours truly. When I graduated from college in 1951, I suddenly acquired the job of keeping my new husband looking nice. Back then, men were wearing pleated wide-leg pants in the Middle West, and exaggerated shoulder suit coats. Looked terrible. We standardized on khaki colored pants [flat front, no-pleats] and dark-colored blazers for casual/business, and grey flannel suits for more dressy/business.
Tell you what…the current husband wears pretty much the same thing now and always looks great to me. Thing about pleated trousers is, unless one is a very tall basketball player, they tend to make one look fatter than one is, or hopes to be. My husband is short, but he looks taller in flat front trousers. And dark blue or dark forest green blazers look great with khaki colored pants.
He needed a new dark blue suit to be a guest at a very dressy wedding last spring. His shape had changed [yours will too when you're 83] so we took our problem to Jos. Banks. They have a series of suits which have specially tailored pants in three different shapes which allow for [oh, let's be frank here, a little tummy protrusion]. He ended up looking gorgeous, and I ended up feeling proud.
Real and elegant fashion doesn’t change all that much.
Marianne
“After all, it hasn’t got to be forever. It’s just for the now.”Nicely put and oh, so true.”
Recommend the plain front pants – pleats make you look “old” accdg to my fashion advisers (daus) who threw out my entire closet. All this presumes presentable abs…(–*
When I wear a shirt for the day’s work, I place it at the back of the queue in the closet at the end of the day.
Just a suggestion: Wash them shirt every once in a while…
My rule has always been
Shirts – 4 hours + –> laundry
Pants – 2 days if still clean after the first, then –> laundry
Favorite clothes either get in more laundry cycles, or the closet has multiples of them.
I’ve always run a bit on the hot side, so even if I’m not out rolling in the dirt the shirts usually need an oil change by day’s end.
I like Chris Cooper’s remark in ‘The Kingdom’ “You’ve got to get your LL Bean on!”
Lex, your “system” is interesting but unnecessary. I figured that I had someone tell me what to wear everyday for over 20 years, so why stop now. I just let my wife figure it out. I started right out in a suit and tie kinda job (still am). I occasionally wear slacks and blazer on “casual Friday.”