I have a confession to make. Not anything scary or worrisome, mind you, but definitely something that needs to be addressed, especially at this stage of my life (where I am–somewhat reluctantly–becoming the professional young woman I am ~destined~ to be). If you know me at all, or have ever seen me from a distance at some point or another, this might not come as a huge surprise, but I still feel like I need to come clean.

I am addicted to wearing (and finding, buying, and collecting) printed, button-down shirts. My stockpile of these shirts, constantly growing, consists of all kinds of patterns and styles, mostly of the loud, colorful, and Hawaiian print variety. I can imagine you might be a little skeptical here–how can someone be addicted to a kind of shirt? Well, dear reader, let me lay it down for you.

This is pretty much me at any given moment in the day, to be honest-silly faces and all.

At the very moment this post is being written, I have approximately 15 short-sleeve, patterned, button-down shirt hanging in the lower shelf my closet that I rotate through during the week. About 7 or 8 of those are regulars, and very likely ones that you might have seen me wearing around campus or in a photo of me on Facebook. But, I have been known to ‘switch it up,’ as the kids say, and throw one of the less-worn shirts into my weekly routine, just to keep things interesting.

You might be saying, “15 Shirts? Why, that doesn’t seem like that many.” But wait, my friends, there’s more. Hanging directly to the left of this small portion of my collection is my hoard of long-sleeve, patterned, button-down shirts–about 13 in all. These are just as patterned and fun, however, they are a little more subtle in the choice of color, and I sometimes wear the least-obnoxious ones to my on-campus job. As I get to know my office better (I only started working there at the end of September), I think I’ll get a little more adventurous in my choice of patterned attire, but for now, I’m trying to keep it as subdued as possible.

“Okay, so that is kind of a lot of shirts,” you’re probably thinking to yourself, “but not what I would call an addiction.” Now, my cynical comrade, comes the revelation that will put everything into perspective. Under my bed, folded in one of those giant, cobalt blue plastic bags from IKEA, is another 18 of these shirts–of the short-sleeve variety, naturally–that are just waiting to be hemmed and shortened (pro-tip: if you’re trying to break into the ‘fun, Hawaiian shirt’ market, be advised that almost all of the shirts you are going to find in thrift stores are going to range in size from Large to XXXXL, not kidding). I am trying to make myself sew one shirt per weekend, but so far, that hasn’t happened yet…but, then again, there’s always next weekend!

The point is, my wardrobe pretty exclusively consists of a mixture of all these shirts, as well as equally tacky and loud sweaters and t-shirts–and it’s been this way almost my entire life at Scripps, where I’ve really grown into my own sense of style. I would describe it as comfy, somewhat silly, and very effortless: I can just throw on one of these bad boys, and boom!! Instant outfit. So, naturally, when I think about what I’m going to wear once I re-enter “the real world,” I get a little apprehensive about giving up my preferred shirt-style of choice. Of course, my major being media studies, and my intended career path lying somewhere within the entertainment/media sphere, I am not really anticipating the need to wear a pant-suit, blazer, or anything as “professional” as that on a daily basis. But, on the other hand, I am realistic enough to realize that, at some point in the not-so-distant future, my days of rolling out of bed, throwing on a geometric-print, rainbow button-down, and walking out the door, will soon be over.

My clothes are a huge part of my personal expression, and learning how to compromise what I can and can’t wear in an appropriate work setting is definitely something that has been weighing on my mind as of late. Will it affect my job search? Probably–working in a huge corporate office where a strict dress-code is enforced doesn’t really sound all that appealing to me, even if they do allow for a “Casual Friday” every once in a while. Because I’m not yet sure exactly what it is that I want to do after I graduate, it’s both easier and harder to imagine the kind of setting I am envisioning myself functioning in–easier because the job field is pretty open ended at this point, but harder because I don’t really know what kinds of jobs or careers to look for that could possibly allow me more freedom of expression through my choice in clothes.

Exhibit A: Solange absolutely killing the compromise game, showing off the perfect blend between fun and professional (ish) that I am definitely open to exploring.

Perhaps my desire to retain my personal style will steer me towards the right kind of job that is perfect for me–whatever that might be: hopefully something fun, interesting, and that will allow my creativity, passion, and and personality shine through. I’m trying not to stress about it that much right now, what with thesis drafts looming right around the corner, but I know that I’m not the only one thinking about some of the smaller details that accompany almost all post-grad plans. Focusing on getting a job is great, but there is so much more that comes with just finding “the job,” such as the dress-code, or the hours, or the kinds of sacrifices and negotiations that will have to be made once the job offer is accepted. It’s definitely helpful to keep these kinds of details in mind–but, this early in the job-search game, I wouldn’t recommend getting super worked up about it just yet.

All I know for certain is that wherever I go, and whatever I end up doing, I will definitely be bringing at least some (preferably large) portion of my shirt collection with me. But, as of right now, I know that I always have at least one go-to interview question lined up if I ever run out of more pertinent things to say:

“Does your workplace participate in Aloha Friday? Or Casual Tuesday? Or wacky-shirt-Wednesday? Or literally any other kind of day-of-the-week + fun-shirt combo? Just wondering…..”