B School Basics – Building a Wardrobe
Fashion is not the military’s strong suit. Neither form nor function are points of considerations – witness both infamous pickle suit and physical fitness training shorts that feel like wearing sandpaper (try them). Not only are the choices bad, but soldiers are told what to wear pretty much every day. It is no wonder transitioning veterans have a difficult time compiling a decent civilian closet. Workplace Wears to the rescue. Recent b school grad, fashion blogger, and founder of Workplace Wears, AnneMarie Vignola (be sure to check her out on twitter: @workplacewears and facebook) and recent Wharton admit Amy Daschle have collaborated to write a post for us on building some civilian duds. Below is AnneMarie’s post featuring Amy – take a look at Workplace Wears for more fashion advice.
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Amy’s story is fascinating to me – she is pictured above riding a helicopter during a mission (how many of us out there can relate to that one!). Amy grew up in Westchester, not far from West Point, and was drawn to the military out of desire to give back to the country that had embraced and provided so much opportunity for her parents. Her father came to graduate school here in the states and clearly recognized the opportunity it would provide for his future family. Amy is on her way to Wharton in the fall and has already gotten a taste of ‘civilian’ life but the transition was quite daunting and a piece of that centered on embracing her femininity and in tandem with what she should wear.
To put it all in context, Amy hadn’t decided what to wear on a daily basis since high school. Upon entering West Point and continuing onward to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, she hadn’t really had a wardrobe for 9 years. 9 years! And this includes much more than clothing, during that time, she couldn’t wear earrings, her hair had to be a certain way (much like a ballet bun), and little make up if any at all. In Iraq, she said the ‘only time she was not in uniform was when she was in her Pjs’. She also served in Afghanistan for 15 months.
When I took on this assignment I had no idea how much someone in Amy’s situation would be starting from ground zero – sure she had jeans and some weekend clothes but very little and had very little place to start. Yet, she was very self-aware how much it mattered and was excited to ‘embrace’ her femininity – not only was her dress not feminine but West Point is approx. 10-15% female and I’m sure the military in general is not much different. She actually ordered a book on Amazon for 10 bucks on how to dress to guide her. Looking feminine was ‘kinda important’ to her. In this new phase of her life she was ready to ‘express femininity, feel pretty, feel like a woman and express’ herself but it took time and research. When I asked how she would describe her personal style, she said she is still very much figuring it out but it trends towards the conservative side. Even the idea of dressing herself everyday was new. In the business world there are many different kinds of nuances she felt she needed to learn and understand, especially when it comes to having a wardrobe.
Amy first started to build her work wardrobe at J Crew, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. If she liked something, she would buy it in 3 colors. She used Vogue for a little guidance and just the individual catalogues. Her standard now for PepsiCo which she describes as not particularly conservative (which is all relative to her military experience) is cardigans with collared shirts. And given that the last time she dressed for class was high school, she asked students at Wharton what was the standard, which I think to her surprise was pretty much anything goes. With her sights set on finance, she will certainly be able to use her bent towards the conservative but I bet she starts to branch out just a little because with as much zeal and energy that I heard on the phone and with such a unique background I’m sure some of the colors from her heritage and accessories might find their way into her wardrobe as well.
Below she is dressed up in Calvin Klein, “got to stick to classic brands” on Veteran’s Day with Medal of Honor recipient Jack Jacobs, at work.
