Recently I’ve had a few of those days where you get out the shower in the morning and put on an outfit thinking, great choice, and head off to work… only to find that when you get to work your colleagues are wearing the same outfit. We’ve all been there right?
Embarassing.
The only time it is acceptable to be wearing the same outfit as someone else is either on a charity fun run or at a sports stadium.
Needless to say, something had to be done about it so a bit of shopping was in order. With that, I headed over to Debenhams’ menswear department in Milton Keynes to see what I could find.
By day I am an SEO Manager (that’s search engine optimisation) for a large retailer and with that territory comes with the need to own a checked shirt with jeans. I don’t know how or why it came about but our industry has a very strong affinity with checked shirts which means that at any events or during my 9-5 at head office there is a real risk of having an awkward lookalike moment – nobody needs that, and definitely not on a Monday.
That said, I couldn’t break the habit and walked into Debenhams with a view to finding a new checked shirt that I knew nobody in my department already owned. Within the Red Herring section I found what I was looking for – a checked shirt with a double grey stripe for £25 which I thought would be a great shirt to either dress up for work or wear as part of a casual outfit with jeans. I love the statement black buttons on this shirt and think it would dress up really well with a skinny tie.
Having found the shirt I thought I’d try and locate some trousers to finish a new outfit for work. Trousers are always a massive pain for me as I’m a 33′ waist which means absolutely no retailers stock the right size (with the exception of H&M who usually come to my rescue). Getting a 34′ waist hangs uncomfortably off my hips, even with a belt thanks to my moon sized arse, and a 32′ waist usually means risking ripping a crotch hole if I sit down too quickly.
Not only do I hate clothes shopping at the best of times but finding a comfortable fitting size is a real pain.
As I was within the Red Herring department I came across a pair of grey trousers which were a 34′ waist and 30′ leg. A brave choice indeed for someone who doesn’t shop regularly as my true size should be 33′ waist and 31′ leg – in fact I’ll give someone a free gift if they can find me a decent retailer who sells such an elusive fit!!
So I ended up buying some Red Herring khaki straight fit chinos for £20.
With a belt they’re a good comfortable fit, good quality and like the shirt could be worn as part of both a formal or casual outfit.
For the man who hates shopping, an all round good result. Hopefully there is at least some reduction in the risk of having a lookalike at work come 8am tomorrow morning.
It can be very embarrassing wearing the same stuff for sure! Liking the shirt and jeans choice, looks workish but stylish too 🙂