Dressing for Success

This week, one of the foxes asked what we like to wear while writing. That’s easy. I wear whatever I happen to have on when I get the time to sit down and write. If I’m squeezing in a few paragraphs during a busy workday, I might have dress clothes on. If I have a list of errands to run, I’ll have on my jeans and a knit shirt. If I’m done running for the day and have a few hours before going to sleep, I’ll have on the most comfortable clothing I own – pajama pants and a large t-shirt. Six months out of the year I’ll add a sweater or sweatshirt on to that ensemble. I’m definitely not a fashion plate.

Since I’ve had a rather dry spell lately, I wondered if maybe my wardrobe choices had anything to do with the lack of words making their way into my manuscripts. I found an article in a 2014 issue of Elle magazine with pictures of a novelist’s wardrobe. I do wear a watch, but other than that I’m afraid the selection in my closet looks nothing like this!

Of course, I also found a number of author blogs who quickly reassured me that they too opt for comfort over fashion while writing. Plus there’s the price tag for this “basic wardrobe” – over $7K at the time!

Our curious fox also asked about the most unusual thing we’ve worn while writing. I guess that would be a pirate costume. One of the orchestras I play in did a Peter Pan-themed concert and we all had to dress like characters from the story. The oboe section decided to dress as pirates. I got ready for the concert and found I had an extra half hour before I needed to leave. Knowing I needed to write a post for this blog in a few days, I opened my laptop and started writing. I actually managed to get half the post written before going to play my concert. So okay, the “costume” was a hat that I wore with my traditional concert black, but putting the hat on my head was my way of making sure I didn’t forget to take it with me.

If you write, what does your work wardrobe look like?

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