What Should I Wear To Work? Productivity, Repetition, and (No) Conversation
The rules: wear the same outfit to work each day, washing each week, until a colleague comments.
I began this experiment to test adherence to social codes, namely those social codes requiring variety in dress and wardrobe. The experiment ended when the weather changed from Spring to Summer, making my outfit challenging because of the weather. The fact that no one commented provides insight into how social codes and practices about dress manifest in the workplace. Furthermore, I am struck by how communication norms and taboos come into play.
About a month after this experiment ended, I spoke to a colleague about the ease of having a small wardrobe. I asked her whether she noticed that I wore the same outfit for weeks, and she said yes, "we all did." She admitted that neither she nor our other colleagues felt comfortable approaching me about this issue because they were concerned that it was related to my chronic illness, multiple myeloma. While it is true that I have mentioned memory problems, this was a completely unexpected result and raised a whole new set of questions.
My disability was a variable that I had not factored into this experiment. Would I have otherwise been approached? Why did this kind of question cross a line for my colleagues?
This project became less about clothing and more about communication about disease, its impact, silence, and personal space.
June 2019
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