These days, my own reasons for “dressing up” are few and far between. I work remotely, and most days I’m not even on camera for Zoom. There are no conference rooms, no client meetings, no real external expectation that I show up as anything other than competent and responsive.
And yet, most mornings, I still do.
Not a full suit, not CJ-level polish, but something that signals the start of the day. A real pair of pants. A sweater
that didn’t double as pajamas. Something that helps me draw a line between work and the rest of my life.
I’m a CMO now, and somewhere along the way, I’ve realized I’m also responsible for cultivating a kind of creative authority. Not in a loud or performative way, but in small, deliberate choices: a spark of red reading glasses, a vintage Hermès scarf tied just so, something that reminds me (even if no one else sees it) that there is work to be done, and that I am the one meant to do it.
And when the day is done, I change again into sweats or leggings, into dinner, into time with my kids.
It’s a small ritual, but it
matters more than I expected it to.
Because even now, in this strange, remote version of professional life, there’s still something to be said for dressing for the day you want to have.
And that’s what I keep coming back to.
It’s not just the fashion of The West Wing that feels distant; it’s the seriousness. The level of discourse. The respect for knowledge, for history, for precedent. The willingness to engage thoughtfully with opposing views. To rise above. To demonstrate care.
These characters debate constitutional law, navigate fragile international relationships, and argue policy in historic locations such as the Mural Room, the Roosevelt Room, and the Oval Office. They defend the First Amendment not as a talking point, but as a responsibility, with murals of Washington and Lincoln peering over their shoulders. Not a gilded sconce in sight.
The players are, of course, fictional. But they represent something real or at least something we believed could be real.
Photo Credit Andres Molina