Tammi's World

This is a First for Me

Folks often give me a rough time about how many clothes I have. And I admit, I do have more than most.

And I've parred down a lot. Especially in the last 5 years.

When I first moved to Florida I owned 42 suites. Seriously. And I won't even begin to bore you with the amount of shoes I had. Suffice to say there were a lot.

Since then I've moved a few times, the perfect opportunity to purge. Plus, over the years business has "relaxed". Not so many occasions that call for suits. Pants, nice sweater sets, skirts all seemed to be enough.

So I kept purging. Then I started really putting on weight. At this point I have one suit. One pant suit. And it's a summer suit. Light in color and weight, can't really get away with wearing it in, oh, say February north of Tampa.

Anyway, it's show time once again in Tammi's world. Heading to California in a couple of weeks for the biggest show of the year for us. It's a very big deal. Heavy hitters. From all over the world. Formal.

Then, a week later I head to Toy Fair in NYC. Another formal affair.

And for the first time in my entire life I have to honestly admit, I have nothing to wear.

I've been told Business Casual will not cut it.

New suits are not cheap. And they are not in my budget this year. I was focused on day to day. THAT I have covered.

This could be kind of embarrassing. I'm not your normal sales person. Let's be honest - most are very fond of flash. Flashy cars, flashy suits, flashy watches. Not me. I own, and have owned for my adult life, rep cars. Practical and roomy. No real flash. My watch? Bought it at Wal-mart. And love it. Simple yet elegant. Oh, and it does a great job tellin' time. Huh. Whoda thunk....

And the one thing that kinda rubs me wrong about where I'm at now is that it's ALL about appearance. VERY nice cars, fancy clothes, designer everything. Yeah, been there (well, except the car) and done that. It's not how I want to live my life right now. I've other and better ways to spend my money.

And before you say anything - you have to realize yes - It DOES matter in my line of work. We are judged by our appearance. From our weight to our hair. Our shoes and clothes tell buyers how successful we are. If we're successful we MUST have a good product. If we have a good product they want a piece of the action. It's sad, but it's true.

So - this should be an interesting month. Oh, now please don't think I'll be out hitting the stores. Not gonna happen. I'll just spend some quality time in my closet (wait - that didn't sound right) and figure out what I can pull together.

It'll be fine, but wow. I can promise that never in my past did anyone ever DREAM I'd be in this position in my life time. Tammi? With nothing appropriate to wear? UnHEARD of......

Posted by Tammi at January 14, 2007 05:44 AM | TrackBack