I'm starting to examine my wardrobe. Right now it consists of workout pants and teacher clothes and not a whole lot in between. Yesterday I ended up in a situation where I was surrounded by extremely expensive dresses and a couple of stylists - they weren't for me - and I caught myself in the mirror and saw my Old Navy / Gap combination with my Sketchers and I thought "Oh dear. I look like I'm 20 still." And that was an outfit I wear to work, even.
My fanciest dress comes from Nordstrom. My fanciest piece comes from this sale they had once at Bebe and it was marked down to $15. Actually I don't know if I own any clothes I didn't get on sale.
Who knows, maybe that will work in my favor? I walk into a meeting with a head-to-toe Gap outfit and a cute smile and they'll think I'm some kind of teenage genius.
And then when I get invited to all those fancy premieres and Emmys and shit and Joan Rivers will be all "Who are you wearing? And also, who are you?" and I'll be like "Target Izaak Misrahi, baby, and also I'm the writer," and do a twirl as she turns to find someone more important and better dressed.
In the meantime, I'm supposed to wear a T-Shirt to my meeting, right? Should I wear a nicer T-Shirt with flowers on it, or the T-Shirt that says "Zombies only want you for your brains"? And jeans or slacks? How slovenly is the writer supposed to look? And can you even wear slacks with a zombie T-Shirt? Is that allowed?
I should probably be working on my next screenplay, but right now my wardrobe is foremost on my mind. I should probably stop watching What Not To Wear.
Okay, I looked it up. Really. Max Adams: The Screenwriter's Survival Guide. It's a few years old, but probably correct.
ReplyDeleteJeans, high top sneakers, a plain T-shirt, and a loose casual jacket.
Yes, I really did look this up for you. It's on page 123.
If you were a dude, I'd say a nice non-print tee and some khakis would be alright. Starbuck's chic all the way. But you're not a dude.
ReplyDeleteIf your school clothes are just like simple slacks and simple button-up shirts, I think that'd be fine. Not too much of a slob. Not too dressed up either.
Dress down for meetings, absolutely.
ReplyDeleteWriters are expected to look writerly. i.e. Not expected to be dressed in anything expensive or dressy. It's the privilege of a writer to dress casually all the time, and it's what execs apparently expect.
ReplyDeleteI've read a couple of places that producers may actually be disappointed if you don't "look like a writer." As I prefer dressing up a little more and don't actually like jeans (skirts are more comfortable) - this leaves me in a quandary, but you should be just fine.
I think it is John August who frequently says that the writer should always be the worst-dressed person in the room. (Unlike Joshua, I'm too lazy now to find a link for you, sorry.)
ReplyDeleteAs long as you are wearing black converse, you are golden. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhy is this? I've heard this many times before, and sometimes I'm like, yes, that's awesome, no effort, but other times it's annoying.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever escape winter and make it to sunny LA, I'll be wearing sundresses and skirts all the time. I understand dressing casual, but I think sloppiness shouldn't be encouraged. Casual sale chic.
Here's that John August post:
ReplyDeletehttp://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/the-not-so-well-dressed-screenwriter
Congrats on the representation! That's awesome news!