Forbidden Jeans
I wore jeans to work today. This is highly illegal. At every place I've worked since college, the policy has been to wear jeans on Fridays. Fridays were made for jeans at the office. In fact, if you weren't wearing jeans on Friday, people thought it was odd. But, my current place of employment forbids the donning of jeans on Friday. This is reason #1 why I do not love my job. How on earth is it possible to not allow jeans on Friday?? It's insane.

I live for jeans on Friday. Four days out of the work week I am forced to be 'business casual', whatever that really means. To most office-type people, it is probably fairly decently dressed. To me, it is wearing pants that are non-jean, and a shirt other than a t-shirt. I am all about casual. So after four straight days of being non-casual, I have always enjoyed the opportunity to be casual at work on Fridays. You can understand my disappointment at having worked here for a year and a half not being able to wear jeans at work, EVER. It's pure torture.

The last few weeks, however, I've noticed some jeans-wearing at the office on Fridays. It's subtle, but I've picked up on it. A few co-workers came to work and went about their office business, in jeans, as though nothing was different. They didn't act like they were being sneaky about it, being out in public where other co-workers and my boss could see them with the jeans. I didn't say anything to them. They didn't say anything to me. I didn't noticed anyone being reprimanded, or beaten, or grounded, or arrested, or even fired. It seemed the jeans were either un-noticed, or even more surprising, okay to wear at work.

I wondered if I'd missed a memo or a jeans meeting or an announcement ending the Jeans Embargo. It would seem to me that if jeans were now legal on Fridays, management would have the courtesy to let EVERYONE know, especially those of us who have been waiting to wear jeans for a very, very long time. In fact, I am management. So I should be one of the first to know. What the heck is going on around here??

I was finding myself in a predicament. I did not want to miss out on the jeans wearing, but I still did not have an official word as to the status of jeans-wear at work. Several weeks have passed and I continue to be tortured by seeing a few jeans here and there, but still no announcement, or comments about why I'm still not wearing jeans.

If I ask someone, I might ruin the delicate situation. Asking a jeans-wearer could get them in trouble. Or worse, they might try to 'off' me for spoiling their secret. I don't want to rat them out. I just want to wear jeans, too!

I could ask my boss, but he might say no, since he shows up everyday in a suit and tie, which if you ask me is ridiculously beyond 'business casual'. If he says no, he will wonder why I asked and notice that others are wearing jeans, their jig will be up, and they will hate me even more than they already do because I ruined the illegal jeans wearing that had been going nicely unnoticed.

I could just wear jeans without asking, and take my chances. But I'm not too interested in drawing attention to myself. Any time I do something out of my ordinary routine or wardrobe or way of life, I get a lot of attention. From everyone. Like the whole skirt-wearing fiasco that I tried when I first worked here. I quickly found that wearing even long skirts attracted too much attention from the homeless men who stay here everyday, and I vowed to never wear a skirt in this building again. Too much attention. Pants only.

Not to mention, I'm generally late to work everyday and my boss long since gave up trying to get me to fix that little problem. If I push it with illegal jeans, who knows what may happen? The end of the world.

I went to bed last night not knowing what I should do. I was debating between jeans, or casual khakis, as close to wearing jeans as possible, but still not technically jeans. I really wanted to wear jeans. But if I show up to work in jeans without asking, and get asked about it while the jeans are still illegal, it will be the last day I get to wear jeans to work. My boss will send out a reminder memo, reminding everyone that jeans are forbidden in our homeless shelter. Yes, it makes no sense to me, either. If I wait, wear the khakis, and go in and ask about it, I've missed a day of wearing jeans. A day that I can never get back . . .

I decided to take a chance and wear jeans today. I figured the other co-workers who were attempting the jeans would also be in jeans, as they have the past several Fridays, and we could band together, lobbying for a jeans revolution. I chose a nice pair of black jeans, my least jeans-esque pair of jeans. That way, in a pinch I could try to play them off as just a really casual pair of black pants, which I was forced to wear because I need to do laundry, and all of my 'business casual' pants are in the dirty laundry. A totally believable story.

I arrived to work timidly wearing my jeans. I bravely walked into the building, and quickly made it to my office, still unsure of the whole jeans decision, but definitely stuck with it for the day. I soon discovered that NO ONE else is wearing jeans today. Plus one jeans-wearing co-worker isn't even here today. Did they get in trouble? Did I wait too long to make my bold jeans stand? Is my protest now in vain? What the heck is going on around here??

I'll be sitting at my desk with my legs conveniently hidden beneath the desk if you need me. I may be a rebel, but I'm not interested in encouraging anyone to notice and speak out against my jeans.

Just the fact that I'm wearing them at work is cool enough for me. I'll celebrate my victory by going back to the khakis next week.

C.T.