Wore A Wetsuit To Work.
20th December 2021- New Experience Number 20.
When I wore a wetsuit to work, it may sound like I actually left the house and went to a place of work whilst wearing a wetsuit. Yet working from home meant I never actually stepped foot outside in the new addition to my work wardrobe, but I did attend several virtual meetings.
The Spark Of An Idea
I’d shared my fifty-two new things challenge with my manager, who often asked about my antics. He had suggested that if he was doing the challenge he’d be doing daft stuff like wearing a strange hat to work. This got me thinking about putting on something out of the ordinary.
We were in December, I still needed to complete 32 things I’d never done before in order to achieve the annual goal. I needed quick wins. This was perfect!
New Uniform - Wore A Wetsuit To Work
I have a wetsuit which has hung limply at the back of the wardrobe for a few years having not seen any action due to lockdowns and the pandemic, and I’ve definitely never had any call to wear it for work reasons. I decided this would be a great ‘uniform’.
Trend On Teams
I had a few Teams meetings throughout the day but I hadn’t told anyone in advance about my unusual attire.
Nobody mentioned it on the first call. I appreciate that they could only see my head and shoulders, but in the little video I could see of myself I could tell something looked different. Maybe they were being polite.
For the rest of the meetings I had during the day I pointed out my attire to people at the start of the call so that they wouldn’t be distracted by the logo or tight short sleeves and high collar which is not my usual look.
A Winter Warmer - Wore A Wetsuit To Work
There were surprising positives to wearing a wetsuit to work.
Firstly, it was really warm to wear- a bonus in chilly December. Sitting at a desk all day being quite inactive generally means I feel the cold so it was nice to have a day of heat .
Secondly because it was so snug, it felt like it helped me to sit with a better posture than usual.
Getting in and out of the clinging neoprene took some wiggling and peeling, so bathroom visits needed a little more planning that day!
A Stylish Theory
The Pareto Principal is all around the 80/20 rule and I’ve seen that rule related to clothes. It suggested that it’s more than likely we only wear around 20% of the clothes in our wardrobe 80% of the time.
Maybe then, to help get more wear out of the other 80% of clothes, a future challenge might be to wear a different outfit every day for a month.
I know of someone who wore a different fancy dress outfit every day for a month for charity. That would take a fair bit more planning, but it might be nice to give the evening dress a bit of a more frequent airing…
Want To Try It Yourself?
This one might depend on where you work, and whether you’ve got a wetsuit in your wardrobe.
If you don’t have a wetsuit perhaps you’ve got something that you would never usually wear to work.
Cost Of Experience
I already had a wetsuit so it was free!
Recommendations
This was a really easy new thing to try and doesn’t need too much thought.
- It was a great talking point when people spotted it, and brought a bit of light relief at a frantic time of year.
- You could turn this into a fundraiser and ask for sponsorship to wear something unique to work.
- Don’t forget to take a picture!