I have to admit, I love the informal dress code of this new normal. And yet, despite my love of this informality, I try to “dress up” for meetings. Usually, that means wearing a shirt with a collar.
Last week, I had an important meeting with people I didn’t know well. I wanted to make a good impression so, before putting on the collared shirt, I brushed my teeth. I knew they wouldn’t be able to smell my breath, but that fresh minty flavor makes me feel fresher and more alert than coffee breath does. I returned to my bedroom. Should I wear the red shirt or is that too flashy? I wondered before grabbing my light green polo shirt from the drawer. I put it on. I was ready.
The meeting started with intros before rolling into business. As someone was speaking, I reached my hand up to play with the buttons of my polo shirt. But the buttons weren’t there. I focused my eyes more intently on the screen as my attention diverted to my errant buttons. With slow and subtle moves, I felt around. There was clearly something hard and buttony there, but I couldn’t understand why it was covered in cloth. I stifled a groan when the realization hit me: my shirt was on inside out.
Can anyone tell? I worried. Continuing to divide my attention between the speaker and the screen, I scanned my image. The collar was outside and laying the way a collar should. The buttons were clearly not visible, but neither was the stitching that might have revealed my gaff. Thank goodness I chose the green polo.
At this point, I relaxed and rejoined the meeting with my full attention. There was nothing I could do to fix the situation, and – I hoped – no one could tell. As the meeting wound up, I vowed that, next time, I’d skip brushing my teeth and be certain I had my shirt on properly.
booksandbassets 
Hahaha, oops! The way you told this I could imagine it all and it sounds exactly like something I would do! I am sure nobody else noticed!
That made me laugh out loud….possibly because I have done that in the real world! Thanks for the smile 🙂
I laughed out loud!
Great job showing how your glance goes everywhere surreptitiously, trying to solve your problem without letting on their is anything amiss. We can all relate! Thanks for sharing a small moment of levity 🙂
This made me laugh. I wonder if in the future there will be a new book on the market: Dressing for a zoom conference.
There should at least be a checklist
I keep thinking, well, wondering if the virtual will ever include olfactory. If it does, you’ll be ready! Thanks for the chuckle this morning.
This line made me laugh out loud, “I stifled a groan when the realization hit me: my shirt was on inside out.” Oh, I know that was tortuous, to sit through the zoom thereafter. So funny! And so relatable. Thanks for sharing!
This is certainly the new reality! Yet, I have gone to work with one blue and one black shoe (I often buy a pair in both colors if they fit well). I’ve also worn black tights with a blue skirt more times than I can remember as I just can’t tell the difference in the early morning light. So, on Zoom, our gaffs seem less serious and less visible!
What a great story! My husband wears his shirt inside out all the time if I don’t fix it when I’m folding laundry. Thank goodness the quality of those calls is never quite the best – I bet nobody even noticed!
Thank you for this levity and I’m sure there will be a whole new genre of virtual meeting narratives. I thought about the teeth brushing too!