Comfort requires that I wear a skirt and bare legs in this heat.
Professionalism requires that I wear a blouse to the office.
Etiquette requires that I wear closed-toed shoes at this time of year.

This morning, getting dressed, tired, grumpy, smelling the smog alert coming on, I said screw it all! My only closed-toed shoes that don't need socks have rather high heels, and I simply did not feel like walking the high heels walk all day, pretending I was unaware of the film noir look of my high heels and knee-length skirt and tailored blouse, pretending I was perfectly comfortable. So I opted for a bigass long wrap skirt. With flat sandals - open toes despite my leftover winter pedicure (which happens to be sparkly red). And a top that is essentially a t-shirt with a white collar sewn onto it. Comfortable, perfect for such a grumpy day, more flower child than young professional.

I call this fashion exhaustion - just waking up one morning unable to tolerate whatever one should be wearing that day, and putting one what one wants to wear. What's funny is almost everyone in my office did that today. We don't have a dress code, but everyone has their own sort of personal standards that they maintain. Today everyone let it slip a bit. I wore open-toed shoes with the corresponding dressing down of my outfit. People who had been walking around in new spring shoes and bandaids finally succumbed to running shoes. Those who had struggled to find the balance between the heat outside and the too-cold inside gave up on clever layering and just wrapped themselves in large blanket-like shawls. The pregnant succumbed to large shapeless dresses. Wearers of ties and pantihose freed themselves from those self-imposed shackles for the day. Dress shirts were replaced by plaid shirts, dress pants by khakis, and khakis by cargo shorts. Younger women wore outfits more appropriate for their mothers, and older women wore outfits more appropriate to their daughters. In an astounding act of synchronicity, three dozen people let their self-imposed standards slip down one notch, just for the day.

Why? We don't know. Because it was the fourth hot day in a row? Because the air conditioning in older apartments won't be turned on for another two weeks? Because work is slowing down and all we have is dull work? Who knows. But today was Fashion Exhaustion Day.