[HPFGU-OTChatter] (girly whinge post)

[Catherine Keegan]

I gave up years ago.  I'm just under 5'10" and I'm big.  Not fat.  OK, 
chubby but I've got shoulders that should have belonged to a football 
player.  I've also got a long waist and long arms - something that women's 
clothing doesn't believe exists.  After years of sleeves that never came to 
my wrists and shirts that wouldn't stay tucked (I won't even begin to 
complain about women's shoes.  OK.  Just for a bit.  What sadist designs 
those things?), I gave up and began to wear men's shirts and shoes.  Most 
of the stuff really doesn't look that different.  The shirts are long 
enough.  Can't do the men's pants since I have hips and I like my pants to 
go my waist but, at least at Target, you can still get the 34" 
inseam.  Life was hell until a few years ago when some brilliant person 
discovered that people are different sizes and got into the petite, average 
(?) and tall categories.

However, there is hope for us non standard types - it just takes money.  I 
had to buy a new interview suit a few years ago and dreaded it.  DH took 
one look at the suits I pulled out of my side of the closet and asked when 
I had purchased said suits.  I blinked.  Looked at what I thought was a 
perfectly good navy blue power suit and said around '81 or so.  He sniffed 
and said that they looked like it.  Hey!  They were in great 
shape.  Programmers usually only have to wear the darn things once for the 
interview.  Grudgingly, I went to Macys and discovered that what I felt was 
horribly expensive had longer sleeves, more room in the shoulders and the 
waist was longer.  Hmmmm.  I tried a cheaper version.  Someone had stolen 
the usual two inches from the sleeves, shortened the pant legs (I, too, 
loath pantyhose and hate the way suit skirts tend to creep up) and the 
waist hit me just at the ribs, not the waist.  I went back twice before I 
could convince myself to pony up the bucks.  Darn suit was worth it.  Every 
time I've worn it, I've gotten the job and the salary I demanded.  (Of 
course, we won't mention what Y2K did to big companies in the late '90s or 
how hard it's gotten to get a job in that field now that Y2K is over...)

Wow!  I feel better already!

Catherine in California