I received an invitation to our chief cardiac surgeon’s retirement party. The appropriate attire was listed as “semi-formal.” So the physicians and operating room staff should show up in dress scrubs? (I’d rarely seen some of them in street clothes in the five years I’ve worked with them.) Since Seattle is a pretty casual town, semi-formal in some sectors means a clean flannel shirt. My former department chair, an infectious disease doctor, does not wear ties at work because the neckwear could conceivably transmit bacteria from one patient to another. Since the party was at the end of the work day, that meant either wearing the outfit the whole day or changing into it before the party. As a woman who’s lived in Dallas, where women wear fur coats to the Symphony in July, I had the additional mental baggage of that level of formality.
The solution: I wound up wearing a little black dress with a red jacket over it all day at work. I also wore my pearls and heels. Even though I was stuck in my cube all day, I’m sure some folks walked by thinking that I was dressed up because I had a job interview. When I got to the party, I didn’t see anyone in scrubs – luckily, nobody had an emergent late-day case. The guest of honor, Dr. B, was in his usual suit and tie. (He’s from Virginia, another more formal environment than Seattle.) Most of the other men wore jackets, but not ties. Maybe this is my former department chair’s influence, but more likely because this is casual Seattle. As usual, the women were more dressed up than the men. A good time was had by all, despite the occasionally awkward attire for some. Dr. B was sent off in style with a lot of laughs.
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