The perils of dressing in public

September 20, 2012 · Filed Under Feminism, Fun, Internet Media, women and work, Work 

I am so thrilled to be interviewing New York Times reporter and co-author of Half the Sky Nicholas Kristof on Monday. We’ll be joined by Asi Burak, co-founder of Games for Change. We will be on stage at the Social Good Summit, an amazing annual event held during the UN General Assembly, and hosted by the United Nations Foundation, Mashable, and 92nd St. Y.

We will be talking about social gaming for good, specifically, how Kristof and Burak are using social games (and a TV series, and all sorts of multimedia goodness!) to engage Western women in helping and supporting women in the developing world, whose plight was so movingly documented in Half the Sky.

I will also be asking Kristof what he thinks about progress for the world’s women since the book was published in 2010. Has he seen improvement for the trafficked, enslaved and abused women he chronicled? How does the US election and its focus on women (especially our reproductive parts) play into the global dialogue on women’s place.

All very important stuff. But first, I’ve had a wardrobe crisis I wanted to share with you all. The session will require me to sit down. It will be videotaped and live streamed. I am 6’1″ and want to look professional, appropriate, and not too large. I loved watching Katie Couric and Lisa Stone rock their gorgeous legs in dresses on stage at BlogHer recently, but that was summer, and I am anxious about showing too much leg on stage, especially since I am so tall.

What we wear in public matters. It shapes perceptions of us. When you dress for a professional appearance you are creating the character you want people to understand about you. Here is the advice my incredibly accomplished friend Meighan Stone gave me about the do’s and don’ts of wearing dresses and skirts on stage:

I think you can wear a dress if it falls below the knee.  Why?

– When you are on a stage, a dress or skirt gets even shorter
– When you are on stage, depending on how high it is, people can see up for dress or skirt more than they can when you’re at floor level or same level
– When you sit down, a dress or skirt rides up as you move around in your chair and you don’t want to be up there tugging at your dress, making you self conscious
We netted out that pants might be the most practical choice, so I can focus on the conversation, and not feel self-conscious.
What’s your go to style for a public work event?

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