Wardrobe Malfunction

I have never been esteemed for my fashion sense. And that's fine by me. In high school, I avoided the styles and brands that the popular girls were wearing. I wear clothing that appeals to my own personal aesthetic. Over the years, I have tweaked and updated my wardrobe to include items that fit my sense of style and help me look professional... I think.

But there is one aspect of attire that I have not yet mastered: dressing for the weather. I don't look at weather forecasts on TV or the internet. This is partly because they often seem to be wrong and partly because I just don't. I haven't worked it into my routine. So, I just sort of guess what the day's weather will be like. This guess is based mostly on the previous day's weather. This may work well in some parts of the world, and here in the Central Valley, it works pretty well during the summer. It can be unreliable, though, particularly during fall and spring.

For example, on a particular day, we had not had any rain here for a few weeks. The day prior to the day in question had been on the cool side, chilly even, but I would not qualify it as cold. So, when dressing for work that morning, I put on a sweater and did not bring a jacket. Well, it turned out to be rainy and windy all day, and I was wet and freezing.

Another example: it had been warming slowly but steadily for a few weeks, but then breezes picked up, and most of this week was cool but comfortable. So, yesterday morning, I picked out a long sleeve, black knit-top. There was no more wind. Yesterday was quite warm, and I was toasting.

For some people, not being dressed appropriately would not be a problem. I, on the other hand, have to encounter the weather several times a day. The school I work at is quite old. It has two original buildings and the rest are portables. Even the classrooms that are in actual buildings all open to the outside, without any halls. So, to go from any place to any other place on our campus, one needs to go outside. I usually go to the front office a couple of times a day. Once in a while, I go to the teacher's lounge for lunch. And at least once or twice a week, I go to another classroom to talk to or borrow something from another teacher. And every time I go somewhere, I have to go back outside to return to my room.

So, I don't really know what the answer is. I could let my husband pick out my clothes. He seems to be able to predict the weather better than I can. Though, he will wear a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops regardless of what it is like outside. If you have any suggestions to help me out, post a comment, and I will be grateful. This isn't an urgent need I have, but just something that I should figure out, so that I don't spend the next thirty years of my career being miserable.