I have to go and work with Real People for two weeks!

[motherinferior]

...and I have absolutely no idea what to wear - I mean apparently it's quite a casual office, plenty of people wear jeans (it's a trade mag run by a charity) but I haven't set foot in an office (except for the odd meeting) since before I had DD1 four years ago. And given that the combination of Spring and ever-encroaching middle age have exacerbated my ongoing clothes/image crisis (never know what to wear on my feet at this time of year either - and the only shoes I've seen that I like don't come in a 3) this is really, really throwing me.

And I don't particularly want to spend the next few days in the shops either, especially since the whole point of doing the work is to earn some money for frivolous expenditure on things like like childcare and food rather than (ok, as well as) essentials like shoes.

Help! Any advice! Please!

oh and I have feet like flippers so can't do anything but pancakely flat shoes

If they are 'real' I bet they will not care what you wear! There is a sale on in M&S at the moment and my mate just got a pair of 'smart' genes for £8. Asdas is where I get all my shirts for work. A white one will set you back £2.50 and they are 'smart' casual. But I should warn yo I am renouned for having no taste

can you drop in on the pretence of collecting or clarifying something, and have a sneaky look at what everyone else is wearing?

Jeans! Not very clever chromosomes!

ballet pumps any good??? They're everywhere and comfy and flat.

Or just wear the smartest of smart clothes, to make the most of the fact that for two weeks you won't be wearing ketchup-stained jogging bottoms?

Can you wear (ahem) some sort of sock - fishnetty, whatever, with ballet pumps? Too cold for bare legs atm IMO.

I did ask the general look of the place, and got reassuring response, but from, you know, a bloke.

Pop socks are fab! And you can get all different patterned ones in New Look!

I don't have any smart clothes any more. I could I suppose see if I could squeeze back into the stuff I wore to work six years ago, but I've been freelance since 1999, and haven't done any shifts at all since 2001.

I think you'll get away with them if your ballet pumps are black.

Do you iron your clothes normally? I am incredibly lazy and so don't iron usually, but when I do it often surprises me how smart everyday clothes can be made to look!

What I really want to get is a silk/velvet jacket from Jigsaw in delectable pale green, but I fear that would kind of negate the point of going to work in the first place [cheapskate emoticon]

Oh no, you must get one, it would mean more money in the long run. People wouyld see you looking all smart and immediatly offer you important jobs on the grounds that you look so capable!

Oh come on you wimp - a few millimetres of flesh between trouser hem and top of shoe won't kill you!

I have been wearing my gold Top Shop ballet pumps for weeks now.

You could wear nice trainers, I suppose. or boots, of course. Apparently it will be getting cooler.
Think yourself lucky I had to haul my saggy post-baby body and ageing wardrobe into GLAMOUR magazine....oh, the horror! The shame!

Message withdrawn

I feel a trip to Jigsaw coming on

And if Aloha is wearing gold ballet flats I can definitely get a pair.

gosh i was just pondering over some silver ones...