Everyone always says dress for the job you want, not the job
you have. Yet my reaction to traditional “librarian” outfits is generally a
resounding “hellz no.” Sure, I like pencil skirts, glasses, and librarian
pumps, but for years and years I refused to go anywhere the clothing item that
people automatically think of when it comes to librarian style. The cardigan.
I always avoided caridgans because I felt like they made me
look like I was too old, or because I didn’t like the prints, but I realized
about a year ago that my go to warm up item (the zip-up hoodie) wasn’t really
working anymore. Not only did my hoodies scream “high school” but they also
clashed with dresses, dress pants, and even dress jeans in most cases. Which
meant that I could either look ridiculous by wearing a hoodie anyways or I
could leave it at home and be cold. Clearly it was a chilly year.
So I decided that it was time to delve into the land of the
cardigan. I was already a frequent visitor to the men’s sweater department, but
forays to the women’s sweater aisle were always met with many mental “yucks”
and “are there colours besides taupe here” and even “that pattern looks like
the carpet in Wendy’s… and not in a good way.” But part of my shopping
philosophy has always been to love the thrill of the hunt, so once again I took
a hint from Barney Stinson and said “Challenge… ACCEPTED!”
The quest was tough (tougher than finding the perfect pair
of jeans, surprisingly), and at the early stages I was discouraged. Racks full
of beige & burgundy, useless crop-tops, and cat-decals seems to lay before
me. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a print. A tri-toned print
in a Missoni-inspired spiked-stripe patten. In bright turuoise, mauve, and
bitter chocolate brown. I got some weird looks by the old ladies shopping
around me, but I couldn’t contain my grin.
A new era had come, and the quest for the fantastic cardigan
was complete.
