Any woman in the veterinary industry who works with large animals is no stranger to the challenge of finding functional, durable, professional, flattering, and reasonably priced work clothes. These seemingly unattainable qualities have left many of us in the profession frustrated. You eventually realize that you have a choice: clothing that is durable for work that makes you look like a giant dork or more fashionable cheap lines that won't last two months on the job. Look, I get it. The market for women's work clothing is smaller than men's. However, the fact remains that women work outside and need clothing options so they can look professional and brave the elements. My first introduction to the seemingly scarce selection of women's work clothes was in 2012 following graduation. I was fortunate enough to work for a clinic that paid for my work attire, but there was a new problem. The men in my practice had their uniforms decided. Red Cap khaki work pants with button-up blue shirts (with pockets!) with the veterinary asclepius. It was the first time my clinic had a female veterinarian. Obviously the men's clothing was not going to work for me. My boss at the time, Dr. Vroman, was very patient with me. We got the veterinary apparel catalogs out, and I ordered a few different button-up shirts to try on. Luckily, there was a good return policy. I knew I was in trouble after trying on the first shirt. As I stood in front of the bathroom mirror at the clinic, I realized the shirt was short enough that it revealed at least two inches of my abdomen. The strange thing was that the shirt was not only extremely short but extremely wide. I knew crop tops were coming back, but this seemed a little inappropriate for a professional woman. Admittedly my torso is (or was) longer and more slender than average. Remember, this was circa 2012, which was pre-baby. But even still, the extremely short and extremely wide button up top didn't seem like it was likely to fit any normal human being. “There are actually women built like this?” I thought to myself. I tried on more of the button-up tops and same thing -very short and very wide. Apparently, Veterinary Apparel Company thinks all women in the profession are built like Danny Devito. Not only that, but they were clearly not very mindful of the profession they were targeting with the short shirts. Do they realize how much we bend over during our job? With a combo of high riding shirts and low riding jeans, a problem I’ll address later in the blog, our clients would definitely get more than what they were paying for. I'm sure Dr. Vroman would shake his head, but each time I would send the items back. After much searching, I was finally able to find a winner in a Nike women's golf polo. I was unable to find the exact women’s golf polos I use online. I’m praying they haven’t discontinued them (cue tears), but what I wear is quite similar to this at least. I can usually find them at Dick’s Sporting Goods: It was durable, made of moisture wicking material, long enough, and flattering. They were a bit expensive, but I decided they were worth it. The expense ended up paying off in the long-run as most of the polos I bought over five years ago are still in my uniform rotation. Once I got my shirts figured out, I could take them somewhere to get my name embroidered on them. I decided to have the name of the clinic embroidered on one side and Dr. Stroupe on the other. My sister-in-law and I were having a girls lunch in Columbia on my afternoon off, so we stopped by the shirt shop to pick up my newly-embroidered work shirts. I got back into the car and took one of the shirts out of the bag. Suddenly, a gasp of terror and shock came from my mouth. “Oh no! What's wrong?” my sister-in-law asked. I held up the shirt, and the words “Dr. Stroup” were clearly written on the shirt. I went back inside, and luckily my name was spelled correctly on the proof that I had approved. They would have to correct it at no additional cost, but that would still mean more time without work shirts and another trip to the big city to pick them up. That's right. Finding the right work shirt was quite the process, but don't get me started on pants. Initially, I would wear jeans. I wasn't much into the khaki look. At the time, I wore Silver jeans. Not the cheapest, but they fit well. Then, during a roping incident on the farm, a calf rammed the edge of some cattle panel into my leg, ripping my $70 jeans and showing the farmer a little more leg than I would like. Expensive jeans were now out of the question for work attire. From there, it was Old Navy khaki pants, which didn't last. Then there was Red Cap or Dickey’s khaki pants. They're not the most flattering with the high waist and all, but they're durable and somewhat stain resistant. I didn't realize how unflattering the pants were until one of my college-aged employees said, “You look like a soccer mom.” I just shrugged and decided I really wasn't trying to impress anyone at work, at least as far as fashion or looks was concerned. I still wear those pants, but I'm currently on a mission to find some decent boot cut jeans to wear to work and on emergencies. I started by posting to my vet moms group for good tips. I looked online at some of the brands they recommended but decided going somewhere to try some of these jeans on would be a good idea given my difficult history of buying pants. Wranglers were recommended by a few, so I took a trip to a nearby Orscheln’s to try on some jeans. I grabbed three different styles from the pile and got the dressing room key from the cashier. While I was trying them on, my husband was outside the room with my son. “You need help putting them on?” He asked. As if shopping for women's pants weren't hard enough. Now I was being rushed. I have compiled a list of women's work clothes pitfalls from this experience and in my discussion with colleagues.
For water proofing, I simply leave my next oldest pair of boots in my truck with rubber shoe covers over the top. Then when I get out to the farm or out to the corral, I take my new boots that I wear around the office off and slip into the old boots with the rubber shoe covers. It’s not a perfect system. Sometimes in really deep mud, it will go over the top as the rubber shoe covers aren’t extremely tall. However, it is a system that works, and it keeps me from tracking mud or manure all over the office (most of the time), which makes my staff happy. It’s true that being a woman is not for the faint of heart. Just dressing yourself in clothes that won’t cause a major wardrobe malfunction is a feat in and of itself. The main thing I’ve learned in my veterinary fashion exploration is that Duluth Trading Company seems to be the most popular among my female colleagues for women’s work attire. Any chance they’ll sponsor my blog? No? From my shopping experience at Orscheln's, I’m just happy that I walked away with one pair of somewhat properly fitting jeans. If I ever decide to quit my day job in private practice, perhaps I’ll join forces with someone in the fashion/clothing industry and create the perfect women’s veterinary clothing line. In the meantime, I’ll keep searching for more options and simply grumble every time my shirt gapes open, I bend over and half of my back is showing, or the back of my pants gape open wide enough to toss a football in them. Cheers to my fellow female veterinarians who tough it out through these clothing challenges. I hope you at least found some helpful shopping tips or at least can get a good laugh from my shopping mishaps.
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Jessica Stroupe, DVM
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August 2017
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