Sitting in a Sea of Denim

I see jeans, it must be Friday

Without looking at a calendar, or checking the date on my morning newspaper, it’s almost possible for me to predict the date of the week it is by the morning BART riders’ wardrobes. Today is Friday and the train is full of denim…thank you Casual Friday! On Monday, its business casual - not to extreme casual, but far more casual than Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday and Wednesday people are dressed up and I see more suits on men and women in more conservative dresses. Thursdays it’s a little more casual than Monday, but not too many people in jeans. Then Friday rolls around and everyone is in jeans. Sure there are the occasional suits, but I’d like to think they either must be going to court or have a hot date that night they are trying to impress and don’t have time to go home and change.

Then there is the footwear game. It’s easier to play this game with the men. I’ve often heard the saying you can tell a lot about a man by his shoes. It is so true. Take for example the man who sat in front of me the other day, Man A. I’d say he was in his mid to late 40’s, good looking. He had on a really nice gray suit. He carried a canvas type messenger bag and shoes that would have looked better with Dockers or dressier jeans. Not exactly suit shoes, but they still looked nice, just a little more casual. With the looks of his suit, I would have pegged him for the leather briefcase and black shinier and dressier shoes to go with the suit he had on. The seat next across from him was open. Since this is the first stop of the train (Dublin/Pleasanton) we sit at the station for about 10 minutes each morning before the train heads out. Another gentleman, Man B entered the train and took the open seat across from Man A. Man A looks over and calls out Man B’s name. Man B turns and looks at Man A and says “I didn’t recognize you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a suit!” Man A answers with “Yeah, I clean up really well. And it’s not my suit; I have a meeting to go to with a prospective client so I went out and rented it”. Can I call it or what! I knew something was wrong between the shoes/briefcase and the suit! Man A’s personality fit his shoes exactly, and the suit didn’t.

It’s not that I’m a fashion snob, I just can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. This works for women too, but not on BART. I love shoes. High heeled shoes. The higher the heel the better. But I have to transfer trains and on that second train each morning and night the train is packed when I get on it and I have to stand. It’s not easy to stand on a packed train in high heels with all the stopping and starting. Even holding on to a railing I’ve come close to falling over when wearing anything but flat shoes. So I wear flats….cute flats.

Most of the women on BART commuting to work are in flat shoes. Some in sneakers, some in flip flops, but mostly in the ballerina type shoes that are so popular these days. They do carry a bag of some sort that has their other shoes in them. I know that my flat shoes don’t represent how I usually look. It’s a necessity rather a statement describing me. Anyone who knows me, if asked would say that if shoes had a personality, I’d be a high heel shoe personality…plus the fact that I’m short and feel better about the 2-3 inches that heels add to my height.

What does your commute wardrobe say about you?