After a childhood in Catholic school uniforms, making daily decisions about what to wear is stressful. It was much easier when the only wardrobe choice was the color of my knee socks.

I have a job interview in 10 days, and already I'm agonizing as much about how to dress as how to answer the interview panel's questions. Over the years, I've had many interview outfits. I showed up in Cleveland for my first "real" job interview in a truly cringe-worthy ensemble consisting of a knit jumper, a borrowed cardigan sweater, and platform sandals; amazingly, the CWRU Library offered me the job on the spot.

When I interviewed at McKinsey, I wore an early '80s wool "power suit" cut like a man's suit (but with a skirt) and one of those God-awful floppy bow ties, a silk Ginnie Johansen number that I was really proud of. I got that job, too.

I can't recall what I wore to my interviews at MEDSTAT and the Novi Public Library, but I do remember that Donna, one of the NPL librarians interviewing me, had on a beautiful flowered jacket and black leggings. Whatever I wore must have been inoffensive, because I got both jobs.

My last interview--toward the end of the dot-com boom--was with an information architecture company in Ann Arbor. I decided to ditch the suit and dress down in black pants and a twin set. I didn't dress down enough, though. The partner who interviewed me showed up in Bermuda shorts. They might even have been plaid, but what I really remember was how weird it was to sit at a table interviewing with someone with really hairy legs. Although we weren't that far apart age wise, I felt like his grandmother.

Back to my current dilemma: Fashion in the working world seems to have gotten a lot more casual since the last time I went on a job interview. From what I've observed since moving here, Coloradoans dress even more casually at work than Michiganians. I don't even own a suit anymore, and I don't think I'd even feel comfortable in one. I haven't worn pantyhose during the summer in years. All my summery shoes are sandals, and I seem to recall reading that open-toed shoes are inappropriate at interviews. (Of course, I didn't know that back in 1978.) I am in a complete fashion meltdown that only promises to get worse as the interview date approaches.

Maybe I'll just apply at McDonald's. At least then I'd never have to decide what to wear to work.