I've begun to notice a pattern with business trips lately. As the trip approaches, I get increasingly worried about if the clothes I have to fit the venue fit me. This can be in the least, a subconscious stressor, and in the worst, outright panic. Each time I manage to get through the business trip, but it often takes a toll.

The problem is that now that I work out of my apartment it's easy to build a wardrobe of comfortable, geeky T-shirts and jeans. Then when I actually need to go to an office, everything I have is almost two years old. In those two years, I lost a lot of weight, had major surgery, and gained much of it back albeit in different places. The long skirts I used to wear five days a week now seem too obscuring and don't reflect my more attractive attributes (as my spice like to remind me). 

I other words, I need a new wardrobe. 

Furthremore, I need a new wardrobe with a style that better corresponds to the circumstances of my daily life. Button-down blouses are practically unsuitable for anything other than going to an office. Replacing those with new blouses wouldn't solve the problem, as they would sit in my closet or my luggage until the next business trip. Instead, I need something that's dressy, but comfortable enough to wear out with friends, as well as to a business casual venue. 

Complicating this is two factors. First, I prefer simple clothing. Few patterns, colors, and no requriement for layering with the exception of the occasional cami. Second is carry-on capacity. If I cannot pack five days of clothes in a piece of luggage, I'm in trouble. I loath checking luggage and certainly do not trust the airlines. The two factors combined -- to say nothing about the money involved -- will make this a long process. 

Nevertheless, it's time to go exploring.