One of the wonderful things about freelance working from home is that you get to choose exactly what you want to wear to the office. No other people means no pressures, no strange looks and no turning up in the same dress as your colleagues. In my case my freelance wardrobe is usually a combination of vests, hats, woolly socks, fingerless gloves and outdoor clothing donned in layers to combat the chill that arrives around three hours after a sea swim. Not my best look ever but then a girl has to keep warm.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week however, I am not going to be in the office: I am very excited to be attending the Outdoor Recreation Network Conference at Parke on Dartmoor. The title of the conference is ‘Future Trends and Insights’ and it is going to be really interesting but I am in a mild panic about what to wear. My usual outfits for Dartmoor take three forms:

1. Walking gear, walking boots, waterproofs and gaiters (functional)
2. Swimsuit (minimal)
3. Bivvy bag, sleeping bag, all the clothes I have in my rucksack (thermal)

I understand that they have conference facilities at Parke (presumably with squirrel-powered heating) so I don’t think I’ll bring my sleeping bag. Conference facilities usually also have roofs so I won’t wear my waterproofs, and I’m unlikely to go for a river swim mid conference (although the River Bovey at Parke is rather beautiful) so will leave my swimsuit at home. I looked in my wardrobe last night and found that by ruling out all of my outdoor gear, I was left with some tatty pairs of jeans, two dresses and approximately a thousand cardigans.

If you have any ‘how to dress for an indoor outdoor conference’ tips, I would be only too pleased to receive them. In the meantime I am planning to leave tomorrow’s outfit up to the wardrobe gods and see what happens. Maybe a bright red lipstick (I do have a lipstick somewhere) would distract from my clothing…

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