Dolly understands the drama of working a standard nine to five job!

A common complaint from a lot of fat people I know is the difficulty to get work clothes that fit, particularly in the nebulous area of ‘business casual’ that many workplaces have as their dress code. It’s quite difficult to find clothes that are comfortable enough to sit down in for 8 hours a day, as well as being appropriate for the office environment, reasonably priced and perhaps most importantly, what we want to wear.

I am incredibly fortunate to work in an environment where I can wear quite casual or daring outfits on a day-to-day basis – others don’t have that flexibility, and may need to dress more conservatively. I tend to shop sales, but I’m lucky to have the income to purchase things full price if I need to do so. And I’m a size 18-24, so I still have a good number of options to choose from, though being in Australia sometimes makes it a bit harder.

I set myself the goal of taking photos of each outfit I wore from Monday to Friday last week (October 24th – 28th), and amazingly, I actually managed to do so. I realised that the light is much better in the morning, and I took Monday’s photo in the afternoon after I got home from work, so it looks a bit blah.

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with pale purple hair. She is wearing a black and beige colour block maxi dress with a silver leaf pendant, white cat eye sunglasses and black strappy cork sandals.

Monday - Dress: Evans Collection//Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via SoleStruck.com//Necklace: Renee Loves Frances via UQ Markets//Sunglasses: Asos

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair, wearing an ivory blouse with short ruffled sleeves and high-waisted olive green trousers.

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair in a low bun, view from the back, wearing an ivory blouse with short ruffled sleeves and high-waisted olive green trousers.

Tuesday – Blouse: Yesstyle.com.au//Trousers: Asos Curve//Shoes: Ziera

Image of Zoe, fat and pale skinned with purple hair pinned up loosely. Back view of her wearing a grey ruched-sleeve tee, a black grey pinstriped skirt with maroon kick pleats, beige seamed stockings and cream flat cut out brogues.

Wednesday - T-shirt: Lane Bryant//Skirt: Chicstar via a vendor at the Brisbane Roller Derby whose name I have forgotten, argh//Shoes: Ego & Greed via Solestruck.com//Pantyhose: Pretty Polly via StockingsHQ.co.uk//Necklace: Monster Threads

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair and black thick-rimmed glasses, arms folded. She is wearing a dress with a black skirt and grey and black horizontal striped top, black and mesh leggings and cream flats.

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair and black thick-rimmed glasses, from the back with one hand on her hip. She is wearing a dress with a black skirt and grey and black horizontal striped top, black and mesh leggings and cream flats.

Thursday - Dress: Forever 21+//Leggings: Asos Curve//Shoes: Ziera

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair. She is wearing a ankle length black skirt with her hands in the pockets, pendant necklace, burnt orange top with elbow length sleeves, and cream flats.

Image of Zoe, fat and pale-skinned with purple hair. Back view of her wearing a ankle length black skirt, burnt orange top with elbow length sleeves, and cream flats.

Friday - Top: Katies//Skirt: Katies//Shoes: Ziera//Pendant: Birthday gift

I almost exclusively wear flats to work – I have a flat, temperamental feet that start hurting at the drop of a hat; Ziera is the fancy rebranded version of Kumfs, who make some awful and some lovely shoes that often fit custom orthotics and have lovely supportive and cushioned footbeds. However, they’re pretty expensive; I was lucky to get the two pairs I have on sale.

I also tend to wear strong makeup – liquid eyeliner, defined brows and the like. Combined with my often wild hair colour, I stand out. And that visibility in my day-to-day interactions with people is one of the most important parts of my fat activism. Screw invisibility – I refuse to hide.