In 1954, my great-grandmother Helen became the first woman in the fifty year history of the Pennsylvania postmasters association to be elected state president.
Fifty years. One woman. My great grandma.
And before that, in 1939 and again in 1940, she was one of ten postmasters chosen out of the entire country for a national committee. The only one of the ten who ran a small office.
Remember where that office was. A wooden counter in her own parlor.
So picture the conventions. It was a long train ride from Pennsylvania to Chicago. A mother of three making that trip by herself, to walk into rooms full of men who ran post offices.
But my mom always told me that for Helen, it was less about how she got there and more about what she wore to get there.
Helen made herself a heavy wool coat with the lapels lined in fur. She paired it with long leather gloves and beautiful shoes, which were a real upgrade for her, and shoes were her favorite thing on earth. Then a great purse to match, always.
Every single time, she was the best dressed in the room. My family still talks about it.
I used to hear that as a charming detail about a successful woman. I understand it completely differently now.
It is how she got herself through the door.
Because the fear didn’t go away just because she was good at the job. She was most certainly nervous. Walking into a room full of men who had all been handed the thing she had to ask for is a dangerous kind of morning.
She had a lot of those.
Here’s what’s under the fear though. She didn’t wait to feel ready. She let patience go with the last generation. Instead, she got dressed, and the outfit is what carried her in.
She was nervous, and she knew it was hers anyway.
PUT ON the outfit for the hard part today. Look at what is actually on your calendar. The conversation. The meeting. The room you are dreading. Dress for that instead of for the day in general. Then notice what your body does on the way in and if you’re ready, share it in the comments.
