From Resort Wear to Volunteer Business Attire: buying a respectable dress

Sint Maarten---I found it in Barbados and did not know where in the world I would wear it on a sailing trip, but my dear friend and "self-adopted Mom" in Daytona had gifted me, and I wanted to find something to fit her impeccable taste. Then I found it: a silk dress that is bright and colorful.

So finally, after taking this volunteer position with OceansWatch and meeting with government officials, the day came to get out "the dress". We are in Sint Maarten and it seems so upper scale. I needed to hunt down a representative of the Department of Environment so I thought I should dress up a little more than usual.

Sailing has been a huge lesson in how different sailors view what they should wear. Some where rags and don't shower until they can actually smell themselves...usually long after everyone around them has enjoyed their odor first! Others are in matching outfits, provided by a sponsor, super yacht or overly ambitious and relatively new captain who thinks it would be fun to where matching outfits proudly proclaiming the name of the boat. I wouldn't like a crew dress code but I will admit finding things around the world has been a blast. Sending friends a gift now and then has been as much fun.

So I'm in the middle or leaning to the extreme with salty boat cloths, going to port cloths, meeting with OW business business-like cloths and okay, a few "going out on the town" cloths. No, not the typical salty dog sailor.

Unfortunately my trip into the capital city of Phillipsburg, wearing this dress, was a bit humorous. I took a taxi to the building that online research had said was where the Environmental Ministry was located. But once there, they directed me to another building...which turned out to be the Education Ministry, who directed me to another building about 1/4 miles away. Once there, it turned out to be the Labor Ministry who directed me to another building about 1/4 miles away. Once THERE, it turned out to be the Security Department who walked me around the corner to the actual Environmental Ministry. Each time I had gone through the OceansWatch spiel, each time, wearing my fancy dress and low heels, I walked in the beating down hot tropical sun. But, I did get the interview and felt appropriately dressed.