FASHION: NURSE'S STYLE

Hey Ladies! So, if you are a sports fan then I'm sure you heard about the Cardinals' horrendous exit from the playoffs.... a lot of times sometimes they do things in dramatic fashion, whether it's for better or worse. So, between me sulking their loss and me working the past two days (supposed to be at work right now for a third in a row but am home "on call") I haven't blogged in a few days. I try to post something every two days, but such is life! So yesterday as I was brainstorming something fresh, I thought, heck us nurses have our own little piece of fashion heaven! It ranges from Dansko Shoes to Blue Sky Scrub Hats and all that's in between. The options are literally endless for nurses, unlike me, who don't have to wear hospital provided scrubs. Sometimes I'm a little jealous that I don't get to wear fun scrubs every day, but then I realize how much money I am probably saving by just wearing the good 'ole blue ones they provide us. So in the, literally, five minutes of down time I had yesterday I asked a few of the girls if I could snap some "nurse fashion" pics. Here's the result! (we are so silly, I know!)

Dansko $135
Professional Black Mosaic

The brand of these nursing shoes is called Dansko, and we love them! There are some impostors and I'm sure they work just as well, but I stick with this brand. There are SO MANY styles, patterns and textures that you literally could wear a different pair every day (I highly do not recommend that though, these puppies are expensive!). And the neat thing about Dansko is that they make footwear for everyday life too, not just for health care professionals. The Professional Black Mosaic is the pair I literally bought yesterday. I had basic plain black leather ones prior, and I am not even going to tell you how long I had been wearing them because it is so terrible... Ok, I'll tell you. SIX years! The first two years I wore them during holiday breaks from school when I worked as a nurses aid, so not too often. But the last four years I had pounded the pavement in those bad boys and it was time for some new ones! Thank goodness my hospital has a scrub sale going this week and I was able to sneak down there and get a pair. Holy amazeballs! Although my feet still hurt from wearing the old ones for the majority of the day yesterday, I could definitely tell a difference. After work I swung by the store to get a heel cushion insert and can't wait to see how the combo of the new shoes and the heel support feels. And best of all, we get to do payroll deduction over four pay periods, so I won't even notice my new investment. They do sell these at Zappos and I'm sure you could find some on Ebay if you are looking for a bargain.

Another way that we like to express ourselves is through our socks. Ha! How fun!! Now, in a perfect world we would all wear our compression stockings because of the amount of time we are on our feet, buuut we don't. My 40yo self might look back on this post and shake the computer screen for not wearing them though.... already have some spider veins creepin up on me. Target always has fun socks and for great prices too! I did come across this neat website though, that has joined the best of both worlds. It is called Rejuvahealth and they make fashionable compression socks, leggings and stockings. How fab!?!? This awesome site was mentioned in a recent issue of SHAPE and my ears perked up! In all seriousness, I need to purchase some because there isn't a day at work that I don't come home complaining about my legs hurting. And those teeny tiny spider veins are proof that something not so fab is stirring up!! So ladies, and men, go get some!! I am, and I have to now that I've written this! And then will come the trifecta: new shoes, heel support and compression stockings. Ahhh I am so happy just thinking about it!!!

Next up, watches! A staple for any nurse, and an opportunity to have fun! Some of my co-workers have fun colors, some have fancy ones, like the one on top, some have over sized ones, like mine in the middle, and some are just sporty, like the one on the bottom. I feel lost when I don't have mine on! I get my watches for work at Target. They always have cute ones and they are typically very inexpensive. I don't want to spend too much on a watch for work because, how to phrase this, sometimes we get in "messy" situations! I need something that I can douse in cleaner or just dump in the trash can!

Now, last but certainly not least, scrub jackets! These are the ultimate in self expression. They are so much fun!! And I love when they are coordinated with the holidays! I feel that it perks up any patient to see a fun color or festive reminder when their nurse walks in the room. And they aren't terribly expensive so you do have the financial freedom to spice things up! You can find scrub jackets almost anywhere. From the obvious, scrub stores, to even Walmart! So fun and so fabulous! And the pockets are very essential. I constantly place things in my pockets and wonder sometimes what I would do without them! ha! Lately I've been rocking a fleece jacket, but I'm about to break out my Halloween inspired scrub jacket. I usually break that bad boy out on October 1st, but kind of let it slip. Oops! Better late then never!


I hope that even if you aren't a nurse or in the medical field that you were able to enjoy this post!!


And now, for the last time until next season, some Cardinal's love. We had a terrific season with lots of excitement, and as a true fan from "baseball heaven" aka St. Louis, I have only great things to say. They don't call us the, "best fans in baseball", for no reason. And, every team has down right lousy games, and unfortunately, this one happened to cost us the opportunity to win the World Series. Love my Cardinals!!!!

xoxo  MaryBeth