When I took a part-time job that took me outside of our home-based business a couple of months ago, I was very glad that I had some clothes in my closet that I could wear to my new job and feel like I was dressed appropriately. Although my new position doesn't require interacting with lots of people, I still wanted to look professional and not like a total soccer mom.

I have my 16-year-old daughter, Valerie, to thank for making sure that I have some clothes to wear that don't involve acid-wash denim and shoulder pads.

If Valerie had been a boy who loved baseball, I probably would have spent a lot of time sitting on bleachers at a baseball field. But since she's a girl who loves to shop, it became obvious to me early on in her teenage years that I was going to be spending a lot of time hanging out in stores while she shopped. So I started trying on clothes as a defensive measure. Otherwise, I was afraid that I might go stir-crazy waiting for her to consider the thousands of items in Nordstrom Rack; she can be there three hours and not even have worked her way to the jeans section yet.

If it wasn't for her desire to dress with some flair, I might have avoided clothing stores altogether; stepping into Macy's and trying to figure out where to go can seem overwhelming if you haven't shopped outside of the children's department for years. Or I might have taken a more righteous attitude about not shopping and congratulated myself about all the money I was saving by not buying any new clothes. And I could rationalize that we live in the country. Except for having one good outfit to wear to a client meeting, does the kid scanning my groceries in the checkout line care that I'm wearing a Gap t-shirt that I got as a hand-me-down-from my son?

But Valerie made sure that I didn't stay stuck in the land of mom jeans. As I tried stuff on while I waited for Valerie, I had an opportunity to put into practice the rules that stylists Stacy and Clinton expound on our favorite show, "What Not To Wear." Like the makeover contestants who appear with them on the show, I could immediately see how pants that sat below the waist were more flattering, pointy-toed shoes elongated the leg, and creating an hourglass figure was actually a good thing. I bought clothes that I really felt good wearing. That really added to my confidence as I started in a new workplace.

You may be wondering why I launched into this sartorial digression in the first place? Because last week I was faced with a different wardrobe challenge. I had a job interview in San Francisco for another part-time position at the Presidio Heights home of a busy mom who has more money than time. She is looking for an administrative assistant to take care of some of the details of her life.

All week I wrestled with whether to wear slacks or jeans when I went to meet with her. At first, I thought I should wear nice pants, after all, even if it is at someone's house, it's still a job interview. However, I might look overdressed. But what if she's one of these wealthy socialite types that wears her hair pulled tightly into a ponytail and thinks jeans are only appropriate if you're tending the polo ponies in the stables?

In the end, I decided to wear what I feel most comfortable in: dark-washed jeans that fit well, good quality black ballet flats that I refreshed with some shoe polish, and a stylishly cropped jacket that was a recent purchase from Nordstrom Rack.

I walked past the well-manicured shrubbery and rang the doorbell. When she answered the door, I was relieved to see that she looked like any one of the moms I encounter while I'm waiting to pick-up my daughter from junior high. It's possible that the clogs she was wearing cost more than my entire outfit but at least I was put at ease because I felt like I looked in tune with whom I was talking to. Whether or not I get the job is out of my control, but either way, it won't be because I had a wardrobe malfunction.