DRESS FOR WHO YOU ARE

Words by Ellen Bluestein

June 13, 2022

At DAP Health, professionalism is paramount. For some of our employees, this requires wearing medical scrubs for their jobs. For others, it’s about dressing to represent the organization or for comfort to better serve patients. “I feel like when you’re fashionable and you look good and you’re professional, people respect you,” said Karen Zelaya, an endoscopic nurse, who has worked at DAP Health for five years. Housing Case Manager Alexis Gonzalez Ramos expressed a similar sentiment. “Every work environment is guided by a specific mission and values,” he said. “I have always valued decency, professionalism, and fashions that significantly match my current work environment.” As Gonzalez Ramos often interacts with community partners outside of DAP Health, it is important for him to represent the organization in the best possible light. “The first impression always determines the business’s success, which starts with the dress code,” he said. “So, I tend to keep my fashion simple yet trendy.”

While some may think wearing scrubs is anything but trendy, that’s not true for Zelaya. “I’m one of those people who dresses up her scrubs,” she said. “I like colors. I feel like they make people happy. They make me happy. I’ll wear hot pink Nikes with lime green scrubs. It doesn’t have to match. It’s the mood.”

Mood is exactly what plays into six-year DAP Health Clinical Site Specialist Chris Bates’s fashion choices when he gets dressed for work in the morning. “I use fashion as an extension of emotion,” he said. “When I’m feeling bright and cheery, I’ll wear something that’s more colorful, like yellow or orange. If I’m kind of feeling a little gloomy, maybe it’d be like a neutral color, like a navy blue or gray, but it’s just an extension of my emotions and how I’m feeling that particular day.”

Newly hired DAP Health Chiropractor Alyssa Romero concurs. “I believe that what we wear is a direct reflection of how we feel,” she said. “So oftentimes, you’ll see me wearing cute, casual, comfy clothes because I can move in them. I can perform my job duties in them, and it makes me feel good.” Romero added: “I like to switch it up with different colors and different patterns. The thing about being a chiropractor, we’re always moving, always kind of down in a squat position or doing something to try and adjust people and get them moving. So, my style is definitely a mixture of professional and practical in the workplace.”

But in their free time, it’s so long to scrubs and hello to hiking boots and heels. “I’m in scrubs most of the time,” said Jennifer Mata Alanis, a medical assistant in the primary transgender care and HIV clinic who has been with DAP Health for three years. “As a transgender, Latino female, I’m really proud of who I am. And while it all depends on where she’s going, fashion, she said, “helps you express yourself, especially being transgender.” Expressing his identity through fashion is also important to Gonzalez Ramos. “I tend to mix a bit of feminine and masculine aspects in my fashion,” he said, “This is an expression of the appreciation of both genders and to confuse the audience about my gender. “It will not be a surprise to find me in a pink-colored outfit because I have quite a lot of them. But I know how to play around with the feminine and masculine colors to create a perfectly blended outfit.” Romero also doesn’t like her fashion choices to solely define her. “If you had to choose a Spice Girl, I would definitely say that I’m more Sporty Spice,” said Romero. “But I’m also not afraid to wear a super cute pair of heels and jeans, or a cute bodysuit... It kind of depends on if I’m being active or if I’m going out on a Friday night.”

When Zelaya goes out, she opts for fitted clothes and body-conscious fashion that accentuates her curves and shows her figure, along with sandals with kitten heels and the occasional wig. “I’m very girly,” she said. “I’ll wear wigs sometimes — braids or big Diana Ross hair — it depends on the mood I’m in. There are no rules.” “Fashion is fun, it’s creative,” added Mata Alanis. “It makes me feel good that I got up and took care of myself,” Zelaya said. “I tried.” “To me, fashion is an art, a way of life, and a peace promotion tool,” said Gonzalez Ramos. “It is the only way to reconcile individual differences and appreciate those around us regardless of their race, culture, or gender.”

Outfits thrifted at Revivals.

Header photo:

Alyssa Romero, D.C., Doctor of Chiropractic is wearing
Top: Vintage butterfly sequined
Pants: Dr. Romero’s own
Shoes: Only Madden

Top left photo:

Chris Bates, EHR Clinical Site Specialist is wearing
Top: Zara
Jeans: Scotch & Soda
Shoes: Chris’ favorite Vans
Bracelet: Leather bracelet with glass bead weaving
Sunglasses: Round metal Ray-bans

Top right photo:
Karen Zelaya, LVN Special Procedures  is wearing
Shawl: THML
Pants: Insight
Tee: Karen’s own
Everyday Tee
Shoes: Madden

Bottom right photo:
Jennifer Mata Alanis, Certified Medical Assistant is wearing
Jacket: CQ by CQ
Pants: Jennifer’s own

Bottom left photo:
Alexis Gonzalez Ramos, Housing Case Manager is wearing
Jacket: Silk bomber with appliqué
Shell: Gracia gold sequin
Shorts: Alexis’ favorite biker shorts
Boots: Madden