TVSquad

On the show's season premiere this past Thursday, longtime fans of The Office surely noticed Pam Beesly's (Jenna Fischer's) new sexier wardrobe, make-up and hair. For the past two seasons of The Office, Pam has sported the following:

• button-down cotton shirts (nothing too colorful, mostly stripes and neutrals)
• frumpy skirts (paired with opaque stockings or pantyhose)
  
• comfortable loafers with low wide heels
  

Her skin was pasty and pale lacking any real make-up and showing little to no evidence of ever being in the sun. And her gorgeous curly hair was suppressed back into a a half-ponytail. Clearly, Pam put little effort into her appearance for her workday. But keeping that extra button fastened on her shirt and not wearing lip gloss does deter Toby from asking her out and Michael making inappropriate comments about how well-endowed she is. Well, in the case of the latter, nothing prevents that.

Pam has always been one of the more attractive women at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin. Despite her dowdy clothing, she has long been considered a hottie by the single men in the office.

Michael many times has made off-color comments about Pam's chest and how she should dress sexier. My favorite of these comments was during season two season three. Michael, with his characteristic quizzical look on his face, made the observation that he was surprised that the flasher chose to expose himself to Phyllis in the parking lot and not Pam or Karen. As if to say, don't all flashers choose attractive thin people to violate? Clearly, this flasher had no standards. If the flasher chose Pam, the crime would have been that much more horrific and warranted a serious investigation.

In addition to Michael's many inappropriate comments about Pam, Toby and Creed have made attempts to either ask her out or just hit on her. Before the beach party last season, Michael told Toby that he was uninvited. Toby then went up to the reception desk and offered his sunscreen to Pam. I can't forget the look on Toby's face when Pam thanked him and mentioned that she really could use the sunscreen because she would be wearing a two-piece.

This season all those conservative cardigans and plain shirts have been replaced by cute form-fitting sweaters that show more skin than anything I have seen her wear in seasons one or two. Pam wore a two beautiful sweaters on the season premiere: one purple short-sleeved knit and a light-weight beige sweater with a scoop neck and ribbed waistband. Both tops even looked more expensive than her usual picks--maybe even cashmere?

Why the new duds? The wardrobe transformation certainly flows from the Pam and Jim plotline. The obvious answer is that Pam and Jim are together now so she feels happier and is dressing more attractively for work because she will see her boyfriend there. But I think it runs a bit deeper in the development of Pam Beesly's character. Last season at the beach party, Pam was the only office worker who successfully walked over the hot coals. She then interrupted the rest of the group to tell them of her triumph pointing out that no one else, not even Michael, would or could do it. Her speech quickly segued into her feelings about her co-workers (especially Jim). She chided them all for not coming to her art show and then very candidly spoke to Jim about the awkwardness between them. She ended by saying how good she felt to get all that out. I think it was this new found courage that changed the dynamic between Pam and the office workers, Pam and Jim and even Pam and herself. In her speech she gave Jim the reason he needed to break up with Karen and take another chance on her. She is more confident and out-spoken and her new dress is just another expression of that.

I love the new Pam Beesly. Check out this video of Pam talking about her summer and her new attitude.