Inspired by D-Med's awesome first day of class ensemble yesterday, I wanted to float this by the readers. I am not teaching today (or until Monday), but while it's still "transitioning" weather outside, could this (or something similar) work in a classroom? The jeans give it a casual vibe, but the jacket, from my "interview suit" (which I dislike, as suits are just not my thing), formals (yep, using it as a verb) it up a notch). Or maybe it's too early for this kind of laid back wardrobe choice?
I'm working from home today, (the blazer will get ditched if Buster decides to use me a sa climbing pole, which begins around 10 AM), although we'd hoped it would be nice enough for the beach today. Maybe tomorrow. Other than that, we don't have many plans. I got some reviews for a different paper back yesterday, and while they were positive, they wanted significant changes. But one of the reviewers seemed agitated at my claims, which first annoyed me, but then Blokey and I had a good laugh. Sometimes, there's just no pleasing some people.
I guess there's this fashion thing going on somewhere in Manhattan. I guess some bloggers are having their own events? That's cool and I'll read some bloggers (but not many) talk about this. I have nerdy research, writing, and class prep to do. The nice thing about being very geeky in NYC is that I generally don't care if I'm missing much. My manuscript is more pressing than, as Jezebel calls it, "rich men wanting to make money."
Are you interested in fashion week? Do you like reading blogger's coverage of it?
Hope you have a lovely weekend!
I like your cool laid back vibe here. I think it should be ok for teaching!
ReplyDeleteI've definitely worn outfits like that to teach in the past. Currently, I would go for a slightly less t-shirty top underneath, not that you have to go full button-down or anything, but something a little more, for want of a better word, deliberate. A collarless blouse maybe. Jeans read as super-casual, this could read as "yeah, I was going to head out to a rock concert but I need to teach this lecture first". But that might not be a bad thing if your students are cool.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the blazer formals your outfit up, and I don't see why you couldn't teach in this. You're still wearing nice shoes (as opposed to jeans & tennis shoes) so it's not *too* laid back.
ReplyDelete@Eek: Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Cynthia: Yes, I think that would look nice but I don't have any colorless blouses, just the standard issue button down ones. I can't quite tell if my students are cool, yet, but I'll see how I read them.
I'm not for one for telling anyone what they should or shouldn't wear, but I myself would be a little hesitant about wearing jeans in the classroom so early in the term and with such a casual tee under the blazer. Week 6? Yes. Week 2 or 3? No. I also know a lot of people frown upon open-toed shoes or sandals in the classroom, although I wear them fairly frequently.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I've been thinking about even more lately than how students perceive our sartorial choices and how that impacts their behavior toward us is how our colleagues do. You are on an urban campus and you have mentioned that your colleagues tend to dress stylishly. Do they wear jeans or looks at all similar to this? At my grad institution and at the SLAC I visited at last year there was a wide range of dress and few would have batted an eyelash at a choice like this, though they might have told me they liked my shoes or something to that effect. At my current institution, faculty dress seems to be much more within the business casual model. I have yet to see any of my colleagues in my department teach in jeans. The male faculty wear slacks and button downs. The women wear slacks and button downs or long skirts and blouses with blazers or cardigans. I think (unwritten) departmental dress codes are important to consider for those of us who are not tenured. We might decide not to conform to them, but I think that we should we should be aware, as I know you are.
I think that outfit looks fantastic on you. My first impression was that it looks appropriate for teaching. The blazer makes it more formal, and you look approachable but still professional.
ReplyDeleteI'm with La Historiadora: The students will probably appreciate you looking cool & approachable, but senior faculty members may find your outfit a bit casual and student-like. In my experience, young faculty members, and young women in particular, need to look serious and professional to get taken seriously. I'd wear this outfit for writing in my office, or low key student meetings, but not for teaching or all faculty meetings.
ReplyDeleteLHdM: Thanks for these great ideas. Luckily, there is pretty strong diversity amongst what professors wear. I might be naive, but so far my experience has been that my department is open, encouraging, and friendly, and that conforming to sartorial norms hasn't been an issue. Maybe I'll write a post of this in the future?
ReplyDelete@Rebecca: I'm glad you think it makes me look approachable. I worry about that sometimes but I can still be awkward in the classroom.
I like this outfit a lot, Rad, but I think it needs to be tweaked a little for teaching. As it is, given your youth I'd say you look like a T.A., not a professor. Closed-toed shoes and darker jeans would immediately polish the outfit up the small notch it would take to look a bit more sophisticated. Add a scarf and you've pushed it up another notch. Or keep the jeans and add a more tailored tee shirt or light sweater, and closed-toed shoes or ankle boots and that would be fine, too. Being older, I think I could probably get by with this outfit (the silver streaks in the hair and lines on the face have to be good for SOMETHING) but I still wouldn't wear jeans this faded to teach in if I were also wearing a loose tee.
ReplyDeleteOh, is it Fashion Week? No, I don't read those blogs.
@Charlotte: Perhaps a pair of more professional wash jeans are in order, but sadly, cannot be purchased for 9 more months. They are going on the wishlist (my colleagues do wear dark wash trouser jeans as well as skinny jeans of various shades).
ReplyDelete@Walking Barefoot- thanks for you comment. I'll reconsider this in the classroom. But in my department, most tend to dress down in meetings, because our department is chill and pretty relaxed (like, there is real, genuine laughter that comes out of our meetings. I smile a lot). But good call for meetings with administrators.
I think you can teach in jeans, even in these jeans, but I agree that closed-toe shoes and a more tailored tee might be in order. I like this blazer with these jeans, for the record.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your department has a great vibe, sartorially and otherwise. Nice.
Yep, I'm with Charlotte & KellyBean. And no, I don't pay much attention to fashion week stuff. It always coincides with our busiest times of the year, no?
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, however, you look freaking awesome here. i'm seeing a solid final exam supervision-followed-by-rock concert future for this BA ensemble.
I think adding a blazer to practically anything makes it look more professional, jeans especially look more stylish with a blazer on top. I really like it but I don't work in the education field so I can't add any commentary to whether it's appropriate for teaching.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Fashion Week...yeah, I don't really pay much attention. I know a lot of other bloggers do so I'll read their posts (or skim them) about the things they've seen that they like and that they think will work in real life, but otherwise...meh. Runways aren't interesting to me.
I'm going to be the outlier here and say that I think you could totally teach in this as is. It's the kind of outfit that probably wouldn't be ideal in the first week when you're conditioning student expectations, but, as I think you're going into week 3 like me, we're at the cusp of that part of the term when I think it's fine to inject a little edge (however understood) into our wardrobes.
ReplyDeleteI work in a department that is fairly sartorially conservative (within a uniformly conservative school) but I think if I were to show up in a version of this outfit in the next week there'd be no problem with it. In fact, one of the assistant professors who's held up as the model often wears a very similar outfit to this but with pink Chucks and nobody bats an eye.
Sorry to go on so long, but another thing struck me. We're in the process of selecting a new department head and, as part of the process, the dean met with all the professors by rank. Part of his pitch to assistants was that we're the "future" of the department and should therefore make sure our voices get heard in some way. This has been repeated in a number of ways by senior members of the department. While this veers into hoky "children are the future" territory, it did make me think of the leeway that junior faculty might have to seem & appear edgier (again, whatever that means) in both their research and their clothing. Like we grant teenagers a space for rebellion that would be inappropriate in older adults, maybe junior faculty have, to some degree, a similar space (though, of course, this scenario is definitely place specific & different for more precarious workers).
I really like the look of this outfit and I think that you know your department and what you can get away with. I wouldn't teach in jeans because I am not yet comfortable enough to do so--in fact, I never have, even as a TA--but many of my colleagues do. I think the suggestions for a darker wash denim and a slightly more formal top are good ones, though I really enjoy the graphic tee.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I might wear to a department meeting though. In fact, many of my colleagues are much more casual than this at department meetings. It does depend on the place but I also like E-Jo's point that assistant profs represent the vanguard in a department. I don't honestly feel as though I do and I will obviously feel more vanguard-y if I become an associate, but it's something to consider. You were hired to energise the department and that can be done in many ways that don't necessarily make it into the tenure application but that are still noted.
@E-Jo: you have like the smartest comments ever. Not that other's comments aren't brilliant, but some how, your insights are really great. I don't know if I will teach in this (but maybe a version of this, but try to work in elements of this into various other professional outfits), but this has got me thinking. And I think you're right that junior faculty push boundaries, and rightfully so. Even just by our presence. In my awes department, the 10 junior faculty are 1/2 women (there is only one senior lady of 20 members), under 40, do really interesting and engaging research, are racially diverse, queer, and international. Yeah, we rock.
ReplyDelete@Dorky: I will def wear jeggings (under a tunic) to teach sometime this semester. Octoberish? Maybe I can make Columbus Day my "all bets are off" day in terms of dressing as I wanna. You know, vanguardish!
@KellyBean and A-Dubs: I've never actually worn anything more open than a peep toe. We'll see if I have the nerve to wear them (maybe with tights, later?)
As a blazer lover, I think this is great, and I would always respect someone in a blazer. They just pull things together, they command respect!
ReplyDeleteWhile I've never been too invested in fashion week, if I read about too many other bloggers who are there and having a crazy awesome time I might start wishing I were there and wondering if I could hop on a train and crash...
Chic on the Cheap
Thanks Rad! This post has me wanting to break out a version of this outfit but I think I'll have to wait until it cools down further!
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about academia or what is appropriate wear there, but I will say this is one of my most favorite of your outfits ever. LOVE the heeled sandals with the jeans and blazer, and the cuffs on the blazer are great.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rad! This post has me wanting to break out a version of this outfit but I think I'll have to wait until it cools down further!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be the outlier here and say that I think you could totally teach in this as is. It's the kind of outfit that probably wouldn't be ideal in the first week when you're conditioning student expectations, but, as I think you're going into week 3 like me, we're at the cusp of that part of the term when I think it's fine to inject a little edge (however understood) into our wardrobes.
ReplyDeleteI work in a department that is fairly sartorially conservative (within a uniformly conservative school) but I think if I were to show up in a version of this outfit in the next week there'd be no problem with it. In fact, one of the assistant professors who's held up as the model often wears a very similar outfit to this but with pink Chucks and nobody bats an eye.
Sorry to go on so long, but another thing struck me. We're in the process of selecting a new department head and, as part of the process, the dean met with all the professors by rank. Part of his pitch to assistants was that we're the "future" of the department and should therefore make sure our voices get heard in some way. This has been repeated in a number of ways by senior members of the department. While this veers into hoky "children are the future" territory, it did make me think of the leeway that junior faculty might have to seem & appear edgier (again, whatever that means) in both their research and their clothing. Like we grant teenagers a space for rebellion that would be inappropriate in older adults, maybe junior faculty have, to some degree, a similar space (though, of course, this scenario is definitely place specific & different for more precarious workers).
@E-Jo: you have like the smartest comments ever. Not that other's comments aren't brilliant, but some how, your insights are really great. I don't know if I will teach in this (but maybe a version of this, but try to work in elements of this into various other professional outfits), but this has got me thinking. And I think you're right that junior faculty push boundaries, and rightfully so. Even just by our presence. In my awes department, the 10 junior faculty are 1/2 women (there is only one senior lady of 20 members), under 40, do really interesting and engaging research, are racially diverse, queer, and international. Yeah, we rock.
ReplyDelete@Dorky: I will def wear jeggings (under a tunic) to teach sometime this semester. Octoberish? Maybe I can make Columbus Day my "all bets are off" day in terms of dressing as I wanna. You know, vanguardish!
@KellyBean and A-Dubs: I've never actually worn anything more open than a peep toe. We'll see if I have the nerve to wear them (maybe with tights, later?)