This is the true trauma of the first day of class

I have to wear TEACHING clothes. Like, nylons and shoes with heels and make-up and stuff. (Okay, make-up isn't clothes, but you get my drift.) Why oh why can't I feel comfortable teaching in jeans and sweats? (I just can't. Which isn't any kind of criticism of others who do - I think teaching in jeans and sweats is fine - but it's just not me. Le sigh.)

Comments

[Dr M]

You HAVE TO wear that type of clothing? You have a dress code? We can pretty much wear whatever we want. I stick to "dressy casual" with jeans and t shirts on Fridays (no classes). The only ones here who wear suits and ties are the administrators.

[af]

There's a lot of space between jeans/sweats and dresses/makeup/nylons/heels. I wear nice pants, nice sweaters, casual jackets, and flats (with trouser socks). Even dressing up that much annoys me sometimes, so I do know what you mean. But slacks are much more comfortable and you never have to worry about shoes and hose.

[luolin]

I also don't feel comfortable teaching in jeans, and can't usually find nice pants that fit well, so I wear a lot of skirts and dresses. No nylons though, just tights when it's actually cold. (And makeup isn't even on my radar.)

Like you, no judgement on people who do teach in jeans. I just feel the need to dress up more than that, but a little less than you do.

[JF]

I'm with you on the no-jeans, but I think stockings are an evil invention. Trousers all the way!

I always dress up when teaching because otherwise I get mistaken for a student.

[Dr M]

Sorry to be sexist in my posting. We * do * have female administrators here and they dress much more formally.

[Ancarett]

I rarely teach in a dress (and when I do, it's almost always in the warmer time of year when I can get away with no nylons). I find that dressy trousers or any decent pair of pants make me feel a bit more free to roam around the class. That makes me feel more relaxed and my teaching seems better as a result.

That said, I do know the sorrow of putting aside my jeans for "teaching days" -- I just don't feel right wearing them for teaching anything but my seminar classes.

[meg]

I kind of look forward to the wardrobe shift of the beginning of term. It always starts with a good cleaning of the bedroom -- getting all the stuff (most of it clean unfolded laundry) picked up off my side side of the bedroom (the other side being a Superfund site I Will. Not. Touch). I get everything all perfect and orderly, including dry-cleaning, mending, maybe a trip to the Starvation Army to get rid of expired clothes.

I've been wearing nothing but jeans and t-shirts for the last month. Teaching attire (skirts and slightly-nicer t-shirts, with a jacket if weather permits) will be a welcome change.

Hose and makeup, though -- not on yer life.

[helenesch]

Although I don't do hose, makeup, or skirts, I have a completely different teaching wardrobe--nice pants, silk blouses, jackets of various sorts. "Dressing up" in this way has actually helped me get back in the spirit of teaching... I feel like I actually look more like an adult.

The first few years in my job I used to feel upset about not being able to get away with teaching in jeans (as I did in grad school, since that was mostly what I owned). But now that I've spent a good few years building a fuller wardrobe of nice clothes that I like (as in, they are both comfortable and nice-looking), I find the whole feeling that I should look more "professional" to be less bothersome.

[ppb]

It could be worse! You could be an adminstrator who has been wearing work clothes since January 2!

[amy]

Um, do they say "nylons" in your current neck of the woods?? I suspect it's "hose".

But laughing that you even bother. I don't remember the last time I put on hose!!

;)

[ppb]

I grew up with the word nylons, and out here it's hose or stockings. But I have to admit I almost commented on your word "nylons" because it sounded right to me, the way pop is right, not soda.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Heh, the geography thing! I trained myself to say "hose," but I wrote this post really quickly, so "nylons" came back to me. But ppb, what's funny is that to me, natural = nylons *and* soda. ;-)

And the thing is, I'm like luolin - I have a hard time finding nice pants that fit well, and I like the way I look in skirts better. And actually, I find a lot of skirts more comfortable than nice pants! It's just that it's too warm here to wear tights, even though I prefer them to hose. And I'm twisted enough that I honestly prefer the way that I look in skirts with hose than without. So, I'll go with skirts and hose so I can feel comfortable about the way I look, even if I don't feel *quite* as comfortable, physically. And I also have a hard time finding (or justifying spending money on!) jackets I like, especially since I'm always hot so don't love jackets in general, so it's easier to look formal in skirts.

meg, sometimes I do get into the dressing-differently thing again. I just wasn't there yet. ;-)

and ppb, yes, I'm glad I'm not an administrator! ;-)

(I don't actually mind the makeup part - that's kind of fun, and I wear very little compared to much of the world. Eyeliner, mascara, powder, lipstick, a little blush. I was on another forum somewhere where people were talking about what they wore everyday and there were people there who wore something like 4-5 different colors of eye makeup on any given day - I am just not that creative/coordinated!)

[Bardiac]

When I was young enough to possibly be confused as a student, I tended not to wear jeans. But about a year ago, I just decided jeans were as okay for me as for my male colleagues. And dang, they're so comfortable!

[Seeking Solace]

I was happy when I entered the academic world, because I did not have to wear suits like I did in my lawyer days. But, I still dread putting on my big-girl clothes!

[Terminal Degree]

The culture here allows jeans on Fridays. I waited several months before I wore them, and then I did so with heeled boots and a black blazer. I think I had to work harder at dressing up my jeans than I do to put together a regular teaching outfit. But they sure are more comfy!

I prefer slacks to skirts--I feel freer to walk around, sit on a table, crouch under the computer to fix the cords so I can make the CD player work (this happens more often than I'd like to admit).

[Nomadic Postdoc]

I started wearing skirts a few years back, when I realised I didn't own a single one, and wondered whether I was drawing a certain sense of authority from dressing in a fairly masculine fashion. I felt it was my feminist duty to femmie up, and model for my students (esp. the female ones) that it was possible to be both make-up wearing/hairstyled *and* rigorously intellectual. Not that I think everyone should do this - but, anyway, my point is that I find nylons horribly constrictive, but stay-ups fun and way more comfy.

[Emily]

NYLONS??? I won't wear those for anything -- not for teaching (or for any job), not for getting married, not for anything!

[joanna]

I tend to start the semester with the best of intentions (that being wearing nice slacks, shirts and jackets), but by the end of the semester, I'm wearing jeans half the time. No heels--I work in a computer lab and am always moving. Make up equals lipstick--rarely do I wear "full face."
I teach at a community college where professors wear casual or business clothes, and I think the thead that ties us together (no pun) is that neither group is extreme--I weouldn't wear a tshirt with my jeans, and I don't wear the same jeans that I wear for gardening--the business style folks dress well, but not as though they were K Street lawyers.

[Alice]

I agree with several commenters above -- slacks and sweaters/blouses are just fine.

[Doctor Moonbeam]

NK, I say both "nylons" and "soda" too. *g* And we're not at all from the same part of the country.

I teach in my comfy floppy linen-look pants at least 75% of the time. And Birkenstocks. And decent knit shirts and cardigans. I'm all about comfort but otoh I don't think I dress so that I'm going to be mistaken for a student. But at home or during breaks? Jeans, sweats, sweatshirts. Oh yeah.

[michelle]

OT and on above: we'll be here when you get back! Have a good start to the semester. :)

[Susan]

Since there's no comments on the next post, I'm working around that by putting one here: take care of yourself! It's great when you're posting, but you need to take care of yourself first.

[Another Damned Medievalist]

Well, I say (and wear) nylons/hose/tights/pantyhose. Generally the control top kind. I will be very happy when I feel comfortable enough with my thighs to wear stockings again. Yes, real stockings. With a garter belt. Much more comfortable, plus you can get them with proper seams, and they're sheerer than anything.

I will teach in jeans-cut corduroy trousers, or occasionally nice trousers (generally, I can't find ones that look right on me), but I normally wear skirts and hose. And heels. And make-up. It's work clothes.

[Buffalo]

I grew up saying "pantyhose" and rejected it because it refers to my "panties" -- something I would prefer my students and colleagues not think about. Its like calling a blouse a "brashawl"! Similarly, I grew up saying "pop", but now refer to my beverages in far less active terms. After all, I don't ask for a cup of steaming hot "zing" in the morning!

[Mommyprof]

It differs by department, too. Spouse will go teach classes in jeans any day. I usually won't, unless the weather is super cruddy. I've had a hard time with the makeup thing lately, too.

[Sharon]

Hmmm interesting...we have a dress code. We can only wear jeans on "jeans day". We have on a jeans day for various occassions through out the year. It is all about "professionalism". However, of course, our PE teacher/coaches wear sweats all the time! lol I don't do dresses/skirts very often at all just for the security that nothing is ever going to show that should not (splash, crash etc.). And I definately wear very comfy flat shoes because I am on my feet most of the day.