Do you dress up for work?

[teeminus8]

Im very early career in a London university, and I've started to dress up on days I'm going in (tiny bit make up, hair tamed, proper shoes etc). I'm starting to resent the mental energy I give to thinking what will I wear on this day, and I need to buy X or Y.

I'm not extravagant by any means, but I'm annoyed I need a summer blazer- but also appreciate I shouldn't show up department wide talks in a t-shirt and shorts.

My HOD is a lovely lady in her 70s and she walks around in her normal biking into work clothes, and I wish we all could. I do know she's earned that in a way and in a league of her own.

Anyways how much do you 'dress up'? Do you think it adds to your career? If I could see the positive benefits I might not be so resentful!

Yes, I am always smart. I think it has helped my career. I don't go mad in suits but I would never wear jeans to work. Usually smart trousers and brogues, for example, or a dress in this heat

I do also go in most / all days and the combination of this means I get put forward for things, invited to faculty-wide or university-level meetings, suggested for talks etc. I am there, visible, looking put together

I don't know why you are resentful, by the way. starting an exciting career doing something you love is a good time in your life. So what if you need to wear a blazer? most jobs require a uniform or a specific style of dress. Buy two nice work outfits from charity shops and save resentment for something worth it

Dressing a certain way for work is pretty normal OP-why do you resent it? I work in HE too and dress smartly when I’m at work. At home I’m usually found in jeans and plaid shirts.

in terms of 'mental energy', buy two complete outfits and just wear them on rotation for ever. three if you go into work every day.

I generally wear a smart dress on days where I’m teaching, but not always on days when I’m just working in my office. Nobody bats an eyelid at people wearing jeans.

I think more carefully about what I’m wearing when I’m teaching but otherwise very casual

I remember coming into HE as an academic and asking about dress codes. I was met with a confused stare and was told that being dressed was insisted on but exactly what I was dressed in didn’t really matter.

i'm a prof at a London uni. I wear black trainers, trousers (not jeans) and a smart top for work. No make up because I've never used it much. Shirt or jacket or nice necklace if I'm giving a talk or hosting someone or going to an important meeting. but M&S trousers and a slightly-smarter-than-basics T-shirt is fine for regular days in the lab / meeting students / teaching.

I find clinical and business-facing academics tend to be smarter (shirt / tie for men etc) but arts / lab facing tends to be sloppier.

We can wear what we want in our office. I usually wear jeans a nice top I domy hair and makeup and make myself look nice. I think its part of going to work. What is your office dress code policy?

Ps I work at a law firm.

Female UK academic for 30 years and have never worn a blazer or a dress. Just clean and smart and made a bit of an effort for some events. There’s a world of difference between formal wear and shorts/ T shirt. Just wear what you feel most comfortable and confident in and don’t overthink it.

I started dressing up more when I became head of department, in a department of mostly men and most of them more senior and/or older than me. I would say it gave me some confidence, which I absolutely needed - not the clothes by themselves, but certainly it did help to develop a competent, put-together persona whenever some of these guys started mansplaining me and doubting my abilities, which happened with certain regularity. I have left the HoD role but mostly kept the dressing style. My wardrobe consists of 2 pairs of work trousers, 2 pencil skirts, 2 shirts, 2 jumpers (which I replace with two short-sleeved tops in the summer), 1 dress and 2 blazers. All except for one blazer are neutral colours so combining them is easy. If I want extra color, I normally wear a scarf (I have tons!).

Of course I don't mean to say everyone needs to dress smartly for work, but I do think developing a sense of confidence is important, so if certain ways of dressing allow you to do that, go for it!

I have a colleague who does this each day of the week, eg Monday is red dress day, Thursday is striped top
and blue skirt day. Minor variations depending on weather. It’s a great idea!

I dress like a scruffy student and am sometimes mistaken for one.
Except on days I interview applicants, then I'll switch to a dress or a polyester top with smart(er) shoes.

I have a teaching days uniform, otherwise no. If male academics were required to be smartly-dressed to sit on faculty or university committees, academia would have ground to a halt long since.

There's no dress code in our place as far as I can see and many people wear jeans. I like to have some division between work/home so I don't wear jeans/trainers - except occasionally if I'm not teaching. Generally keep the worn/shabbier/more eccentric stuff for home. That's mainly for the teaching role rather than colleagues. Never worn make up, a blazer or a dress. Seems generally casual vs smart is academic vs professional staff. I'm old though - maybe I would feel more of a need for the confidence/authority boost if I were a younger. I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a student. But I quite like having work clothes vs home clothes.

this is funny to me because in my field (adjacent to medicine) the men are much smarter than the women. Suits for grant panels, shirts and jumpers and brogues to work. Often, still, ties

I was always smartly dressed for work. Dress or a suit.

I’m humanities. I was on campus yesterday for a faculty meeting. I would characterise the male colleagues’ look in general as ‘workout gear meets cycling to work meets the usual band T-shirt meets actually muddy’ (the last being an archaeologist).

do you think if we put 25 academics in a room we could accurately predict their field, based on clothes?

It always helps to not be too shabby, in any career!

Ok I don’t work in Academia- don’t work at all any more. One poster said you sound resentful but that’s not how I read it. You said annoyed; but you can honestly find lovely blazers on Vinted. Per Una ones tend to be good quality and nice colours and often for not very much money. Do have a look.

she says she is resentful in the last line

These websites might help with ideas:

https://phdinclothes.com/tag/academic-style/

https://www.theatticoneighth.com/blog?category=Fashion

Academicchic.com was a great style website but is now sadly defunct.

You’ll soon pick up on what’s acceptable and what’s not in your department. In mine for instance, I wouldn’t expose shoulders or cleavage but then I’m not in an arty or creative discipline.

The other thing you might think about is whether you want to dress in a way that signifies ‘staff’ rather than ‘student’.

I’m in a humanities department at a London university.

We’re generally quite casual. Jeans are common for both men and women, as are trainers. Casual dresses are also widespread; I generally only see more ‘dressed up’ looks if someone is hosting or attending an event, like a guest speaker or making a presentation.

I think like with many workplaces Covid made us even less formal than we were beforehand. Some older male profs wore suits and ties semi-regularly before Covid but it’s a rarity now. My female colleagues don’t tend to go for blazers or similar.

I do put a bit of thought into what I wear when teaching, mainly as I don’t want to distract or draw attention away from what I’m saying/doing. So I tend to dress quite boring on those days but will often wear jeans for instance, I don’t feel the need to dress up. I’m on the younger side of the department, though whether that makes me more relatable, or tragic, is open to interpretation from the student perspective!