AIBU to ask what would you class as smart casual please?

[Oldbird69]

Son is starting teacher training on Monday. It's an inset day, so there won't be any children in. He's been told to go smart casual, what does that include do you think?

At our school

• no jeans/denim
• no open toe footwear
• trainers are ok

Inset day wear normal clothes.basically not jogging bottoms or ripped jeans, trainers should be clean!

Remember this is inset day not a teaching day so everyone wears jeans.

School INSET is normally just dressed down from what would be worn to teach the children and have meetings with parents.

Keeping it 'smart' usually means nothing inappropriate you wouldn't want the kids to see you in, rather than just what you wouldn't normally wear around them.

Every school I've worked at has allowed jeans, tshirts, sweatshirts and trainers etc. on staff only days and there's always at least one member of staff who just wears their work clothes.

Inset days in primary schools are very causal. Jeans and track suits are the norm. A t-shirt and track suit bottoms or jeans with trainers is fine.

Trousers and shirt rather than jeans and a tee

I think it used to mean trousers and shirt, but now means something much more casual. I wouldn’t have thought jeans, but so many have said jeans , they’ll probably be fine.

I think on your first day it's better to be over dressed than under dressed. And then he can gauge what everyone else is wearing and adapt for next time.

I would say chinos, polo shirt and smart trainers.

A lot depends on age and budget. If your son is just starting out on his working career and it's a school, then smart jeans, clean trainers and an ironed plain t-shirt should be fine. If he has a smart jacket as well, that would be perfect.

Good luck to your son 🎉

At my secondary school we wear jeans, t shirts, trainers.

Jeans/trainers fine, but no sportswear.

DH (SLT in a private secondary) went in for inset in smart dark blue jeans and a casual shirt with loafers. A few years ago (when he wasn’t SLT) it would have been the same with trainers.

Not shorts, not ripped jeans, not loungewear, not battered old gym trainers. Dark denim, fine. T-shirt on its own, probably fine - not with cartoons or jokes on it. Loud Hawaiian shirt, maybe not. Anything else that's clean and ironed is fine.

Chinos /Dark Jean's; Polo shirt and smart shoes/Trainers. Good luck to your son .

I’d go for shoes personally, trainers are normally a no no for kids in school so it’s setting a good example to wear shoes/loafers etc.

What does he plan to wear for work?
Better to be overdressed than under.
DS is a teacher and has worn black work trousers and a shirt and tie throughout training and ever since. Maybe drop the tie on inset days.

The students won't be there.

Only do this if you want to be known as the worst teacher. "Black work trousers, shirt and tie." Sounds a bit polyester. It's 2023!

My secondary would be jeans and shirt/plain and ironed t-shirt with either shoes or trainers. Unless you’re a pe teacher, who I’m pretty sure exist 24/7 in the schools pe kit.

@MasterBeth Depends what your aim is? Smart appearance helps you look older / gives appearance of authority when you are young, DS was 21 when he started so only 3 years older than some of the kids.

Hasnt done him any harm as HOD at 26.

I would say it just means nothing with rips in, sweary slogans, baggy joggers/leggings etc. Essentially what you’d wear for a day out somewhere niceish. For most of our male staff that’s jeans (no rips/not super baggy) and a fitted T-shirt, polo shirt or shirt with smarter trainers (i.e. not sports ones) or shoes.

That’s what it means in Ds’s workplace. Trousers, shirt or smart jumper, no tie required. Smart shoes.

ds has worn chinos to work before too with a shirt.

Smart casual to me means nice jeans shirt and shoes

I wouldn’t class t shirt, jeans and trainers as smart casual - that’s just casual.

I think one of them (or even two) combined with smarter elements are probably fine - but you risk running up against some sort of individual quirk in that particular school like “no denim”, “no trainers”, “shirts must have collars” or whatever.

One of my workplaces, open toed sandals were fine, absolutely no trainers. The other had the opposite rule.

Safest option is a short or long sleeved shirt/polo with a collar, dark trousers, leather (or leather-look) shoes.

Not jeans, not sportswear, not joggers, not leggings, not suits.