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?

In my workplace, which is a school, definitely jeans would not be smart casual. I would say chinos and a shirt.

I do think the training providers need to be a little more specific at times. Granted, I started my career when most teachers wore jackets if not full suits for work, and weren't allowed blue or green hair, but my eyebrows did take a bit of a life of their own with the more recent crops of trainees we've had. Some v v casual outfits and some v v short skirts. Now, I have great legs and will happily wear shorts or short skirts at home, but not for work.

What are you basing this on? Fair enough if you work in a school and that's what people wear, but if not this thread is filled with a couple of dozen people saying denim and trainers are very much the norm for inset.

I work in a large primary that have quite a strict dress code for teaching days but training days are very relaxed. Dependent on weather, shorts, jeans, joggers all acceptable. This will include all SLT too. I think many are thinking too formal!

I’m a teacher in an international school and our teachers can wear any trousers except blue jeans - black are fine - but not ripped of course. Most people wear loafers, boots or clean/smart trainers. Converse are okay as long as very clean and the rest of the outfit is smart. Shirts or smart polo style T-shirts for men. Dresses and shirts or blouses for women. If i were him I’d wear black jeans, a shirt, and some sort of smartish shoes that aren’t trainers for his first day, just to be on the safe side - a nice middle ground. See what others are wearing and copy that for day 2!

Jeans, t-shirts and trainers are all casual - not smart casual.

They were in the 80s/90s when clubs etc would have a no denim no trainers rule but not now.

Id say jeans and a nice t shirt will be fine. INSET at our school just means wear your own clothes!

Wear whatever you’ll be jumping boxes and cleaning classrooms all afternoon.

I have worked in multiple schools north England for the past 10+ years. On inset days anything goes; jeans, hoodies etc no one will be dressed smart. For general school days, male staff generally wear smart trousers, shirt and tie while the women dress more casual tbh! If it’s a special needs school, all staff generally wear stuff they can chase kids in and don’t mind getting dirty so non ripped jeans, T-shirts etc.

Def don't copy what people wear on inset day to teach!

I wouldn't wear jeans for his first day. It might be ok, but far better to overdress than underdress IMHO.

This. I worked as a teacher in many schools. None of them allowed blue denim for anything,ever.

They were probably imagining a 2 day inset, which is fairly common in September.

I’d play it safe on his first day- chinos and a check shirt

I'm not talking about in a club, I'm talking about in a workplace and none of the above are smart casual in a professional workplace.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies! I've read them all out to him. He's going to be teaching PE, so he'll get a uniform to wear for non inset days thank goodness!

Yes, they are. I work in a professional workplace, providing high-value knowledge services for some of the world’s most well-known businesses. Both in my own and my clients’ offices, people wear informal smart-casual workwear which can include denim, T-shirts and trainers.

John Lewis https://www.johnlewis.com/content/fashion/men/guide-to-smart-casual-dressing-for-men says:

To stay on-trend, pick dark jeans or utility-inspired chinos and pair with a classic grey sweatshirt, hi-top trainers and a tailored overcoat.

We’re not talking about a job in the High Court. The idea that a PE teacher can’t wear smart trainers on a training day is ludicrous.

Smart casual for teachers = no shirts and ties, no suits. HOWEVER .... no football shirts, ripped jeans, trackies.

In my previous office, it meant men didn’t have to wear a tie, but I would say smart-casual usually refers to dark, solid coloured jeans, chinos, polo shirt, checkered shirt, knitted jumper, dark shoes, not trainers.

But clearly they are in all the schools previous posters have referred to. Many of these posters have worked in several different schools. Do you work in a school?

In my school we can wear whatever we want on inset days. Headteacher rocked up in his rugby shirt, shorts and flip flops…

It’s his chance to make a first impression on his new colleagues, in a new career. Worth buying some boots/shoes, trousers and a shirt that can be used later for parents’ evenings and maybe as part of an interview outfit.

Pretty much anything that's not joggers, lounge wear, beach wear. Jeans, trainers, t-shirts, shorts all fine. If he's worried jeans and a t-shirt, polo or shirt and casualish shoes will be fine till he susses things out.