Lecturers - your sartorial wisdom needed please!

[Whoamireally]

Well, I've just been offered a new job (hurray!) lecturing on am undergraduate clinical course at a University. V excited

However...I've spent the last 8 years of my working life safely esconced in hospital uniform which requires no forward planning or in fact effort, and I have absolutely no idea what to wear when I start my new job!

Lecturers...what do you wear to work? Please tell me I don't have to invest in a tweedy jacket with elbow patches?!! Are you smart - sort of Isabella Oliver wrap dress and heels - or casual, jeans and T-shirt type? Or is there a middle ground here that I'm missing?

Don't want to look all middle aged and frumpy, or alternatively, like I'm trying too hard!

TIA!

I mostly dress in a more formal way than my students, but I don't think it is true that they won't respect you full stop if you're informal. There are quite a lot of rambling, leather elbow patched duffers around with dinner down their ties (and indeed blouses) who still get quite a lot of respect from students because they have something interesting to say.

And I really don't think they see us as sex objects - sure, they judge us - particularly women - using broader sexual standards but that's not the same as reading you as a sexual creature...

Fair enough. I expect it varies from place to place.

I think 'informal' depends on context, but you do need to think about it a lot. If I wore jeans, for example, students who're 18-21 will be fine with that as long as they're smart, not skinny jeans. But if they're skinny jeans, forget it, the respect has gone. Same with pencil skirt and heels: someone commented on a feedback sheet (not mine!) that the lecturer looked as if she was always on her way to a date, and that is Not Good.

I am planning to go, smart one half casual/funky other half. For example, if I wore a denim skirt and boots I would team it with a smart top/ jacket. And smart trews would get a more casual top half iyswim I am starting to wonder if I will never get it right anyway (reading 'date' comment) and therefore might as well not worry.

I think if it's clear that you know and can explain your subject and are totally confident then the way you dress becomes pretty irrelevant.

But going back to the OP, I would say definitely go with what makes you feel comfortable as it will all help you feel more at ease in the new situation - and from observing many trainees I would say be very aware of what is going to happen to your top when you lean over to explain things!

I just tend to put on whatever I feel lie that day. Sometimes I do lectures in jeans, other times I'm dressed up in wrap/shift dress and stiletto heels. I tend to walk around a lot as I'm lecturing though and therefore prefer something I can move in easily. I've also only ever done one lab class in high heels. It nearly killed me!

I think more important than what you wear is ensuring that you "own" the room. My typical lecture size is 200 students (but have done up to 700 in one room), however, I always make it very clear that I am in charge and they are coming into "my" room. Otherwise you can end up with mayhem!

Wilfshelf : I am another who would like to know where you work that the students don't look at you as sex objects!

I am quite careful about cleavage and length of skirts but even so have overheard students saying they want to sit at the front because the class is interesting and the teacher is a bit of alright!