Winter work clothes

[anchovies]

About to start my first secondary teaching placement and am having wardrobe dilemmas. What do teachers wear? Can I wear boots for example? Have been a SAHM for too long!

I wear black trousers with ankle boots, vest top with v neck jumper on top, and a black jacket (which gets taken off for teaching but is there if I need to look smart)
Men at my school are all in suits and ties, women in office wear mostly.

Whatever you get, make it comfy and cheap, the number of things that get ruined at work with kids around is unbelievable.

Thanks talulahbelle, would you wear boots with a skirt/dress (obv and opaque tights) or does it need to be smarter than that? I am generally a very "hot" person, especially when I'm flustered so am nervous of wearing a vest and jumper. Everything I own seems a bit loud! Thanks for the cheap tip, will get myself to tesco/sainsburys for some basics!

This week I wore...

black pencil skirt with red and white striped Breton top and red pumps.
navy trouser suit with a pinstripe with blue V-neck top underneath.
charcoal pinstripe pencil skirt with a grey jersey shirt with white flowers on it.
Black trousers with a white smock top and a military style waistcoat over the top.

That kinda thing. I veer between office wear with a bit of a quirk and smart casual.

Also, depends what's clean

Defo dress, boots, opaque tights.

I wore a fairly short dress this week too, but with a long cardigan, very opaque tights and knee high boots, so it was fine.

Depends on the school, though. Some have a dress code. Ring and ask.

Boots and a knee length skirt or dress are fine. I have a black jacket in my office for work which I roll out for the annual school photo and open mornings. Otherwise it's knee length skirt with a jumper and opaque tights, knee length jersey dress with black tights again, or black trousers and a jumper or top. I also keep a long length black cardi at work if I have to go to a cold classroom.

Just make sure that you wear a vest under anything that might be too revealing.

Get a few clothes that mix and match, e.g. A black, grey and neutral v neck jumper that can go with your black trousers, a skirt etc... Have a few cheap scarfs or necklaces to brighten up an outfit.

Dress, boots and opaque tights are my winter office uniform.

I'm lucky can get away with leggings, boots (uggs) and slouchy smart sweater but then my office is freezing and nasty wind due to bad builders whistling under front door.

I don't look overly smart but smart casual. Got nice top shop jersey pencil skirt that have worn with normal boots and primark beige cat sweater with uniqlo heat tech long sleeved top underneath.

Oh OP how about polo/unusual sweaters (cowlish neck) saw one the other day could've been Zara but smartish ones.

Someone linked to a gorge Zara trafaluc tartan blazer (not the red checks) which would look nice over tips etc. and for warmth what about sleeveless sweaters over blouses/shirts etc?

Lol I meant bad builders work not builders cat calling me! Lol

I would fry in knee length boots. I wear trousers and shirt or a dress, jacket which I remove in lessons, and ankle boots/courts with a wedge or a block mid heel. I find flats uncomfortable when standing.

teachers "school uniform" is black trousers and a brighter shirt/blouse/jumper... I like 3/4 sleeve jersey tops but smarten it up with a nice scarf and wear heels which I take off in the classroom

Jersey jackets from Next with a scarf look good too.

I would buy

Navy trews
Black trews
Black long sleeved top
Jersey jacket
Cream long sleeved top
Masses of cheapo scarves
Costume jewellery
Black boots
Chunky brogues

Then mix n match the lot!!

It really depends in the school- some schools stipulate that all staff must wear jackets at all times, some let you wear jeans.

Do you know which school you will be at?

oops I lost my first sentence from my post - which went something along the lines of we have a dress code but as we are all presumably unimaginative, boring and get up too early in the morning to think about anything properly, lots of us resort to our own virtual uniform

I think a bit of bling - costume jewellery as mentioned above - is a good idea as it can draw the eye, for example towards the whiteboard. I have a number of black/ navy dresses that I team with boots and coloured opaques. Bling near the face brightens it up and gives me much needed confidence.