calling all teachers and others who have to dress in a respectable fashion for work - your help pls!

[harpsichordcarrier]

I start a PGCE in September and just arranging my placements.
my thoughts turn, of course, immediately to clothes!
I have been a SAHM for five years and I have lost track of what to wear in the workplace.
also, as a teacher I think I need to dress respectably (frumpily? ) and comfortably and I have generally NO CLUE where to start.
also, inevitably, I have a low budget
suggestions? tips? mockery?
tia

I'm quite scruffy naturally, so for work I wear suits, with a top. If cold - keep jacket on, if hot - take it off - for parents evening I wear a shirt. I find the pockets in jackets handy for board pens and keys.

I'm cautious what I wear on my feet as our corriders get packed and I want some protection from size 9s. Also work in a lab and have to be careful of glass and stuff. If I feel fat or scruffy I wear a blood stained lab coat!!!

I find it easier to keep a work wardrobe as then I don't have to think about what to wear. In the summer I'll wear wrap dresses, skirts etc.

Most of all BE comfortable.

Harpsi, the answer to the cleavage thing could be scarves - nice scarf, tied at the neck, falls naturally over the cleavage, you get the flattering-to-norks scoop or v-neck top that it sounds like you already own, but no visible cleavage.

I hate looking down at the scarf cos it makes me feel like an old biddy, but viewed from anyone else's point of view I think it looks okay.

ooh how exciting!

Califrau has a great idea where she sews a hairgrip to the point of the v on vnecked tops and slides it over the middle of her bra
so you have respectable cleavage when standing up but do not give them an eyeful when you bend over

i don't teach but do have to look vaguely smart for work and can i just say that Tesco's are really good for cheap work clothes? i am a bit in love with the Florence and Fred range tbh. it's not stuff i'd choose to wear, but because of the nature of my work i need stuff that's easily replaced.

i also love my 3/4 pinstripes either with knee high stilletoes or ballet pumps for summer, but might be a bit racy for school!

scarf
hair grip
tit tape! where the flip do I buy tit tape??

lol at the idea of me in a slightly padded t shirt bra my norks are way too big for that delightful thought but I see your point re visible nipples
thanks everyone

Nah, moulded bra has a similar effect, adds a smackerel of bulk but the shape and the no-nips is worth it (hopelessly addicted to Panache Porcelain bras here, 36G).

The other non-jacket, non-cardy answer to nipples is the waistcoat. I love waistcoats, they add structure, the can easily redeem badly fitting shirts on the norktastic figure.

It's mostly black / grey trousers and M&S jersey tops for me and the majority of staff at my school. They have recently bought out some boat neck T shirts which I think are quite flattering and avoid me showing my boobs off (I teach music and do a lot of bending down during lessons- picking things up off the floor)
I'm in a primary special school and we probably do have a more casual dress code.I do wear crocs and trainers to work. Mostly mary Jane style shoes though.

If you are on a budget I recently got a couple of nice jersey cardis from Matalan which are great for smartish cover ups. They have been complemented on more than once by other memebers of staff You will be able to judge how many layers you should wear when. you have been in the school for a few days.

My other tips would be
Try to have school and non school clothes.This is hard at first.
Get an emergency cardi and keep it safe - you never know when you might need an extra layer.
Never be embarassed about vests. Or a woolley hat on a freezing cold playground duty for that matter.

I once did a teaching practice with a teacher who only wore white jumpers and black trousers to work. She claimed it created two loads of easy washing for her. Sometimes I can see her logic.

Sorry this has turned inot a bit of a ramble....

harpsi

tit tape from the haberdashers on Bath St in Ab

harpsi - i actually have some tit tape. you can have it if you want. CAT me.

thanks everyone! I appreciate all your help
xx

Thought of one more thing - make sure that tops are long enough; many of the students who come on teaching practice wear low cut trousers and then expose half of their back when they lean over. I've had to take some of them aside for a chat about it before. Layers are good - if you're tall and struggle to find long enough tops, M & S do long bodied vests to layer underneath a shorter top.

i used to find that you couldnt go wrong with suits. or trousers /skirt with jacket.
boots and sandals for summer perfectly acceptable, as long as you can spend the entire day standing and walking around in them. it wearing sandals, then clean, pedicured feet essential.

No tits, tum or bum is what the students get told and the same applies to staff [have scared self now with that image]

Although a few female staff wear suits, most wear smart casual since suit jackets are a bit constricting. No shorts, leggings, tshirts, denim, flip flops, birkenstocks... but plenty of A-line and pencil skirts, tailored and wide legged trousers, flats, enclosed heels, boots etc

Think Principles/Monsoon/M&S/Zara/Next

No sandals, no trainers, no birks and no Crocs. I'd say the best most instantly smartening thing you can buy is a dark coloured jacket.

actually I haven't worn a jacket for years
I shall miss my birkenstocks

Don't make the same mistake as me when I went for an interview at a school. It was winter and so I wore a checked skirt, white blouse and black jacket. When I got to my interview I was horrified. It was bad enough that my top half looked like a school shirt and school blazer but the check of the skirt was the exact tarten as the girls' school kilt. I felt like one of those funny teachers that dress up for non-school uniform day. Couldn't concentrate on interview either. Didn't get job - no surprise there!

I tend to wear trouser suits. In our school, pretty much anything smart/casual is fine - jeans and trainers aren't allowed. The pupils are expected to be smart, so it's only reasonable that the staff should be too.

We can wear sandals at this school, but I've been in one where they weren't allowed for health and safety reasons. It can get uncomfortable to be wearing shoes in summer, when you are on your feet all day.

I tend to wear trouser suits. In our school, pretty much anything smart/casual is fine - jeans and trainers aren't allowed. The pupils are expected to be smart, so it's only reasonable that the staff should be too.

We can wear sandals at this school, but I've been in one where they weren't allowed for health and safety reasons. It can get uncomfortable to be wearing shoes in summer, when you are on your feet all day.

I think Wallis is quite nice and cheap for informalish workwear.

oooooho harpsi how exciting!

what subject are you going to teach?

(clearly I can give no advice on respectable dressing seeing as I still look like some scummy student most of the time)