So how smart should I be for work?

[rempy]

I'm an anaesthetist, so spend most of my time in scrubs, but have to visit patients on wards/clinics before operations etc.

Just how smart would you expect me to be?

Would you be doubtful of my professional abilities if I was fairly casually dressed? (cords and a shirt?)

I'm having a post baby sort out and need to buy quite a few things. I'd love just one wardrobe, not a "work" and "home"...

If you are working in a hospital my main concern would be that what you are wearing appears to be washable - if you were wearing a suit I'd be wondering when it was last cleaned. I do however think that what you wear needs to be professional looking so the blouse with the cords would have to be quite crisp looking or stylish - not droopy cheesecloth. A lot depends on how you look yourself - if you are short plump and always in a hurry you probably need to wear something tht gives you a sartorial start on credibility, if you are tall and willowy witha calm demeanour and classic features you could probably get away with anything (sad but true)

Does your hospital now do 'bare below the elbows'? (I kept trying to write bare below the waist there - don't know why! )
Many/most do - so 3/4 length shirts might be quite useful, or sleeves that will roll and stay up.
I think the jersey and fab-stretch tops look quite smart with cords/blazer (kew is good for these).
M&S has some good basics in cotton tops (again the 3/4 length sleeves).

Mmmmm, one of my school nicknames was thunder thighs.... So some styling needed!!

Not a droopy hippy type, but I have in the past been very boringly conservative - plain colours, lots of black for work.

Which is really not me tbh - one of my junior appraisals labelled me "eccentric".

So I'd like to dress a bit more like myself, whilst maintaining an appearance of professionality.

i would expect smart trews and a shirt I think.

I'd expect middling-smart from you.

So newish, clean, ironed clothes, no jeans/combats, no t-shirts, fitted rather than baggy clothes.

Not skirts/suits. More jersey tops, blouses, smart cords or other trousers. Decent shoes.

and PLEASE tell the nurses not to say to anxious mothers" would you like to say goodbye to him" when your kid goes under.

grr

Yes, we will be bare below - there is part of me that wishes we were allowed to wear scrubs throughout the hospital and then I could wear whatever I liked to go into work.

Scrubs however are not at all flattering. There is usually only xs or xxl available, so you spend a lot of time looking like a clown and losing your phone out of your back pocket.

bare below?!!
Oi rempy take scrubs to a dressmaker and LABEL yours.

Decent shoes? Very dull flats ok? What are we supposed to have on our feet this summer?

And yes clare, will suggest a different turn of phrase! Not been to the childrens hospital since having my own...

flats

this was a general hosp

Nice idea Tina, but the last time I was at work, in Yorkshire, I wore scrubs from Kent, Carlisle, and Glamorgan.... there is a PhD in studying the flow of NHS laundry.

not cords

more like woollen trousers (or a wool mix) and a shirt
but none of your next stretchy numbers - a feminine shirt or a short sleeved jumper

no trainers - but sneakers would be ok - no frumpy shoes

examples ehre

trousers

top

these would be totally fine

loafers

brogues are also in, and practical, or you could wear pretty ballerinas

Personally I wouldn't give a shit what you were wearing and would probably cheer up if the colours were bright. So long as it's not splattered with blood'n'stuff and your white coat is clean, I'd be happy.

rofl at JUx

I thought you'd wear a white doctor coat. They do on the telly! I wouldn't care as long as it wasn't blood stained or covered in baby sick.

I think it's not so much what people wear as whether they look like they made an effort or not (and I speak as someone who at home tends to look like she has made no effort - hair scraped back, random stain on non-ironed top etc. - so is trying hard to get a smart return to work wardrobe together!) So provided the shirt isn't crumpled - so avoid linen for example - then I think cords and shirt would be fine. Plenty of the midwives and doctors I came into contact with when having DS were casual, but so long as they didn't look unkempt and did know what they were talking about I really couldn't have cared less! I guess though it would depend on who you were dealing with - perhaps older patients might prefer a more formal looking doctor?

Perhaps you could also accessorise with a nice necklace and earrings (although I guess maybe hygiene issues in hospital?) - again that shows a bit of thought and effort.

Quick hijack - rempy, you helped me out in early Jan when my 9mo DS had broken his tibia. Just wanted to say that he is on the mend now - now crawling and starting to stand well again, and doctor pleased with his progress so no need to return until the autumn for an x-ray to check leg is growing ok. Thanks for your advice back then!

White coats gone - never kept clean enough, so infection hazard.

Fantastic news HolidayQueen, very pleased he's better.

nailpolish - can you come and be my personal shopper? Like the trousers a lot. And the brogues.

marks and spencer have got RACKS of trousers like that

Haven't been shopping for sooooo long....

I have to get a new underwear drawer too. I think that's probably a separate thread!

give me your
age
bra size
dress size
height

33. Haggard.

Have just finished breast feeding. Size before this pregnancy was 36 B. Who knows what it will be next week...

12. Ish. A big ish. I have some 10s and some 14s.

5'6 but with very stumpy legs. I wear short jeans (are they the 30"?) and petite range trousers. But have got a clothing alteration place nearby so might start buying regular and getting them taken up properly.

I have rather large thighs. I think I mentioned that before.

Ankle boots with lowish cuban or block heels as an alternative to flats?

I guess nothing too pricey/you'll get too attached to as there's always the risk of them getting damaged.

I work in the path lab (not so hands on though these days) and the risk of getting dyes or bits of patients on your footwear made me rethink a bit!

i bet you are not a 36B
i bet you are a 32 or 34 D

do you ahve a bravissimo shop near you? thsi is very important. get a bravissimo measurement and it will change you r life and dress size i swear

marks and spencer have lots of petite trousers. as do topshop and dorothy perkins. but DP not so good quality, go there if you are skint though

hobbs have lovely pumps and flat shoes if you want to treat yourself

for short legs plus biggish thighs steer clear of slim leg or straight leg trousers. maybe bootleg too but try them on

Cords and a shirt is not just casual but positively anti-fashion.

I think that it is fine to be casual but that you should be fashionably casual. There is always something about HCPs who completely bypass fashion that makes me anxious - it suggests to me that they may not be up to date with their medical practice.