So true! And it’s not like most teachers consciously think, “I’m going to give higher marks to the better dressers.” It’s just what naturally happens in many cases — and that’s why it’s so important.

I’ve known many brilliant people who were underestimated because of how grungy they dressed. As a result, they were labelled problem kids and most teachers and other adults gave them less help.

Hi Cathy and welcome!

I don’t really have any myself, but you might want to have a look at Go Fug Yourself. There are plenty of examples there that would be inappropriate to wear to class. Or even just search for images of people in pajamas, gym clothes, slutty clothes (not to slutty to show to others of course), etc. Let me know how it goes : )

Hi Courtney and welcome to the blog!

That’s awful of him! It’s unfortunate that there really are teachers out there like that. It sounds like people are taking it seriously, though, and that is good.

Hopefully now you and your fellow students can learn more in math class than the ratio of cleavage to grade point average ; )

Welcome A.! Well said and good for you! It’s a shame you don’t go to my school, because I’m trying to do the same here.

I wear skirts or dresses most of the time when I go to class. I still have fun with my outfits, but I know that I’ll get more respect if I dress up than if I went in tattered jeans or gym clothes. (Plus, I also find skirts and dresses to look more flattering than pants on most women, myself included.)

No, of course not, Anastasia! Links are always appreciated, especially when they come from great blogs like yours.

Hi Sydney!
I guess you can think of it that way, but of course there’s more to getting good grades than just dressing nicely. I think about it more from the other perspective, that dressing like a slob may make the wrong impression on teachers and they may be a little less likely to help you. I certainly don’t think that is fair, and nor do I suggest that teachers do it intentionally. However, once people get a negative first impression of you — whether they’re teachers or not — it can be hard to dispel those prejudices.

Hi Jess,

There’s nothing wrong with dressing casually in class, so long as it is still appropriate. But dressing a little nicer can still be worth the effort when you want to make a good impression.

I think it is important to be your own person, but I also believe there are different degrees of caring about what people think. I don’t think we should be so obsessed about what others think that we compromise our values, but at the same time it is important to be aware of what people think so that we don’t make a bad impression unintentionally and miss out on good opportunities as a result.

Hi Eric,

Well, I certainly hope my readers know that clothing alone won’t get you the grades, a job, etc.!

But I wrote this piece because, while I think that much is common sense, I don’t think it is common sense anymore that how you look is also important. In fact, it’s almost a taboo subject in this generation that would rather believe, “Wear whatever you want. Screw the consequences!” Just because we wish people didn’t judge our appearance doesn’t make it so.

Granted, appearances are often probably more important than they should be, but despite all the talk of fairness, one can not help but judge people by their appearance — especially because it is so often subconscious. Therefore, a savvy person knows that they need to pay attention to their appearance and what messages that’s sending to be sure that it complements what is inside and doesn’t sabotage the hard work they’ve put in.

As for money, I don’t believe that it takes much more money to dress nice than it does to dress poorly. Sure, expensive labels send the message that you have money to burn, but in most cases that’s not the message you need to send and so branding really isn’t all that important in most cases. What is important is that clothes are appropriately dressy (or even appropriately casual) and that they are modest enough for the occasion.

As a bargain shopper, I know from experience that a good wardrobe is not expensive because it is as much about what you DON’T buy. Plus, there are always discount stores, thrift stores, and even charities that specialize in outfitting the truly poor with appropriate clothes for work.

Bottom line, very few people can’t afford an appropriate wardrobe for school and/or work if they are careful not to spend too much money on clothes that 1. aren’t flattering, 2. aren’t sufficiently modest, and 3. aren’t sufficiently dressy enough to be versatile (or clothes that are too dressy to be versatile). If that leaves them with a smaller wardrobe, that’s fine!

For example, if you show up to an interview in jeans because you have 5 pairs of jeans but no slacks, that’s not a money issue, that’s a clothing choice issue. Chances are, you’d have been better off even buying 5 pairs of slacks because at least you could have dressed those down for casual wear.

Hi Emma-Louisa!

Great points! You do sometimes have to make a choice between dressing for the teachers or dressing for your peers. Hopefully that’s not so different that you get picked on — goodness knows, high school is hard enough. However, it’s always good to keep in mind who is going to be in a position to help you more now and in the future. It’ll most likely be the teachers.

Of course, I’d like to think that we all have true friends who support our efforts to dress nice. Unfortunately, I know that some people do feel jealous or that someone has “changed” or “sold out” even if all they did was start dressing nicer. Maybe that’s why I really don’t talk to anyone from high school, lol. But to be honest, while there are a few friends I’d still love to run into some day, I really don’t miss people from high school all that much and have found much better friends along the way.

Ryan,

You think your schools administrators are anything like Nazis? You might want to spend more time in school reading history. I assure you, my father didn’t risk his life and enlist in the navy in WWII to free students from oppressive dress codes.

I don’t doubt, though, that you are a highly intelligent person. However, school rules aren’t all about you. They are also there to help others learn. The administrators might be concerned that the way you dress is a distraction to OTHERS. Whether it is or not, I can’t say and it’s not my call. However, I understand why the administrators would want to be safe and impose rules that may seem unfair to some.

Now, I don’t think there is one best way that everyone should dress all the time. However, I put forward the guidelines above because I believe that there is a certain unwritten dress code for school and the workplace that helps people make a good impression on those who have the power to help you. If you don’t want to make that sort of impression, fine, I understand that you may have other goals. However, you do so at your own risk and should be aware that there are consequences.

Despite what the media has been saying, there are jobs out there. If you are having problems landing a job, please consider — for your own sake, not mine — if your personal choices in appearance are putting you at a disadvantage.