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What NOT to wear to school
By Meg | September 26, 2007
Briana over at College Fashion implores Don’t Wear Pajamas to Class! If only that was the only college fashion crime.
Yes, it seems like common sense to most of us: pajamas are for sleeping, not wearing out of the house. Many of you might remember a time when no one would even dream of wearing jeans to school. Maybe some of you are in disbelief. Surely this never happens! Surely things couldn’t have devolved this far! Well, I can say that I have personally witnessed this phenomenon on numerous occasions.
Unfortunately, pajamas are just part of the problem. Only very mildly better is wearing gym clothes to school, but unfortunately some people don’t see why it’s a bad idea to wear yoga pants or gym shorts EVERYWHERE! Gym clothes are for the GYM. Even if they are clean, gym clothes either look sloppy or too clingy (or both) to wear outside of the gym.
While school can be a great place to meet new people, it’s not a night club. Don’t wear skanky clothes. It sends the message, “I don’t care about learning, I’m just here to hook up”. You can dress nicely, look great, and get attention without being so blatantly desperate - and distracting.
Listen closely. Dressing appropriately shows respect for the people around you, for the situation, and for yourself. If you show up to class in pajamas or gym clothes, or skanky clothes, the message you send is “I don’t care enough about this class to bother dressing appropriately.” Maybe you truly don’t care about class, but that doesn’t mean that you should announce it to the entire class. That’s disrespectful. Remember: treat others with respect - you never know when you might need them.
What should you wear? Jeans and a t-shirt are usually fine in college. However, consider business casual - even if it’s just every now and then. Dressing a bit nicer will get noticed in a good way because you’ll look much more professional than your peers. That can go a long way when you need recommendation letters from your teachers.
Tags: Fashion, Impressions, School
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December 8th, 2007 at 5:05 am
This is a concept that should be discussed with every student! As a teacher, I am afronted when students put no effort into their appearance. It’s like the t-shirt “I’m awake and out of bed. What more do you want?” Even if it is just a t-shirt and jeans, comb/fix your hair, wash/gussy-up your face, apply deoderant and a mild aftershave/perfume. If you go out of your way to greet your professor before class and say bye after class, he/she will notice and mark you more favorably than other students (not that you need it, of course).
This is an easy way to boost your grade without being labeled teacher’s pet.
December 8th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
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.
January 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
will you please put pictures on of how not to dress for school at h.e classes? I need them for my h.e project, and i cant find one!!
January 5th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
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 : )
January 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Well I’m a grade 8 student myself and i wear low tops in my my math class becayse the teacher is a perv and grades girls on how low their tops are but we are taking care of that so don’t worie!
and yes he is in jail! :)
January 13th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
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 ; )
January 15th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I know I’m late to the party here but I SO agree. While 9 AM classes usually earn my “uniform” (changes every semester, this year it was slim cut or skinny jeans with a voluminous top or sweater and cute flats), I try to do a business casual thing most of the time. I’m trying to single-handedly revive the dress/skirt on my urban campus. Also, a private meeting with a professor always merits a little extra dressing up. I know from corporate jobs that everyone, even subconsciously, looks down on the person in the wrinkly shirt. Bad clothes suggest that you can’t take care of yourself, and people who can’t take care of themselves are obviously incapable. I think that goes for class too. It’s about packaging yourself well.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
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.)
February 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I actually linked this post to a recent rant about beauty/class/acting like you care at all. Hope you don’t mind!
February 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
No, of course not, Anastasia! Links are always appreciated, especially when they come from great blogs like yours.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
this is really good but it ant helpfull it just talks about teachers giving people who dress good better grades and more attention.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:52 am
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.