Teacher clothes!

dazey

I am starting teaching in a secondary school and need some advice re what to wear. I feel like I am quite stylish on a daily basis and would read up on fashion quite a lot on refinery29, in Look magazine and the like.

My problem is trying to keep things fresh and appropriate without falling into the 'black trousers and blouse' look. It really bores me and as naive as this may sound, I think young people relate better to someone who shows some of their personality through their clothing.
I know I did as a not very trend conscious teen. The teachers that dressed all like each other were just anonymous drones. I think first impressions are everything and if a teacher looks well students will react positively to them before they even speak.

So how do I strike a balance? I am a fan of Zara and H&M if that helps. Any outfit ideas??

Toto Wolfcastle

dazey wrote: »

It really bores me and as naive as this may sound, I think young people relate better to someone who shows some of their personality through their clothing.

You're right, that is naive. The way you dress will not help you at all. Your attitude and teaching style will dictate how they relate to you.

What is the dress code in the school? Some schools are quite laid back and casual while others expect the teachers to wear suits. It would be easier to advise you if you could tell us that.

I'd stay away from black trousers and go for other colours. Black trousers are so meh. If you can find some nice skirts that aren't too short or tight they'd be nice with a blouse. Zara have some lovely dresses at the moment that are stylish but also suitable for work. H&M and Oasis have some nice things too.

In general as long as you look smart, don't show off too much leg or wear low cut tops you can't go wrong. If you're stylish anyway you'll be able to tell whether what you are wearing is appropriate or not.

Another way to put outfits together is to look at websites like ASOS to see what types of clothes they put together.

Something like this (the shapes rather than the colours/patterns) with a cardi on top is stylish and professional but still quite young.



Don't buy too much until you find out the dress code, and even then hold back for a week or so after you start to see what kind of clothes the other teachers wear.

dazey

I asked the principle and she said that she would prefer something smart but that "as you cans ee we have quite a mixture". There was one teacher with mini skirt and sheer black tights and rough looking flats. To me this was highly inappropriate. There seems to be some wiggle room as the principle herself was wearing an a line linen skirt and jacket outfit which looked like it came straight off an M & S model - bright but conservative.

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

The way you dress will not help you at all.

I just don't know. How can it not? People first visually develop a perception of someone

Toto Wolfcastle

dazey wrote: »

I just don't know. How can it not? People first visually develop a perception of someone

Of course, but first impressions can change very quickly and teenagers will soon forget what you're wearing. I thought the same as you tbh when I started but it really really makes no difference what you wear. If it does, it's with a tiny minority of students.

E.T.

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

You're right, that is naive. The way you dress will not help you at all. Your attitude and teaching style will dictate how they relate to you.

Couldn't agree more.

One of the funniest things when you start teaching is the realisation that even if you're in your early twenties, to most of the students you're an adult and therefore at least 500 years old, so your style is irrelevant to most of them.

"I think first impressions are everything and if a teacher looks well students will react positively to them before they even speak."

I wouldn't see this as realistic. People have very different tastes and styles, and your idea of fashion mightn't be someone else's cup of tea. My idea of looking well might be someone else's idea of looking conservative/slutty, depending on their own taste, style, and values.

byhookorbycrook

I remember my first pay check and rushing out to buy good clothes for teaching. The first day I wore the expensive skirt, an infant came to ask for more paint..by poking me repeatedly in the hip area-with a paint-covered paw...(dry clean only skirt of course, ruined)

Biro and marker marks have ruined many of my clotes-and even a good bad (child borrowed a berol to keep score at a match, put it back into the bag uncovered,bag covered in ink,inside and out.

amdublin

I'd be concentrating more on my teaching plans and establishing discipline in the classroom than my wardrobe if I were you.

RH149

I was like that too when I started.....didn't want to look like the older 'frumpy' teachers- soon discovered though that the more they relate to you as young and fashionable.....ie like them, the less they see you as their teacher. That brings a whole lot of problems. You don't have to go for the stereotype teacher look but you need them to pay more attention to what you're saying/doing than to what you're wearing.

Caraville

To be fair, with secondary teaching I find there is a bit more scope for "dressing up" than with primary teaching- for the most part you're not dealing with paints, helping kids out opening lunches, doing games, etc.

I'm a secondary school teacher and I HATE wearing black trousers to school. I think I possibly own 2 shirts- so that whole look is a bit of a no-no for me, i just feel so frumpy in it. We're not allowed to wear jeans but that's the only rule really- obviously it just has to be appropriate.

I mostly wear dresses from Penney's with a cardigan over it. I like long tops that you wear over leggings because they're really comfy. I wear skirts with a top and scarf. More often than not, I wear pumps because I just get too uncomfortable in heels standing around all day. Although if you'll be teaching boys, wearing heels can make you feel like you've a bit more authority cos I always felt like a right shortar$e around them when I used to teach boys- but in fairness after a while when i got to know the lads I wasn't bothered with the heels much anymore! I definitely feel that my clothes reflect my personality- some days I have that slightly officey look and other days I suppose I can look a bit arty farty on my more casual days, but that's very much me in general, depends on my mood.

I don't think people who aren't teachers realise though how pass remarkable students nowadays are though- at least every second day a student comments on something I wear or my handbag or my nail varnish or hair etc. I only spend about 25 mins getting ready in the morning, and as I said my clothes are mostly Penney's so it's not like I'm very dressed up or anything- but they will ask you where you bought things or if you dyed your hair etc, things I never would have asked a teacher when I was in school. I suppose I should be glad of it though- when they stop asking I'll feel like I'm old cos they won't want to have any of the same stuff as me!

FueledByAisling

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

You're right, that is naive. The way you dress will not help you at all. Your attitude and teaching style will dictate how they relate to you.

Couldn't disagree with you more here! I'm in secondary school and I speak on behalf of my school here, If one of our teachers dresses nicely we do tend to pay more attention to them and we do feel like we can relate better to them as if you're stylish you seem you're down with the time unlike the other teachers who probably don't even understand what a computer is.

Come to think of it, the teachers that dress the best my class do best in, have the most fun in and also look forward too. I say it's due to the teacher feeling comfortable in their clothes and just wearing suits and blouses as it's the stereotypical thing to to.

FueledByAisling

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

You're right, that is naive. The way you dress will not help you at all. Your attitude and teaching style will dictate how they relate to you.

Couldn't disagree with you more here! I'm in secondary school and I speak on behalf of my school here, If one of our teachers dresses nicely we do tend to pay more attention to them and we do feel like we can relate better to them as if you're stylish you seem you're down with the time unlike the other teachers who probably don't even understand what a computer is.

Come to think of it, the teachers that dress the best my class do best in, have the most fun in and also look forward too. I say it's due to the teacher feeling comfortable in their clothes and just wearing suits and blouses as it's the stereotypical thing to do.

amdublin

FueledByAisling wrote: »

Couldn't disagree with you more here! I'm in secondary school and I speak on behalf of my school here, If one of our teachers dresses nicely we do tend to pay more attention to them and we do feel like we can relate better to them as if you're stylish you seem you're down with the time unlike the other teachers who probably don't even understand what a computer is.

Come to think of it, the teachers that dress the best my class do best in, have the most fun in and also look forward too. I say it's due to the teacher feeling comfortable in their clothes and just wearing suits and blouses as it's the stereotypical thing to to.

Wow!

All of this just down to the clothes they wear.

Nothing to with their attitude or their teaching style.

Wow! Who would have thought that is all you have to do to get results as a teacher.

suitcasepink

FueledByAisling wrote: »

Couldn't disagree with you more here! I'm in secondary school and I speak on behalf of my school here, If one of our teachers dresses nicely we do tend to pay more attention to them and we do feel like we can relate better to them as if you're stylish you seem you're down with the time unlike the other teachers who probably don't even understand what a computer is.

Come to think of it, the teachers that dress the best my class do best in, have the most fun in and also look forward too. I say it's due to the teacher feeling comfortable in their clothes and just wearing suits and blouses as it's the stereotypical thing to to.

I agree with all of this, Im in secondary too and you definitely notice the teachers who dress better and warm to them a lot more.
Of course dressing better doesnt make you a better teacher but I do agree it makes you see them more as a person and increases likeability which should help students want to learn. And it does for me atleast.
But this is going slightly off topic..

FueledByAisling

Well to be honest with you in my school the younger the teacher the better they seem to be at teaching. They seem to degrade in teaching skills as the years go by for some reason! But yes you are correct, it isn't 100% on how the teachers present themselves I'm just saying if teacher A was a good young teacher with the stereotypical teacher clothes and teacher B was a young good fashionable teacher my grades would probably be a bit better in what ever class I have teacher B for.

Acoshla

I used to pay more attention to the stylish well dressed teachers too, some sort of teenage respect system in my head, you dress nice therefore you must be interesting!

Hazys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuZu8bBBZWo

chicken fingers

Back in the day I used to be the same.
Younger teachers dressing well were people who were easy to relate to and no that does not mean they weren't respected.
Its not all you have to do, but teenagers are impressionable and they might not see real life adult fashion often at the weekends or at home, so it is an opportunity to both express yourself and make an impression on the youth.

amdublin

chicken fingers wrote: »

Its not all you have to do, but teenagers are impressionable and they might not see real life adult fashion often at the weekends or at home, so it is an opportunity to both express yourself and make an impression on the youth.

What

Are they locked up at the weekends

Or interacting with robots instead of "real life adults" ?

Come on! Would you listen to yourselves!

newbee22

I feel most comfortable in dresses at work. I had infants last year though and wore trousers a lot because my lovely dresses were getting destroyed with paint, yogurt and dirt! I don't think the kids treat you any way different because of what you're wearing. I remember my first year spending so much money on teacher clothes! They have gorgeous things to wear to school in New Look and Pennys at the moment, really nice shirts and skirts:)