2 July 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.
Sources:
All remixed.
- Navy blazer: BR Outlet, endlessly remixed
- Magenta tank: F21
- Pinstriped bermudas: Gap Maternity
- T-strap wedges: Target.com
- Earrings: gift from my husband
End Notes:
I’m a little shocked that I’m able to say this, but the weather has been behaving quite nicely in our little patch of the Midwest. So well, in fact, that I got to pull out this favorite navy blazer of mine today. All of us have praised structured little jackets to the skies at some point or another on this blog, and I know that many of you agree that a blazer adds a sense of polish and a boost of confidence that few other single items of clothing can elicit.
I don’t have a meeting today, nor do I have plans to see anyone I know. I’m still working my way through my “things to do before baby arrives” checklist, which requires mundane outings such as trips to Target, Home Depot, and the campus library. And yet, I am wearing a blazer. In my mind, it transforms my list of errands into a responsibility I should and can handle with composure and aplomb, rather than anxious fretting.
A month or two ago, A. and I did dress up for a meeting with an administrator who has frequently and frustratingly refused to take us seriously. One reader who is also in academia wondered if our efforts were in vain. “Do you think he can differentiate between your standby denim and this gray skirt?” she asked.
That question got me thinking a lot about who I dress for. Indeed, I don’t think that either that administrator or the cashier at Target will necessarily treat me differently if I wore this navy blazer instead of a navy hoodie. But I know the difference…is that reason enough? Is dressing for your own self-confidence and dressing to garner others’ respect mutually exclusive? I tend to think not. Is there a symbiotic relationship between the two? Does one lead to the other causally?
Most simply: who do you dress for?
Earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.
I don’t think that the clothes necessarily make a differnce with other people if the changes day to day are subtle. However, if they change they way you feel than that does make the difference. Maybe you talk more confidently to a superior, or you treat the cashier nicer because you aren’t frazzled. So I think mostly everyone should dress for themselves but it does have an impact on the world. The caveat being of course that sometimes there is a dress code. So “business casual” does not mean cut offs and flip-flops.
Hi, E. I love these shorts (and the others you’ve been wearing); I’m even thinking about adding a pair of shorts into my wardrobe after seeing you all look so great in them. I would also really like a casual blazer, but am 5’10″ with slightly broad shoulders and haven’t found one that doesn’t look a bit stretched across the shoulders. Any ideas? Thanks!
Best wishes for a happy, healthy birth!
P. S. Your title (“The Business of Being Ready”) suggests that you watched “The Business of Being Born”–what a great movie!
Oooh, I’ve thought about this one loads and still don’t quite know. I definitely dress for my mood, but also dress to impress. I like to feel stylish, and draw compliments, and express myself to the observing world. So I think it’s a mixture.
My sister and I have been having a discussion about this lately. I try to dress for myself, which means wearing things that make me happy. I think this makes me happier and more confident, even if the things I end up wearing look no different from day to day. The difference is how you feel, because the way you feel about your clothes and yourself impacts the way you behave in the world. So even when I’m dressing to make myself happy, the clothes I wear change my perception of myself and therefore the way I present myself to others.
Great question! I agree with ShopKim and Anna. I definitely don’t find myself dressing for others, in the sense of trying to create a certain reaction (except for date nights with hubby, and then it’s all for him). What I do find myself doing is thinking about how I want to feel that day, and I dress to emphasize my desired feeling. So if I’m feeling nervous and want to feel confident, I dress up, or if I’m feeling frazzled and want to feel self-controlled. Then that step of taking action to change my emotions starts a little snowball effect that helps me change my emotions and behavior. I do the same thing with other choices, like food and house cleanliness. Those small steps changing my behavior may influence other’s responses, but it’s not the primary goal. I dress for myself!
If I wasn’t thinking about the way that others perceive me, I would get that extra half hour of sleep each day and skip makeup and cute hair. That said, I think that the way you dress can give you a certain kind of confidence, and I can’t imagine choosing to ignore that possibility. Maybe it’s something like the costume mentality – the clothes are the final step in really getting into a character.
I THINK that I dress for me. Mostly. I think. But it’s conditional, in the sense that I dress for how I want to feel about myself when I’m with such-and-such person. Different people in my life elicit different kinds of feelings that I have about myself, and I tend to preemptively prepare for those feelings in the morning when I’m getting dressed. Chances are good that that person wouldn’t notice a difference, but I know it’s there.
I think that dressing nicer helps you to feel more self-confident, and it is that self-confidence that others are more likely to notice than what it is you’re actually wearing.
To be comfortable and confident, I believe we have to be dressing for ourselves. However, some days when I’m heading out in a hoodie and jeans to do errands or what not, I think “maybe I should have made a bit more of an effort for others and myself.” Afterall, the way we’re treated will affect us and sadly enough, how you dress can gain you different reactions bc I know I get different service and looks when I look like a business professional vs a college student.
Believe it or not, sometimes I like dressing for my husband. I prefer to dress the way I do, and I like looking put together– whether it’s going to class, going out dancing, running to the store, or visiting the in-laws. What’s funny is that sometimes I get comments about people telling me that I look “dressed up” because I’m wearing a skirt, and then wonder what it is that I am dressing for. I say “nothing, this is what I felt like wearing”, but that usually doesn’t suffice. I know I get regarded differently when I choose to wear a nice wool skirt with a long sleeve blouse when talking to a professor than I would looking like I rolled out of bed like the typical college student…
My workplace is a shorts and flipflops kind of place. Despite this there is no mistaking who is boss (me as far as my research assistants are concerned). Right now we are working to meet a particularly insane deadline. Back in the old days I would just have walked in wearing the first T and jeans on top of the pile. In my new post-AcademicChic phase, I find I’m spending the extra half hour or so to pick out some pleasing combination and even earrings+necklace! No one else really gives a damn but I’m enjoying the mental breather this gives me every morning (otherwise I’d be thinking about some knotty analytical problem or listening to NPR).
I’d be lying if I said I never gave any consideration to what others think of the way I dress. I dress ‘up’ (meaning I actually put an effort into it) in a workplace where jeans and t-shirts are pretty much the norm, not only because I prefer to stand out but also because I think that dressing up represents an outward show of respect towards your fellow humans. Although exactly WHAT I choose to wear is primarily for me and me alone, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making an effort for those who will view you — whatever that effort translates to.
I think there’s an important question in “Can academics ever dress for themselves?” I would argue that the answer is no. If it’s not the pressures of your academic tribe, it’s your own idea of your academic identity that normally determines how you dress.
Just contrast scholars in women’s studies and scholars in business schools. Working in one of the latter, I can assure you that there are clear differences between sociologists and economists, for instance.
Speaking of which… the Chronicle (http://chronicle.com/jobs/blogs/onhiring/1129) has an interesting post on this… the reply comments, as always, more interesting than the initial post!
At work I dress the part, which right now is “female professor in old white male-dominated department”. So, I guess I dress for the people who are going to decide my promotion and the students whose respect I need to maintain. I like Lubenica’s comments above.