BlogHer - casual office - Comments

Leggings for All

RSM — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:22:49 -0600

It’s time that we ALL wear leggings. Choose a well made pair - not with cotton fibers that bag out over time but a high tech fiber that retains its shape. Get over the body image constraints and just wear them. Go for the comfort and support. Leggings that go to the ankle have a greater positive visual aesthetic than capri style that chop the leg. Plus the full length leggings support you from your ankle to your waist and give you an energetic lift. Laugh, Live, Love & Enjoy! Check out www.UnJeans.com

Sexy Sophisticate

2_THE_T — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:15:09 -0600

High heels and leggings can be very sexy ladies!!! Don'l shy away from this combination, you'd be missing out! I wear black cotton leggings with simple square 3-inch black pumps from Via Spiga and get compliments every time.
Thick cotton leggings are particulalry cute with sexy heels- in winter especially. This offers an excellent sexy alternative!!!!

Dream big,
Tiffani Latrell

The trench coat

Susan Wagner — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:34:53 -0600

is god's gift to women. No matter what your size or shape, there is a flattering trench out there for you. Plus you can dress it up or dress it down, and it will NEVER go out of style.

Seriously.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

This is great advice. I'm a

TeacherJulia — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:40:43 -0600

This is great advice. I'm a firstyear elementary teacher, and I've found that corduroys and a button down shirt are a good combination for me. It's easy, it looks good, and I just mix and match my pants and skirts and shirts. Everything goes with everything else, so I never have to think about it. Except I do need to think about shoes, since the ones I have now are working with the skirts and look weird with the pants.

Abi makes good points about paying attention to the way the teachers around you dress and about layering. Because, sometimes the temperature in your room will be 58. And the next day it will be 83. And there will be nothing you can do about it! I always dress in layers (usually a cardigan), and I keep a lightweight jacket in my room so that on the days the heat doesn't work I can still, you know, move my fingers. I do wear skirts, though, and it's always worked for me. Mine hit me right below my knees, and I can do just about anything in them. Except cartwheels, I guess. But sitting in small chairs works out okay.

I'll echo Bethany's point: Just about everything should be machine washable! If you're working with elementary kids, you WILL end up with all kinds of substances and just about any bodily fluid you can imagine on you at some point, so be sure you can just toss your clothes in the washer.

And Susan, I love the idea of a trench coat. I'll have to keep my eyes open for something like that. Thanks!

Great if you are 5'5' and weigh 100 lbs.

GraceK. — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:23:43 -0600

Nobody with an extra pound of fat would look good in this outfit.
Audrey Hepburn - yes.... but since most of us carry just a litte more than her - you just end up looking like you are trying to hide something.

Danskos

RLSilvernail — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:38:27 -0600

Meagan-
If you have never tried Dankso shoes, you need too. Every nurse, teacher, etc that I know swears that they are THE BEST option for people who are on their feet a lot. And having comfy feet is very important, I always suspected that all my grumpy teachers needed better shoes ;)
Rachel

Abi! That was awesome!

Susan Wagner — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:46:25 -0600

Thank you!

God I love BlogHer.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

My Two Cents

Jonesabi — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:41:38 -0600

As a member of TFA, I spent two years teaching 3rd grade in South Texas. I'm not sure where exactly you are going to be teaching, but here are some things to take into consideration:

Culture What do the other people at your school wear? What does the principal wear? You might notice that the principal is usually more dressed up than the teachers. That's okay because he or she typically doesn't work with kids. Schools don't have the same sort of culture as an office, so dressing for a promotion doesn't always make sense. Instead, pay close attention to what folks (especially grade-team leaders) are wearing.

Skirts are out. There's just too much that can go wrong if you're wearing a skirt. And if you're teaching 3rd grade and under you're going to spend a lot of time either sitting on the floor or in a little chair or sitting in a regular chair but reading to kids sitting on the floor. Save the skirts for the weekends, it will mean a lot less grief when you're working in your classroom (or you have to crawl under a workstation to plug in your overhead projector). I love wearing dresses because it is just such an easy option, but unless you're going to wear something long and billowy (enormous jumpers anyone?), skip them.

Prints are in. Stay away from white and light colors. This doesn't mean you should wear black all of the time, but if you wear dark colors and prints, then little things like dry-erase marker won't be such a big deal when they get on your clothes. The same goes for pants: opt for darker grays, blacks, and even pin stripes or plaids before going with pale khakis. This is not as essentially if you're teaching older kids.

Button-downs Being a teacher means getting up earlier than everyone else in the world (coal miners, truck drivers, and the parents of newborns excluded). This means that you're not going to have time to iron, let alone want to do it. Instead, invest in a few no-iron button down shirts. Get them from a place like Nordstrom so that they can be tailored to fit you and will button up with no gaps.

Cardigans I'm not sure if you're originally from a hot place, but when I moved from Seattle to Texas, I found that it was both the hottest and coldest place I'd ever lived. Cardigans are a great way to switch back and forth easily between hot weather out on the playground and chilling air-conditioned classrooms. Plus, they're pretty cheap at Target and come in tons of cute colors.

Shoes I preferred wearing a loafer when I was teaching. It was a simple slip-on no-slip, no-laces, no buckles shoe that I could wear with just about any outfit. Rubber Soles Are Essential You're going to be spending an unbelievable amount of time on your feet and you need to get something with solid, comfy soles. Ballet flats are cute and lovely, but they are not practical for spending all day on your feet (and if you're a good teacher, that's what you'll be doing).

Spirit Days If your school has spirit days on Fridays, get into it! Buy a t-shirt in one of your school's colors or get in on the faculty polo shirts that have pictures of kids faces and say 'Ms. Jones' on the sleeve.

And most of all, good luck. Teaching is a difficult and rewarding process.

Abi Jones
Editor, HeatEatReview.com

Thanks a million!

meggypoo2008 — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:32:47 -0600

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! This is really helpful. I really appreciate the advice. It will be very useful. I'm going to start acquiring pieces in the spring (since I will be student teaching then), and I will take everything into consideration. Thanks again!

Meagan

Thanks, Bethany!

Susan Wagner — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:53:34 -0600

Those are excellent tips, especially the bit about keeping everything covered. Which should be true for ANY work wardrobe. And most casual wardrobes too.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

A couple of more tips

BethanyWD — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:46:55 -0600

A couple of more tips (coming from the daughter of a former teacher):
* this may be obvious, but please no cleavage. Also, make sure none of your shirts or sweaters show anything when you lean over. You'll be doing alot of that working with kids, esp. the wee ones.
*check your tops to make sure they will work (i.e. long enough) while you are reaching up for things or writing on the whiteboard or blackboard. You don't want to be showing off your midriff to the kids.
*I would avoid mules, as they can be difficult to keep on if you're running to break up a playground tiff.
*does it rain much there? If so, you may want to make sure your trench has a hood (or at least a detachable one). On the playground you'll want to keep both hands free, not holding onto an umbrella. This shouldn't be a fashion-kill, as many coats have this option. This was always a must for my mom.
* I also really like the idea of a more casual jacket - like a tailored jean or sweater. This addition can really set you apart while not being stuffy or uncomfortable.
*And pretty much everything should be machine washable! =)

Cute AND washable

Susan Wagner — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:50:19 -0600

Thoughtful, you are right: this particular dress is dry clean only. HOWEVER, there are lots of machine and hand-washable options out there; Target and Old Navy have some really cute tunic and sweater dresses just now.

I would also suggest that unless you have wee small children who use you as a napkin all day, dry clean only isn't a deal-breaker. Most dry clean pieces can be worn more than once before they need to be cleaned, and often they are better made and better fitting (because they are made of higher quality fabrics and are often sold at a higher price point).

But yes, machine washable is both good and totally doable.

And Judith, just because people wear hoodies to weddings does NOT mean it's okay. But I suspect you knew that.

Friday Style | The Working Closet | Friday Playdate

Oh yeah?

Judith in Umbria — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 02:46:59 -0600

Unfortunately, there are people who would wear a hoodie or footless tights to a wedding. This summer I saw both, as well as a cocktail dress with cutouts that made the mayor blush.

http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/

Adorable

Thoughtful — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:34:22 -0500

Cynthia Friedlob
Link TextThe Thoughtful Consumer
So cute, but you can toss your jeans, tees and yoga pants into the washer. This particular dress requires dry cleaning. Must keep searching for a washable version!