What to Wear: Professor
October 28, 2010
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What to Wear: Professor

Emily wrote in with a great request:

I’ve moved to Seattle to start a new job as a professor at UW! I’m really struggling on figuring out a good work wardrobe here– I have tons of summer cloths that are pretty casual (having lived in Palo Alto for 10 years!). So I need both more weather appropriate and work appropriate items. I want to look professor-ish but also kind of hip and cute (the holy grail). Any tips?

Wow! The amount of tweed afforded by this job in Seattle is almost overwhelming. I would have a very hard time avoiding dressing in costume! Layers that blend academic-style with a bit of a young-edge are my pick:

Skirt – The start is a beautiful silver tweed skirt with tulip pleats.
Ruffle Blouse – From Target.
Black Cardigan – Your favorite will do, no need for this $300 version.
Belt – Double wrap belt with small studs for a little edge.
Bag – From target in a nice pewter with a couple studs to match the belt.
Shoes – Me Too pumps look serious but are easy on your feet.
Gloves – Light gray leather gloves for those Seattle days.
Sunglasses – Campus classics, a pair of ray-ban look-a-likes.

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mrsem

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There are 8 comments for this article
  1. marga at 6:09 pm

    I think Erica, "a history of architecture" is always kinda working on this; dressing to teach on campus and being a California girl at heart.

    I think erica's outfits would be great inspiration 😉

  5. Anonymous at 1:32 pm

    As a fellow new-ish professor, I've found that it makes life easier to stick to either black and grey for pants and skirts and a limited palette for tops (blue, green, purple). A friend of mine, on the other hand, swears by dresses because she claims that they're easy to wear and she just throws on a cardigan over them. I try to wear the most formal-looking outfit early in the week and will gradually get more relaxed in dress by Friday.

    I know that sometimes bloggers who are also profesors worry about keeping their sartorial identities intact in the classroom. But for me, I've accepted that I have to dress with a certain amount of formality. Because otherwise, I look 12 years old 🙂

  7. Anonymous at 9:49 pm

    the great thing about seattle and UW is that its so casual, people seriously do not care about style here. its bad and good. you never need to feel guilty about wear fleece. Invest in a great pair or comfortable boots that are water resistant and easy to walk around in because there are tons of hills!