Last week, Erin wrote about her opinions on five wardrobe essentials for the female academic in the humanities. She framed this discussion in terms of the many shifts that we face when moving from life as a graduate student to life as faculty member. I navigated this shift two years ago as I moved from grad student to the lecturer circuit. But since I only ever taught two or three days a week, I didn’t have to make the everyday plunge into professional attire.
With my new postdoctoral position on what guest ProfHacker Bethany Nowviskie calls the alt-ac track, however, I’ve been working closer to what most people would consider a regular work week. I’m in the library at least forty hours a week, and I don’t have an office door that I can shut and that would allow me to get away with something more casual. What’s more, since my position happens to be at my graduate institution, I’ve felt that it was important for me to try to establish my professional persona in a more distinct way than I might have felt elsewhere. The result is that I’ve had to flesh out my closet just a bit in the last few months and that I’ve become very conscious of my five wardrobe essentials that I can’t live without.
Here they are:
1. Levis 514 Jeans. If it were up to me, I would almost always wear jeans. Unfortunately, boot cut jeans do not look all that professional. So I was very pleased when I found the Levis 514 Slim Straight, which are just like their ad copy says: never too tight and never too baggy. I have several pairs in very dark washes, and I collectively call them my “teaching jeans.” I don’t wear them everyday, but I sure wish I did.
2. Banana Republic button-up shirts. Not only do Banana Republic’s button-up Classic Fit shirts in medium always fit me, but they always look better than other shirts. Both the fabric and the cut seem to be of a significant higher quality than every other dress shirt I own. Of course, that quality comes at a price, and it’s one that I hate to pay. Shopping only from the sale racks means that I save at least 20%. I still pay a bit more than I would at JC Penny, but the quality of the shirts means they last longer.
3. Banana Republic long-sleeve fitted crew shirts. Same story as above. When I want to dress a little bit more casual—days when I’m attending a conference but not speaking, for example—my default is a long-sleeve crew-neck t-shirt from Banana Republic. I have them in colors that run the rainbow, and I end up comfortable and I feel sharp. Again, I’ve found a number of these shirts on the sale racks, but I paid full price ($26.50) for basic black and brown.
4. Sports coats. I like to dress up the t-shirts mentioned above with any number of sports coats. I’ve had great success finding classic corduroy and suede jackets at vintage and thrift stores for less than $20. A trip to the dry cleaner, and I’m ready to teach.
5. Converse All Star Core OX. Some might disagree with me here, but I believe the Converse low-top sneaker is a classic and can work well in professional situations. I use my black pair (pictured above) to tone down what might otherwise be a too formal outfit or when I, like Erin mentioned last week, just want to be comfortable. It’s true that Converses are narrow and that they lack much arch support, but my current position doesn’t have me on my feet all that often and so they work well.
Not only do these five items help me look professional, but they allow me to feel good about how I look at the same time. And feeling like you look good goes a long way to helping you look good.
It’s Friday, so let’s have a little fun. What are your wardrobe essentials?
[Image by Flickr user briancroxall / Creative Commons licensed]
Follow Profhacker through your favorite RSS reader: 
14 Responses to Five Wardrobe Items I Can’t Live Without (And Why)
danquigs - September 24, 2010 at 11:54 am
I have two blue blazers…one for meetings and such when I need to look a little more professional, and one that is a bit more worn (sleeve button missing, etc.) I call this my teaching blazer. I like teaching in a blazer or sport coat because I want the pockets for my keys, cell phone, itouch, and chalk or dry erase markers. But teaching gets dirty…chalk dust, slip with the marker, etc. So the older blazer is for looking a little more dressed up in front of students, but I don’t get too concerned with it getting a bit beaten up in the process.
tallenc - September 24, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Button-up dress shirts, ties, and nice shoes.I work at a community college (the third one I have worked at), and I find that on the whole community-college faculty dress better than faculty at other kinds of institutions. For me, nice-looking shoes can make a big difference in one’s appearance, and a dress shirt and tie sends the message that I take my job seriously. Although I like blazers on other people, I’ve never much liked wearing them myself. I’m short and stocky, and they seem to make me look and feel boxy, not to mention that they always seem to get in the way when I’m writing on the board or working at the computer. Most days I wear dress trousers or at least cotton khakis (I mean the material more than the color, which I don’t care for much), but jeans or corduroys or OK for my work situation as well, and I wear something like that once or twice a week, but still with the dress shirt and tie. Although I don’t usually dress really formally, I do like to dress differently for work than for other activities; it helps me distinguish between “at work” and “not at work,” situations which can sometimes be hard to distinguish for faculty members, who aren’t always in the office but seem to be working all the time. Changing into the appropriate attire helps me remember which mode is supposed to be taking precedence at any given time.
prhelm1 - September 24, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Three-piece suit, bow tie, dress shirt, nice leather shoes.And of course, socks and underwear!
11274135 - September 24, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I live in a hot place (weather), and I have a whole bunch cotten (no synthetic) sports coats that come reasonably cheap from Orvis and LL Bean. They are cool (temperature) to wear, loaded with pockets (the Orvis things are travel jackets, actually), rumply to begin with, and washable. They are just warm enough to handle excessive air conditioning. I think you can get them at Eddie Bauer as well.
kerri_provost - September 24, 2010 at 4:30 pm
-J.Crew button-down shirts (15% discount for college professors)-cheetah print Doc Martens. I’ve had them for over ten years, and while they might not be uber-professional, they keep my feet warm when New England is frozen for half the yearIs it weird that I related more to this post than to the one for females? I have to say, I was really resistant to dressing up for years, but now, it’s just easier. I do have a suit, and while I don’t wear it every day, it’s a great way to be totally mindless in the morning, but still leave the house looking acceptable.
djr46074 - September 24, 2010 at 10:09 pm
- Sperry black/burgundy leather loafer boat shoes (very light and comfortable)- Dockers, Greg Norman, or Nike microfiber pleated, cuffed golf pants (wrinkle- and stain-resistant, very light, and cool)- Ralph Lauren Chaps 60/40 wrinkle-free button-down collar dress shirts (stay crisp all day)- J. Garcia silk neckties (for some flash)- Omega Seamaster stainless steel quartz chronograph (I need a watch that is resistant to dings and scratching)- iPhone 4G in an Otter Box case (best case for the money)
kaitlinwalsh - September 24, 2010 at 11:18 pm
My essentials are comfortable shoes that look nice. I go for either the Crocs or the Sketchers dress shoes, both of which I can get away with wearing with everything from a dress to jeans.If I have to be on campus all day, I carry a bag that’s useful, not necessarily pretty. I have no problem toting a backpack or a rolling carryon-sized suitcase because, as Nels told me once, some days it’s all about survival.
matt_l - September 25, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Dark levis or khaki flat front chinossolid color button down shirtblack ecco driving loafers or brown clarks oxford shoesa citizen ecodrive watchA blazer (or cardigan) and a tie The shoes, the blazer, sweater and tie are all stashed stashed in my office. I only break out the tie in emergencies. I have to say that as a student I remembered what my professors wore. I thought that the ones who had a “uniform” also impressed me the most intellectually. At the time, I just figured that the inner self maped onto the sartorial self. But now, I realize that there is no correlation. A uniform just makes it easier to get out the door.
drnels - September 25, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Thanks, Kaitlin! Yes, somedays, it is all about whatever can get you out the door.I was a bit jealous when Brian grabbed this topic before I did because I love getting dressed for class. As I’ve mentioned before, I had some students come to class last year and tell me that there was a lot of talk in the dorms that weekend about how professors dress, and I was unofficially voted best dressed on campus. I’m always changing it up, though, so picking five essentials is difficult. I don’t wear jackets. I get too hot and end up covered in sweat. For me, it usually starts with the shirt. Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Thomas Dean (all bought at discount stores in NYC), and then I go from there. I usually look at what I wore in the previous class and try to wear the exact opposite in the next class. It’s part of the ideology of my favorite designer of all time, Alexander Julian: Wear a new persona everyday. It will amuse your friends and confuse your enemies.
wwaustin - September 25, 2010 at 7:49 pm
1. A chocolate brown suede blazer–it goes with everything.2. Black flare leg dress slacks (I have a brown pair too.)3. Dansko shoes–antique brown 4. Brown tweed tote bag I got from the Gap a few years ago. I have to teach 4 classes usually, but no more than three preps, so I use a black and a brown cordoroy tote bag for the other 2 preps.5. Purple polyester long-sleeve blouse. These are both dressy and not-dressy–but show the students I am a bit dressier than the students, ergo I am the professor.WW Austin
briancroxall - September 26, 2010 at 8:43 am
Thanks, all, for the comments thus far. I’m partial to ties myself, as I like to use them to draw the line between the students and myself. And they are often just fun. But since I don’t have a particular brand that I gravitate towards, they were more generic than I wanted to mention. I do find myself favoring stripes and classic patterns like houndstooth, however. No paisley ever.My other best wardrobe essential is…my wardrobe, which I’ve organized with a rotating system that helps me remember what it is that I’ve worn for the pas week or two. That helps me avoid too obvious repeats.
drnels - September 26, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Paisley is the best invention ever. Not sure what I”d do without it.
deleted - September 26, 2010 at 7:53 pm
[Comment deleted by editor. Please stick to the topic of discussion: "What are your wardrobe essentials?" If you'd rather talk about something else, remember that you're free to start a discussion about any topic of your choice in the Chronicle forums. Thanks!]
kerri_provost - September 28, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I need to add wristwatch to the list. It’s a cheap one from Target that I forced myself to buy this semester since my classroom clocks all seem to be set to different time zones.