Conference Days 1&2 - YouLookFab Forum

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Conference Days 1&2

LoP

Veteran

Hello,

Here's a follow up to my conference travel post for the academics on the forum.

How much you dress is completely a choice in an academic environment and it can get hard to balance. Although I'm not an expert, I think over the years I figured out a way to feel like myself and look good without coming across as too dressed up. It is possible to dress up the way you like and still fit in using a few tricks. Suits made out of individuals pieces, boots or understated quality footwear and casual pieces mixed with dressier items always work. Here are my choices for the week.

Day 1 was a workshop day. Workshops are generally smaller venues with colleagues you get to know for a long time and they are for discussion topics of mutual interest. A business casual attire is generally the best choice. So I ended up pairing my dark wash jeans with a shirt and cascading cardigan. Here's a picture: http://i581.photobucket.com/al.....temp-1.png

Day 2 was my presentation day where I had to emphasize my managerial roles so I picked a more dressy outfit. I feel a bit overdressed and uncomfortable in full suit+shirt+stilettos combinations in academic venues unless it is a cocktail or an inauguration type of event. So I paired a blazer a turtleneck and dress pants. Here's the picture: http://i581.photobucket.com/al...../temp1.png

Tomorrow I'm meeting a funder so I'll go for a skirt+blazer+knit top+boot combo. I'll post the picture here when I have it.

Hope this helps. Apologies for the long post.

I would love to hear your thoughts and what works for you as well.

19 replies

Latest reply was from LoP

rute

Veteran

Love both outfits! Comfy and chic! You have such a lovely face!

Queen Mum

Veteran

I love both outfits- you have a great style!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

LOP, you’ve struck a wonderful balance of staying work appropriate and looking like your hip self. Well done! You are gorgeous and so are those outfits :0)

LoP

Veteran

Thank you Rute, Queenie and Angie!

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on what works for them and why? I helped PhD students get ready for conferences before and what to wear always comes up.

I've also uploaded a picture of the last day. Here's the link: http://i581.photobucket.com/al...../temp2.png

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That's an interesting question, LOP. I guess it depends entirely on the conference! A fashion or advertising conference demands a different set of clothing to a more conservative scientific one. Don’t you think?

LoP

Veteran

Angie, you're right. I should have framed the question better. It depends a lot on the field for sure. I was asking more in the context of science and technology domains.

Not just conference dressing, but also the daily work style probably changes on the city, field, personality and venue.

In my field, I heard from some male colleagues that people would think that they are less of a researcher if they dress up well and groom themselves. This is a very male-heavy field. So I wondered what's the balance for women in my earlier years. We won't completely act like boys, but is there a way to look neutral? Initially I felt very restrained, but now I feel like everyone knows me for who I am and I feel more confident in my own style.

I get asked for advice a lot on this topic probably because I look like I care about it. I help colleagues to shop at times. Time after time I get the question "how do I look like myself/serious researcher/gender-neutral without looking like a girl/fashionista/etc.?" My conclusion is that it takes a lot of confidence to dress well in especially technology fields and the balance strikes in time.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

LOP, I love your conference outfits. It may be worth starting a new thread on dressing for conferences for the likes of Tanya and Ana to chime in!

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

LOP,
You are so lovely and your outfits are beautiful as well. You bring up such an interesting topic. I am not in science but the academic art field is also a challenge for those who opt for style, surprising as that might sound. I think it has to do with practicality, working in the studio with students can be quite messy. I think most teachers would rather dress for the gunky mess than think about fashionable alternatives like wearing smocks or having very durable but fashionable casual clothing. It does take some effort. Dressing up would look very silly in the environment .
I think style in any field is always about how comfortable you are with what you wear. Confidence in your abilities as a professional can weigh heavily on owning however you dress. No one can dismiss or not take seriously someone who really excels at what they do.

shell

LOP, I love your outfits for the conference! You seem to have loads of confidence in these outfits - authoritative yet chic!

bella

(website)

Veteran

I just wanted to add that I really like your hair, it's so cute!

stringy

Veteran

You're so right about needing confidence to dress well in technology jobs/fields. I'm working on that myself - it doesn't help that I actually do feel comfortable wearing the same jeans/tshirt/Cons combo that all the guys do. But after 10 years, it's getting a little boring and I'd like to branch out a bit.

Your conference outfits are very stylish yet not stuffy. Another thing that struck me about them was that you seem to have stuck to a specific colour range? I would guess that it makes packing easier if you have a lot of separates that can be switched around depending on weather/air-conditioning/etc.

LoP

Veteran

RoseAndJoan: I'll try to start a new thread on this. Or maybe I'll wait until Tanya and Ana chime in.

Jean: I'm surprised to hear that your field also has the same issues. I was thinking there would be more room for creativity and difference in terms of dressing. I get the point about comfort and messy environment. Those two are main concerns anywhere people learn maybe.

Shell: It's so nice to hear from you.

Stringy: I know what you mean about t-shirts and jeans. I get into a jeans rut often but then somehow snap out of it. You're right about the color range. I try to stick to a color palette when I travel, but also most of my work outfits are neutrals even though I love and use bright colors a lot otherwise. I feel that I can try trendier styles and still blend in with others when I'm wearing neutrals.

Bella: My hair is growing finally. I hope I can have it longer this time as I cut it whenever it feels long again.

Rose

LOP: Frist, You look great in your pics, I think very appropriate and an excellent balance between dressing up but not toooo much.
Second: I echo your sentiments and experiences completely.. I am an FSP (female science professor) in a male dominated field too.. and continually responding in some way to the academic attitudes about dressing for work + conferences, I'd love to see more posts/threads on this! I actually get many, light-hearted but nonetheless disapproving comments from male profs (who I like a lot) when I wear anything but jeans and t-shirts to work. They seem to think that if I dress up, it means that they should too.
It is true that it takes confidence to pull off "dressing up" and/or wearing stylish/trendy items in academia ... much can be said on this..

Maya

Veteran

LoP, first of all, you have a stunning face and smile (which I guess we already knew from your profile pic).

I love your outfits. The only thing I hate more than being overdressed is being underdressed. I don't have a good handle on what is appropriate, to be quite honest, because I am just not familiar with every single field and what it demands in terms of appearance, but I hear the you echoing some of the same thoughts Tanya has had on this subject.

One of the things I had considered is that perhaps as you become more established, you can relax a bit and show more personality. People will already respect you and your work, and changing your appearance slightly shouldn't change that. For Tanya I would say that sexist and stupid as it may be, she'll probably have to stick it out for a few years to gain that initial respect (please note I am scowling as I write this--as a feminist it makes my head throb). But later on, she might be able to get away with a bit more than she can now. Maybe it all depends how long you have been working. Of course, this is just speculation. I couldn't be farther at the other end of the spectrum, so I can't speak of any personal experience.

That said, you look wonderful in each picture. Brains and beauty!

Tanya

Veteran

Wow LOP, you look great! I think you struck the perfect balance.

Dressing well in academic/scientific area is a topic that always gives me trouble and drives me crazy. I am in a very male-dominated field and you have to walk a really thin line. I have already ranted about this many times on the forum in great detail.

Unfortunately, at least where I am, there is a kind of reverse snobbery at act: the better you look/dress, the less smart and dedicated to your work you are assumed to be, especially being female. As much as I would want to say that one should be true to oneself and wear whatever you want with confidence, at least here it gets you to be judged very harshly and seriously undermine the respect you are getting.

Personally, right now I am being very relaxed about it and indulging my fashion whims since I have been in my lab for many years and everybody is used to me sticking out and doesn't pay any attention to it anymore. But, in a couple of months I will be starting a postdoc in a new place in a new city and I have no choice but to down it down a lot. Basically I must agree with what Maya is saying.

Maybe the best advice I have heard is to wear what the others are too but in a better, upgraded version. So in my case, since the other scientists are wearing jeans/tee shirts/sweaters; I will probably be doing nice premium jeans, pretty knitted tops/simple cashmere sweaters, and ballet flats/ flat boots. No accessories other than watch/specs, no flashy colors and cuts, nothing too fashion-forward, feminine, fussy, girly etc. I might be over bitter about this but I have certainly felt a lot of negative things about this on my own skin.

Feel free to start a separate thread and we can discuss this in tiniest details,

Mellllls

Veteran

nice effort! my favorite is your look for the second day

Inge

(website)

I don't really have anything new to add here, but just want to say that you look incredible in the pictures LOP. My favourite is the second outfit: very, very you! And I'm glad to read that you have found some sort of balance fashion-wise in the field you are working in. I know this can be very difficult at times (just look at what Tanya is experiencing).

julijuli

LOP - I think you look amazing all 3 days. I work in technology and while it may be a bit different than the science/academic field I do find that I get quite a few comments about how 'dressed up' I am in the office.

When everyone else in the building is wearing jeans, tees and sneakers it's difficult not to stand out when you are trying to project a sense of style. Also, I believe initially some may have a perception of less competence or 'seriousness' due to the fact that I'm interested in fashion, but I've never let that bother me and just make it a point to quickly establish that I am in fact very competent no matter what I choose to wear!

LoP

Veteran

Rosemerin: I have been a target of similar comments. I now tell them they should in fact dress up better. My husband is an engineering faculty and he makes sure he dresses up better on the days he teaches bacause he thinks it helps a group of students to take the class more seriously. (This is not my influence.) They need a role model in class in all kinds of ways and a faculty (male or female) is not just someone who dumps information into the students' heads.

Maya: I share the same opinion on establishing yourself before experimenting with different styles. I wish it wasn't the case.

Tanya: I wear jeans a lot because of the same reason. Unfortunately, skirts hardly come out of my closet unless they are denim or black. I don't remember the last time I wore a dress to work and I own more than a few professional looking dresses. I wore a green non-denim pencil skirt on my birthday last month (with a t-shirt and denim jacket on top) and every single person commented on it, LOL!

JuliJuli: Good for you. Dress for success.

Inge, Melllls: Thank you for the wonderful comments.