Hi there!
I'm glad I found this forum.
I am French and I have always worn dresses - I absolutely hate jeans and most trousers. Skirt hardly ever look good or appropriate on me because I am quite tall.
I am starting a PhD at an ivy in September, and I was rather surprised to notice that on all the research groups' photos, everyone, boys & girls, are wearing the same jeans+T-shirt combo! I am going into a heavily male orientated area as well, and I feel I will really stand out if I am the only one wearing a dress.
I don't want to sound like I am complaining, but I actually was a model, and even without wearing any make-up or accessories (which I avoid like the plague), men in my professional area tend to think I am a fashion obsessed air-headed girl who cannot be trusted. My supervisor has even once commented that I was in fact much cleverer than I looked!
What is your opinion/experience with this?