Do professors care if you wear sweatpants all the time?

[Just me]

(have not read all the previous responses)

Tons of people went to class in sweatpants when I was in undergrad. Many of my classmates looked like they rolled out of bed, threw on shoes and came to class as is. Honestly, if you're paying out the backside to attend college,I think that gives you the right to wear whatever you're comfortable in. Personally I hate sweatpants in general and can't even wear them at home when I'm being a lazy bum, but I know loads of folks find them comfy and will wear them to class or to get groceries and such. That's their call. If a school doesn't want people wearing their jammies to class, they need to implement a dress code...if not, they need to expect to see some folks in sweats and sleep clothes.

Art school definitely brings out some interesting outfits - I've gone to class in furry boots, with my face painted like a mime, dressed as a maid, wearing all kinds of goodies (wrist cuffs, necklaces, chains, chokers, hats, etc.), and wearing a suit, tie and fedora. No reason in particular - just felt like it.

So by all means, if there is no dress code specifically saying you can't wear sweats and such, then wear whatever you're comfortable in. I personally wear a t-shirt, jeans, the blackest black eyeliner I can find, leather choker and combat boots to class every day in grad school. In the colder months, I also wear a hooded sweatshirt with the grim reaper on the front. If the school doesn't like it, they can kiss my ass. I'll be damned if I'm going to give them thousands of dollars and do their ass-busting assignments and NOT be at least semi-comfortable in the process. But art schools might be a little more lax about what you wear. I'm a rebel, so I'd probably wear the same thing on any campus.

Bottom line...IMHO, if a professor has time to care and judge you about your outfit, they're not doing their job. They are there to teach, not be fashion critics (unless maybe if they teach in a fashion-related major).

Edited August 3, 2011 by Just me

[wtncffts]

Well, I upvoted your post, just me, because it was, by my lights, a benign post, especially relative to others of yours. I don't see why people downvoted it.

[ktel]

I am convinced Just Me is a troll now...something about that post

[Just me]

Honestly, I think now many people don't even read my posts. They just automatically down-vote them. Even if I try to be supportive of the OP or say something neutral, it gets a negative vote. It's kind of unfair, really. Guess I'm going to need to start down-voting those who are doing it to me to make things a little more fair. Personally, I don't see a damn thing wrong with what I said. It's okay to wear sweatpants to class if the dress code does not forbid it. Apparently that's a bad thing to say. It's very odd.

[fuzzylogician]

I am convinced Just Me is a troll now...something about that post

No, she's not a troll. She's just a very unhappy person, throwing the virtual world equivalent of a tantrum but not taking the adult way out of her predicament by taking the necessary steps to fix her problems. No need to downvote her posts unless they offer harmful advice, though. That just feeds her behavior. The post above is as negative as ever, but harmless, which is why I voted it back up. Not that I agree, but it doesn't deserve to be flagged either.

[ktel]

I have never downvoted her posts (not that I can remember anyways). While I don't necessarily agree with a lot of what she says, she has the right to say it. We will still argue, as is the nature of this forum.

[fuzzylogician]

I have never downvoted her posts (not that I can remember anyways). While I don't necessarily agree with a lot of what she says, she has the right to say it. We will still argue, as is the nature of this forum.

Oh, sorry if it seemed like I was blaming you for downvoting, I didn't mean to imply that. I should have made it clear that only the first half of my post directly addresses your statement above. There's no way to know who is upvoting or downvoting anyone (that I know of) anyway. It's a shame that Just me is drawing this much negative attention, was the (general) point I was trying to make. It's just not doing anyone, including the TGC community as a whole, any good.

Edited August 4, 2011 by fuzzylogician

[psycholinguist]

I agree entirely. Was alarmed to see last night that people are downvoting Just me for no particular reason, or for reasons having more to do with her history on the board than anything else. That actually does border on picking on her; and bullying is something that a) should be intolerable in the first place, and we ought to have grown out of years ago, particularly as a bunch of (mostly) very intelligent, thoughtful, well-adjusted adults. Just me does have a habit that gets on the nerves of some people here (posting a long thread about her problems, getting lots of good advice, rejecting all of it one post at a time, and then passive-aggressively abandoning the thread because she feels as if she's been totally misunderstood), and it's true that whether we're contending with a target-of-abuse or a case of victim-playing-personality-disorder is decidedly nebulous; but that's not a good excuse to get stand-offish and/or take a few gratuitous, anonymous shots at her. In fact, either way, a few less-than-warranted downvotes are counterproductive; think about it. Whether or not her backstory is true, Just me needs (at the very least) some psychological assistance, and we've done everything we can do about that. In the meantime, I recommend that innocuous posts of hers be treated at face-value, and anything talking about being a victim be given minimal attention since we probably have nothing more to say on that subject, especially if her situation isn't going to change. Can we all agree on that?

(Apologies for talking around you, Just me. Addressing [select] others here.)

[singlecell]

I've been thinking about this too, and noticed that Justme gets downvoted not because of the content of her posts, but because of her reputation. Or maybe her reputation makes folks look harder for something to downvote.

I agree that we all have the right to express our opinions here, provided they are not hurting anyone. And people have a right to disagree and dislike posts. Downvoting Justme does not seem to deter her from posting.. in case any people were of a mind to use downvoting to encourage her to stop posting on TGC, I don't think that will work.

The only thing I dislike about this discourse about Justme, which has surfaced in several threads, is that it generally distracts from the OP's topic, and that is unfair.

[fuzzylogician]

The only thing I dislike about this discourse about Justme, which has surfaced in several threads, is that it generally distracts from the OP's topic, and that is unfair.

That's very true. Let me help get this thread back on track: a lot of professors see grad students as colleagues in training. As such, they may expect them to live up to certain standards that one might expect from the workplace - one of which is that colleagues dress professionally. Also that they show up on time, do their work, etc. So I think it could legitimately bother a professor if a student consistently shows up in pajamas or sweatpants - not because of fashion rules, but because it's unprofessional and distracts from having a productive work environment.

ETA: I didn't read the whole thread so I apologize if this has already been said.

Edited August 4, 2011 by fuzzylogician

[Bonkers]

One minor detail of graduate school that I am looking forward to is slumming it---clothes-wise. Unless you are giving a presentation or attending anything that would require professional attire, slumming it with sweat pants in class and around campus is fine. I have this UFO/pyramid/camel knitted sweater that I have been wanting to wear out in public. When I had a job, this would have been frowned upon. With the advent of grad school, I am going to get it washed and ready because come fall I will wear this mad crazy UFO sweater all of the time always forever all the time everyday.

[mandarin.orange]

I have this UFO/pyramid/camel knitted sweater that I have been wanting to wear out in public.

Hm, does said sweater look something like this?

[Eisenmann]

One minor detail of graduate school that I am looking forward to is slumming it---clothes-wise. Unless you are giving a presentation or attending anything that would require professional attire, slumming it with sweat pants in class and around campus is fine. I have this UFO/pyramid/camel knitted sweater that I have been wanting to wear out in public. When I had a job, this would have been frowned upon. With the advent of grad school, I am going to get it washed and ready because come fall I will wear this mad crazy UFO sweater all of the time always forever all the time everyday.

My cousin has a plants vs zombies shirt that I think will be hilarious to wear to class.

[psycholinguist]

I do like that I can wear xkcd T-shirts and that sort of thing to class if I want. One of my friends who has a Real Job™ says that she never gets to wear any part of her Threadless collection anymore and that it kind of sucks.

[timuralp]

One of the professors I had in undergrad wore an "I pwn n00bs" t-shirt to every exam. It was pretty entertaining.

[Mal83]

One minor detail of graduate school that I am looking forward to is slumming it---clothes-wise. Unless you are giving a presentation or attending anything that would require professional attire, slumming it with sweat pants in class and around campus is fine. I have this UFO/pyramid/camel knitted sweater that I have been wanting to wear out in public. When I had a job, this would have been frowned upon. With the advent of grad school, I am going to get it washed and ready because come fall I will wear this mad crazy UFO sweater all of the time always forever all the time everyday.

I saw a picture of this sweater on your blog...do you realize what this thing is suggesting? That UFOs carrying intelligent beings from a galaxy far far away landed in Ancient Egypt so they could build the pyramids. Hope you don't run into this guy while wearing it....

Edited August 5, 2011 by Mal83

[Bonkers]

Hm, does said sweater look something like this?

hahahaha

Edited August 5, 2011 by Bonkers

[timuralp]

hahahaha

Yeah, well, you know, that's, just, like, your opinion, man

[Sigaba]

Generally, I wore jeans, a navy or a gray t-shirt, sneakers, and a sweatshirt to class. From time to time, I'd wear a polo over a white t-shirt, with casual shoes and socks to match the shoes.

I didn't get any feedback one way or another from professors. Their comments centered around topics such as the course materials, the refinement of a historian's tool kit, picking research topics, getting ready for qualifying exams, and some of the secrets of the trade.

FWIW, I don't think Just Me is a troll. Nor do I think it is appropriate for members of this BB to offer psychological evaluations of someone they've not met in person.

Having worked as a planning analyst at a structural engineering firm, I project that Mr. McDevitt is going to have a steep learning curve when it comes to building good will with team mates, clients, and stake holders. By that same measure, if he's as socially awkward as he presents himself on this BB, he'll make principal within ten years of getting hired.

My $0.02.

[ktel]

You seem to think normal social interaction and professionalism is 'politics'. I see nothing wrong with conforming somewhat in order to work effectively with others and succeed in my career. A good personality can take you a lot further than good work alone.

[natsteel]

I prefer to challenge all social norms as much as I can get away with though, because so many people just go along without really thinking why

But then aren't you, in your contrarian way, just doing the same thing of which you're accusing everyone, i.e., allowing the behavior of others to dictate your own behavior?

I think it's good to challenge the reasons behind everything.

Do you really challenge "everything," or just the things you don't like? Also, I wonder what are the benefits or "the good" that comes from challenging "everything."

I also like to keep practicing my critical thinking skills, and not get complacent with everything just because "it's the way things are".

I would think there are much more practical ways of keeping your critical thinking skills sharp than devising ways to alienate and condescend to all those "complacent" people by whom you find yourself surrounded.

Many people don't have the luxury of turning down jobs or opportunities (or risking alienating those who can assist in securing them) over such trifles.

Edited August 6, 2011 by natsteel

[mandarin.orange]

I value being consistent with myself, honesty, integrity and the like over getting a job under someone who doesn't value these things. If I am true to myself in the way I dress and the way I communicate, I will receive job and education offers from the people who I would most like to work with (and who would most like to work with me), and weed out the others.

I mean, any time I go to an interview, I am interviewing my potential boss as much as he/she is interviewing me. I won't BS in an interview - that would only get me a job that is a bad fit for both parties involved.

I dig your style, Dude.

[psycholinguist]

This is very interesting; personally I understand both sides here about equally. When I was in high school I dressed exactly the same way every single day and never once changed my hairstyle; I saw this as being admirably unwavering and dependable and mature amidst a set of unreliable, erratic, fickle peers. (Turns out I was just going to school with a bunch of ordinary teenagers.) I also insisted on sitting in the same desks in the same classrooms, eating lunch in a single place, just generally letting people know what they could expect of me, etc. It was nice to have a routine; this freed me from having to spend time worrying about what to wear or looking for people to eat lunch with or so on.

In retrospect, though, I was way too obsessed with consistency for the sake of itself. Nonconformity doesn't mean refusing to change one's behaviour, period; it means being free-spirited and independent-minded, and making changes only if you yourself really want to. Although I don't care what my high-school classmates thought of me (I wasn't close to them and was happy to leave them behind), I probably alienated myself by giving off the impression that I didn't want anyone messing with my precious little rituals. Furthermore, being that scripted (uptight, even) is often a great way of convincing people at a distance - especially teachers and professors - that you're the ostentatious sort. I'm not saying that some degree of extra conformity is necessary - hardly - but I'd advise caution if you're feeling the urge to go around being a little in-your-face about feeling yourself so much the self-confident outsider. When I got to college I couldn't keep sitting in my favourite high-school spots, obviously, and I had to learn to adapt. I got used to having a more-varied schedule and actually started buying a whole range of clothes for myself; the change was a bit of a shock, but getting out of what had really begun to seem like a huge number of pointless habits was an immense relief. I haven't compromised myself or my values in the slightest; my personality is best expressed through my interactions with people and my schoolwork, not whether I happen to be wearing a pair of blue dress pants and a white blouse for the 387th school-day in a row. And these days I deal with everyday background changes a lot more readily than I did in high-school; back then I'd nearly throw a fit if someone had moved 'my' desk out of the room.

[bfat]

Dress codes are so freaking lame. I mean, not that I think we should all go around wearing pajamas all the time (though now that I think about it...), but what is the big deal? Jeans are functional, practical, and comfortable, so who gives a flaming fart if someone wants to wear them all the time? Hygeine and taking care of your appearance is undoubtably very important, but the concept of "professional attire" makes me want to pull my hair out. Does the style of pants we wear really affect our ability to do a job well? Or learn or communicate effectively? I think one of my primary goals in life is to have the type of job where I can wear whatever I want. The worst part about having a "real job" is having to worry constantly about whether this outfit is "appropriate" or "professional enough"--as if I would somehow become incompetent the minute I put on some Levis.

Anyway, </rant> now. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

[Behavioral]

I don't think people here generally had a problem with jeans -- it's the people rolling in sweatpants or basketball shorts that were distracting from a professional environment. I'm most guilty of just going to class in whatever I slept in during the first part of undergrad when I lived on-campus, but now my wardrobe and style have just changed to something a lot more appropriate for work (working in industry a bit after graduating helped this a bit, too).

Jeans are totally fine (as long as the student isn't giving a talk or presentation). And what professors do is largely a moot point since they're essentially at the top of the food chain; what we think of them doesn't affect them whereas their perceptions of us can have implicit and explicit consequences. I definitely don't wear a button down and tie with slacks everyday, but nice pants or jeans with a polo or simple V-neck is what I wear most of the time and it's just as comfortable as anything else I wear.