Informal Visits - What to wear

[t_ruth]

I know there have been some threads on what to wear for interviews, but when you arrange a private visit (not part of any formal admitted students weekend or anything), what do you wear? I'm a mom of young children (one an infant), so aside from still carrying baby weight, I'm an extremely casual dresser. All my currently-fitting clothes are casual casual, so I'm going to need to buy something - unless nice jeans and a long-sleeved collar shirt will work? Suggestions? Are sneakers ok?

Thanks!

[IvyHope]

t_ruth,

If you are going on a visit to a school in which you've already been accepted, I'd say jeans are ok. However if it's an interview type situation, I'd stick to black pants and a sweater or something.

Of course, jeans is relative- probably shouldn't do the holy jeans and hooded sweatshirt thing, but dress it up a little, you know?

Also, if you're visiting on a Friday, you're quite likely to see the faculty wearing jeans as well.

[t_ruth]

so, Friday visits then nice jeans...dark, modern, no holes, no frays.

[IvyHope]

I think that sounds about right.

One year, a girl came to visit our program as a prospective doctoral student. She was working on her Ed M at Harvard GSE and she arrived to our meeting in sweats and a ponytail. None of us were very impressed.

I'm sure your baby weight is a non-issue, and that you look great. Knock 'em dead!

[UnlikelyGrad]

I would say casual pants (preferably not jeans) and a button-down shirt. If you don't have these in your wardrobe, go to Goodwill or Salvation Army on their 50% off clothing day... I just got 2 nice button-down shirts for $3.

I'm a fellow mom, and I know how easy it is to succumb to the "I'm still fat, so I can't look good" mentality, but DON'T. Trust me. Dressing relatively nicely does wonders for the self-esteem. As a fairly shy person, I've found that when I dress nicely I am a lot more confident and outgoing around new people. Making a good first impression--visually and otherwise--is going to be crucial here.

[UnlikelyGrad]

She was working on her Ed M at Harvard GSE and she arrived to our meeting in sweats and a ponytail. None of us were very impressed.

Is there something wrong with a ponytail? I wear my hair long (it frizzes too much otherwise) but as a chemist, I have to keep it out of the way. Needless to say, the ponytail is my hairstyle of choice.

[IvyHope]

unlikelygrad is right,

BUT,

One visit I took consisted of a walk around campus, which I was not prepared for as I was wearing boots with heels, black pants, etc. I stand by my advice- if you've been admitted, you might consider the possibility that they want to hike around campus, which is not comfortable in shoes other than sneakers.

Maybe contact your prospective advisor and ask what the agenda is, then make a decision?

[t_ruth]

Part of the reason I'm not a lawyer is I'm not a makeup and polish kind of girl. I thought I could find a happy home this way among academics? Am I wrong?

[IvyHope]

No, I think you can survive in an academic environment without makeup and polish. However, you always have to consider your first impression.

Please don't tell me you want to earn a PhD so you can wear jeans to work!!!! ;-)

[UnlikelyGrad]

Did someone say something about makeup? Good grief, I hope not. The last time I wore makeup was...hmmm...that would be my sister-in-law's wedding, over 5 years ago...

When I say button-down shirt I mean something that's not a T-shirt. That's all. Not a dress shirt, just not a T-shirt. I have a nice plaid flannel that looks good on me. Make sure your pants look nice. If all I had were jeans I'd find my best-looking (i.e. least ratty) pair. I was raised that if you don't know how dressy you should be, err on the side of caution, and I guess that's what I'm advocating. Think about the profs you had last time you were a student: which of them was the most dressed up? I would go with that level of dressiness.

FWIW, my PI wears khakis and button-down shirts on days he's lecturing but jeans and T-shirts (often of the extremely grungy variety) on non-lecture days. So I wouldn't say that you necessarily have to dress up as an academic.

[t_ruth]

yep. that's the reason - you mean it's not a good one? :mrgreen:

[silverfrost]

Is there something wrong with a ponytail? I wear my hair long (it frizzes too much otherwise) but as a chemist, I have to keep it out of the way. Needless to say, the ponytail is my hairstyle of choice.

Hm. And I was planning on wearing my hair in a ponytail to my formal interviews (while dressed in appropriate clothes for, say, a job interview). I think that a ponytail can look classy, so I'm not sure why it would harm your chances at impressing people... then again, I've never done this before.

[t_ruth]

I think it's the sweats/pony combo that's an issue. You can certainly dress up a ponytail...

Guys have it so easy...

[Halcyon22]

I just came back from a prospective visit (I haven't been accepted yet but was invited by the dept to come check it out). I went with khakis and a button down shirt or sweater while i was there and certainly didn't feel over or under dressed. I also wore a pair of brown walking shoes which ended up being a lifesaver because I quickly went from meeting faculty, to campus tours, to town tours, to hiking. It was nice to be able to be flexible and take them up on all of their offers to show me around without hesitation, rather than having to ask to be driven back to change shoes or being absolutely miserable while walking around.

I also made a good effort to wear my hair down every day, but after about an hour it always ended up pulled back into a pony tail- so you should be fine Good luck and have fun!

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

I think nice black pants, dress shoes, a nice sweater would be perfect. Whether you are accepted or not, you want to make a decent first impression (and show that you care about the impression you make!) A neat pony tail would be fine. And dress shoes or boots don't have to be uncomfortable or obstacles to a campus tour. There are plenty of business casual dress shoes that are comfortable to walk in but that are nice enough to wear to work or an interview.

I work in a research environment and I have some colleagues who think that the way to gauge what you can wear is to look at what your boss is wearing. I don't think that is a great way to reason. The boss has earned the right to dress how she wants, but you still want to make a certain impression on that person. Sure, in some environments a more casual dress code is in effect and therefore you have some flexibility, but just because the boss wears lululemon pants to work doesn't mean you should too!!

Sorry, I think I went a little off topic and I know you don't plan to wear lululemon pants to your interview. I just had to mention it because there are people in my work place that dress like this.

Rant over..

[IvyHope]

Of course there is nothing wrong with a ponytail. I think showing up in sweats and throwing your hair back is different than styling it in a ponytail with nice clothes. Obviously, putting a little effort into your appearance is noted by some- showing that you don't really care about your appearance suggests you don't really care what those you are meeting for the first time think- something I would not want to communicate to prospective peers or faculty.

Sorry, I thought that was obvious.

[freefallen]

I agree with IvyHope. Plus, there are different styles of ponytails, and while I'd wear a slicked/classic one, I would not have a going-to-the-gym hairstyle.

I'm trying to decide what to wear for my recruitment weekend too, sigh. I have to figure out the weather on the other side of the coast too.

I wonder if black leggings, a long button-down/nice top, and flat boots would be ok? Hm. Leggings always throw me off. Plus, I hate khakis.

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

Maybe I'm a little old fashioned, but I would say do not wear black leggings (or leggings of any other colour).

We should post pics of our "interview outfits" and get feedback! That would be fun...

[aec]

I'm trying to figure out what to wear as well... I can't go for the official recruitment thing, so I may be going either on a normal day OR on the day the dept is holding a conference. I'm thinking khaki chinos and a sweater (same thing I usually wear to teach) is the best bet either way, with brown tennis shoes (the sort that are like semi-dressy, I guess? In a way...) or hiking boots if it's cold there. I might blow dry my hair for the occasion, though I usually let it air dry.

[rising_star]

I wore jeans every day of every visit to other schools. I tried to pick the nicer shirts/sweaters out of my wardrobe and a decent coat and that's about it. Once you're already in, you might as well just show them what you will look like if you attend.

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

I'm visiting Texas and I don't know what to wear!!! I think I just might have to go shopping.....for shoes!!

[freefallen]

I'm visiting Texas and I don't know what to wear!!! I think I just might have to go shopping.....for shoes!!

Lol. I'm the same. I'm going from a place that's getting a blizzard tomorrow to a place that's like 60+ degrees. I have to do some odd shopping...for everything!

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

Oh man... I just checked the current weather in Texas. 3 degrees Celsius!! And a couple of days ago it was 25!! I think I'm going to save my money and just bring an older pair of slightly casual pumps. I tried em on today and I can wear them without socks if it's hotter than anticipated. I'm just going to pair them with black pants and a nice top. It might not be a smashing outfit, but inconspicuous is the look I'm going for. I have this fear of wearing something inappropriate and sticking out like a sore thumb...

My advice is to stick to really a basic/classic wardrobe and you can't go wrong. If you have to buy pants or shoes, that's okay because you will need to wear them again some day, so consider it a smart investment! I know that for my visits there will be "parties" at night...so I'm going to stick with the black pants (very multifunctional!) and maybe bring along a more dressy/party top for the evening festivities. I'm also bringing jeans and runners/boots for when I venture out on my own (I will have time to kill between the end of the visit and my flight back home).