Pre-submission visit in the heat - clothes

[hippyscientist]

Okay, so I know there's been threads on what to wear to interviews and campus open days but I'm stumped. I'm an international student and am going to be visiting 3 of the schools I'm applying to in September (my boyfriend lives in the states so I figured I'd tie in seeing schools and him). My issue is I have no clue how to dress "business casual" in the heat. I'm used to living in shorts and a bikini as soon as the sun comes out and I'm not sure that will leave quite the right impression!!

 

Girls - any advice? (Also I really am not a girly girl. I own no skirts or dresses...)

[ginagirl]

Depending on where your schools are located, September might not really be too hot anymore. It would probably be fine to just stick with dress pants/slacks and a nice sleeveless or short sleeved top, or whatever business casual attire you might have. You might even want to consider also bringing a sweater so you're comfortable indoors, where I assume most of your meetings and events will be held. I personally like to have one with me anyway just in case.

[hippyscientist]

Yeah, I checked the weather reports and it's like double what I'm used to at home. Thanks for pointing out meetings will be inside - I really hadn't even considered that! Thanks for the reply

[fuzzylogician]

Depending on the location and your field, it might be perfectly fine to wear nice jeans and a short sleeves blouse or buttoned shirt, or wear slacks if you're not sure if jeans are appropriate. I second the suggestion to bring a sweater, just in case, and wear comfortable shoes. 

[hippyscientist]

I'm in kinesiology - in the UK it's pretty standard for lecturers to wear jeans and a t-shirt to teach in, and the PhD students seem to live in sports kit! I will obviously go smarter than this, but I don't want to be the one dressed up to the nines inappropriately. Locations are Penn, Florida and LA so I'm expecting warm weather. Sounds like pastel jeans (mint coloured) and a nice top will be okay.

 

Thanks for the replies

[Psych5121]

Would a skirt that hits no higher than right above the knees come across as "less serious" or "too girly"? I am a feminine looking person and always wear appropriate skirts/dresses to work(MA grad student) because I feel most comfortable in them. However, some peers have given me feedback that my feminine appearance can cause others to take me less seriously as an academic professional. Thoughts?

[Eigen]

I would say the material/print/design of the skirt would have a greater impact than length at that point, at least in the perceptions I have and see other people have. 

 

A very nice looking skirt coupled with heels/open toed shoes would signal a lack of professionalism in the lab, for instance (and yes, I know a number of girls that do this) while a plain cotton/denim skirt with closed-toed flats would be completely different at the same length.

[knp]

I haven't seen length per se affect anything, either, but I concur that I've seen people make judgments about style. While it's unfortunate that more feminine/frilly styles of dress are viewed as less professional, this does seem to be the case. For instance, in my last workplace, I wore a dress pretty much every day, but because I tended towards dark blue and red and grey shift and A-line dresses, rather than fancy sorority pink dresses, I never had a problem.

 

That said, I also have friends (mostly in the tech industry), who've been called unserious just for the fact of wearing single-opening leg coverings rather than the preferred two-opening "pants." You may be in that situation, but that's not a work culture I know well enough to advise on.