Work Appropriate for Who Featuring Ashley, the Student Program Specialist

Ashley

Late twenties

Student Program Specialist

I work with freshman in higher education. I teach two freshman courses and help design classes and programs for first year students.

Large public university

What dress code was given to you when you began the job?  

Business Casual (though the interpretation of this at my workplace is VERY different!)

I love dresses and skirts because I don’t get to wear them when I’m at home with my son. I also love fitted, cropped pants paired with pretty, loose blouses.

Where do you like to shop for work attire? 

Banana Republic, LOFT, Target, even F21 can have some great wear-to-work pieces

How have you developed your professional style?

It has taken me so long to figure this out… At first I focused on quantity, but in the past few years I have focused more on finding quality items, and I honestly feel so much better in what I’m wearing. I try to find quality basics (black pants, gray blazer, pencil skirts, etc) and then just add in fun trendy items here and there. I also used to only buy things that were exclusively “work styles” (collared blouses, pencil skirts, etc) but I have gotten much better at buying things that are more versatile and more “me” (printed blouses, colored slacks, etc).

There is such a wide-range of what is appropriate to wear at the university. Some of the most senior women wear suits everyday, and some of the admin ladies will wear those two-piece cotton sets that essentially look like pajamas. I definitely do NOT recommend going too casual in higher education. It can be tempting because there is SO much flexibility, but it is important to stand out from the students. I am one of the younger instructors, and I want the students to know I am NOT a student, so I try to dress relatively professionally. 

“Buy clothes that fit well and if they don’t, get them tailored.” I figured this out the hard way. When I first started working, I would buy things on sale that often did not fit well or were too short (I’m 5’10”). I would spend the entire work day tugging at my clothes to keep them from riding up. Now I know to buy clothes in “tall” sizes and clothes that are comfortable enough to get me through an 8 hour work day.

Err on the conservative side. Don’t dress flashy or trendy in the beginning. Don’t spend a lot of money on work clothes in the beginning until you know your office culture better and you know what you will feel comfortable wearing in your office everyday.

I totally recommend the Stylebook App to everyone! Most people are super-rushed to get dressed in the morning and the app helps take the guesswork out of what you are going to wear each day. It’s also a lot of fun to play around with new outfit ideas.

Shop Ashley’s Look