Hey, here is an interesting story from my experience... when I was studying in university (undergrad), I had very little ca$h and no sense of style whatsoever, which often resulted in poor dress choices like worn-out jeans and hoodies (I'm a girl), or even worse (believe it or not!), combined with very bad haircuts and no makeup. Unsurprisingly, not a single guy paid attention to me. I did make some friends among classmates and study-mates, and with no coolness factor to worry about, excelled at academics.
After graduation and before grad school, I worked in an office for a year, accumulating 7 changes of semi-formal dress. When I returned to university, those were the clothes I had, so I wore them... this time instead of blending into the walls, I found myself at the centre of attention. But classmates expected A LOT from me! They automatically assumed that I was smart, organized and RICH. They wanted me to pay more than my fair share when we went out for lunch, and didn't believe for a second when I complained of any difficulties with the grad program. Tired of this, I went to the mall and bought a few pieces of "student" attire like hot t-shirts, neat polo shirts and jeans - everything good-quality and colour-matched. Since working in the real world, I also look after my hair and put on make-up every day. The problem is, almost all my classmates are male, and their attitude has changed 100% since I started dressing differently! Now they talk behind my back, make inappropriate jokes, stare at my rack, and don't want to talk about anything intellectual around me. My new clothes are NOT even revealing!
The question is, do you feel like you get judged based on your clothes and appearance? How do you strike a balance between casual and professional? Does a girl have to be totally unattractive to be taken seriously by men in an academic/professional environment? Or does image not matter at all?
P.S. I'm not asking for sympathy here - this is just for fun! A new discovery... I never realized looks mattered that much, esp. since we are constantly bombarded with "feel good" affirmations that they don't
After graduation and before grad school, I worked in an office for a year, accumulating 7 changes of semi-formal dress. When I returned to university, those were the clothes I had, so I wore them... this time instead of blending into the walls, I found myself at the centre of attention. But classmates expected A LOT from me! They automatically assumed that I was smart, organized and RICH. They wanted me to pay more than my fair share when we went out for lunch, and didn't believe for a second when I complained of any difficulties with the grad program. Tired of this, I went to the mall and bought a few pieces of "student" attire like hot t-shirts, neat polo shirts and jeans - everything good-quality and colour-matched. Since working in the real world, I also look after my hair and put on make-up every day. The problem is, almost all my classmates are male, and their attitude has changed 100% since I started dressing differently! Now they talk behind my back, make inappropriate jokes, stare at my rack, and don't want to talk about anything intellectual around me. My new clothes are NOT even revealing!
The question is, do you feel like you get judged based on your clothes and appearance? How do you strike a balance between casual and professional? Does a girl have to be totally unattractive to be taken seriously by men in an academic/professional environment? Or does image not matter at all?
P.S. I'm not asking for sympathy here - this is just for fun! A new discovery... I never realized looks mattered that much, esp. since we are constantly bombarded with "feel good" affirmations that they don't
