Academic appearances

I've been pondering my wardrobe options lately.

Does it matter what you wear in the classroom?  What about to faculty meetings?  Do people even notice?

Certainly our student take note of what we wear (I know I did when I was an undergrad).  Are jeans okay on a prof?  Does it make a difference if you are at a research institution or a PUI?  What about faculty rank?

Do appearances matter to anyone, or am I just entering into my annual I'm-going-to-overthink-everything phase?

Taming the Talons

I'm pretty low maintenance. I rarely wear makeup. I usually teach in jeans, and I often wear t-shirts to lab.

I'm equally low key about my nails. I never get manicures (only once in my life!), and I never wear polish. I just buff them once a month, and I'm good to go. I let them grow until they click on the keyboard, and then I cut them pretty close to the pink part. Let me toot my own horn here: I have good nails. The beds are nice and pink, and the tips are very white. If I had yellow fingernails, perhaps I would put more time into them.

Some of my (female) colleagues spend quite a lot of time and upkeep on their manicures. I find painted fingernails distracting. I inwardly roll my eyes at bright red talons. Not sure why. But I do. Do I think that they are unnecessary? Absolutely. Is it unprofessional for a woman to paint her nails? It shouldn't be.


Students comment about professorial attire all the time. I wonder where they stand on decorated digits?