Teacher Clothes, Teacher Hairstyle.....

The "don't feel I fit in and am insecure about how I look" thing is something I would think the educators would be encouraging the kids through.

I've been taking note of teacher appearances at my daughter's school with you in mind, littlek, I could provide a li'l dissertation if you'd like.

I've definitely noticed styled hair. Especially towards the sleek, controlled end of the spectrum.

My usual approach is master rules, then once mastered, branch out. I get that during this period you'd want to do whatever you can to increase your chances of getting a good job. It's probably stupid that how your hair looks has an effect on that, but it does.

That said, from pictures I've seen the main thing I'd recommend is a bang trim. I seem to remember that you have to kind of peek through your bangs. That's a more casual, less professional sort of look... unless you go the other direction and grow them out. They're kind of in-between now, though.

I like the color, I like the length. Some sort of smoothing serum might help with polish, if you don't want to do much else.

So much depends on the culture of where you live, too, I think. When I was in L.A. I was ridiculously dressed up at all times by Columbus standards (products in expensively-cut hair, high heels, suits, lipstick), but that was all still several notches down from most of my peers (just lipstick, no foundation or eyeshadow or anything else; no color in my hair; 3-inch rather than 4-inch heels; etc.) Teachers seem to be more dressed up than the norm around here, though. As in, compare an average teacher with an average mom, and the teacher will be way more dressy.

That's rambly, I'll kind of randomly stop there though...

One other thing about hot rollers...

I wash my hait every other day. In general my routine is, wash hair at night, might be dry or damp when I go to bed, so look really messed up in morning.

Day one when hair is clean, hot rollers, takes, again, somewhere between 1 and 2 minutes to put in. I leave mine in for quite a while while I do other stuff, I forget about them.

Day two....ponytail or twist.

repeat.

Actually, a twist goes up easy when your hair is either 2 day dirty, or, if it's clean, just slightly, slighty damp....where it looks dry but if you run your hands through your hair it feels a little cold, damp....it doesn't work well on mine when clean and dry, unless I wet my hands while I do it.

ok ladies, let's do the Twist....

1. Gather your hair into a ponytail about a third of the way between the nape and crown. Hold with your left hand
2. Take your right hand and grab the ponytail firmly underneath and twist in a clockwise motion outwards and upwards, using your left hand for damage control. My hair is shoulder length and takes 3 turns.
3. Bend the hair rope in half to the left of the main rope. Roll hair into itself, tucking in the end. Like making a jelly roll.
4. Make sure you have a comb that the teeth actually meet at some point, this will keep the hair in place. Shove it into the the crease of the roll. This is the part that takes practice, you need to do it so that when you let go, your hair feels both secure and comfortable, because that's how it's gonna feel all day.

5. Very important...proper bobby pin technique.
take a pin, and and the bottom of your hair, insert the pin, catching a small amout of hair at the nape of your neck, so the open end is going to the left....then, with the hair in the bobby pin, twist the pin around clockwise a little less than 90 degrees, and shove under the twist. Use a few going up the twist crease if you need.

I know that may sound, well, complicated as far as the bobby pin, but it's not.

Practice while watching TV.


Littlek ready for class.

I will try the twist thingie. Thanks for the detailed instructions. I've done it up before but not exactly like that.

I am reading along.

As to the twist, I will look for a toothed clampy thingie bopper next time I'm out.

As to the hot rollers, my hair generally doesn't take curls unless I use a lot of product and that's one of the things I'm sort of personally against. A smoothing serum (what ever that is) may be something I'd try.

I did get a large barrette that I can clip my hair back with at the nape of my neck. That seems to work nicely as an alternative to a pony tale. Now I need a large bun holder to hold all my hair.

Bangs. I sort of need them, though I often think of growing them out. They are tricky. I can't cut them too short because of the dimensions of my face. I could thin them, I could slant them, I could pull them to the side.

You needn't get carried away getting anything fancy, this is the type I use....made by "Good Hair Day", costs a couple of bucks. go to a beauty supply store, or an Ulta. Notice how the teeth meet? When you push it into your hair, it won't come loose. I don't know how anyone keeps those combs whose teeth are like a 1/2 inch apart in their hair. I'm all about comfort.

Mine get all bent up and ****, but it doesn't matter, you can't see it, and it grips the hair.

oooooh, I thought you meant the kind with hinges.

I had french twist hair .... when was it? probably early sixties, just around the time I was working to be the next Audrey Hepburn and failed. But, that's not against it, I've always like the style, through the thick and thin of decades, and still do.

Snood - I agree with you, we should be letting children know personal style is ok. But, then .. there are probably edges to that, like showing up nekkid and I won't imagine further in other directions. Yikes, especially with preteens and teens. I refuse to type 'tweenies'. But, as we all know, teens tend to fork off, yes, fork off, into prototype groups, and so do many with further age. I don't know, maybe some of us are more revolting or revolutionary than others.

Amidst all this are uniforms. When we wore them, the possibilities for variation ran to choices in white sock styles, angora being the go-for-it cuff trim that many couldn't afford, including me, thus being a distinguisher.


On littleK's style, lilK, you already have it. I'm not so clear you need to fix anything.

Added, I see ehBeth as revelling in clothes play and doing fine at work, and Soz as similar to me in, hey could that work?, and some other posters, forgetting for the moment whom. But I see littleK as already having a personal style. I'd have to hear how her style might offend to see if I'd have any advice against it. The long hair could be a question for someone on some staff somewhere, but since I think it's fine, except for containment questions... I think it's fine.

quoting myself,

"Amidst all this are uniforms. When we wore them, the possibilities for variation ran to choices in white sock styles, angora being the go-for-it cuff trim that many couldn't afford, including me, thus being a distinguisher."


The odd folks who really play with clothes get out of that subtle trap --- and perhaps into another one, as in "how can I play with my clothes today?"



Take yer choice, style varies.

Osso, I don't really offend. I dress in cotton chino type pants and cotton shirts - long sleeve t-shirts (which some older staff find inappropriate I think), or linen 3/4 length tees. The offense might come from showing any of my (arm) tattoo.

I don't offend, but I dress very plainly. I am not a flashy dresser anyway, but I am restricted to some degree by not being able to wear short or sleeveless shirts. I can't afford 3 pairs of work shoes, so the ones I have are brown - goes with everything. Brown socks, some with patterns. Boring.



But, look everyone. I was just having a momentary hang up. It comes and goes as I've said. Mostly it's gone. The school I work in at the moment is eclectic. One teacher occasionally wears faded denim overalls to class. One dresses in skin tight, sheer t-shirts and those floppy knee-length pants. Some only wear slacks and button-downs. The men mostly men wear ties, but no jackets. Lots of twin-sets.

I do fit in here, more than less. But, I will be on the job market soon and if I don't place here, I'll be looking at a whole new culture. I don't own a suit.

From what I've seen of you here, I think your instincts will be telling you what to do and they'll be right on, so listen to them. Today there's no uniform, unless you're in the corporate world. Dress how you feel a teacher of that age group should dress and it'll probably be right. Unless it's really inappropriate, nobody really cares. Be kind to yourself and be yourself.

Did I say you offend or could, littleK - can't remember doing that.

You seemed in the beginning post to be looking for a way to not have things boring. I've responded with that in mind, too much I'm sure.

I like your style and see it as fine for school.

It seems that the main time 'style' matters is at interview time. You've got a style, l'k, you may just tweak it slightly for the interview process.

A good haircut about two weeks prior to interviews (if they do interviews in seasonal clumps there, as they do here) should do the trick. It does seem that what I'd call 'groomed hair'* is somewhat valued. You rarely see pony-tails/buns/long hair for teaching staff here. That may be a regional/urban thing.

Twin sets and skirts/pants with pockets seem practical. The less thinking you need to do in preparing how to dress for the day the better. A twin set will likely work well for interview purposes - I haven't seen a suit on anyone (other than our company president ), at work vs at a reception, in ages. Even our prez does jacket/slacks, twin set/slacks quite a bit (and we're in a notoriously conservative industry).

Having a few age-appropriate combos you can switch around is the easiest way to go. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize - an quick/easy/cheap way to bring colour in. Go to Goodwill/Value Village etc - get a basket of scarves and pins for less than $10 - and you're good to go. Once you start teaching, the kids/parent will keep you going with pins/scarves - they seem to continue to be popular 'girl teacher' gifts.



*by groomed, I don't mean styled each day - just that there is clearly a haircut, not just hanging hair or a pony tail. The problem, such as there is a problem, is that you've got to maintain haircuts.

Osso, just spinning off from your posts.....

Beth - I don't think I have ever seen a teacher my age wear a scarf. I'd feel silly wearing on.But, I am keeping my eye out for bright and slightly large necklaces and bracelets, hair accessories (even if they are just bun holders. I often do this style with a mini bun holder or barrette



Today I did one of these which had more loose ends on the top

Ah, the front pieces pulled back into a barrette -- I've done that for years. I think it looks good on a lot of face shapes.

How about hair combs, the kind you wear on the side? I know they are kinda 80s but they can look good. Clip a small barrette first, then put the comb over it, and they stay in place rather nicely.

I thought your hair was straight.

Ok, I'm going to give my honest opinion here...

The top photo looks sort of too young for a grown woman, and the second one looks down right messy.

Not meaning to offend, but in both pictures you look like you haven't run a comb through your hair in a couple of days. Sorry.

I've seen pictures of your face and figure littlek, and in case no one has every told you....You are a VERY attractive woman. That hair is not doing you any favors.

Maybe I'm old school about this, but a good haircut is an investment in yourself.

You can have on the most beautiful clothes, wonderful shoes, super handbag, trim body, etc....but if you hair isn't right, it ruins the whole effect.

That doesn't mean Jennifer Aniston hair, but it does mean getting a good style...yes, style.

If you don't have a regular hair dresser, keep your eyes open, and when you see someone whose hair makes you think "YES! That what I want." Go right up to her and tell her that her hair is terrific, and where does she go. Believe me, she will be extremely flattered.

Get her name, and when you go to that hair dresser, tell her you met so and so, and love what you did to her hair, and can she do the same for you?

Then, tell the hairdresser about your personality, what you are trying to portray to the world, and how much time you're willing to invest in styling your hair.

When you get the cut you want....ASK the stylist to describe what she did, and write it down. Get the right terminology from him/her.

Then, if you have to go to someone else. You can tell them EXACTLY what you want.

However, if you find you like that stylist, keep that description anyway, so she can refer to it when you go back. If that stylist works out, tip her well and refer other people to him/her. You HAVE to have a relationship with your stylist.

Then, someone will come up to you and say, "Your hair is terrific, who does it?"

I have to say, if you get a good haircut, you don't have to wait 2 weeks to have it look good....A good haircut looks good the very next day, and for the next month to 6 weeks.

Littlek--

Years ago a 4th grade cousin (male) mentioned to me that he liked it when his teacher looked a little different every day.

He was particularly fond of his teacher's motorcycle pin.

Well, there we go...

I rather like the two photos of the 'tied back' hair, particularly the first. I'd also like C. Deneuve's french twist (just trying to think of someone with a probable de riguer one.)

We're just different. 'Messy' in general doesn't bother me, a matter I've commented on a2k about numerous, probably too numerous, times. But sure, sometimes it could bother me. Sometimes groomed does bother me, but, not always. Super tidy - I see as a different species, no offense meant.


So, I have naturally curly-wavy hair. I remember much suffering with rollers to make my hair glamour mag ready, like everyone else's, back in the mid sixties. I dated a very nice person, whom I couldn't manage to love, though I tried, for quite a while. And I guess, vice versa - he proposed every New Year. We virtually never argued, except about cars we admired, much less make personal aspersions. But one day he told me he wished I'd fix my hair, it was so messy. Me, who did the roller thing before each date.

I'm not sure that's what did it, for myself and him, at this distance away,
but it was clarifying.

To give him some understanding, I'll say that 1966 wasn't that far from, say, 1963, re style association.

I'll go so far as to agree that quite long hair is not always seen as a virtue, but, I, aside from a nice trim of it, see no reason to go chop your hair, unless you'd enjoy that.