Tomorrow, I'm heading off to my alma mater to participate in an American Studies Conference. My paper has been written and timed, so I am hoping that I won't repeat the disasterous performance I gave at a PG Symposium in January!
I think that conferences are a brilliant way of meeting new people, especially if, like me, you spend most days alone, living a very Thoreau-type existence. I would like to meet a student who would be open to writing a collaborative piece with me soon, it's something I would like to get a bit of experience in. Aside from the positives, conferences can also be immensely stressful, especially if you are presenting. The most stressful point for me is - honestly - what clothes to wear! The conference I'm attending runs over two days and there is a meal at the end also, so a lot of clothes are needed!
One of my favourite blog reads is Academic Chic.com. It documents the challenges of trying to be fashionable in the academic world. I found this entry on what to wear at conferences very inspiring. After I finish up at the conference, I'm heading to Dublin to see a concert with my best friend, so the doubling-up of clothes mentioned in Academic Chic's post is a great idea!
For the opening afternoon tomorrow, I'm going to wear a navy pinafore (from Primark) with navy wedges (also Primark). For the day-long Saturday session, which I'm presenting at, I've opted for smart, newly-pressed dark jeans and this top from A-Wear.
For the evening dinner, I have some taupe shoes and a cardigan to wear with this dress from ASOS.
For the concert I'm going to double-up the jeans, wedges and wear a sparkley navy top, just to look a little more ~edgy! So here's hoping I have a memorable outfit and make a memorable impression with my paper!
3 comments:
I love this post! On a much much less important scale I got worried about what clothes to wear last term when I was doing presentations. I know that sounds a little silly but I really wanted to feel confident yet relaxed so that I could concentrate on my notes and slides. I also love the thought of you looking so fantastic next to lots of dusty old professors! Hope that you have a great time :)
P.S Academic chic.com looks really good thanks! x
I love that red dress! I've been to a few 'unconferences' as they like to call them now haha, and I can never decide what to wear. I think smart/casual is so hard to do. I want to look professional but not like I'm trying too hard. I've just submitted a paper for a conference in June, I really hope it gets accepted but I don't know, there's a lot of competition. Good luck with yours!
@Zoe - I'm glad you like academic chic!! It's a great website! There's another good one called The Thesis Whisperer that I love too, check it out! :) I definitely felt very feminine and confident with the clothes I chose for the conference so I'm going to mark this as a positive experience! :)
@Helen - That's brilliant you're going for a conference, Helen! Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll be brilliant! And I look forward to an outfit post when you're preparing!! :)
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