Student Teacher Style Essentials

This (school) year was my first of two in the Teacher Education program at the University of Ottawa. Part of the requirement was an eight week evaluated placement at a school. Despite my teachable subject being English, I was placed in a subject area class for none other than...math, grades 6, 7, and 8, as well as one class of language arts. 

During my placement, I quickly learned the unspoken rules of dressing the part of a student teacher (namely, no jeans), and today I offer some of my favourite pieces. Keep in mind that all schools are different; some portray a more casual vibe, while others tend to have a higher standard for teacher attire. As a student teacher, it is important to look nice, but not out of place. Also keep in mind that I did my placement in the winter months, so most of these essentials are tailored to that season. My next placement will be in the fall, so we will see if my essentials change with the season!

Dress Pants

Left to right: Eclipse, American Eagle, Dynamite, Noisy may

Instead of jeans, I was introduced to the world of dress pants. Aside from the wide leg / boot cut pairs, I was also able to find skinny pants that fit well but did not look like leggings. The ones on the far right are in fact jeans, but they are black and so soft that they feel like pants, so they are an exception to the no jeans unspoken rule. If you are allowed to wear jeans or if your school is more casual, I would suggest skinny or boot cut fits in dark washes. 

Dressy Tops

Clockwise from top left: Target, Zara, Dynamite, Dynamite, Smart Set (middle one)

Unfortunately, I could not find links to any of these specific tops, as they are all at least a year old (except for the one from Zara, which is not online, but it might still be in stores). Instead of traditional button down blouses, I found myself wearing more printed tops, first for comfort, and second for interest. They are easier to move around in and still look dressy and professional. Try to choose tops with interesting patterns, colours, and necklines (I love the zipper detail on bottom two). 

Sweaters and Cardigans

Clockwise from top left: Eddie Bauer, Tommy Hilfiger, Forever 21, Eddie Bauer

(similar styles here)

All Lord & Taylor except top right, American Eagle (similar)

Since it is now spring, most stores have gotten rid of their stock of cable knit sweaters and wool cardigans, but once it hits fall and winter, they will be back in stock (I know for a fact that Eddie Bauer has new wool sweaters every winter)! As I mentioned before, my placement was during the winter months, and it was COLD in the classroom, so I had to layer up as much as I could. That meant wool or chunky cable knit sweaters and cashmere / wool cardigans. To relieve some of the itch from the wool, I would sometimes wear a thin long sleeved shirt underneath. These essentials, especially the Lord & Taylor cardigans, are quite pricey, but they are worth it!

(Comfortable!) Shoes

Left to right: Payless (similar), Payless, Naturalizer (similar)

Comfortable shoes are a must for teaching, as you are on your feet pretty much all day. My footwear choices were definitely not the best during my placement, as the black flats in the middle were not very comfortable at all, even with insoles. I will continue my search for comfortable shoes in the fall! I had to change into shoes at my placement school, but if yours allows you to keep your boots on in the winter, definitely invest in a good pair!

Jewellery

Left to right: Accessorize (similar), Forever 21

Left to right: Ardene (similar), Ardene (similar), Forever 21

For accessories, I loved wearing statement or long necklaces instead of bracelets, as they were less in the way when showing something underneath the projection screen, or pointing at something on student work. These necklaces work especially well with the chunky sweaters from above.

These are all my student teacher essentials! Let me know what other essentials you have for student teaching / internships / placements!

What I Wear to Work

Since I have a job for the summer, I thought I'd post what I wear on a daily basis. My work environment is pretty casual, but I still like to dress up without sporting a full suit. 

All of these looks feature different patterns- I am finally branching out from the floral!

Outfit 1: Leopard Print

Shirt: Target

Jeans: American Eagle

Cardigan: American Eagle

Lipstick: Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 11

Even though it's summer, I still wear jeans and a t-shirt, but I have updated my collection of t-shirts with different prints and styles. I also love wearing red lipstick with a leopard print. Also, my go-to pair of shoes for the summer are some light brown oxfords I bought at Payless. 

Outfit 2: Crazy Colours

Blouse: Dynamite

Jeans: American Eagle

Bangles: Forever 21

I absolutely love this blouse, yet I don't know quite how to describe this print- zigzag? Tie dye? Tribal? Whatever it is, it's something I normally would not have picked out. Aside from the pattern, I like the zipper detailing, which is a change from the normal button-down shirt. Paired with classic skinny jeans and some bangles (or bracelets of your choice), this look is also great to transition to an evening out. 

Outfit 3: Casual Friday

Tank: Ardene

Cardigan: Aeropostale

Jeans: Ardene

Necklace: American Eagle

This final look is the most casual of the three; something I would wear on Friday to dress down a little. I really like the tribal print in the shirt (which is also super soft!) mixed with the lace in the cardigan. 

I realize these outfits are probably not for everyone, seeing that my workplace is more casual than most, but I do have more outfit ideas on the way, including what I wore to my numerous interviews I had in May, as well as some summer appropriate options (think skirts and dresses). 

What do you wear to work?

September Outfits

I have a few different outfits to show you all from the past few weeks that I've been back at school. The weather has been all over the place- one day it was 25 and the next it was 15! I accommodated appropriately (except for the one day the temperature went down during the day...like really?) Anyways, here they are! :)

Shirt & Shorts both American Eagle

I wore this outfit on the first day of classes. I had an intimidating fourth year seminar, so I wanted to look classy, but at the same time, it was so warm out! I didn't accessorize; I only added some pretty brown-ish gold sandals to complete the look. 

Blouse: Eclipse

Camisole: Target

Cardigan: American Eagle

Jeans: American Eagle

Bracelets (if you can see them): handmade

And I'm back to wearing my favourite floral prints, of course :) I love this blouse because it is nice and flowing without drowning me in shapeless fabric (like chiffon tends to do)- the tie at the bottom helps with that. I finished off the look with some pink flats. 

Tunic: Dynamite

Camisole: Urban Behaviour

Leggings: Garage

Bangles: gift

In my attempt to try more prints and colours other than pink and blue, I bought this tunic as part of my back to school shopping. It didn't come with the belt, so I just took a ribbon from one of my blouses and added it on to define my waist. I didn't wear the bangles to school because that would be a bit uncomfortable while taking notes, but they would be nice for a day-to-night transition. I wore pink flats again, and a burgundy coloured jacket because it was freezing by the end of the day!

Shirt: Target

Cardigan: American Eagle

Jeans: American Eagle

Bracelet: gift

I've been meaning to try leopard print for a while, so you can imagine how excited I was when I found this top on the sale rack at Target ($6)! I paired it with some wide leg jeans this time to further vary things (since I'm always in skinny jeans), and some formal black shoes. 

T-shirt: Garage

Cardigan: special order from my school, but it's from American Apparel

Jeans: American Eagle

Scarf: Aeropostale

What do I love about fall fashion? Scarves. I have a drawer full of scarves just waiting to dress up a plain t-shirt and complete my outfit while keeping me warm. I remember seeing this scarf online at Aeropostale last fall, but I could not find it in store; then one day...it was there!!! :) That wasn't a very exciting story but you get the idea. I love scarves. 

Blouse: Bluenotes

Blazer: Eclipse

Pants: Eclipse

Scarf: gift

Necklace: gift

If you can believe it, last week I already had a presentation for one of my classes! I had to give a news report in French, and it was pretty nerve-wracking! This outfit was my attempt at colour-blocking- I love royal blue and mint together! And these pants are so comfortable- they're like knit jeggings; different from leggings in that they do have some structure, pockets, and buttons, but they're so soft that it does feel like wearing leggings. 

So that's it for now! What do you like about fall fashion?

Presentation Outfit

Hey everyone, so last week I had a presentation / debate for my psychology class, and here's what I wore :)

Other than that I think my fashion has been stalling, on account of the never-ending cold weather...

Top: Simons

Blazer: Eclipse

Pants: Dynamite

Bracelet: gift

Also, does anyone know how to upload videos to Blogger? It gives me an error message every time I try. And yes, I'm in the process of creating something new for this blog; if only it would work!

Boxing Day (Week) Deals!

I hope everyone has been having an enjoyable holiday so far! :) I certainly have. Last week I had the opportunity to do some post-holiday shopping to take advantage of Boxing Week sales. I was unable to go right on Boxing Day (I was working, and was the mall ever crowded!), but I went the day after with some of my friends.

Some of the stores did have a good sale going on that was just for Boxing Week, but I noticed most of the stores had the same sales as they did the week before.

I didn't get too much, but they were all things that I needed and I got really good deals!
Chunky sweater- Eclipse, $20
Coral sweater- Jacob, $20
Black dress pants- Dynamite, $30
Blue blouse- Bluenotes, $12
Striped top- Eclipse, $15
I didn't get any sales on the pants or the blouse, but as I said, I was looking for some dress pants and, well, I couldn't pass up a blouse for $12! I found that Jacob had the best sale going on- everything was 50% off the last ticketed price, even sale items. I am super excited to incorporate these pieces into my wardrobe (I actually wore the striped top for a family dinner the next day :P); I already have some outfit ideas!

For 2014 I want to post more outfits of clothes that are actually in my closet, not just sets from Polyvore (though I do love my virtual wardrobe there). Let me know what you think!

I am also in the process of revamping my makeup collection, so when that's done I will do a similar post, but for makeup.

Stay stylish! :)