Men with PhDs without Corduroy Jackets

Close your eyes and picture that chemistry professor, the older gentleman, lecturing you through undergrad. Your remember him, right? Corduroy jacket, leather patches on the elbows. Shoes from 10 years ago. And the tie and shirt combo that was clearly picked out in the darkest of closet. We all have worried about becoming this frumpy, dated academic man. But for lots of us, we haven’t resigned ourselves to sloppy vintage wardrobes just yet.

For me, it’s always important to look set apart from my students. I’m finding to do that, and to keep up with this fall’s men fashion, I’m going bold by bringing together pattern on pattern shirt/tie combinations. Mixing these prints can be intimidating, but like combining chemicals to yield the desired product in the lab, when blending these prints together the perfect ratio will ensure the right reaction. There are a couple of pattern hybrids that I love for the fall (and in particular color combinations). The first is the stripped dress shirt and large print plaid tie. This look is exceptional in a saffron yellow stripe and an amethyst plaid. The key here is to keep one item strong while the other gets center stage. In this case I play up the tie while the shirt supplies a warm backdrop. When it’s grey out, sometimes I don’t fight the climate and just go with nature’s mood of overcast. Wearing a large-scale check shirt set on the diagonal in white, slate blue and grey is great with a coordinating tie picked out for it’s stripe on the same diagonal with tone on tone slate blues and grey. Take it down a notch, and keep warm, by adding a grey cable shawl neck sweater for a great seasonal rainy day look. And while there are still some autumn colors on the trees I get noticed with a persimmon tie and starched white shirt with pencil thin charcoal pinstripe and charcoal vest. It’s not a bad thing to mimic nature when she is looking so good!

The growing trend for young men in academia, and in tons of other occupations, is recognition that style makes a difference. Being fashionably minded is no longer just for the opposite sex. We know that style cannot only make us more confident about ourselves, but it can make the difference in how people recognize us, and who listens to us when we talk. No longer does the PhD have to look like he stopped shopping when he finished his dissertation. You can keep up with the trends in your field and in your closet too.