Style Perceptions Interview: jennifhsieh

Today's interview in our style perceptions series is with the lovely Jen of jennifhsieh.  Jen is nineteen and lives in New Jersey, where she currently attends Rutgers University as a Marketing major.  She has always had a love for fashion, which grew from her love of sketching people. Besides fashion, she also loves music and has been playing the violin since the age of 5. Her other -- and her most expensive -- hobby is photography. She says she is "still an amateur but I love it to death (my mom can't get over how many cameras I've accumulated over the past few years - maybe 7 or 8?)."  Jen started fashion blogging during Summer 2009 with a friend. Eventually, her friend became too busy to blog and so she created her own fashion blog in December. In her words, "it's my way of expressing myself (and also my way to procrastinate). I've met so many wonderful people and been given so many amazing opportunities through my site."

So, let's get her take on professartorialism.

What do you notice about what your professors/teachers are wearing? 

A lot of my teachers wear formal attire, especially since I'm taking a lot of business classes. I usually see ties, button down shirts, slacks, and dark colors. Many of my other teachers, however, wear nice trousers with a rather casual top (this seems to be the most common). Then finally, most of my T.A.s dress casually. 

What kinds of attire do you think are appropriate for professors to wear when they're teaching? Is there anything that you really don't like to see your professors wearing?

Most of my professors will wear casually formal attire. Although it's a professional atmosphere, it is refreshing at times to see your professor in laid-back, casual clothing. I'm not talking about sweats or ripped clothing, but I think that jeans are definitely acceptable. I remember back in my high school and middle school the teachers were not allowed to wear jeans.

In what ways do the dress and style of your professors/teachers impact the way you respond to them?  Do you automatically respect an instructor more if s/he is well-dressed?  Does an instructor's attire make him/her more approachable/less approachable? 

The way my professor dresses definitely makes an impact on how I respond to their teaching. When he or she puts effort into their appearance by dressing nicely for class it shows a level of respect for his or her students and also gives the impression that they care about how we view them. In return, I find that most students respect their professors a lot more if they dress well. A professor who comes to class in sweats or old t-shirts usually are made fun of and therefore less respected. Also, if a professor is dressed a little more casually he or she seems more relatable and it's, therefore, a little bit easier to approach them with any questions or problems.

How would you react on the first day of a class if you discovered that a fashion blogger was your professor?

I would be amazed and I'd probably visit her blog right away for brownie points (only kidding - sorta ;)) But seriously, that'd be awesome sharing a common interest with my professor. It'd be great to know that my professor has outside interests and it would add a lot more personality to his or her character. I usually only know my professors in an academic environment.

Thanks so much to Jen for letting us interview her!  Check out her amazing photos and fantastic outfits at her great blog, jennifhsieh!