Style Perceptions Interview: Toast with Charmalade

Today our style perceptions series continues with the lovely blogger Charmalade of Toast with Charmalade.  She says that in spite of "the title 'Toast with Charmalade,' my blog doesn't have a lot to do with toast. Don't get me wrong, toast is delicious in its crunchy golden warm goodness. But my blog is a place where fashion, music, art, design, and other random bits of culture floating around the internet find each other in what I hope to be deemed as harmony (to quote the immortal words from Princess Bride, it's a "mawwiage that bwings them togethah"). Though this blog started late this December, I've been awed and inspired by a wide array of fashion bloggers for the past year or so. And like so many others before and after me, I finally decided to bite the bullet and set forth with my own little perspective."  She takes inspiration from the blogging community and tries to be authentic if not unique.  Charmalade remarks that blogging perspective is like a "Jean-Luc Godard quote my friend showed me: "It's not where you take things from-- it's where you take them to." My blog is a place where a certain dorky design student from a small college town in Midwest America can feel both glamorous and silly while geeking out to fashion and Lady Gaga. I hope that other bloggers and readers can share in the fun too."  

So, without further ado, here is Charmalade's take on the professartorial.

What do you notice about what your professors/teachers are wearing?  Do you and your peers ever discuss the fashion choices of your professors?
To be quite honest, I don't usually take keen notice of what my professors are wearing, unless it's anything particularly off the typical radar. I think that what the instructor wears is half the deal; the other half is presence. A professor could be wearing a crisp three-piece suit and tie, but if he mumbles and shuffles around, then I won't pay attention. Though admittedly, there aren't many mumbling, shuffling men in three-piece suits. As for discussion, the only time my classmates and I have talked about our professor's wardrobe is when my literature professor walked in with a Droopy tie. That was pretty cool, I can't lie. 

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?  How would you feel about a female professor wearing shorts over tights?  How would you feel about a professor wearing sweatpants or a tracksuit? 
I definitely think Indiana Jones got it right with the tweed suit with elbow pads. In all honesty, I think most people are in agreement that the professors should take time to at least dress up business casual. Though I had this one professor who seemed to have a whole wardrobe full of tight t-shirts reminiscent of Dr. Cox from Scrubs (admittedly, I didn't mind too much...) As for shorts over tights for female professors, I think that I would be taken aback a bit. I'd think that that type of casual outfit would be more fitting for a TA, but I'd give kudos for her style. When I think sweatpants and tracksuits, I think gold jewelry and hairy mustaches-- then I'm out the door. Only figuratively, because I wouldn't want to fail that class.

In what ways do the dress and style of your professors 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?   
I think it's a subconscious trigger in the mind that you'd feel more comfortable or feel like you can relate to an instructor if he or she dresses in a similar style as you. This doesn't always translate into respect, but then again, that's where presence would play a part. However, I don't think that dressing well and approachability are always correlated; there was this one instructor who I thought had a really great, chic style, but I was still a little intimidated by her because I wasn't doing so great in the class. It all depends.

How would you react if you discovered that a style blogger was your professor?  
If he/she's (most likely she) a style blogger that I follow, then I would start fangirling the minute I walked in the room! My mind would probably run along the lines of "omgomgomgomgomgnoway." Any friend of mine who'd be unfortunate enough to be in my class would never hear the end of it. I would scheme various plans how to get an autograph, a picture, etc. but I'd probably end up shyly going up after class and gushing in so many words about how I admire the blogger-turned-professor's style and aesthetic. Oh, the shame.

A big thank you to Charmalade for participating in this series!  If you haven't checked out Toast with Charmalade, you should!