Defense Wear

I successfully defended my dissertation on Wednesday. (Yipppee!) And I am still reeling in the splendor of post-defense glory. The actual defense went really well. What started out as a very formal presentation, steadily evolved into a conversation among what felt like peers. It was great to see the faculty really get into and excited about my research. I had spend 5 years working to this day and it was wonderful to have it all pay off in a really positive defense.

Some of you might be wondering “well that’s wonderful news, but what did you wear?”. Well, I thought this might be a good time to talk about the options for menswear at a defense examination. I think the goal of lots of guys when picking out an outfit for a defense examination is to go with conservative and authoritative. For the most part I agree with this theme. What you wear definitely can set a tone for how you want your defense to go. Classic cuts and colors say: “I’m here as an authority on my research.”

Really, I think that you can’t go wrong with the solid black suit. Not that you can’t get creative, but I believe most guys go with this option. I was no different. My suit is a three button that I’ve had for awhile, classic cut and solid simplicity has stood the test of time. I chose to stick with the classic theme and went with a solid starched white poplin shirt.

So then it was time to choose a tie. I’ve got lots of them but I didn’t know how “out there” I wanted my tie. So I narrowed it down to this collection that would work with my black suit.

1. Bugatti

2/3. Banana Republic

4. Gifted from my Best Friend in GA

5. Banana Republic

6. Merona (Target)

7. Nautica

I immediately throw out 1, 2 and 3. One was two bold and flashy, the purples in 2 and 3 weren’t right for the occasion. I liked 6 and 7 a lot, but have worn these to a few funerals and I was worried these might be to cold. So I had narrowed my choice to 4 and 5. It was no contest, really. Tie 4 was bold enough to be expressive, but conservative in color such to make a statement of authority. Here’s the pairing:

What do you think? Good choice. I also wore my new nerdy scientist glasses. And chose to wear my black Steve Madden dress shoes instead of some of my more spiffy Robert Waynes. Overall, I was really happy with my outfit. It was professional, but it was definitely me (although I was holding back just a bit). Do you think I made the right decision? Is conservative the way to go for a defense?

P.S. Sorry there wasn't a shot of me wearing the outfit, but with the craziness of the day I completely forgot to take one.