Playful Patterns & Teacher Style!








Introducing society's superhero...

my teacher friend...

Emily!

She's the naturally beautiful one in the photos. ;)

We were roommates in college. I always tell people that I seriously scored with her as a roommate. We were both transfers (I came from Florida and she came from Michigan!) and we had preconceived notions about the other that we were very different. The rest of our roommates knew one another and we, well... we were stuck with each other. We ended up finding out very quickly how similar we were and still are. We never had an argument. I mean, I believe that healthy yet hard conversations strengthen relationships and are necessary - and we have definitely had those. BUT we never actually fought. I can accredit that partially to our easygoing personalities, but we also believe that our constant and pretend goofy fights relieved our college stress. 
Emily is that rare friend who is always there for you. She's sacrificial, patient, loving, and encouraging. I am extremely thankful that she is in my life. I can be an idiot around her and she will not only laugh at me, but she'll be an idiot with me.

Anyway, Emily and I had a BLAST during this photo shoot. It was raining, but we made the best of it and took some great photos. I asked her to put together some outfits that she could wear in the classroom and out on-the-go for any occasion, really. I think she did an excellent job! She is an elementary school teacher in Colorado. I also asked her a few questions about her classroom style that she could share with the amazing teachers out there!

Me: Do you wear blazers while teaching? Blazers seem like they dress up any outfit, but they don't seem super functional in the classroom. 
 Emily: Not usually. They would have to be really comfortable and a material that is really easy to move in, like a jersey knit blazer!
 
Me: What is the most casual you can dress as a teacher?
 Emily: I usually keep it professional. The most casual is my black skinny jeans from Old Navy (worn in above photos!). [My style] has to be casual, professional, and modest. If I were observed by a principal or a parent, I would want them to see me as a professional! Whenever there are jean days, I pass up on them, especially because I am such a young looking teacher! I don't want to be mistaken for a sibling or another parent!

Me: What are some of your personal guidelines for wearing dresses?
Emily: I want my focus to be on teaching. I don't want to think about getting onto the floor and worrying about anything showing. I like to wear knee length dresses and no shorter. I want the dress I wear to be easy to move around in, modest, and sometimes I pair dresses with leggings because it makes wearing dresses worry free. Being an elementary teacher requires more activity with the kids than usual!

Me: What is your favorite type of shoes to wear?
Emily: I like shoes with shorter heels, like my grey booties from Kohl's (pictured above!) during the fall. I also like my shoes to be comfortable since I'm on my feet all day. I rarely wear sandals because they're not professional! Flats or slip-ons are very comfortable and don't cause blisters!
My Oxfords are from Target and also don't cause blisters.

Emily: Oh, and my nose ring that's in the photos - I don't wear the hoop! I wear a small stud in the classroom. Different districts have different requirements for that stuff.

Me: What advice would you give to a first year teacher?
Emily: For fashion advice, I would say to dress one step more professional as the other teachers on your team. You can always tone it down, but you don't want to be reprimanded for dressing too casual. 
As for teacher advice in general, I would say reach out to your team and other coaches as early as possible to establish those relationships early. Don't think it's not valuable to do so because you WILL feel the need to lean on them for their support later that year! Be ready and willing to learn. That's one major thing my principal really appreciated in me as a teacher.


Thanks for reading! <3

Here are the links to some of the items and similar items in the above photos! (Starting from the top)

-or-
My romper is out of stock on Missguided.com :(





 
























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