The Reasonably Prudent Law Student

This strikes me as coming a little late in the game, but whatever. Story of my life. If you’re a regular visitor/lawful trespasser to the Reasonably Prudent Law Student, you are familiar with my Business Casual Superstar series. (Again, thank you, @BobBlahBlawg, for coining the term. Credit where credit’s due, y’all.) In my BCS posts, I put together business casual looks for law school and the law firm office, each time with a disclaimer that each post is discretionary.

For example, if your law firm is casual and lawyers and associates alike show up in cargo shorts and polos (like the firm where my mother’s former attorney works at; I didn’t believe it until I saw it), there is no reason for you to show up in slacks and conservative pumps and with earrings hanging no lower than a half-inch off your earlobe day in and day out. Likewise, if everyone in your 1L class is wearing three-piece suits every day (those not yet familiar with my love affair with comedic hyperboles, be advised that this will never be the case), you do not want to be the random loser wearing frayed jeans and a Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Holder shirt. Trust.

Aside from the very particular outfits I put together for BCS, let’s talk about some general principles when it comes to dressing for law school. And I’m talking law school specifically – not class followed by an externship at the federal courthouse. Not a couple hours at the office before an afternoon class. Not a full day of classes followed by some event hosted by your school. I’m talking about a day that consists of little more than schlepping to classes, hermetically sealing yourself into one of hundreds of depressing little cubicles in the law library, and schlepping back home to drink before you have to get up and do it again.

My policy was to scope out the competition during orientation. During orientation, I wore pants. Not jeans, not pressed slacks. Just pants. Not frayed or slouchy or worn; not steam-ironed or creased or prissy. Just pants. I wore them with a nice shirt, put on some kitten heels, and that was it. Nice without looking like I was trying too hard. During orientation week, I got a chance to see what other students were wearing.

For the most part, guys were wearing jeans (or shorts, since it was summer) and polos or solid tees, and some were wearing pants (again, not super nice slacks, not pajama bottoms, just pants) and button-downs of various styles (colored, striped, solid white). One guy wore a suit with a tie. He looked pretty much like how I would look at an AARP meeting or something. I don’t know. Don’t expect any witty follow through with my analogies. You might as well stop at ‘look’ for all the effort or sense I put into these things.

The girls displayed a wider range of style, which comes as no surprise. We just have more options. True story. Some wore jeans and tanks; some wore jeans and nice shirts. Some wore cute summery dresses with little cardigans or shrugs, bare legs. Some wore shorts and a t-shirt. Some wore nice slacks and a cute top.

This trend continued pretty much throughout the rest of the year, and I’ve found that it’s a pretty decent heurism: what you see at orientation will be pretty typical of what you’ll see during the year. Sure, some people step it up after orientation. I saw less tank tops during the first month of school than I did during orientation week. But I still saw the occasional band t-shirt, flip-flops, and pink plaid trousers with matching pink plaid pageboy caps (!!!!).

No one dresses like a young professional all the time at law school. Even the girl who wears the cute pencil skirts with the nice ruffly blouse and the conservative pumps will show up one day in skinny jeans, a rocker-tee under a cardigan, and gold flats. The dude who wears the standard pants-and-button-down every day will show up one day in a Dark Lord t-shirt. (Cough.)

As for me, I hardly wore jeans during my first semester. I’d show up in nice pants, heels, and a nice shirt every single day, and on days when I was mixing things up, a sweaterdress. (What? It got cold in Chi-city.) This was mostly because I have always been somewhat of a tomboy. All through high school and college, I couldn’t have cared less what I looked like. Hair in a ponytail or messy bun, frayed jeans, and a tee (hoodie if it was cold) with flip flops or sneaks. That was how I lived my life. So when I got to law school, I thought, alright, Noodle (that’s what I call myself when I talk to myself…which is often), now’s your chance to break with this habit. Dress nicely. Brush your hair. Wear jewelry. Wear shoes that are uncomfortable. Just go with it.

So I did, and I spent the first semester looking like something out of the Misses/Petites section of a JCPenny catalog. Or maybe a Kohl’s catalog. One or the other. Then winter break rolled around, six glorious weeks of living in my fuzzy pink robe and eating peanut butter and apple crackers while watching my Aniamaniacs box set. When I returned to school a couple days after Obama’s inauguration (I had a double ear infection and got to stay home and watch the inauguration live, unlike my friends who were stuck in ConLaw while it was all happening; IRONY), I was so over it. I’m talking wicked case of denial, over it.

So I started wearing jeans again and regret nothing. I still balance it out by wearing nice tops, heels, and jewelry. All is not lost.

Bottom line: you’ll meet all types at law school. And yeah, you’ll want to look professional (and noticeably better than a good chunk of them) but you can still wear jeans. You can still wear t-shirts. You can dress with more of an emphasis on casual than business when you feel like it. So while my BCS ensembles tend to lean toward the formal and conservative side, don’t worry. Just imagine me in my jeans and a Who t-shirt under a cardigan, kicking it in the library.