The Sartorial Scientist - Tongue-In-Cheek Stereotypes We'd Like To Avoid

From Inkity and CartoonStock.

I can see the eyerolls already. Everything in the previous TSS post seems to be common-sense, right? Now, the tricky part is this--wearing and maintaining them.  Here are the usual pitfalls of PhD lab students:

• The Real Reason Why We Wear Lab Coats: Primarily to protect ourselves and our clothes from stains, burns and other lab accidents on the bench. But for some folks...it's to hide the fact that they've been wearing the same get-up for two weeks already!  Please, even if you douse yourself with a gallon-jug of Fa Deo, we can still smell you...and did you perhaps have pasta marinara a few days ago? It's on your shirt.
• I'm a Gym-Rat: Tracksuit and sneakers = ultimate comfort? Yeah, in the gym, but not in the lab. Not unless you're a Yanki and a member of the yakuza like Momoko's deadbeat-dad in Kamikaze Girls.  AND you're still fresh from the bath and not fresh with sweat and B.O.
• Sexy Lab Scientist: As much as feminists say that women can wear what they want, I'm sorry but wearing hot little numbers underneath the lab coat just doesn't cut it. It depends, however, if you want your data to speak for themselves during update meetings, or your cleavage can do the talking.  Sure, I'm all for injecting femininity to boost interpersonal relationships at work, but put some class into it.
• Did a Whirlwind Pass By Your Place?  This is the least offensive of all pitfalls--when people just grab and put on clean, comfortable clothes available to them at the moment.  But beware of the color combinations. And, as much as leopard is a standard print, you just can't wear an all-leopard print clothing. Unless you're working in camouflage. 

Now, to put together your everyday work outfit, just remember the three C's: Comfort, Color-coordination, and Cleanliness.  We'll talk about the three C's in detail in the next posts.

For questions and suggestions for TSS, please do not hesitate to leave a comment!