What to Wear to Graduate School

Graduate school is probably one of the most important periods in everyone's life. It is a period of self discovery in every sense and connotation of the word. You discover what it is that you really want to do for the rest of your life. You discover sides of you that may be you never knew even existed. Even personally, it is an eventful period. You have grown out of that stage of having crushes and are looking for something more stable, more meaningful. (Of course that does not mean you stop bird-watching! *wink*) Now just imagine; the guy you have always wanted to go out with comes to ask you out, and you are dressed in your most unflattering clothes! Aaarrgghhh!

Find out, as you read further, how to wear the right clothes to graduate school. Of course, these are not strictly stereotypes, so you can revamp a look the way you want. Presented below are four looks for him and for her.

4 Him...

The Cool Dude
Go ahead and flaunt that bod you've been working on! T-shirts, jeans, sports shoes; it is as simple as that. But the print on the T-shirt, the fit of the jeans, and the color of the sports shoes will make all the difference. So choose carefully. Full-sleeved, round-neck T-shirts also look really cool. An elaborate wrist watch will complete the look. And of course, a good pair of sunglasses.

The Street-Dancer
Think Robert Hoffman from Step Up 2: The Streets. Baggy pants, a nice clean vest, a cap. A really loose bracelet. Maybe a headband and also a wristband. This is one look that you can experiment with quite a bit. If you keenly observe street dancers, you will realize that they all have their own styles, for many a dance come under the collective term 'street dance' in the first place. Any of these looks can be adapted to suit your style. Or you can mix and match and come up with something entirely unique.

The Guy-Next-Door
Dress in light colors. Beige pants, blue T-shirt and a full sleeved shirt thrown over it, buttons open, sleeves folded till the elbows. Or light blue denims, a white T-shirt and a checks shirt over it. This is a look for one of those days you simply don't want to spend a thought over your looks. It is bound to leave the girls swooning. It is probably also the most comfortable of all looks.

The Semi-casual Look
When you want to get noticed, the classic semi-casual look would be a clean, neatly ironed shirt worn over jeans. You can team it up with a jacket, or simply tuck it in. The semi-casual look is great for the days when you have to present yourself in front of the class; for a talk on something, a presentation, or something like that. Even otherwise, this outfit works well when you feel like dressing up a bit. Hair sleeked back using water or a soft hair gel will also look really nice with this look.

4 Her...

The Cool Chic
Dress to impress. The latest fashion trends in everything - tops, bottoms, footwear, accessories... the works. Anybody who's anybody, wants to look good and up-to-date when it comes to the clothes we wear. The best way to do that would be to keep a tab on the latest fashion trends. Various leading fashion brands come up with new collections every year, every season. So there is lots to choose from.

The Pretty Girl
Only one tip - think *Pretty*! Dresses, skirts, prints, heels, and accessories of all kinds. But don't load yourself with too many of them. Try to keep the balance between prints and plains. An abstract print dress calls for a simple looking plain bag. An elaborate bag, on the other hand, would look best on a plain dress or skirt. Long earrings and colorful bangles would look lovely too!

The Tomboy
For the days, when you want to send out the message, "I can do it like a brother, do it like a dude", loud and clear to everyone out there, as Jessie J sings in 'Do It Like A Dude'. However, tomboy doesn't mean you have to go over the top! A tucked-in shirt, buckle-belt and trousers can also do the trick. However, make sure you leave your hair open and wear feminine footwear when you work up the above look, the contrast is very attractive. Cargos and figure-hugging monochrome tees, paired with sports shoes also look fab.

The Nerdy
A knee length monochrome skirt. An unflattering simple sleeveless tee. Or maybe a cap-sleeve wide neck floral blouse. A pair of flats, or ballerinas on your feet, and a pair of over-sized glasses. There goes your nerdy plain Jane! On days you simply want the plain Jane look, skip the glasses. Though not a very popular, hip or in vogue look, sometimes you just want to dress as simple as you can. It acts as a good change too. Do the nerdy look on one of those plain uneventful days.

One final tip I would like to give is, fashion is what YOU believe in. What goes around comes around... So if you like a fashion trend that is now old, do not feel awkward or shy. Bring back the trend yourself. Dare to be different, for only then will you be noticed. Hope you find the above tips useful. Cheers!