Troy's Blog - 6th December 2009

Dressing the part

The Asian fascination with appearance

Last week I wrote about society's expectations for teachers. Making the decision to teach English in Thailand, and take a TEFL/TESL course is an important step in any person's life, and to make the most out of living and working in Asia it is helpful to know where to start. Below is some guidelines that I have given countless times to new and trainee teachers when asked what to wear to in their new lives.

Here are a few basic points for the new teacher to follow. Some are gender specific, but most are universal:

Dress: Both male and female teachers are expected to wear neat, smart clothing at all times when 'on the job'. This includes simply 'popping by' the school after hours to pick up a book you need to plan the next day's lessons. Avoid casual clothing like jeans and T-Shirts. Men are expected to wear a long sleeved shirt, tie, dress trousers and (polished) dress shoes. A suit jacket may be called for on some occasions such as 'parent-teacher day' or other ceremonial and official functions. Women are likewise expected to wear a neat blouse, skirt of appropriate length, and smart shoes. Avoid flashy high heels and clothing that may be too revealing (sleeveless tops, tight skirts, etc). Many schools find neat dress slacks perfectly acceptable for female teachers, but pay careful attention to what others are wearing around you before starting a clothing revolution!

'Body Art': At this point it should be obvious that teachers are expected to dress and behave conservatively. This doesn't mean that you need to have your tattoos and piercings surgically removed, it does however mean that you are expected to cover or remove anything flashy when you are at work. Both men and women should ensure that tattoos are completely covered at all times, men should remove any visible piercings when they put on their teaching attire, and while earrings are certainly acceptable for female teachers this should be restricted to ONE pair of neat, stud or loop type earrings. Avoid multiple ear piercings and long dangly earrings.

Hair: Both men and women should avoid garish hair styles. A mohawk or dreadlocks may have taken years of careful cultivation and care, but in your new role as a pillar of society it doesn't fit. Men should have neat short hair and avoid an excess of pomp and splendour. Women should likewise avoid crew cuts and other stereo-typically male styles.

Facial Hair: Schools tend to favour a neat clean shaven appearance. While you neat goatee or retro sideburns may be perfectly acceptable statements of individualism and style elsewhere, it won't take long for you to notice that the only time facial hair makes an appearance here will be in the form of men with moles sprouting magnificent growths up to a foot in length. While you may initially get away with a neat beard/moustache/goatee, as with many other things it will mean that the clean shaven applicant will certainly be favoured, and you will find local teachers and supervisors dropping subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) hints about how you would look like Brad Pitt if you only shaved... At least the women get a pass on this one.

All of the above notes are taking the strictest, and therefore safest, road. They apply whether you intend to teach English in Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, or pretty much anywhere else in Asia. For those of you who are or who intend to teach in Thailand will find that various polo shirts are now acceptable attire, although different colours may imply different meaning, and some should be avoided for their political affiliations. Some institutions may promote more casual attire on certain days, or even have a company dress code.

As a final note, simply do a nice matronly mother's check on your general appearance and body language. I'm sure that if you dig deep you can recall a time in your life when you were berated something like this:

Stand up straight! Don't slouch! Role down your sleeves! Tuck in your shirt! Fix your hair! Lift your feet when walking! Spit out that gum! And for pity's sake, stop sulking!

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