ASW Appropriate Dress (Female) Forum

[DonnaDraper]

I was curious as to what appropriate dress is during ASW. There seems to be mixed messages on a number of other threads. Are jeans appropriate? Skirts? Dresses? Is there a distinction between day attire and evening attire? If students who attended ASWs last year could chime in that would be helpful. Also, for the men out there please limit the inappropriate comments.

[vpintz]

I know for the ASD/ASW I've been invited to, they give you some guidelines...well not guidelines, but it says if they prefer casual/business casual/etc. Not very helpful, I know, but.

[stewie27]

Female who attended ASWs last year- I went with a middle road approach, I guess you could call it business casual or a little less. Like khakis and a nicer shirt (not tshirt). That seemed to be what most people did. I remember few people dressed in either extreme (no suits, and no jeans/tshirt). Overall I think it's a safe bet to go semi-casual for most of the weekend as long as you don't look sloppy. But if there's a dinner or a lunch involved you may want to up to business casual for that.

[Emma.]

[BaiAilian2013]

What? What do these options mean? Does the third option mean... something other than jeans, plus a nice top? That seems like it would overlap with the skirts/dresses category though, unless not-jeans implies like, slacks.

Also, there should be an option for meh, whatever, because that is a fine choice. You can wear jeans and a t-shirt and no one will give a shit. Frankly, it's the school's turn to impress you.

[houng89]

What? What do these options mean? Does the third option mean... something other than jeans, plus a nice top? That seems like it would overlap with the skirts/dresses category though, unless not-jeans implies like, slacks.

Also, there should be an option for meh, whatever, because that is a fine choice. You can wear jeans and a t-shirt and no one will give a shit. Frankly, it's the school's turn to impress you.

yea honestly you've done your part to impress the schools it really doesn't matter what you wear, no one is even going to notice, especially if your admitted students event is big

[Dany]

Jeans and a nice top.

If schools want you to wear something nicer (like to a dinner or something) they will tell you.

Edit - I mean, if you want to wear a casual dress, that's totally fine too. It really doesn't matter.

[kaiser]

Definitely don't dress up. Its meant to be an informal event, and the purpose is for the school to impress you, and not the other way around. You did your part and got yourself admitted, now the school is the one trying to win you over. So it is totally informal for you to sit back, listen, and let the school try to sell itself to you. My school had an ASW this past weekend, and the vast majority of kids were dressed casually, with a few random people in slacks & polo shirts (i.e more business casual attire). Then you had one or 2 losers in suits, and they just seem entirely out of place.

[fltanglab]

The first ASD I went to had a large number of people dressed nicely, with a few underdressed in jeans. There were a lot of faculty and current students who were dressed up, so I think that contributed to the dress standard for the day. An upcoming ASD for me specifies "business casual" also, so I'll probably dress similarly in a suit or a dress.

[splbagel]

I just came back from an ASW. For women, I saw variations on basically 3 "looks," all of which seemed perfectly appropriate to me:

--Traditional business casual (skirt / slacks with a nice blouse or sweater)
--Jeans and sweater or blouse
--Cute dress or skirt that might not fit in a traditional or strict office environment, but still "put together" and relatively modest.

I disagree that you shouldn't worry at all about what you wear at ASW because "it's their turn to impress you." You might be meeting a professor who ends up writing you a recommendation, a financial aid officer who will be helping you with loans, or a future fellow student who you'll be working on a project with. I think you should wear whatever says to you, "I'm taking this situation seriously without sacrificing my personality."

[rinkrat19]

I've only been to Northwestern's ASW, but people there were dressed in everything from suits (men) to jeans and a t-shirt (both). Most people of both genders tended towards khakis/slacks with a tidy shirt/sweater. A few skirts, but casual, not business--just what you'd wear to the mall or out to lunch. The suits looked overdressed and took off their ties and unbuttoned their collars. The jeans didn't look terribly underdressed; they looked like students.

TLS has a good line that applies here: Dress like you're having dinner with your bf/gf's parents at Olive Garden.

[r6_philly]

Wear whatever you are planning to wear attending classes. Be yourself, be comfortable.

[Perdevise]

Whats cool for men at ASW? Is jeans/polo+jacket ok? Ditch a jacket? Slacks a requirement? Sorry to hijack, ladies.

[Dany]

Whats cool for men at ASW? Is jeans/polo+jacket ok? Ditch a jacket? Slacks a requirement? Sorry to hijack, ladies.

Again, it doesn't matter. Don't look like a slob and don't wear a suit* and you're fine. Khakis + button down, jeans + polo, whatever. I wouldn't wear a jacket.

*Unless there's a reception or something that requires it, obviously.

[Perdevise]

Again, it doesn't matter. Don't look like a slob and don't wear a suit* and you're fine. Khakis + button down, jeans + polo, whatever. I wouldn't wear a jacket.

*Unless there's a reception or something that requires it, obviously.

Got it, thanks.

[eringobragh]

This should be stickied or something for all those 0L's in three-piece suits. ASD isn't your first day at Sidley.