<p>My son wears these polos - he has to wear a collared shirt to school. They are very dressed down, and faded and frayed enough to NOT look like a guy on golf course. Worn baggy and untucked with slim fitting khakis - it’s a nice look for a teenager.</p>
<p>Of course, J.Crew may not ship to California, given that it’s on another planet…and way too cool.</p>
<p>“Sounds like a bit of reverse snobbism is at play here - it seems very important to some that they seem not to care about appearances”
Oh, ABSOLUTELY!!
In SV, you can’t tell the students from the gazillionaires, unless you catch sight of their BMW’s ,Range Rovers or mansions. People came here to make money in different ways, and DO love to thumb their noses at Eastern Establishment ways of thinking!</p>
<p>‘he has to wear a collared shirt to school.’</p>
<p>NO private high school in SV requires collared shirts, khaki pants or other traditional prep school apparel anymore. Not even the local Catholic SH HS. A dress code in SV?? HA! that would go over like a lead balloon to these students [ and their parents] !!</p>
<p>Link to Stanford Mall directory that has a Crew and a zillion other men’s clothing stores.</p>
<p>Stanford isn’t Silicon Valley. It would be idiotic to show up at a meeting with a professor at Stanford dressed in anything less than a polo shirt with collar and khaki pants.</p>
<p>The students do wear formal clothing at events - tuxedos and gowns. it isn’t the land of the slobs.</p>
<p>Silicon Valley STARTED at STANFORD! There would BE no SV WITHOUT STANFORD!!
jeeze people…</p>
<p>“It would be idiotic to show up at a meeting with a professor at Stanford dressed in anything less than a polo shirt with collar and khaki pants”</p>
<p>Only if you really want to look out of place…</p>
<p>How about if it’s acceptable at Brown, it will pass at Stanford? Honestly, at this time of year, it’s pretty hard to tell the difference, in fact, I’m guessing Stanford is preppier.</p>
<p>Is Google considered “Silicon Valley” or not? ;)</p>
<p>(because I have video proof that Google employees <em>gasp!</em> wear khakis and collared shirts to work in September in CA!)</p>
<p>I’ve also seen plenty other SV techies in khaki pants (Gap and Dockers and some other unidentified brands), so I would not say that khaki pants are a foreign concept in SV.
</p>
<p>Apparently, there are some, including the prof in slide 5 and some students in the later slides:</p>
<p>You’re right, Bunsen, a polo and khakis is about as innocuous as it gets, but I suppose the fact that it is so boring makes it unappealing to more fashionable types. That’s fair. However, I don’t agree that it’s somehow snobbish or haute preppy - in fact, it seems to me to be the uniform of middle class America. All ages and professions seem to wear some version of it.</p>
<p>Earlier this afternoon, I was panhandled by a street person wearing what appeared to be an Izod polo- I chuckled to myself about that!</p>
<p>On my way home from my bike ride, I rode through Stanford. I give you… today’s Stanford Fashion Report for Male Undergraduates:</p>
<p>The male students wore T-shirts, baggy cargo shorts or jeans, and sneakers or flip-flops. No one was wearing khakis, no male undergraduates wore shoes other than sneakers or flip flops, and the only students who had shirts tucked in appeared to be Asian international students. </p>
<p>One of a tucked in polo shirt, khakis or shoes dressier than sneakers would make the student stick out. All three, and the kid would look out of place, to me anyway.</p>
<p>"a polo and khakis is about as innocuous as it gets, but I suppose the fact that it is so boring "</p>
<p>No its not that’s its BORING, its that its TRADITIONAL, and the Stanford mentality, especially, and SV in general, is anything BUT traditional.</p>
<p>The Stanford “marching” band is a perfect example of how irreverent Stanford is about “traditions” .They play fabulous music, but instead of marching around the field in even rows while playing , like most college marching bands, they run around like wild banshees between music sets, then stop and rock out the stadium with non traditional rock music, carefully chosen for its message, which often is to mock the opposing school or make a political statement or somehow “tweek” somebody prominent who did something they consider pompous. No one is safe from their scorn. And the students love them!</p>
<p>Not the style of a conforming, reverent school that values “traditions”.</p>
<p>Umm…no… many Ivy League schools have had a “scatter band” as far back as the 1940s as an alternative to the traditional college marching band. If you want an irreverent band, watch the Brown University band on youtube. They’ve been doing irreverent a lot longer. I’m still guessing that Stanford is preppier.</p>
<p>So here’s my question, why all the push back against what a student who is visiting wears? Why in the world does it matter if a kid sticks out? If a student visits from another part of the country that is more traditional, owns more traditional clothing, may be more comfortable in more traditional clothes, what is the big deal if in fact the professor doesn’t care about his clothes, only what he thinks and says? This is akin to looking down on a kid from SoCo who wears jeans and a tshirt to visit a conservative east coast school. Will people around notice he’s dressed differently? Sure…so what? Really. Now, if the entire point is don’t force a kid to dress nicer because it is really not necessary, then yes I get it and although no one needs my validation, I do agree. </p>
<p>Southern California is a different beast entirely. That’s a good thing. I went to visit family the summer when I was 16 dressed in walking shorts and penny loafers, dripping in argyle. I came back three months later with my hair cut VERY short and wearing mini skirts even shorter. Every scrap of clothing I brought with me was donated by my hippie aunt and uncle…we had a ceremony of sorts at the Redondo Pier. What a crack up! My parents were horrified. My dad didn’t speak to his sister for a year!! It is indeed a whole 'nuther world!</p>
<p>“Now, if the entire point is don’t force a kid to dress nicer because it is really not necessary, then yes I get it and although no one needs my validation, I do agree.”</p>
<p>That’s all it is from this end. Others are imposing their “the kid needs to be “respectful” by wearing such and such” ideas, regardless of how casual it is at
Stanford ,and despite the fact he may end up being more dressed up than the engineering profs, and we’re just saying “no he doesn’t”</p>
<p>“Southern California is a different beast entirely.”
Not so much anymore. When I was visiting DS at USC over the past 4 years, guys at least wore exactly there same type clothes as guys at Stanford- shorts or jeans, t shirts, flip flops or tennies and hoodies in colder weather. nary a polo shirt, khaki pant or sweater was ever seen on a guy on campus.</p>
<p>“No its not that’s its BORING, its that its TRADITIONAL, and the Stanford mentality, especially, and SV in general, is anything BUT traditional.”</p>
<p>Thinking? Maybe, who knows. Appearance? Not so much, compared to the typical Seattle or Boston techie crowd. Have not noticed too much deviation from “traditional” clothing when we visited SV… Walk the Santana Row at night… it is just like the Bravern (hint, MSFT)… Stanford - replace the palms with Douglas firs and all red with purple, and the kids will look just like the U-Dub kids. And so on.</p>
<p>menloparkmom: check the slides from the Stanford promo link. Plenty of polos. :)</p>
<p>Stanford band is funny & irrevent in a South Park-kind of way. Watch it on you tube - esp their visits (years ago) to Notre Dame, Brigham Young, University of Oregon & USC a year or 2 ago</p>
<p>Honestly, I think that most kids by the time the start college understand that they need to “ramp it up” a bit wardrobe wise when they have a special day. This is also something that parents should harp about when necessary. Traveling to a prospective college to meet professors is a special day, without a doubt. Heck, that’s why the OP asked the question in the first place.</p>
My dad didn’t speak to his sister for a year!! It is indeed a whole 'nuther world!</p>