Creative twinning to celebrate tenure
November 6, 2017 7:38 PM Subscribe
An old pact for outrageous dressing post-tenure finally comes to fruition. Please help.
Many years ago a bunch of us (all female) (drunkenly) decided that once we got tenure, we'd wear some outrageous outfits to the evening receptions at our big academic conference. Over the years this turned into wearing matching outfits. Last year 2 of us went up a year early and did 4 matching conference outfits as well as matching hair and makeup. One was an 80s vibe, another was prom type dresses, etc. They also differed by nearly a foot in height, adding to the fun. It was a huge hit, people took photos with them, etc. And it also became known that there would be more of this coming. People ask us about it all of the time.
This spring it is my tenure year (assuming all goes well at the provost office 🤞) and 1 or 2 others are in the crew and we need to start planning.
We don't want to spend a lot of money, but I could see us getting carried away with this. However, I saw some $100 unicorn rompers and that was too much for something we'd never wear again.
We live across the US and have access to the typical mall stores and the Internet.
We don't have to perfectly match and could pull together coordinating basics.
Thematically, we all study technology and society - someone suggested rompers covered in a hashtag print. They saw one online but no one can find it again.
I have an idea to make t-shirts that says "I put the lit in literature review."
Another option might be t-shirts with photos of last year's people's faces.
All of us are roughly the same size - xs or s (getting tenure isn't the healthiest pursuit). All of us are in our late 30s. Many of us are moms.
Academic or other fun suggestions welcome. It will be late spring in Europe, so dresses are fine and we will mostly be inside. Rompers/jumpsuits seem appealing too.
Many years ago a bunch of us (all female) (drunkenly) decided that once we got tenure, we'd wear some outrageous outfits to the evening receptions at our big academic conference. Over the years this turned into wearing matching outfits. Last year 2 of us went up a year early and did 4 matching conference outfits as well as matching hair and makeup. One was an 80s vibe, another was prom type dresses, etc. They also differed by nearly a foot in height, adding to the fun. It was a huge hit, people took photos with them, etc. And it also became known that there would be more of this coming. People ask us about it all of the time.
This spring it is my tenure year (assuming all goes well at the provost office 🤞) and 1 or 2 others are in the crew and we need to start planning.
We don't want to spend a lot of money, but I could see us getting carried away with this. However, I saw some $100 unicorn rompers and that was too much for something we'd never wear again.
We live across the US and have access to the typical mall stores and the Internet.
We don't have to perfectly match and could pull together coordinating basics.
Thematically, we all study technology and society - someone suggested rompers covered in a hashtag print. They saw one online but no one can find it again.
I have an idea to make t-shirts that says "I put the lit in literature review."
Another option might be t-shirts with photos of last year's people's faces.
All of us are roughly the same size - xs or s (getting tenure isn't the healthiest pursuit). All of us are in our late 30s. Many of us are moms.
Academic or other fun suggestions welcome. It will be late spring in Europe, so dresses are fine and we will mostly be inside. Rompers/jumpsuits seem appealing too.
Sequin and iridescent bomber jackets are available cheaply online. I only mention this because I can't find the matching BRUNCH CLUB ones anymore.
(There are also many less crazy ones out there.)
posted by maryr at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
(There are also many less crazy ones out there.)
posted by maryr at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
No suggestions, but I wish you were at one of my academic conferences. Rock on.
posted by LarryC at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by LarryC at 8:55 PM on November 6, 2017 [7 favorites]
To go with the matching jackets theme, you can have large embroidered patches made for less than $20 each, using your specific artwork. They can then be sewn on the back of denim jackets or whatever. My club’s jackets get lots of attention because our emblem is pretty cool. Memail me if you want a picture!
posted by raisingsand at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by raisingsand at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
Wait, wait, I found them, I found them!
This may not be helpful to you, but it means a lot to me.
posted by maryr at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
This may not be helpful to you, but it means a lot to me.
posted by maryr at 9:01 PM on November 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nthing the matching jackets theme here.
At my college (a SLAC in the American Midwest) we have a running joke that when you get hired to a tenure-track faculty position, you should be given an old-school varsity letter jacket with the year that you go up for tenure embroidered across the back. (This is to help keep straight who's tenured, who isn't, who goes up this year, etc.) You would then get patches to sew onto the sleeves for each committee you serve on. (This is a subtle form of social shaming for folks who don't pull their weight service-wise.)
We looked into it, and custom varsity jackets can run upwards of $300 so we put that idea to rest, but a girl can dream, right?
posted by spamloaf at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
At my college (a SLAC in the American Midwest) we have a running joke that when you get hired to a tenure-track faculty position, you should be given an old-school varsity letter jacket with the year that you go up for tenure embroidered across the back. (This is to help keep straight who's tenured, who isn't, who goes up this year, etc.) You would then get patches to sew onto the sleeves for each committee you serve on. (This is a subtle form of social shaming for folks who don't pull their weight service-wise.)
We looked into it, and custom varsity jackets can run upwards of $300 so we put that idea to rest, but a girl can dream, right?
posted by spamloaf at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
How about fun-patterned flannel PJ pants, ridiculous slippers, and t-shirts that say "I'm tenured, this is as dressed up as I get"? Or if you wanted to stay classy, these dresses are cute if you don't mind being object-orient-ified.
posted by All hands bury the dead at 5:14 PM on November 7, 2017
posted by All hands bury the dead at 5:14 PM on November 7, 2017
If you're really willing to go all out, Walmart has adult onsies (including unicorn) for around $20.00.
Unicorn Onsies
posted by stray thoughts at 8:02 PM on November 7, 2017
Unicorn Onsies
posted by stray thoughts at 8:02 PM on November 7, 2017
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posted by Iris Gambol at 8:26 PM on November 6, 2017 [15 favorites]