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Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Back-to-School Teacher Outfits

August 13, 2018 by Katie Haller

Teacher Outfites- 9 Ways to Wear a Striped Dress in your classroom

It’s back to school time, and I am super excited about today’s post! I’m teaming up with 6 other teacher fashion bloggers to share teacher inspired outfits to wear in your classroom.  We are from all over the country and teach different grades, so hopefully, you will find some teacher fashion inspiration from that fits your style and budget.

For the last 10 years, I have been working in early childhood education.  I’ve been an infant and toddler teacher in childcare centers, I’ve been an administrator at a childcare center and I’ve taught preschool at 3 different non-profit Head Start programs.  I am currently going into my 4th year teaching PreK at a Head Start program in Nevada.  I definitely have to say that 4 and 5-year old’s are my favorite age in early childhood.  I love preparing kids for Kindergarten.  When I was younger, I always knew that I wanted to work with children when I got older, but I never thought that I would be working with this group of children.  After graduating from college with my bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Family Studies, I knew that I wanted to work for Head Start.  If you’re not familiar with Head Start, it’s a federally funded preschool program for low-income families.  We work closely with children and their families to help close the achievement gap in education. 

I will be the first to admit that my job is not easy.  I work year-round, there is a lot of paperwork and many of our children come to us with special needs and behavior problems.  There are times when I question why I do this job.  This past year was my hardest year ever.  I thought about quitting every day and questioned if I really should be doing this kind of job.  But I held in there and finally made it to the end of the long year (Yup our school year ends at the end of July and starts back up in early August, so there is no summer break for me.)  This year I plan to start fresh and on a positive note.

One thing that always helps me get through my day and stay positive is a cute outfit.  I’m a firm believer that your outfit can set the tone of your day.  When I wear something that I don’t love or I don’t feel good in, then I’m not going to have a good workday.  But when I step up my outfit a bit and wear something that makes me feel good, I’m in a different mood.  I’m happier, I’m more patient with the kids and I’m more motivated to get things done in my classroom.

 My dress code at work is pretty casual.  That’s nice being a preschool teacher because we do everything with the kids… we paint, we dance, we run on the playground and eat 2 meals with the children, so as you can imagine, it can get messy.  Luckily we can wear jeans all week long, but I also try to dress up and wear a dress from time to time.  Dresses are so comfortable to wear in the classroom, especially when it’s really hot outside.

 For today’s post, I struggled with coming up with a really cute and creative look, so I decided to just stick to my basic’s and style a striped dress from my closet. (original post HERE)  I think everyone that I work with knows how much I love stripes because I wear them at least 4 times a week.  They are just so versatile.  When you work with the same people every day, you start to learn about their wardrobe.  I try to never wear the same exact look twice.  I repeat my clothes all the time, but I just wear them in different ways.  That’s why I wanted to share 9 ways that you can style a striped dress to wear in your classroom.  This way you can still repeat your clothes, without repeating your outfit.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link, I will earn a commission for this blog.  Thank you for your support!

Teacher outfit

 Cardigan- Old Navy- thrifted at Savers (SIMILAR) || Flats- Old Navy (SIMILAR) || Earrings- Target (SIMILAR)

Teacher outfit

 Cardigan- H&M- Thrifted from Savers (SIMILAR) || Boots- Target (SIMILAR) || Necklace- Nordstrom Rack (SIMILAR)

Teacher outfit

 Cardigan- Macy’s (SIMILAR) || Booties- Burlington Coat Factory (EXACT) || Necklace- Charming Charlie (SIMILAR) Watch- Jord (EXACT)

Teacher outfit

Shirt- Unknown Brand- Thrifted from Savers (SIMILAR) || Shoes- Madden Girl- Thrifted from ThredUP (SIMILAR) || Bracelet-  Kate Spade (EXACT)

Teacher outfit

 Vest- Brand unknown- thrifted from Savers (SIMILAR) || Shoes- Walmart (SIMILAR) || Necklace- thrifted from Savers (SIMILAR)

Teacher outfit

 Jacket- Old Navy- thrifted from Savers (SIMILAR) || Shoes- Kohl’s- thrifted from ThredUP (SIMILAR) || Necklace- Kohl’s (SIMILAR)

Teacher outfit

 Sweater- Old Navy (EXACT) || Shoes- Kohl’s- thrifted from ThredUP (SIMILAR) || Bracelet- Kate Spade (EXACT) || Belt- Target (SIMILAR)

Teacher outfit

 Blazer- LC Lauren Conrad (EXACT) || Belt- hand-me-down (SIMILAR) || Shoes- Target (SIMILAR) Watch- JORD (EXACT)

Teacher outfit

T-shirt- Target (SIMILAR) || Shoes- Madden Girl- thrifted from ThredUP (SIMILAR) || Watch- Nordstrom Rack (SIMILAR) Necklace- LC Lauren Conrad (SIMILAR)

The options are really endless when it comes to styling a striped dress, but hopefully, you can use some of these outfit ideas when styling your own dresses in your wardrobe.  Don’t forget to check out the other blogger’s post below for more teacher wardrobe inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Related posts:

Default Thumbnail9 Stylish Thrifted Teacher Outfits Default ThumbnailDaily Outfits- January Review Default ThumbnailApril Daily Outfit Review

Filed in: Affordable Fashion, My Closet, outfits, Weekday Wardrobe • by Katie Haller • 6 Comments

Comments

  1. Jenny M. - EverydayTeacherStyle.com

    August 13, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    Katie, I love every single way you styled this striped dress! So many options with that one great piece. I think I wear stripes 4 days a week, too. There's just something about them. So excited to be in this linkup with you! xoxo, Jenny https://everydayteacherstyle.com

    Reply
  2. Katie Margaret

    August 14, 2018 at 12:26 am

    Thank you so much Jenny! Stripes are the best! I had fun doing this linkup with all of you. We will have to collaborate again sometime!

    Reply
  3. Jules

    August 14, 2018 at 4:42 am

    These outfit ideas are incredible! Love all of your accessories with each look! Also, those families and students are beyond blessed to have you invest in their lives. Keep being that bright sunlight even on "cloudy days!��

    Reply
  4. Katie Margaret

    August 15, 2018 at 12:49 pm

    Thank you so much Jules! That's so sweet of you to say.

    Reply
  5. Virginia

    August 28, 2018 at 11:42 am

    Striped dresses are the absolute BEST for the classroom! Loved the style choices you shared here!

    Virginia
    More to Mrs. E

    Reply
  6. Katie Margaret

    September 3, 2018 at 3:41 am

    Thank you so much! I am always a sucker for a striped dress!

    Reply

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Hi I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog! I am on a mission to help women build a wardrobe that they love without spending a lot of money doing it. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their outfit, no matter what your budget is! I am excited to have you here!
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