After realizing you’ve overslept, jumping out of bed and keeping on last night’s pajamas may seem like the only option. However, for business marketing students it is mandatory to properly dress for the day. Professional staff and students discussed their views on appropriate attire in the classroom setting.

Although many students enjoy dressing up for class in order to feel more self-assured, most students are typically allowed to wear clothing of their choice. Barbara Ribbens, associate professor of management and director of the International Business Institute, explained that only some students are required to dress in professional attire daily.

“I believe it is marketing majors that have a requirement and then there’s various organizations, [such as] the Business Week group who puts on Business Week and they’re required to dress up when they meet with their mentors. There are a couple of overlapping things going on that have the effect of business students dressing up more than average,” Ribbens said.

Ribbens explained that dressing more suitably for the classroom setting not only provides students with more confidence, but also prepares them for the real world.

“[Professional attire] creates a more professional atmosphere in the classroom not just on the day that they’re presenting something, but overall, if there is a higher average level of dress, even if not all the students have to dress up, it tends to raise the average,” Ribbens said. “The other thing is that’s what the students are going to be wearing in their careers, so it’s a good thing for them to get use to being comfortable in those clothes so that when they have an interview they’re much more comfortable in business attire.”

The State Farm Hall of Business contains an atrium, a large computer lab, classrooms, and a courtyard, making it one of the most prestigious buildings at ISU. Ribbens believes that the recently renamed building may add another reason for students to dress professionally.

“I think certainly for the College of Business it makes a lot of sense [to dress up]. We’re in a building that reflects a professional personality that you would find in a corporate office sort of setting, so expecting the students to dress at a little bit of a higher scale than maybe some students, seems to fit with the atmosphere we’re trying to create,” Ribbens said.

She mentioned that the way an individual dresses does affect the way they feel about themselves. Moreover, Ribbens added that some types of clothing are unsuitable to wear in class.

“When you get use to dressing up a little bit, you have a higher confidence and poise, and that comes across in how you deal with your peers, as well as your professors. I really think things like pajamas are really not appropriate,” Ribbens said.

“Teaching international business, this is when we send students to study abroad; we warn them about it but they don’t always realize that on college campuses in most of the rest of the world students dress more formally than they do here. So I think it’s maybe an American thing to wear pajamas to class but it’s not necessarily a good thing,” Ribbens added.

Ryan Hansen / Daily Vidette Staff Photographer: Kristin Windom, a senior integrated marketing communications major, walked toward campus from her apartment on Thursday, dressed business casual for class. Windom said, “You incorporate who you are into your professional attire. I’m in advertising, we’re kind of more creative. We’re fun and I try to show that through what I wear. I like dressing professionally.”

Kristin Windom, senior integrated marketing communications major, is well-dressed everyday and shared her experience in the College of Business. She explained that her attire typically consists of trousers, slacks, blouses, cardigans, and business flats.

“As a marketing major, once you get into the 200-level courses, it’s a requirement. It is actually in each syllabus, it states that you are required to be professionally dressed.  Most classes give you professional points that can be deducted when you are not dressed in business casual clothing. Every marketing class that I have, you have to be dressed up,” Windom said.

Windom said that dressing up for class was initially easier said than done. However, she now appreciates the appearance of professionalism.

“I actually like it now that I am used to it. It was initially an adjustment but now that I have been wearing professional attire for so long, I actually prefer this type of clothing versus the traditional student apparel,” she said. “Dressing professional in my undergraduate years has properly prepared me for the corporate world because I have found my own professional style. I mix it up and I wear a lot of jewelry. I’ll already have the attire that I need to begin my career with.”

“I know there’s a lot of other aspects of college that are fun and about finding people to date, but the classroom is not the place for that. So not dressing like you’re going out dancing when you’re going to class is a fair thing,” Ribbens said.