The blogging world and professor fashion

I lied to you last week. I said there would be a surprise in this week's column.

There are two.

Surprise No.1. I hope you're ready. Hautey Toddy is now its very own blog. Sure, you will still read it here, in the print version every week, and you can still find it on www.thedmonline.com, but now it has a home of its own: http://hauteytoddy.blogspot.com.

What's the point of moving the column online, you ask? Because I wanted to, that's why.

It's also so that you can check periodically during the day for continuous updates on horrible fashion choices I see.

And it looks nice, too. The blog, probably not what you're wearing. I designed the logo myself.

Oh, and I can't make any promises, but expect the Hautey Toddy blog to live on long after I've graduated.

People dress poorly everywhere. Just because I'm moving to New York doesn't mean I won't have plenty of material to mmmblog about.

Go check the blog today! You should see a welcome note written by yours truly as well as all my old columns. Have fun and please comment.

Surprise No. 2. I have received many requests to write a column on professor fashion. Well, my dear friends, here it is.

I want to start off with a disclaimer. I have taken many classes in my years at this university, and I have had many different teachers.

The specific looks I discuss herein cannot necessarily be attributed to current or past teachers I have had; it could be any teacher I have encountered during my stay here. And remember, it's all in good fun. Sort of like cat toys.

First, it's interesting to note that most of the professors I have encountered have been male. Thus this column will focus mostly on their fashion choices, not due to any gender bias of my own, but rather due to the circumstances available to me. Sorry, guys.

First, there's the classic professor look. Pleated khakis, brown belt, some sort of button-up - sometimes long-sleeved, sometimes short - brown dress shoes. There's the occasional vest thrown in for good measure, in case you ever doubted their professorness.

Sometimes it's a sporty vest of the fleece variety, sometimes a dressier vest. Sometimes even a sport coat over the vest - for those in super professor mode. Oh, sport coat. My favorites are the ones with the elbow patches.

For those professors who fancy themselves more fashion-forward and like to throw it up a bit while still maintaining that professor motif, there's the dressier version of the above. Black or gray dress pants, black dress shoes, pastel button-up, bold tie tucked into vest.

This is my personal favorite because it allows for a bit more variation than the former style. It shows the professor has actually made an effort to dress up, which is respectable since they tend to stand in front of classrooms filled with students wearing North Face jackets, leggings and/or sweatpants and flip flops. And we can't forget the shacker hair. Unfortunately.

Then of course there are those we don't speak of. Those professors who, in addition to not making any effort to dress up, barely get dressed at all for class.

For 8 a.m. classes this is understandable, but still reprehensible. Wearing a T-shirt (even if it's long-sleeved or Polo) and jeans to class is not OK.

A sweater and jeans … shmeh. Borderline. In fact, jeans in general should be avoided. Unless it's Friday.

You get paid to go to class. It's your job, so work clothing is appropriate.

Not that I'm condoning slovenly student dress - read the archives of my column on my blog and you'll see - but there is just a certain expected level of dress for professors. And T-shirts and jeans ain't it.

Have a professor whose look you want to talk about? Comment on my blog.

Next week is spring break! Enjoy. Until next time, majorly yours.