Over the past few years, I’ve attended a few multi-day conferences in far-off locales, and I’ve realized: packing for this kind of conference is an art, not a science. I’m still learning what to bring, but I thought I’d start an open thread by sharing my must-bring items — readers, what do you bring? (Pictured: So many planes, originally uploaded to Flickr by lauren_pressley.)
1. A wrap. Conference planners may make the rooms 65-70 degrees, both to keep people awake as well as to make sure it doesn’t get too HOT. A wrap (preferably, a serious one — cashmere or wool) allows you to add or subtract layers easily, even if you’re already wearing a blazer or suit jacket. The other great thing about the wrap is that you can lay it across your lap if you need to, either to make yourself warmer or to compensate for a skirt that you’ve only just realized is too short if you’re sitting all day.
2. Two pants suits (if it’s a 3-day conference). Dressing at conferences can be particularly tricky for women — if you wear a skirt suit and the majority of male attendees show up wearing the blue shirt/khaki pant combo, you look like the newbie who’s trying too hard. If you wear a twinset and pants, though, and the majority of male attendees show up wearing suits, you look like a secretary. For this reason, my go-to outfit (for day 1, at least) is a simple pants suit — you can take the blazer off if you need to look more casual, or wear it all together to fit in. If it’s a 3-day conference, you can often wear the suit jacket with a non-matching skirt or pants, also, for a dressed-up business casual look on day 3.
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Ah, the perennial question: what to wear to a conference?
I’m a 1L and I’m going to a one day “retreat” with several prominent speakers/panelists this coming Saturday at the (NYC) bar association – its from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm if that makes a difference. I’m mainly going because I am interested in the topic, and maybe a little networking since this is the area that I plan to practice in. I’ve never been to one of these events and have no idea how people dress for this – suit, dress, or business casual skirt/pants??? Should I wear (low-ish) heels or are flats ok? Please help!
In our (limited) experience, conference dress can vary pretty widely, from full-on suits to jeans. Our best advice, as always, is thus: call the group planning the conference or retreat, and ask how they recommend you dress. Hopefully, the planners will have attended previous incarnations of the event and can recommend from experience. (And if not, hey, at least you can point the finger at somebody.)
Our default “we have no idea what to wear” for this might include a nice pair of slacks, office-worthy shoes (either flats or heels are fine, but no sneakers), a blouse or t-shirt with short sleeves, and a blazer. (You might try one like the blazer pictured above: Calvin Klein Ponte Jacket, available at Bloomingdale’s for $129.) With this outfit, you’ll look professional but still comfortable, and if you feel too dressed up you can always take the blazer off. (We might pack a sweater or a scarf in case there’s crazy air-conditioning, as well.)
Readers, what would you wear to the conference? How do you decide what to wear?
One of the most difficult things to figure out is what to wear to a professional conference. In theory, you’re there to network, meet your colleagues and the “superstars” of your field — and, of course, to learn a bit in the process. The whole process becomes a bit more confusing when you add the “vacation” vibe that many conferences strive for, by holding themselves in sunny places like Hawaii. It seems to us that you need to take a number of different considerations into account. (A lot of these problems are alleviated if you only attend conferences in Second Life.) For example:
1) Are your work colleagues going? If your work colleagues are going then, by default, you shouldn’t wear anything you wouldn’t wear to the office on a weekday.
2) Are you at all involved in running the event? Is one of your colleagues speaking? Is your company or firm sponsoring the event? If so, wear a suit. Depending on the kind of conference and the location, we might suggest a pantsuit rather than a skirt suit — you’re not interviewing, and, after all, you’re quite possibly doing glamorous things like manual labor.
3) What is your purpose in going? Even if it’s just to get a ton of professional credits while surreptitiously playing Brickbreaker all day, let’s pretend you’re there to network and meet people who can help advance/guide your career. Either way, we advise against pulling out the sweats you wore to your grad school classes.
No matter what, we would pack a blazer for the event — air conditioning frequently runs amok at conferences, and a blazer is a professional way to stay warm. Wear it with trouser jeans if you think the conference is uber casual; wear it with a jersey dress if you’re in hotter weather (Hawaii); wear it with trousers and a blouse if you think it’s business casual.
We would also recommend thinking of your entire visit, including your time on the plane and in your down time at the hotel, as “work” time — dress and act as professionally as possible (while, of course, having a nice time).
Readers, any other words of advice for professional conferences?
