questions about what to wear!

[dappycow36]

Hi
I'm an esl teacher and am moving to Indonesia in January. I wanted some advice on what clothes to bring. I'm a t-shirts n mini skirts kinda girl and I wondered if that would be an acceptable dress. I have never visited Asia and don't want to make any errors, I'm also a british 14, so think it may be awkward buying in indonesia. Also, in the classroom I have to wear office wear, can anyone advise me on how to look smart in the heat?

Lastly, I have several obvious tattoos, do you think this would be a problem? Should I try to cover them or should it be ok?

Thanks for your time

Z x

[It'sMe70]

hi
welcome to Indonesia.
Only bring your summer cloths but don't wear mini skirt to school. Yes! try to cover your tattoos while in school.
how to look smart in the heat? well how about wear summer pants ( linen and cotton pants ) + tank top with light cardigan to cover your tattoos.
I went to public school + University back then all my female teacher/ prof wore skirt but maybe they have different a teacher dress code in private school or EF.

[Mas Fred]

Hi
I'm an esl teacher and am moving to Indonesia in January. I wanted some advice on what clothes to bring. I'm a t-shirts n mini skirts kinda girl and I wondered if that would be an acceptable dress. I have never visited Asia and don't want to make any errors, I'm also a british 14, so think it may be awkward buying in indonesia. Also, in the classroom I have to wear office wear, can anyone advise me on how to look smart in the heat?


T shirts and mini skirts will shock a few and give heart attacks to a few more. I did once see a lass wearing one here. Everyone assumed she was a pro and were treating her as such.
Seeing arms is normal but tattoos are not.
Low cut T shirts are not really worn by local lasses. Tends to be more round necked. May I offer the suggestion of those long, flowing summer skirts.
Look fine and are acceptable dress anywhere. Jeans make you sweat like hell until you get used to the heat.

Note. I live in a small, rather conservative, town but, on trips to the cities, things don't seem that much different. Maybe looser rules in Jakarta but I'm unsure.

[dappycow36]

not even mini with leggings??!... sad times..

linen..!!.. uh oh... lol

[It'sMe70]

Yes.. Linen pants from GAP or BR , they have nice collection of linen pants

[It'sMe70]

BR : Banana Republic
or from Ann Taylor .. they on sale right now!!!

[bianca]

not even mini with leggings??!... sad times..

linen..!!.. uh oh... lol


with leggings might be fine. but bare legs will get you stared at, and whistled at all the time which will make you feel uncomfortable.

at my school we can wear skirts till the knee, or trousers (linen, or tailored ones). tshirts are fine, but no bare belly or too low cleavage. sort sleeved blouses are prefered, but to be i honest i rarely wear one, ..sweaty

you can wear tank tops on the street if you want, but again you might get some stares.

in the shopping malls, there are a few stores like gap, topshop, next. prices slightly more than the uk, but you should be able to find some size 14 there. but still, bring plenty. (and bring plenty of underwear. thats what i find a pain to buy here)

what else you might want to bring from uk if you use them (i usually stock up when i go there) boots vitamins.( very very expensive here for good vitamins ) and tampons (ive only found tampax here, no other brand).

[Annie Indra]

my previous foreign female teachers were wearing long pants and blouse to school.
its ok if you wear skirt also, just not mini skirt.
anyways, welcome to Indonesia :)

[avdog]

If you are in downtown Jakarta then the style of dress code for other parts of Indonesia is out the window. If one goes too a expat frequented mall with night clubs or bars you will see more of the standard western attire for women. Local and expat women with tattoos are not uncommon in Jakarta and seen on a regular basis. Also what some of the maids wear in Jakarta would give a conservative a heart attack. Mainly it comes down to common sense on where you will be living. Please tell us where in Indonesia you plan on relocating to. I hope you enjoy this lovely place.

[Hombre de Maiz]

Here´s one suggestion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0XLKcMoXRE

In junior high school, one of the teachers was so hot that once the rumour started that she was on the cover of Penthouse the headmaster was forced to cancel school for the day to investigate and set the record straight. Damn hotty she was...

[smatams]

Hey, good luck with your packing.
I think basic advice is just to bring a couple of smart pants and skirts, some light shirts covering your sholders and maybe a cardie for tops that don't. As long as your sholders and knees are covered and you're not showing much clevege then you'll have no worries. The school will be air conditioned, in fact sometimes you will be uncomfortably cold inside!
As for going to the malls, and other expat-prone areas, dress code is much more free!
=)

[allthatglitters]

Short skirts are fine here in Surabaya, and in fact even when I've been out to some rural villages I've seen lasses wearing pretty short shorts. Don't know what the situation is on other islands though. For school, short skirts with leggings seem to be fine, enough of the local teachers dress like that. It's hard to define what constitutes office wear for females, so I'd try and scope out what the other teachers are wearing first. I started off wearing proper shirts, now I come in in a succession of bright dresses with only a slightly toned down version of the colourful jewellery I usually wear.

Shoulders seem to be a far greyer area here than legs, mind. I'll wander around malls populated by Chinese baring my shoulders, but walking around my own area like that during the daytime is likely to do nothing but make me feel uncomfortable. Generally I cover them during the day and then bare all at night. It helps to bring a stock of plain T shirts here to wear under sleeveless dresses (especially for work), as they're surprisingly hard to come by here.

Also, stock up on hairclips before you come here! Finding basic ones that don't have some naff sparkly strawberry creation on is a real bitch.