On 11/28/05, (562)Librarian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> PLEASE tell me this is a paid internship.  I think the concept of 'teaching'
> interns to dress professionally is a good idea.  However, you may be making
> an unrealistic request for someone who has already given up time and is
> incurring the cost of transportation and other miscellaneous expenses
> involved in working for free.  Professional clothes have professional
> prices.

I have an issue with this. Paid or not, everyone who works at a museum
should be held to the same dress standards. Part of an internship is
learning how to be a "professional" and part of that is knowing how to
dress regardless of how much money you make. And once you leave your
internship and go out in to the "real world", people won't care if you
have the money to afford clothes or not, they will expect you to have
the appropriate clothes for the job.

There are plenty of options for people who can't afford department
store prices. I score big at good thrift stores. It's not the best
option if you need good clothes right away but making weekly trips and
scouting around for the stores that get the better clothes will get
you some great bargains. I'm luckly that there's one across the street
from where I work and I got a fabulous pair of wool dress slacks in
perfect condition for $1.50. Yes, a buck, fifty.

There are also charities that provide professional clothing to those
who can't afford it. Check with local churches, shelters, and other
charities to see if they have appropriate clothing to donate. Most
museums don't require business suits but a few pieces that can be
accessorized, mixed and matched and you'll have a week's worth of
clothes.

Hit yard sales, church bazars, flea markets, and the like. Haggle with
people. Give them your poor museum studies student sob story and see
if they will drop the price or give you a good deal. Again, you'll
have to hunt around at these and it might take you a while to find an
entire wardrobe but if you start looking BEFORE you start an
internship, you will have plenty of time to find things.

> I have a term for "the staff who have to monitor the interns' clothing,"
> Fashion Police.  Will this person be annoyed by the extra duty and say
> anything is fine?  Will they take it too seriously and possibly humiliate an
> already financialy embarrassed student?

To me, the job falls to the intern's supervisor as it's part of the
intern's job. Now other employees might say something to the intern,
esp. if the intern works in different departments but ultimately, the
supervisor needs to have the "formal" conversation. You are not acting
as the "fashion police" by telling people not to wear white after
Labor Day or stripes with polka dots; you are making sure that people
under your supervision are appropriately dressed for the job.

Another part of the supervisor's job is to develop a rapport with the
interns to make them feel comfortable about talking about these issues
and hopefully the intern will bring up the subject first. "Hey, when I
took this internship, I underestimated my wardrobe requirements and I
don't have a lot of money. Could you help me find some more
appropriate clothes so I look more professional or could I wear the
museum polos and khakis like the volunteers until I find some?"

> I think your intern will learn about professional dress by being in the
> environment.  It would be a good topic to discuss over lunch or on a lazy
> Friday afternoon.  I'd also recommend a healthy dose of opinions and
> suggestions from both genders.

Good idea, but I think the intern needs to understand that sometimes,
dress codes aren't fair and you just have to deal with them. There are
some employers who don't allow women to wear trousers and require men
to always wear a long-sleeved shirt with a coat and tie. I don't know
of any museums like that but I think it's good idea to be aware of it
in case you encounter it elsewhere.

> I was in this situation not too long ago.  After explaining that I ate once
> a day and had no elastic in my underwear - I'm not sure who was more
> embarrassed.

Okay, not to be rude but again, that is your problem, not your
employers or your host institution if you are an intern. For example,
if you took an internship and didn't have transportation to get to the
site, would you expect the museum to pay for cab fare or find you
transportation to do your internship? Probably not. It would be
assumed that when you took the internship, you would have transport to
it. The museum might help out and find someone who works there that
can give you a lift, but the ultimate burden of getting there is your
own.

> If it's really important, a 'sign-on bonus' from the gift shop 'this is what
> we'd like you to wear while you're here' could go over quite well.

If the museum requires specific uniform items like polos with the
museum logo or work coveralls then I think the museum should provide
at least one or two to get the intern started. But if the dress code
is "professional" or "business casual" then I think it's up to the
intern to have those items. Same goes with volunteers and staff.

And personally, I think people need to seriously think about taking a
non-museum job for a semester or two to save up enough money to do an
internship. It won't kill you to postpone an internship if you really
don't have the finances to support yourself well enough to concentrate
on your job. If you are eating once a day and have few clothes, can
you really concentrate enough to do your best and learn at an
internship? Perhaps you can cut back to part-time and work part-time
elsewhere to support yourself. Even non-museum work experience is work
experience and will teach you valuable skills you can apply to museum
jobs.

deb

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).