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That was actually my feeling about the shorts and flip flops - less about professionalism than about just imagining some guy wearing that where a lot of people are going to be staring at it for a prolonged time - it's kind of yuck.
Well, presumably, if the guy is knowledgeable and a good speaker, and the students are there to learn, they won't be staring at his knees or hairy legs anyway. Shorts and flip-flops don't have to be indicative of sloth. Frankly, I'd rather see a well groomed person in shorts and flip flops than a guy who hadn't showered and wore a dirty old polyester suit. There's a lot of grey area between those examples.
I've never seen a female professor wear shorts to work. If anything, women professors tend to dress more formally, since they can run into problems being taken seriously. They make an effort to look professional. Not all, but generally they do more so than men.
Neither have I and probably for the same reasons you mentioned. I had one professor who was bi-sexual and she tended to dress in a masculine way. She was probably the most "casual" of all my female professors though.
I posed the question moreso because of the comments regarding men's hairy legs or knarly toes and just wondered would those type of concerns exist for women IF they did dress "down." I went to school with a woman that dressed like a stripper (that was her actual job) and it was distracting because our instructor could not focus on teaching. Luckily, I never had a teacher wear five inch heels and glitter everywhere. lol
Of course the culture of the workplace is different for every job, but in the OP's case, even if some other professors dress like they're going to the beach, is that the message he wants to send to his students, his department head, his dean?
In Southern California the Dean could be the guy wearing the t-shirt he got at Burning Man.
I've never seen a female professor wear shorts to work. If anything, women professors tend to dress more formally, since they can run into problems being taken seriously. They make an effort to look professional. Not all, but generally they do more so than men.
I had a music professor who was the quintessential oddball eccentric cat lady, and she wore 80's style Multiples every single day of the four years I knew her (and I'm sure before that and after that). You know, the ones made up of tunics, loose pants, and tubes that could be a skirt or headwrap or whatever that were worn in layers in mix and match colors. It was her uniform of sorts, well into the late 90s and I'm sure beyond. I'm guessing if she's still there, she's still wearing mix n' match Multiples, and still eccentric.
I really can't offer an opinion on this matter. I was educated by the Jesuits, so it was nothing but black clothing from head to toe with a white Roman Collar.
Sure, why not? Like a lot of other things, much of the answer depends on the field and the location. And probably the type of shorts and flip flops. I presume that the shorts don't look like you slept in them, and the flip flops aren't those cheap-o beach wear garbage. It's possible to look very put together while wearing casual clothes, and also possible to look like an utter slob while dressed up.
As a TA and lab instructor I've always worn shorts and flip-flops during warm weather (which is most of the year here in central California), which is commonly accepted since I'm still a student myself. But next semester I may be actually teaching one or more courses at the same University that I am graduating from this semester. As far as I know, there is no specific dress code enforced for faculty, as I've had multiple professors wear shorts and sandals in the past. Assuming there is no specific dress code for faculty, what would be your opinion on this? As a student, would it bother you if you had a professor that wore shorts and/or flip-flops?
Shorts and flip-flops are OK - but you might want to wait until AFTER you have tenure.
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