Hair that looks like it blew up in an experiment is so 1950s. Thick Coke-bottle glasses are just gauche. And a little lipstick wouldn't hurt.
The blog Sartorial Science seeks to dispel the notion that all scientists are fashion tone-deaf outcasts by celebrating researchers who are as comfortable talking about Prada as prions and can wax poetic about osmotic pressure while nattily garbed in Ozwald Boateng.
The blog was created by Sophie Powell, a Ph.D. student investigating the stability of protein therapeutics at the University of Manchester, and Sam Illingworth, a lecturer in science communication at Manchester Metropolitan University, who told BuzzFeed they want to change the perception that scientists look like they get dressed in the dark.
"[W]e wanted to create this blog as an opportunity for other like-minded scientists to share their own fashion influences in an accessible and fun manner," says Illingworth, whose fashion icon is Bill Nye. Sartorial Science, he adds, is to showcase the "fashion fabulousness" of scientists.
Powell also wants to change the attitude of colleagues who believe that being well-dressed means they're shoddy scientists. "I often feel that I won't get taken seriously in science if I put too much effort into the way I look," she says. "It would be great to change the stereotype of what a 'good scientist' looks like to other academics."
They also hope that by using the blog they can gather data in order to investigate the relationship between scientists and fashion and to publish their results in a study.