What do you wear when teaching English?

What kind of clothes do you wear when teaching English? A friend of mine that teaches English in Tokyo says that you must wear a suit... and that all teaching jobs have the same rule. Is this true? The thought of wearing a suit everyday kills me! Is there any companies out there that let you dress more casual?

Depends on what city and what company you are working for. If you are a male you can't go wrong with a suit, or at the least a shirt and tie. Other companies are more lax and allow less formal clothes.

If you work at an eikaiwa (conversation school) and are male you will be expected to wear a shirt, dress pants and a tie at least.

If you teach at high school or junior high school it will be similar. Elementary school English teachers are usually allowed to dress more casually and for kindergarten almost anything goes- I used to teach at a kindergarten and wore jeans and a T-shirt mostly. So it depends.

I go to a jr high school in Tokyo, and the english teachers wear the same kind of clothes that the teachers in the USA wear. Some teachers wear suits though.

Private companies or private high schools are likely to request you to wear suits when you teach an adult, because the Japanese judge what you are like by what you are wearing :P

Indeed, many Japanese company wokers are supposed to wear suits when they work.

You might not have to wear suits when you teach children or students at public school.

I've heard jeans are a no-no when teaching anything at a school. So maybe Khakis and a collared shirt.

----Is there any companies out there that let you dress more casual?------

Depends on areas and their attitudes.
Tokyo areas tends to or like to adapt to American ways. I have Japanese uncle who lived in Tokyo and in Yokohama raised two kids and trained their pet dog in English.

You should check with your company.
Even for the casualwears, vast majority of Japanese go with smart casuals.
No matter where you are, I think it is important how you represent yourself.

--Is there any companies out there that let you dress more casual?--

I hope you don't really teach English. You've already made a grammatical mistake in just a few sentences. This is part of the reason English teachers are not respected in Japan.