academichic

Earlier today I wrote about my packing plan for Munich, but before I take off across the ocean, I venture out to a closer destination next week: San Francisco! I’ve been there once before but am not very familiar with the city and would love any tips on must-see things or on any good thrift stores or used book stores I could peruse while there. Thank you so much for any tips you may have! S.

The first time I studied abroad (seven years ago), I opened up my suitcase the night before my flight, collected all my favorite items of clothing, and haphazardly added them to the pile. I ended up with a bunch of nice items but very few actual ‘outfits’ and very little possibility to mix and match. 

                             

On the Road, originally uploaded by academichic.

This time around, I like to think that I’m more mature and travel savvy and that I can do a better job predicting what I will need in order to have a practical, versatile, and attractive wardrobe for my research year abroad. I’m also starting the packing process now, since I am getting my condo ready to sublet and will begin placing my clothing in storage during the coming weeks. All of the literature on How To Pack Successfully will confirm that an early plan and a thought-out list will ensure an efficient move. With E’s and A’s input, I compiled my plan of attack.

Look for it after the break…

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This morning I am beginning the several-day-long process of vacuuming out my basement. Just imagine a very pregnant woman in shorts, a maternity top, sneakers, and a head scarf and you have my outfit for the day.

But since this week we have been trying to help our colleagues in the sciences find creative, stylish ways to dress that still meet their lab dress-code, I present to you a brief rumination on an item of clothing that I am still uncertain about: the maxi skirt. Now, I know that some labs ban skirts altogether, but a few dress codes that I’ve read also say that skirts are a-okay as long as they reach the ankle. Now, I am only a fairly recent convert to the maxi dress and while I love their cool, flowy nature I definitely feel like I need to find my inner hippie every time I don one. I don’t think that I would ever wear one when teaching or attending an important meeting.

And I’m not sure about maxi skirts, either. For me, floor length skirts in general conjure up competing images of hippies, Little House on the Prairie specials, a really bad broomstick skirt I owned in 8th grade, and bridesmaid separates. Quite a mix, huh? But this past year Lucky Magazine included a floor length skirt as one of their items in their always-impressive “A Month of Outfits” feature and, I have to admit, I’m being forced to do some reconsidering.  Behold:

These looks are obviously more on the bohemian and very casual side, but I do love the pattern mixing in the look on the left and the chunky belt on the right. For more polished looks, Lucky offered up these:

And this one:

They all look lovely on the model, but I’m just not completely sold on the idea. So what do you all think? Can maxi skirts be polished enough for a day at an office (albeit a casual one)? Do you, like me, have strange misgivings and associations with floor length skirts that make this look difficult to embrace?

- E.

On E:

• Purple Maxi Dress – F21
• Wooden Necklace – Don’t recall
• “Slippers” – Cobian, purchased at Hawaiian Island Creations

On S:

• Dress – Anthropologie, on loan from weardrobe closet!
• Pink floral scarf – J.Crew
• Yellow shoes – Gianni Bini
• Silver flower earrings – Big Lots
• Hair flowers – Claire’s

Happy Baby Shower, E. and N.!

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Click for the rest of the directions after the jump!

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26 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Pinstriped Pants – BR Outletubs
• Reddish-Purple Tee – F21
• Light Pink Cardigan – J Crew
• Red Wedges -Anthropologie, via ebay

Endnotes:

My first attempt at a lab-appropriate look also needed to be teaching-appropriate and coffee-shop-studying-appropriate.  I started with a pair of dress pants that  are machine washable cotton, making them both comfortable and  durable – qualities I would imagine are important for the lab wardrobe.   I then worked off of the purplish-blue pinstripe and picked the analogous reddish-purple top and the subsequently analogous maroon shoes and pink sweater.  I love how this swath of neighboring hues  makes the classic pants a little more exciting.

The bright colors also make the long pants and long-sleveed cardigan more appropriate for a warm sunny day.

Now it’s back to lesson planning for tomorrow’s class!

26 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

26 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed except for skirt.

• Navy blazer – Banana Republic Outlet (can’t live without it)
• Blue cami – Target
• Green jersey skirt – Target, gift from the mother-in-law
• Patterned flats – Target

End Notes:

This outfit is essentially the same as one I wore a few weeks ago, but with different colors stepping in. As the end of my pregnancy draws steadily closer and my bump grows steadily bigger I’m realizing more and more that color combinations are going to be the style component that keep me from getting utterly bored with myself. Fewer and fewer shapes and silhouettes will work, but fresh splashes of color can do wonders. At least, that’s what I’m betting on!

Again, I’m hardly lab appropriate in this, but I’m hoping that the idea of using unexpected colors to put a new spin on a limited number of silhouettes might ring true for our lab-bound ladies. I know I would get bored with jeans quite quickly and be looking for other, more colorful alternatives.

26 May 2009 – lab friendly, originally uploaded by academichic.

If I weren’t preggers this season I think I would be deeply tempted by a pair of what I term “fun color pants,” chinos in a bright hue ala JCrew, Gap, or Old Navy. I think the trick for keeping the pants from looking too juvenile or clown-like is to pair them with a top that has more grown-up details and to add some structure, whether in the top itself or by throwing a little blazer over it all.

What do you think, lab and non-lab readers alike? Are colored pants a no-no in your book or do you embrace them? What are your tricks for making them look sophisticated rather than silly?

Sources, part ii:

• “Jalapeno” pants – Old Navy Perfect Khakis, $29.50
• White top with eyelet detail – Anthropologie Drifting Cumulus Tee, $19.95
• Linen blazer – Forever 21 swing blazer, $16.50
• (Alternate top: Gap Eyelet Tee in turquoise, $29.95)

     

26 May 2009 – Possibilities, Take 2, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Fuschia tee – Banana Republic 
• Ivory cardi – Moth “Possibilities” sweater, sold at Anthropologie, and on loan from the weardrobe closet! 
• Cuffed skinnies – thrifted, remixed 
• Rushed black flats – Kenneth Cole Reaction 
• White earrings – made by me, remixed

Endnotes:

This week, we’re trying to create lab friendly outfits to try to see what life is like for those of you in the Sciences. I’ve had a brief taste of this a few years ago as I worked at a summer job in a biology lab and I also know from my extremely stylish mother, who’s a chemist, how difficult it is to translate your personal style into lab appropriate attire. The lab in which I worked allowed cropped pants, so I spent most of the summer in either cropped chinos or jeans and my same old pair of Birkenstock clogs. My style has come a long way since that stint three years ago, and I’d like to think that were I working in a lab today, I would be more apt at looking stylish despite the strict dress code.

    

Shoes!, originally uploaded by academichic.

One thing I would do is swap the daily Birkenstocks for various colorful and fun flats. I love a boldly colored shoe or a fun patterned flat and could see having a variety of colorful yet comfortable footwear at my disposal making my daily lab get-up more enticing. (Pictured above are all my shoes with one inch heel or lower and you can find the sources for all of them listed here.) 

   

Black flats, originally uploaded by academichic.

I realize that this cardi is less lab appropriate (unless you wear a lab coat and then it doesn’t matter what’s underneath), but we just got it on loan from the weardrobe closet and I was dying to try it on today. Yesterday, E. demonstrated the crazy shape of it, but that’s what makes it so fun – you can keep playing with it until you find a shape you like. (I had the same instinct as E. to pair this billowy and flowey cardigan with a fitted pant for contrasting proportions). And for a more lab appropriate look, you could wear this same outfit with a more fitted cardi like my yesterday’s tan one (keeping the same color scheme but avoiding the excess fabric), or with a fun colored cardi to contrast the otherwise neutral colors or the dark skinnies and black flats. S. 

  

26 May 2009 – Possibilities, Take 2, originally uploaded by academichic.

24 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

• Yellow Striped Skirt – H & M, remixed
• White Blouse – Forever 21, borrowed from E.
• Brown Belt – BR Outlet, remixed often
• Brown T-Strap Sandals – H & M, remixed
• Beads – Hawaii

Endnotes:
A crazy week of teaching transitioned right into a crazy weekend of party planning, party hosting, and party attending. E.’s shower on Saturday was lovely and while I never got a chance to post my outfit, you can see what both E. and I wore when we do our extended shower post later this week.

Yesterday I went to another party – a birthday party for a friend’s one-year old. It was an afternoon BBQ and it was sunny and beautiful out.

For the second time, I am attempting this proportion of bloused top with more fitted bottom thanks to anohter borrowed item from E.s pre-pregnancy closet. I like what the big brown belt does for this otherwise very pale and flowy ensemble.

24 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.