1 October 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.- Grey Cardigan – Marshalls, remixed
- Skirt – BR Outlet
- Black Tank – BR, remixed
- Fuchsia Shoes – Seychelles, via DSW, remixed
- Necklace – very old
Endnotes:
I knew I wanted to wear this skirt yesterday and then built a teaching outfit around it. I love the little buttons, the subtle pattern, and the straight cut of it. I think it was originally sold with a matching suit jacket (I of course bought it on the clearance rack). I am often drawn to suits wear but I can’t say I have ever worn a full suit. Instead, I prefer to wear suit pieces mixed with other items. I think this allows for my personal style to come through more and means I can wear these great pieces over and over again, making endless combinations. E. and S., tend to do the same thing – mixing suit pieces into their regular wardrobe. You can check out our flickr set “Suit Yourself” to see examples.
What are your thoughts on suit wear? How often do you sport a full suit (skirt or pants with matching jacket)? Do you buy suit separates to work into your wardrobe, paired with non-suit items? Do you mix and match suit pieces? Tell us your suit story! A.
Details, originally uploaded by academichic.
I also find myself drawn to suit-like items. Almost all my dress pants have pinstripes, and I can never have enough blazers.
My first suit was a lovely sea-foam green, and I wore it under my high school graduation robe. It was flattering, but really too old of a look for an 18 year old. Since then I have enjoyed mixing and matching skirts and jackets, sometimes of the same color but different fabrics. Then this summer I thrifted my second complete suit set – black with pinstripes, of course. Except for a court testimony appearance, I have always worn the pieces separately.
I think I’m a bit too young to be wearing full suits- I’m only 14! But I love the way you took half of the suit, I think it makes it more stylish and your own. Maybe you could wear the jacket tomorrow?
I have one complete suit (pants and jacket) and it’s black. I just got it a couple months ago for job interviewing. From what I’ve seen in my field, it’s recommended that full, conservative suits be worn for interviews. It’s boring, but classic so it won’t go out of style…as long as I stay the same size :-)
That’s the only time I’ve worn it though, for job interviews. I might wear the pants as a separate, but probably not the jacket.
I love your skirt and your outfit today!
Being in the corporate world, I wear suits at least 3 times a week. I have good wool pants suit from JCrew and Banana Republic and others from TJ Maxx. Dresses + a blazer work well on days when I don’t have a lot of meetings. A wrap dress with a long necklace, tights, boots and a blazer is a perfect Friday work look for me. In the summer I wear linen and lighter pants suits, and skirts – but always with a blazer.
Love the site!
I work at a magazine publishing company, and fashion is more important than traditional formality. As a college senior concerned with making a right impression, I wore a suit to job interviews, and I was probably overdressed. These days, I only wear a suit if I have a really important interview (for a story, not a job). I splurged on an Antonio Melani suit from Dillards, and I almost never wear the blazer (I need to work on that). I wear the black pencil skirt at least once or twice a week.
I’m an almost-done doctoral student (please, let me defend this month) and an adjunct professor. I own a skirt suit and a pants suit, and I wear the pieces separately most of the time but occasionally put them together for Very Serious Occasions. But I love wearing suit parts separately. It makes me feel way more put together than my PINK-assed students, and believe me there are days when I need the confidence that an awesome textured suit jacket provides.
While I usually wear suit-separates (especially the jackets– lurve a jacket!), I occasionally have to wear the complete suit at interviews and professional conferences, mostly.
I am just starting out my academic career (ABD, finishing this Spring), and it’s important for me to be taken seriously… a suite makes me FEEL serious and adult, and I feel that I project that when I am wearing one.
I actually like wearing full suits, though I don’t do it as much now that I’m a research GA instead of a teaching GA. I suspect part of it might be my build and unchangeable parts of my appearance; I’m tall, with broad shoulders and a very distinctive head of hear, and when I wear killer heels (putting me well over 6′) as one woman I know puts it, I wear a suit, it doesn’t wear me. Throw in some great jewelry, and I’m a force to be reckoned with!
Then again, the flip side is that I feel like I was born to wear suits, but really struggle to find dresses that don’t make me look like a tranny. ;)
I have two full suits, both with trousers, one black and one grey. They are lightweight wool so they can be worn pretty much year-round. I have recently been wearing the grey one separated but I have worn the pieces together for interviews and paper presentations at conferences.
This is a great outfit! I really love it. I’ve never worn a full suit, but I can totally picture myself wearing suit separates in the way you girls do.
Great outfit. I also think mixing suit pieces is great. You get to expand your wardrobe that way!
Glass Crosses…
Helpful….
I looked for a suit for about 5 years in the usual shops, rejecting the styles I found as too conservative / formal. However, it didn’t occur to me to look a bit more broadly than in Austin Reed/ TM Lewin/Jigsaw etc ( all selling quite conservative and formal styles in the UK). Last year, I bought a navy suit from the NW3 diffusion line at Hobbs – the jacket is short, with a riding jacket style cut to it, and the skirt is also short, in a tulip cut. I get so much wear from it, together as well as separately, that I will be looking to make up another version, once I get a bit better at pattern cutting! So, I don’ t think the 2-piece suit was the problem, just the style of it. Does that make sense?