academichic

Ah, the winter shorts. So contradictory and impractical of a trend that it’s spread like wildfire. Even J.Crew can’t help pairing their shorts with blazers, classic cardigans, or crisp button downs (just see above for proof). So who am I to fight it? I actually love the winter shorts trend because it’s just like wearing wool tights with skirts or dresses only better; No worrying about your skirt flying up in the wind or your dress static-clinging to your nyloned legs. You get the best of both worlds.

Since I’ve been getting so much mileage out of my recently purchased tweed shorts, I decided to take a pair of scissors to an old pair of jeans and gift myself a second pair of winter shorts. A denim cut-off pair. I think it was around the mid nineties that I last turned a pair of jeans into cut-offs, so I proceeded with caution and recorded the transformation for your benefit as well. In just a few easy steps, you too can be the proud owner of a pair of denim cut-offs…

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6 January 2010 – Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Red and white eyelet top – from my grandmother’s closet
• Black cardi – Marona, thrifted (embellished by me)
• Jeans – thrifted
• Wool leg warmers – local drugstore
• Boots – Dillards

Endnotes:

This is something I wore during my break in Romania and never got to posting. I’m now back in Munich and back to work. When I wore this, I was just spending a casual day reading and hemming a dress of my mom’s that I found that she probably wore in the 70s or 80s. I can’t wait until it’s warmer out and I can wear it. I’ve been inspired by a plethora of sources lately to flex my DIY muscles a bit more. I will long not be the DIY queen that our E. is but I’m hoping to get better at handling a needle and thread (I don’t have a sewing machine) so that I can buy all those lovely garments I always see while thrifting and put back because I don’t know how to alter them.

Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.

Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’m starting small with a dress hem and this embellished cardi I’m wearing. I was inspired by this embroidered black cardi by the lovely remixer ‘The Frog’s Eyebrows‘ and the button embellished cardi crafted by the stylish Clodo to pull out my own thrifted black cardi and spruce it up a bit. It’s hard to go wrong with DIY’ing a thrifted item since it’s not likely to have cost much or be all too irreplaceable. I found a handful of pretty vintage buttons in my grandmother’s sewing drawer and grouped them in clusters of three in shades of red and whites to adorn the cardi’s neckline. It’s not much of a change but just enough to make the cardi feel a little more exciting and new to me. I still want to try my hand at embroidering a cardigan, but that will have to wait until I thrift a practice item and some embroidery ribbon.

How about you? Are you of the crafty sort and if so, what are your favorite kinds of DIY projects? For us novices, do you have any words of wisdom? Also, does anyone know of a site with great embroidery patterns for free? Thank you, as always, for your input! S.

6 January 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

3 September 2009 – Independent Study, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Purple cardi: Gap Outlet
• Gray nursing cami: Target
• Black jeans: thrifted and “skinnied” by me
• Orange pumps: Dolce Vita, via solestruck

End Notes:

Though this is just a simple outfit for running errands, I need to momentarily crow about the pair of jeans I’m sporting here. These indeterminately colored jeans were part of my thrifting haul a few weeks ago. They were bootcut and, as such, were quite flattering. But I’ve been having a hankering for a slimmer fit on my bottom half and decided that this $5 pair would serve as the perfect sacrificial lamb for another foray into DIY land. (That’s a mixed metaphor.)

As Sal wrote a few weeks ago, taking a scissors, needle, and thread to your existing wardrobe is a great way to revamp your wardrobe for practically free. I’m far from a skilled seamstress, but I know my way around a sewing machine well enough to hack at existing pieces in an attempt to tailor them more to my needs or taste. I’ve chopped and hemmed pants to make bermudas, shortened dresses, and even done a few more complicated reworkings, like the orange maxi-dress-turned-drapey-knee-length-number.

A quick Google search resulted in a plethora of written and video tutorials on how to make skinny jeans. I ended up primarily following the advice of this one and using a pair of my pre-preggers straight leg jeans as an additional guide. It took a couple rounds of experimenting (better to sew too wide than too narrow!), but I’m pleased with the results. This is my version of “skinny”: more straight than tapered, skimming over the hip but with a close enough fit to appear on trend.

And, as Angie over at YLF recently noted, skinnies aren’t going away any time soon. I have a feeling I’ll be heading back to Goodwill soon, hoping to snag a few more pairs of ready-to-skinny jeans.

3 September 2009 – Independent Study, originally uploaded by academichic.

Discover, originally uploaded by academichic.

The Background Story:

Initially, T. and I had a bigger wedding planned for next year. We felt that it was expected of us by family and by friends who’d invited us to their weddings to reciprocate with a similar event. With both of us being knee-deep in PhD work and my getting ready to spend a research year abroad, the bigger wedding in the works was growing into a on-going financial and time-sucking burden. But we both felt that it was what we had to do.

The moment we both admitted to each other (and ourselves!) that we were willing to risk disappointing others to make ourselves happy with this, we knew we wanted to cancel the bigger event in the works and just elope.

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Champagne Toast, originally uploaded by academichic.

Our recent wedding was a small affair comprised of less than twenty guests. While we didn’t do a grand event, we still wanted small personalized touches to make the day feel special. So one of our ideas was to have a champagne toast at the end of our ceremony, with which we and our guests could toast to our new life together. Here are some ideas on how to serve an outdoor champagne toast that is both elegant and budget-friendly.

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How to Make a Boutonniere, originally uploaded by academichic.

When making the bouquets for my wedding, A. and I also made the boutonnieres for the remaining wedding party. This too was not something we had any experience with, but was surprisingly easy and quick once we figured out a methodology. To learn how to make a boutonniere yourself, click here…

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DIY: How to Make a Wedding Bouquet, originally uploaded by academichic.

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11 June 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Grey  Cami – Old Navy
• Green Jersey Dress- Old Navy, remixed
• Necklace – remixed Earring
• Sandals – H & M, remixed a lot

Endnotes:
Yesterday, my only plans for the day were a late morning meeting with E. and maybe a walk to the coffee shop with the pup.  I thought about just throwing on a pair of shorts  and a tank (another hot and humid day) but decided E. deserved a little better!

This is still a breezy comfortable outfit, but just up one notch form the shorts.  It felt a little boring when I put it on – it’s an old jersey dress that I have worn a million times and the grey cami makes for a less-than-exciting color combination.  It needed at least some what of a statement piece.  When  I couldn’t find the right necklace,  I grabbed one of my favorite large earrings and put it on a chain from another necklace (a trick I have used before).  This was a much easier and faster DIY than fixing that skirt and I think gave the outfit the special touch it needed!  A

Earring as necklace, originally uploaded by academichic.

10 June 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed except bangles

• Blue Cami – Gap
• Brown Cami- Gap
• Skirt- Thrifted, originally from F21, altered by me
• Belt- BR Outlet
• Bangles – San Francisco Souvenir from S.

Endnotes:

The weather is still pretty hot and humid here so tanks and skirts or sleeveless dresses are dominating my wardrobe these days.

I’ve written a bit about the role of accessories in my wardrobe and asked for your feedback as well.  Many of you mentioned building outfits around an accessory, most often shoes it seems.   I received these lovely bracelets from S. as a gift from San Francisco and knew I just had to wear them right away.  This outfit was built around these beautiful wooden bangles:

Bangles from S., originally uploaded by academichic.

The skirt I am wearing was a little (impromptu and hasty) DIY project; I cut the top off of a thrifted dress.   I wore this piece as a dress back in March and wrote about my many problems with it, not the least of which was that it was just too short for my comfort level.  I literally took a pair of scissors and cut right above where the elastic empire waist used to be.  It now has to sit pretty high on my wist to be the right length, which means, I end up with an unsightly bulge around my middle.  It also, rather unflatteringly, bubbles out form the elastic, giving me a large puffy rear!

I still love this pattern and am not yet giving up and turing it into scrap for another baby onesie.  But, I need help form all you creative readers out there.    Any ideas?  Here is its current iteration, in the raw:

DIY, in need of more DIY, originally uploaded by academichic.