academichic

Sources:

• Tank: Banana Republic
• Skirt: Gap Outlet
• Scarf: Filene’s Basement
• Shoes: Tahari via endless.com
• Necklace: Accessorize

Sources (below):

• Tank: Splendid via Filene’s Basement
• Dress: Hourglass via Marshall’s
• Shoes: Gap Outlet
• Necklace: made by me

Endnotes:
By now most of you probably have read that the chics of Academichic are closing up shop at the end of this month. While I’m certainly sad to see this project end, I’d like to echo S.’s words today and THANK YOU all for your comments (both kind and critical) as these have pushed me to think far beyond my wardrobe into more theoretical questions of femininity, feminism, gender, ethnicity, economics, politics, and culture. Like S. said, we’ll each have longer wrap-up posts to get into our favorite discussions and wardrobe decisions, so I’ll hold off on waxing poetic for this post!

I thought it was appropriate that one of my last posts is very reminiscent of my first post – nothing beats a swirly skirt and light tank in the summer heat! However, one thing that makes a swirly jersey skirt even better is one that can be both a skirt AND a dress. I nabbed this at the Gap Outlet clearance section in June and have been experimenting with it ever since. Around the same time I picked up the blue dress in the images below and have been remixing that into a skirt. I was totally inspired by A.’s recent post about turning a strapless summer dress into a shirtdress, and you guys know how much I love “convertible season.” So here are two ideas that I’ve come up with so far for this skirt as a dress: trying a scarf/sash around the top OR using a scarf to give a little more coverage over the shoulders.

For the blue strapless dress I wore it a few times alone, but one day didn’t feel like being so bare up top and opted for a tank underneath. By pulling the dress (now a skirt) up right below my chest I made a kind of empire waisted dress that fell just below my knee. While I’m not sure that the length is very flattering on me, I know that mid-length skirts are “in” and it is very comfy this way.

Finally, I wanted to show off one of my favorite pieces of jewelry, which dresses up any outfit. My sister brought these small “evil eyes” back to me from Turkey and I love how they look all together (pun intended). I also strung one on the back so I have an “eye in the back of my head” so to speak.

What are your best convertible pieces? How do you style a dress as skirt or vice versa?

Sources:

• Shirt – Gap
• Dress – J Crew
• Flats – Target
• Earrings – Aldo

Endnotes:

I promised there would be more blue and white stripes to come!  I wore this nautical (/patriotic?) ensemble on a much-needed date this past weekend.  We just went up to our local brewery for a casual dinner and some delicious beer and most people (including A2) were in shorts and a t-shirt. But, when a much-needed date comes around, you better believe I’m going to spruce it up a bit more than that.

I love summer dresses!  They are perfect for many of my favorite summer activities: casual date nights, summer parties, outdoor brunch, picnics, BBQs, music in the park, and so on.  I don’t have nearly enough casual summer dresses (I now have a decent selection for summer weddings),  but also don’t have the money for any new ones at the moment.  So, I decided to revisit my closet.

I have been particularly pining over summer shirt dresses with cap sleeves and popped collars – preferably in blue and white stripe pattern.  I’ve long loved this dress from Shabby Apple and for some reason this weekend the inspiration struck to try and recreate a similar look with pieces in my closet. So I pulled out a very old strapless white seersucker dress from J. Crew and this blue and white striped button-down shirt and started playing around with it.  I’m really happy with how the look came together and I think it approximates the Shabby Apple dress – full skirt, shirt collar, breast pockets, a tie at the waist, and of course, blue and white stripes.

I’m already thinking about other shirt + dress/skirt combinations that will give me a similar silhouette.  How are you creatively working with a summer budget?  A.

Sources:

• Cardigan: Target
• Cami: Forever 21, from last pregnancy
• Maxi: Forever 21, from last pregnancy
• Sandals: Old Navy
• Necklace: Hawaii swap meet

End Notes:

Notice anything different? Yes, I’m wearing my hair up. Or at least up-ish.

Thanks to your advice, I tried a modified version of the Real Simple tutorial for three low buns at the nape of the neck. Since I have a LOT of straight, slippery hair I need pretty significant length to make “real” buns. But, I loved this idea and I stood in front of that mirror for a long time with damp hair, some texturizing product, a few pins and some little hair bands to make something that sort of approximated that look. I just decided to embrace the spikes. It’s not the most beautiful hairstyle out there, but it fulfilled the purpose of getting hair off my neck with the added bonus of making it look like I had longer hair to start with. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. I appreciated all the suggestions you had and will work on expanding my hair repertoire in the next few weeks!

I should say something about the outfit, but really…it’s purple and it’s mustard and I love this maxi dress and I added an old necklace so that you wouldn’t get too bored. The end.

P.S. Just three more outfits left to post in my self-imposed 15 for 15. (But that’s not too exciting since many of you will certainly be launching a 30 for 30 experience today ala Kendi…good luck!)

Sources:

• Coral tank: Target
• Maxi dress: Forever 21 (my “reserve” dress for my mini capsule wardrobe)
• Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell, via Gilt
• Necklace: Fig and Ginger

End Notes:

You may be a bit baffled by this post’s title: how is wearing a purple maxi dress and bright coral tank top particularly amenable to “fitting in” in a crowd? Or, at least, a crowd in the Midwest. It’s not, really. I was the only pregnant, maxi dress-wearing, color-blocking lady I saw all day. But you see, there was another element to this outfit: my now-ubiquitous summer hat.

And, apparently, if you want to commune with other hat-wearers, then the place to do that is on a weekday morning walk through the local botanical gardens. There were a LOT of straw hats to be seen there, from wide-brimmed floppy hats to fedora-style hats to tie-beneath-the-chin hats. I felt like a “real” garden-walker in my hat, rather than — as is sometimes the case when I wear my hat around the neighborhood — that odd pregnant hat lady. (Not that the latter has stopped me…it’s just nice to occasionally feel sartorially relevant.)

It’s also a great place to go if you’re almost-two and want to feed really large koi.

P.S. For those counting, this is outfit number ten of my 15 for 15.

Sources:

• Mustard cardigan: Target
• Coral cardigan: Banana Republic
• Tank: Old Navy Maternity
• Skirt: Old Navy Maternity
• Cut-out sandals: Jeffrey Campbell, via Gilt
• Patterned wedges: Kenneth Cole, via DSW
• Fedora: Banana Republic

End Notes:

Even if I haven’t been photographing or posting my outfits everyday, I’ve been sticking to my capsule wardrobe and have been happy with how easy it’s been to get dressed in the morning. Of course, it means that I’ve already had some repeats and that I tend to fall back on simple variations on a theme, like the two outfits I’m sharing today. But hey, I’m getting dressed, little e. remains fed and clothed as well, and I’ve been a highly productive dissertation writer.

The formula is simple: gray tank + denim pencil skirt. Add a brightly colored cardigan, a few accessories, fun shoes, and call it a day. I like how the choice of shoes (heels versus flat sandals) and accessories (hat, necklace, or belt) can change the overall feel of the outfit from playful to sophisticated.

Also, sometimes having boring outfits means that I’m more likely to pull out a hat. Is anyone else in love with straw hats for summer?

Sources:

• Dress: Moulinette Soeurs via Anthropologie
• Sweater: Gap outlet
• Belt: Old Navy outlet
• Camisole (under): Banana Republic outlet
• Shoes: BR

Endnotes:
I think S. brings up a great question: How do you best dress with stress? I had wondered at the beginning of this school year if during 9 months of dressing for classes 6 days a week there would come a point at which I absolutely could not stand to get dressed in the morning. For me getting dressed is fun. Obviously I enjoy it or else I wouldn’t bother playing around with what I wear, nor would I take the time to blog about it. Certainly in these last 9 months there have been days, or weeks even, when looking at my closet has inspired more dread than pleasure, but for the most part I’ve enjoyed starting my day playing “dress-up.” As I’ve said before, I use clothes to get me revved up, keep me motivated, and put on a brave front when I’m not feeling so tough inside.

However, in these last few weeks of school, as the weather has not warmed and the rain keeps falling, I have hit my wall. I have been going back to old, faithful staples that I’ve been wearing since I was in high school: corduroys and Birkenstocks. I haven’t blogged these outfits both because I feel “frumpy” in them and because it’s definitely not corduroy season in most of the country, so who cares how I styled a pair of cords in mid-May when really you want to know how to wear sundresses and straw hats?

Anyway, today I was actually feeling motivated enough to pull on a dress, a belt, and some cute flats. Pretty good considering there is a 70% chance of rain. Oh well, it’s time for me to bundle up for another afternoon of coaching in the drizzle. I probably will change out of these super comfy flats in favor of some waterproof sneakers, but who wants to see pictures of those?

- L.

Sources:

• Lace-edged Camisole: Banana Republic Outlet
• Cardigan: H&M
• Belt: American Apparel
• Skirt: White Rice
• Tights: Target
• Oxfords: Crown Vintage via DSW
• Necklace: gift from sister

Endnotes:
Really? Tights in spring? Tights in the middle of May?! Yes folks, sad but true. The daffodils are blooming, fruit trees have burst into fluffy balls of white flowers, and my allergies are going haywire (pun intended), but the chill is not out of the air some days where I am. I had sworn off wearing tights after spring break, mostly because my waist and stomach were tired of being constricted like that, but I had to give in and break them out on Friday last week. To really feel sorry for myself I started to look back at when other bloggers around the country had packed up their winter tights for the year.

The ever hip and stylish Clare of Between Laundry Days was still wearing tights (or at least posting tight-ed outfits) in April, but has recently been enjoying sunshine and nylon-free gams.

The oft-skirted and always adorably dressed Tanya of What Would a Nerd Wear decided to freeze her kneecaps one particularly cold spring day, but she hasn’t donned tights in weeks (just look back at her recent posts!). Even my lovely co-bloggers out in academichic central were ditching their tights back in early April!

However, I do have a (reluctant) tights companion in the artistically photographed, well dressed and hilarious woman behind Hello, Monkeyface!, who also paired spring florals with tights this month, and the queen of color combos, Audi of Fashion For Nerds, also sported some firey red tights recently. Thank goodness! I really was starting to feel sorry for myself (wink wink)

On the flip-side, the always thoughtful and encouraging (and well heeled!) Sally at Already Pretty lined up some great ideas for how TO cover up even when it is warm out.

How have you been keeping warm during the mud season between winter and spring? Do you have a cut-off point for some wintery items that you refuse to wear after a certain date or season change?

L.

Sources:

• Dress: French Connection
• Shirt (under): Splendid via Nordstrom Rack
• Sweater: Banana Republic
• Pants: Anne Taylor Loft
• Shoes: Ciao Bella via DSW

Endnotes:
I realize that this is extremely similar to the first way I styled this dress when I debuted it in London (it was a birthday gift from my fabulous sister). However, the addition of skinny black ponte pants underneath made the shorter hemline feel safer, and the shirt under and sweater over provided needed warmth.

The inspiration to tie the built-in belt from the dress on the outside of the cardigan is something that my co-bloggers have been perfecting for years. E. takes the ties on a solid color jersey dress to hold down a top layer consisting of an unbuttoned patterned shirt dress; S. takes a removable sash from a jersey dress to wrap around her outer layer; and A. uses the ties on a wrap dress to integrate her cardigan into her look. You can also use ties from blouses to hold down cardigans. If you want more ideas, check out A’s tutorial on how to use built in ties over cardigans.

Sources:

• Ruffled Shell: Banana Republic
• Sweater: August Silk via Filene’s Basement
• Skirt: French Connection
• Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti via Filene’s Basement
• Necklace: South Moon Under

Endnotes:
Happy Monday everyone! And now for a brief foray into pop culture courtesy of Katy Perry:

Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go “Oh, oh, oh!”
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you’re a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make ‘em go “Oh, oh, oh!”
You’re gunna leave ‘em fallin’ down-own-own

While I’m not a huge fan of her music (I’m uneasy about the sexual message of “Teenage Dream” and the veiled homophobia of “I Kissed a Girl”), I do enjoy the positive tone of these particular lyrics, and yes, I will admit to blasting it while driving around doing errands this weekend. Sometimes a catchy tune is just a catchy tune.

I happily refer to this skirt as “fireworks” because of the bursting blue and neon pink of the pattern. I’ve worn it with this top before, but not on the blog. That time I paired it with my cropped navy blazer, but I’m liking the line of the cardigan tucked in. I thought about wearing my navy blue shoes, but decided that would be matchy-matchy overkill. You all know that my policy on footwear is “when in doubt, wear metallic” so I put on these gold sparklers (get it?).

I feel very put together in this “firework” outfit and love the burst of ruffle from the shirt and the bursts of color and pattern in the skirt. What is inspiring your outfit today?

Also, what do you think about Katy Perry or other pop artists? I’d really like to hear what others have to say about the influence that pop music has and what messages are carried within it – especially for young women. I know we have very thoughtful readers and commentors, but since this can be an incendiary topic, I request that you respect me and each other in the comments section as we are all entitled to our own opinion. Thanks!

L.

Sources:

• Tunic: Forever 21, via consignment store
• Dress: Forever 21
• Belt: thrifted
• Sandals: Old Navy

End Notes:

I’m being told that the seventies are back, so I guess I’m being trendy though, quite frankly, comfort was foremost on my mind when assembling an outfit for a day spent driving. Yesterday little e. and I headed down south for husband N.’s sister’s graduation (got all that?), and I knew that seven plus hours in the car meant that anything with a waist band was out of the question. Enter the maxi dress worn as a skirt, layered undered a dolman tunic.

I’m loving this subtle analogous combination of smokey navy with rich purple (and yellow sandals thrown in for occasional peeks of fun). But since everything is jersey, it’s like wearing really sophisticated pajamas. I can get behind that.

(P.S. I’ve been traveling a lot this semester, both alone and with my family, and I’ll have a few tips on family packing over the weekend. Stay tuned…)