Sources:

• Striped tank: Target
• Striped cardigan: Target
• Necklace: Tilly Bloom
• Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
• Flats: DSW

End Notes:

After days of warm weather, a band of thunderstorms and tornados swept through our area, leaving much cooler weather (and some hail, but thankfully no significant damage) in its wake. Since I wasn’t expecting this when I chose my list of 15 rotating garments, I made a game-day call, switching in my long striped cardigan. I actually think this could be a better choice anyway, since it adds some length to my otherwise cropped collection of top layers.

I always think of Tania, of What Would a Nerd Wear whenever I wear this red striped shirt. Actually, Tania, I think this could be a totally “you” outfit, if I had a big bun on top of my head (or if you had a bun in the oven). Oh, the punning!

In any case, it was a simple outfit for a quiet day of chapter writing. As I settle into a routine of writing consistently from home and continue to adjust to a changing body, I am growing to appreciate more sincerely the little touches of an outfit that can make me smile when I look up, bleary eyed, from a book. Stripes stretched across a bump makes me smile. A cat wearing a Victorian dress makes me smile. The fact that I’m pattern mixing when no one else — save all of you, I suppose — will see me, makes me smile.

I end with the words of the inimitable Jack Donaghy: “It’s called power clashing. And I do it because I can.”

Sources:

• Jersey Dress: 5/48 via Filene’s Basement
• Shirt: Bebe
• Camisole: Gap Outlet
• Belt: American Apparel
• Shoes: Ciao Bella via DSW

Endnotes:
This is an example of how to convert a dress into a skirt by using a belt to hide the bottom of the shirt as if it were tucked in. I can’t wait for summer when I can wear this dress without anything over it, but for right now a little more coverage is needed. Like the dress I was wearing last week, this one is almost too short, but at this point in the year I’m so tired of my wardrobe that I’m starting to reach for things that I would otherwise hold off on wearing to school. I’ve been reaching more and more towards jersey materials and especially to jersey dresses for their comfortable fit and flexibility. Having a range of stretchy wide belts helps to accomplish tricks such as this one. Do you have any tricks for wearing specific clothing items to look like something else?

Defense Mechanisms, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Cardigan: Banana Republic Factory
• Top: H&M
• Sweater skirt: Anthropologie, via eBay
• Tights: Gap
• Booties: Steve Madden

End Notes:

I wore this last week Friday when I gave back-to-back presentations of my work to my department: a dry run of a conference paper and a defense of my dissertation proposal to our faculty.

I usually tend to dress a little more on the subdued side when I have academic dates with destiny. I was admittedly a teensy bit of a yawn style-wise for my comprehensive exam defense, for example. But on Friday, feeling really good about what I was going to present and feeling really good about my dissertation prospectus, I decided that I might as well defend myself in something a little more exciting.

Like pattern mixing! (This skirt just begs for pattern mixing.) And bold color! I chose coral as my “pop” against graphic black and white since I thought that it “springified” the look more than a classic red might.

Pop and Pattern, originally uploaded by academichic.

And to top it all off, I cheerfully rode my bike to campus as well…because nothing says “I am a woman confident in my balance, my mind, and my outfit choices” like riding a bike in a skirt to an academic appointment. (Plus, it always helps to work off a little bit of nervous energy before these things.)

All that to say: it went well. And while I can’t say that I’ll choose something like this for all future moments of academic defense, this time around it helped to remind me that I can be bold, and it put me in the mindset of participating in a conversation rather than facing an interrogation. Not bad for a minimal color palette and some stripes and leaves.

Defense Mechanisms, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Shirt: Banana Republic
• Blazer: BR
• Scarf: secondhand from mom
• Belt: Anthropologie
• Trousers: BR
• Shoes: Cole Haan via Filene’s Basement

Endnotes:
I can’t stop pattern mixing! I’m totally addicted. I’m a little disappointed with myself for not wearing this adorable knit herringbone blazer more often this winter, but I’ve been given another chance since it’s in the 40s and going to snow tomorrow. Like my outfit on Monday, today I mixed patterns but stayed in the same color family – granted this one is not the most daring being a completely black, white, and grey palette, but stripes, herringbone and polka-dots are a big move for me.

Maybe I like this because they are all regular and geometric? But I loved the abstract floral and simple striped skirt on Monday. Hmmmm…

What’s been your most daring pattern mixing to date? What do you think is the most successful pairing?

L.

(Apparently for some reason today I was only able to look to my right while I was taking pictures. Weird.)

Sources:

• Shirt: Banana Republic Factory
• Skirt: ???? via London Fashion Weekend
• Belt: Old Navy
• Shoes: Bandolino via DSW
• Necklace: gift

Endnotes:
Speaking of pattern mixing, does this count for abstract and stripes? I bought this shirt over the winter but haven’t had a chance to wear it yet, so I was excited that this outfit came together. I was about to start this post by saying that I was ‘sorry’ this outfit is so matchy-matchy, but then I stopped myself because I’m not sorry. I grew up with the mandate that clothes had to match pretty perfectly, and I distinctly remember that most of my middle school wardrobe consisted of easily interchangeable black, white and grey skirts and tops primarily from The Limited and Express. I suppose I learned these basic mixing skills from my mother, and I (a pretty type A organized person) agonized over shades being the same and had strict rules for myself about what colors went with other colors. These guidelines carried through high school and college and for the last six years for the most part, and honestly it wasn’t until I started blogging that I began to mess with these “inviolable” rules.

I wasn’t kidding when I said that wearing that orange shirt had rocked my world or that pairing navy blue and black revolutionized my sartorial universe, and while I appreciate that this venue has made me push my own boundaries, I still love when things match or when one color is picked up in my accessories or carried through multiple elements of the same ensemble.

I am uncomfortable when sea foam green finds itself next to moss green, bubble gum pink and fuchsia bother me when they abut. For me the exciting part of this outfit was both that the hot pink of the shirt happened to be nearly spot on with the hot pink of the skirt AND that I was mixing a pretty busy pattern on top with a minimalist stripe in the skirt. It’s funny to think about how many dressing rules we hold on to from a very early age and how those now outdated rules still affect our sartorial choices. What guidelines to do you still cling to?

L.

I think pattern mixing is, finally, one of those things that I’ve grown into as I’ve become more confident in my own style and sense of self. Even though playing with pattern is not my initial style impulse, I’ve increasingly found pattern to be a good way of kicking me out of a wardrobe rut or injecting my somewhat staid daily outfits with a little bit more fun.

All four of us chics have mixed patterns in our daily outfits, but what I found interesting as I looked through our archive of “Mixing Patterns” is that we each have our own preferred approach to doing so. Each approach has a different end effect, but perhaps you’ll find inspiration for whatever degree of pattern craziness you prefer.

A.: THE SUBTLE MIX

When A. mixes patterns (and she really does so quite a bit), she tends to play with classic prints in a subtle color palette. Argyle and a tiny floral in neutral tones. Pinstripes and florals that both share a black background.

On the other hand, A. has also done some monochromatic color mixing in punchier colors, too!

L.: THE PATTERNED ACCESSORY

Much of L.’s pattern mixing comes from using a bolder patterned accessory in addition to a more subtly patterned garment. The result is a lovely initial “ooh” when you see her bold pattern, followed by an extended “ahhh” when you realize that there are other visually interesting elements at play as well. She paired pinstriped trousers with a patterned flat, for example, or a patterned sweater with a multicolor scarf, or graphic black and white dress with a patchwork bag.

S.: THE ALL OUT

I think that A., L., and I are all somewhat still in awe of how S. embraces a range of bold patterns and then mixes them with other prints! While she frequently and effortlessly mixes more subtle stripes and polkadots with an array of other prints, she has also mixed stripes with stripes, florals with stripes, landscape prints with stripes, florals with abstractions, and geometric upon geometric.

(S.’s teaching moment on pattern mixing with a cardigan is definitely worth a read if you’d like to see various iterations of a pattern mixed outfit.)

E.: THE DABBLER

I don’t think that I have a definitive style of pattern mixing per se, but I have noticed that my general approach is to imagine that the patterned pieces are solid colors. I create color pairings first, before thinking too hard about pattern. This helps me get over my initial uneasiness and has frequently paid off. Using this mentality, I’ve turned classic pairings like navy and red or black, white, and red into geometric on geometric or stripes and lace pattern mixes. Or, of course a white tank top would go with a mustard, brown, and white patterned skirt…even if said white tank top also has navy stripes.

This has also been the means of adding interest to otherwise monochrome black and white outfits. Stripes and tweed have a graphic punch together, while stripes and tone-on-tone damask is more subtle.

IN CONCLUSION:

We’re not the craziest pattern mixers out there, but we have each found ways to use pattern play in ways that simultaneously suits and pushes our individual tastes. While rules about how to mix patterns can be useful, I’ve found it even more helpful to think broadly about what drives my personal style and then work patterns of various stripes (and florals and graphics) into that. Now, pattern mixing need not be an daunting style goal that I strive for just for the sake of achieving. Instead, I’m understanding it as a tool that I can use to add another level of interest to my own existing style.

24 March 2011 – Spot the Flower, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Cardigan: Gap
• Tank: Target
• Skirt: Anthropologie, via eBay
• Tights: Banana Republic Factory
• Shoes: Steve Madden, via DSW

End Notes:

Don’t strain yourself looking for florals in today’s outfit. When the weather turned cold and cloudy — after several days of beautiful sunshine — I had to scrap my original floral print-based outfit in favor of some warmer elements. (In this, I must salute L., who’s proudly wearing flowers despite the dusting of snow in her part of the country!)

But, I am mixing stripes, so that has to count for something, right?

I just won this cozy Anthropologie sweater skirt off of eBay last week for only $15. I initially thought that I would have to wait until post-partum and cooler fall temperatures to wear it, but turns out it can sit just fine above my bump (at least for a little while longer!) and the idea of wearing a sweater on my bottom half was just too delicious to resist. I added my Where’s Waldo horizontal stripes up top, then wrapped everything together with a turquoise cardigan and a flower earring-turned-brooch.

Detail, originally uploaded by academichic.

Admittedly, there’s a lot going on here and I suspect that in photographs all these stripes may have me looking slightly more like an extra for Alice in Wonderland than I do in person. But, I find that outfits like these — that push my usual instincts about pattern out the door — are frequently a lot more fun to wear and get me to see my closet in a new way.

Plus, no belt today. Can I get a kudos?

24 March 2011 – Spot the Flower, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Sweater: Banana Republic
• Tunic: French Connection
• Belt: BR
• Skinnies: BR
• Shoes: Frye

Endnotes:
Can you tell how pleased I am with this outfit? For our first day back in classes I decided that despite the dusting of snow we got last night it is most definitely spring and therefore I will break out the florals! Of course, while this shirt has a pretty tropical motif, in reality it is still in the 30s and the sweater was a necessity rather than a choice.

{Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Hitentaisei Rikon (Li Gun: Chinese name) from the Shuihu zhuan, 1827-30}

This tunic is another birthday purchase from my sister (thank you C.!) and I fell in love with the bright florals, which seemed vaguely reminiscent of Japanese prints. (Thanks to reader Alison for the correction! This is a Japanese print of a Chinese story, not a Chinese print as I had earlier written. Alison says that “this is a classic example of the Japanese ukiyo-e style.”)

I didn’t even realize it at the time, but my new flower belt from BR is a perfect match! I really wanted more of this shirt to show, so I pulled my sweater to the sides. This also created a more pronounced hourglass shape with the belt pulling it all in at the waist. How do you fool the eye to accentuate different body parts?

L.

Sources:

Scarf – Banana Republic, same one as styled by A. here
Trench coat – my grandmother’s from the 70s
Top – Anthropologie, hand me down
Skinnies – Old Navy Maternity
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Earrings – gift from A.

Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports

Endnotes:

It’s Spring Break! And the weather is actually playing nice and making me believe that Spring is coming. Most of our snow has melted and I was actually able to get away with loafers and no socks! While my mornings so far have been happily spent in sweats and pj’s while I sit at home writing my dissertation, I have been getting dressed for brief sojourns out of the house in the afternoons. And this has been my go-to look for break: comfortable jeans, some kind of top, a lightweight Spring scarf, loafers or flats, and my favorite spring jacket – my grandmother’s trench coat.

As a nod to Braid Wednesday, I’m also wearing my hair in two braids wrapped around my head. I usually cross the braids over at the nape of my neck and then bring the ends upwards, pinning them with bobby pins on top of my head…

And if Spring isn’t ready to arrive in ‘real life’, it’s certainly arrived in my wardrobe and in my house. I’m finding myself drawn to floral prints and Spring-inspired accessories (like these tiny bird earrings I’m wearing) even more than usual. T. and I are getting our garden ready and our little seedlings are growing like crazy by the windowsill indoors. We can’t wait to transplant them outside and start our first garden and I can’t wait for bare legs and bike rides without a coat and for summer dresses that will be especially indulgent to my growing midsection.

What are you looking forward to this Spring? S.

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