academichic

Sources:

Dress – Banana Republic Outlet (pre-pregnancy worn here)
Tank – Maternity, Target
Sandals – Target
Necklace – AE, years and years ago
Bag – Dots, bought in high school
Wooden bangle – thrifted

Endnotes:

In my last post, I embraced my pregnant belly as my ‘Best’ for Dress Your Best Week. But as I was trying to come up with my other ‘Bests’, I realized that I have to take a more wholistic approach this time around. Last year, when we picked our top five things to celebrate, I remember naming things like my legs, my hair, and my smallish chest. This time, those same aspects of myself have been distorted and changed by pregnancy.

My legs, which I loved for being shapely as well as toned and powerful from many miles of running, are still strong but no longer resemble the legs they used to be. I’ve gotten cellulite where there was none, they’ve been retaining water and looking and feeling puffy, and they no longer even accept the thought of being squeezed into heels. It’s all flats, all comfort these days.

My hair, which I always loved for being full and curly, is still full and curly but is now betraying me in that it’s gotten increasingly grey and I’m powerless to hide that. I started getting grey hair a few years ago and have consistently colored it as a way to hide that. Since being pregnant, I decided to skip the chemicals in hair dye and wait the nine months before getting another dye job. As those pesky wirey white hairs spring up all around my temples and forehead, I feel like I’m increasingly made to look older and more weathered than I am.

And, alas, that smallish chest that allowed me to easily fit into any top and not think twice about going on a run. Yeah…those changed about two months into the pregnancy and will likely continue to change (read: grow) as time goes on. Sigh.

I’ll spare you the laundry list of everything else that’s changed and will cut to the chase; perhaps this is what happens when you get older. Perhaps this is what happens to all women, regardless of whether you’re going through pregnancy or your body is just changing with the passing of time. Hopefully, as this happens, you realize that it’s not about pin-pointing that ‘perfect’ feature of your body but rather about embracing the whole and what it does for you. So I’m taking a much more wholistic approach here and celebrating my body in its entirety.

This same body that gives me a million and one reasons to feel frustrated also gives me just as many reasons to be happy and grateful. It’s been carrying my baby to almost full term now (and having had several friends for whom this has been a problem, I know not to take that for granted). It’s still propelling me forward on my bike, on walks, at yoga class, and in the pool. It’s healthy and resiliant and this, too, I know to value. And while it’s changing in many ways, in just as many ways, it’s still me. It’s still the same body that ran a marathon, that used to have a waistline, and that once long ago thought grey hairs and cellulite a thing of motherhood and adulthood. Well, here I am, on the threshhold of motherhood and certainly with both feet into adult life, so I might as well embrace all aspects of this stage. As my yoga instructor has us say at the end of each class, I bow down to the divine within me and I celebrate this body for all that it is.

Sources:

Above:
Dress – thrifted
Earrings – made by me
Yellow flats – Target last summer

Below:
Maxi skirt – AE
Tank – Maternity, Target

Endnotes:

For this take on Dress Your Best I am highlighting a body part that I would have never considered ‘my best’ in the past. In fact, I have written before about how my torso and midsection is what I tend to camouflage or visually alter through clever use of waistlines and belting. I do not have a naturally slender waistline and I spent many years feeling self-conscious about my midsection. But now that area has taken on new meaning as it’s been growing and housing a baby.

While dressing a pregnant body is not always as fun and ‘cute’ as the media and pop culture make it seem, it does offer a new way to approach getting dressed. Yes, clothes may not fit and finding something to wear may be somewhat of a challenge on most days, but the reason behind that are cause for celebration rather than mourning. So these past months, I’ve been embracing my midsection and celebrating my belly, not caring that it’s made my wardrobe shrink to a few viable dresses and tops at this point, nor that it obscures the view of my feet, nor that it causes endless challenges when looking for a comfortable position in bed. I love it for what it’s doing and what it represents to me now.

Of those few dresses that still fit me, I wore the one above to our baby shower this past weekend. It was a wonderful event and could have only been made better by having had more out of town guests able to attend. And notice those fun little tissue paper pompoms hanging from the tree? Long time readers may remember them from E’s baby shower with her first baby that A. and I co-threw with another friend. A. and I made those pompoms way back then and I was delighted to see them resurface in celebration of my upcoming baby (yes, they’re the very same ones, carefully saved and preserved by A.). If you want to see how we made them, check out our easy tutorial here.

There were many similarities between the shower we threw for E. and her husband N. two years ago and the one that was thrown for T. and I this past weekend. The main ingredients: a relaxed atmosphere, a co-ed group allowing us to celebrate with all of our friends and partners, easy but delicious backyard food, fresh flowers as decor, and small details that betayed the love and thought that went into the planning. If you want to read our tips on throwing a backyard baby shower, take a look at our post here.

Are you currently pregnant or have you been pregnant at one point? Would your belly have made it into a ‘Best Five’ list were you to Dress Your Best?

Sources:

• Skirt: cut from a dress
• Top: Forever 21
• Belt: thrifted
• Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell

End Notes:

It’s a delight to kick off our third annual Dress Your Best week(s) with something that I usually do not find so delightful: my asymmetrical face.

Most of my past choices for DYB weeks have been features that have generally aligned with western social codes of attractiveness (being tall, having a visible collarbone, etc.) or aspects that I’ve come to embrace over time (skin tone, freckles, etc.) but I wanted to start off this year’s DYB by highlighting something about my body that I STILL struggle to accept gracefully.

I have a crooked face. The whole right side of my face is a little bit bigger than the left. My eyes and eyebrows are different shapes, even my cheeks crinkle differently from each other when I smile. Ever wonder why I’m such a big fan of the swoopy bang? It helps add some bulk to my left side. Oh, crooked face, you have given me no end of grief when I’m applying eye make-up. Sometimes I’m ashamed of you and want to stand a certain way in photos to give the illusion of symmetry. Sometimes I tend to smirk when I smile so as to make you appear purposeful.

But today I’m pinning my bangs back and wearing a shirt with a neckline detail that draws attention to my face. It may be a little lopsided, but it’s mine and I need to own it.

Sources:

• Shirt: thrifted
• Belt: thrifted
• Shorts: maternity consignment store
• Sandals: Old Navy

End Notes:

I don’t know about S., but on days when I’m just feeling really HEAVY from being pregnant, it’s nice to throw on something thin and light and floaty and just pretend that gravity has no affect on my ligaments.

Both A. and L. have worn their “short shorts” lately, and I have to say that I am really loving my own navy short shorts during this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with baby e. I wore maternity bermudas quite frequently. This time, however, I’ve embraced the shorter length especially because it allows me to play with some different proportions, like this one. Plus, I happen to like my legs in general and they seem relatively non-plussed by all the other pregnancy changes in my body.

Higher-waisted shorts, like the ones I wore last summer, are probably my preferred shorts silhouette overall, but I’m going to go ahead and say that over-the-bump maternity shorts sound like a bad idea. I’ll just wait for a while, thanks.

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:

• Striped tank: Target
• Belt: swapped with A.
• Skirt: thrifted as a dress and chopped
• Literal necklace: Tickette, gift from husband
• Wedges: Naturalizer, via DSW

End Notes:

There are a lot of things I love about this outfit — the colors and stripes, the red shoes, the silhouette — but there are also a lot of things I might regret shortly.

Like the fact that a tiny part of me is worried that I’ll look like a member of the Red Hat Society, sans hat, because I’m wearing red and purple together.

Or the fact that I — as an almost 30 year old mother — definitely wore pigtails for part of the day in order to get my hair off my neck in some unbearable heat. Am I too old for pigtails?

Or the fact that I’m maybe-kind-of-sort-of-half-heartedly trying to grow my hair out right now. My avuncular hair dresser, whom I adore and trust, encouraged me to aim for a longer hair length. And while I love the idea, in theory, of being able to throw my hair up into a ponytail, it’s been so long since I’ve had anything other than a bob that I’m a bit at sea right now.

And now you know all my secret fears. But tell me, what tips do you have for that awkward in-between stage of growing out your hair? Are there hair fastening devices I should know about at this point? If a ponytail is still stumpy are there other options — besides pigtails — for lifting hair off the neck? Tell me what I need to know!

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:

• Purple dress – thrifted
• Tote – thrifted
• Teal cami – BR Outlet
• Belt – Gap Outlet
• Sandals – Target
• Necklace – Earring turned pendant
• Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports
• Helmet – Giro

Endnotes:

Remember our color modules? When I pulled this purple jersey dress off its hanger and added the orange skinny belt to it, I realized that I was one color away from creating a triad. So I reached for a teal (blue-green) camisole to complete the look. For any color theory purists out there, I realize that this isn’t a ‘true triad’ of purple, orange, and green, but it comes pretty close. And in fact, I’d say that near triads often end up looking just as bold and punchy but in a better, more subtle way. Take a look…

While straight-up oranges, purples, and greens can end up looking a bit Crayola, blue-greens, red-oranges, plums, and aubergines can make for a much richer or more sophisticated color palette. I kept the rest of the outfit simple in terms of color with a navy tote and silver sandals completing the look. (Silver, like navy, is a neutral in my book).

If you could pick any three colors, but only three colors, to wear for an entire month, what would they be? – S.

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?

The weather swings in academichic central lately have been crazy, swinging up from the fifties to the nineties in a matter of a few days. Which means my wardrobe choices have been something like this:

Sources:

Cold:

• Cardigan: Target
• Tank: Old Navy Maternity
• Skirt: Old Navy Maternity
• Wedges: Naturalizers, via DSW

Hot:

• Hat: Banana Republic
• Scarf: gift from S.
• Top: thrifted (and worn backwards)
• Shorts: consignment shop
• Shoes: Target, thrifted new
• Clutch: c/o Crystalyn Kae (don’t forget to check out Crystalyn and other independent boutiques through our boutique consortium!)

End Notes:

S.’s post on sharing — or not sharing — maternity clothes also brought to mind a recent reader question about what to bring to a clothing swap, that is, how do you decide what clothes to give away or exchange?

I love it when I go to a swap and people have brought clothing that is still a) in great condition, b) not obviously dated, and c) is accompanied with the giver’s desire to find someone who really looks GREAT in that article of clothing. When I’ve culled through my closet, either for swaps, for donations, or to simply pass along to a friend, I am pretty ruthless about putting anything that I haven’t worn within the past year into a “consideration” pile. If something is still essentially new — I bought it on clearance and wore it once but then never again — I might first consider putting that up on eBay to make a few bucks. But, most of the time it’s something that either doesn’t fit my body quite right or a different silhouette that I attempted to integrate into my wardrobe but just didn’t work out. In that sense, I guess I tend to think of clothes-swapping as an opportunity to right my past shopping wrongs, rather than simply a means of cleaning out my closet.

I was delighted to see S. wearing that turquoise top in her pictures! That top got the cut from my wardrobe because it was just wishful thinking and a lot of tugging that kept that empire waistline tucked below my bust. Since I knew that my torso length was unlikely to shorten during future pregnancies, it was time to let that top go. Now we both win! The deal is, clothes-swapping can actually be a humbling experience — to go back through your closet and acknowledge that you did not make the wisest choices. But it can also be incredibly fulfilling when you can be happy to see someone else looking like a million bucks in a garment that didn’t really do much for you.

Ultimately, I think a lot of these questions relate back to the notion of building a versatile, workable wardrobe that does what you want and says what you want it to say. Although these hot and cold outfits are fairly different from each other, I do think that they give some insight into how my style has changed a little since my last pregnancy. I’m a bit more daring with trends — shorter shorts with a draped top, for example — and I’m finally on board with stripes. I’m a hat lady now, too. On the other hand, the brightly colored shoes are still a big part of my repertoire, and I don’t see myself swapping those out any time soon!

How do you decide what ends up in a swapping pile?