academichic

Sources:

• Button-down – swapped
• Belt – gift from Mom (Anthropologie)
• Skirt – J Crew
• Tank – Banana Republic
• Flats – DSW
• Earrings – Gift from S.

Endnotes:

As I said, after my yoga mat body scan, I had a list of things I love about my body, both big and small.  An intimate, funny, hopeful, and reflective list that I will try to remember to keep mentally close to me.  A list I am here publicly vowing to recreate whenever I’m not feeling my best.  While I won’t be sharing the whole (very personal) list with you, I am planning on highlighting some of the parts from that list.  But, for my first DYB contribution, I want to celebrate my body shape as a whole.

As my proportions silhouette reveals, I have a small waist, wide hips, a big butt and thighs, and broad shoulders.  I am an hour glass.   While this is indeed a “classic” silhouette and does fit many Western ideals of beauty, it is not currently a very popular body-type.  By that, I mean you won’t find too many hourglasses in the pages of J Crew.  Most contemporary clothing is made for a straighter line.  So, more vintage or classic silhouettes often look great on me. Yet, there are all sorts of rules out there for my body type that don’t match up with these looks.  Because of my broad shoulders, I’m not supposed to wear puffed sleeves.  A larger bottom half should not be clothed in white.  Full hipped women aren’t supposed to wear fabrics that stick out from the body. I’m sure there are others!  Well nothing about me is straight (pun intended) and I’m not all that great with rules, so…

I’m wearing puffed sleeves and a skirt that is full, white, and made of crisp stiff cotton and I am loving the way my body looks – broad shoulders, wide hips, small waist and all!

What body shape rules do you break?

[This is my fourth blue and white striped outfit -- three more coming!]

I was so excited this morning to see how many of you are already agreeing to participate in our Dress Your Best 2011. Of all the fun projects we have done on academichic.com DYB is by far been my favorite. It was so powerful to read all of the contributions last year – to read self-affirming, celebratory, love letters to your body!

Last night I was laying in bed thinking about what body parts I would choose to highlight this time around. To be honest, it took me some time to even remember which parts I had celebrated last year, and then quite a bit longer to come up with new ones. I lied there doing a mental scan of my body and noted how quickly and easily I could still identify the things I would like to change about myself. I went to sleep feeling unsatisfied with my body and disappointed with myself for having such feelings. So, after my shower this morning I lied out on my yoga mat and tried the scan again. This time really taking the time to think about every body part and what it was I did or did not like about it. I thought about what each of these parts have done for me. It was easy for example to remember that my thick thighs had carried me thousands of miles including across the finish line of 3 marathons. It took a little more time to re-consider my wide hips and imagine that some day those hips will likely allow me to carry and birth a child with more ease. I thought about my toes, my finger nails, my freckles, my knees and that space behind my knees and soon my list of thinks I liked was long, funny, and in some cases incredibly personal. I’m still not sure which parts I will highlight through dressing over the next two weeks and I certainly won’t be sharing my list with the world, but I will mentally hold it close to me and refer to it as needed.

I’m thinking I may have to repeat my body scan exercise every once in awhile. I encourage each of you to give it a try too!

A.

Sources:

Take #3:

• Striped Tank – American Eagle
• Shorts – Gap Outlet
• Hat- Banana Republic
• Sandals – H & M
• Earrings – gift from S.

Take #4:

• Pink Skirt – Limited
• Striped Top – Banana Republic
• Belt – Thrifted
• Grey Shoes – BR
• Earrings – gift from S.

Endnotes:

Here are takes 3 and 4 of my self-imposed stripe challenge.   I think takes 1 and 2 were both much better, but I am happy to finally get my hat on the blog.  Several months back, before it was sun hat season, E. and S. convinced me to wear this hat.  I wore it a few times before chopping my hair and then was hesitant to pull it out again after the haircut.  I’m not convinced it is the most flattering look, but it sure is practical!  I wore this outfit at an outdoor festival over the weekend and it was nice to keep the sun off my head and face and it hid my increasingly  post-rain curly/frizzy hair.

Take #4 looked better in my imagination, but I do love the bright color pairing and that I got to use my newly thrifted belt again.   I wore this for my first day of teaching summer school yesterday and then took the pictures after finding out the class was canceled due to low enrollment.  I just couldn’t manage a picture in which I didn’t look at least slightly dejected. Looks like I wont have as have many teaching outfits to show you over this summer, so hope you don’t mind seeing some writing duds!

A.

Sources:

• Striped Top – Gap
• Shorts – Banana Republic Factory Outlet
• Red Flats – Target
• Earrings – Aldo (altered by me)
• Bracelet – gift from S.’s mom

Endnotes:

Here is my second blue and white stripe based outfit.   It’s nothing ground-breaking, but here you have it.

I know you aren’t all fans of shorts this length, and I’m still not %100 confident when wearing them. But, I do, as many of you mentioned, feel more comfortable pairing them with a top with sleeves, and particularly this boat-neck, square-cut, three-quarter sleeve knit top that is all wrong with my skinny jeans. I certainly wouldn’t wear this outfit to school, but it was perfect for sitting outside with  iced coffee  and a friend.

On another note, what do you think of these earrings?  Since my new haircut I have been on the lookout for large dangly earrings and I love wood accessories for summer.  So, when I spotted large wooden disks hanging from a jewelry rack this weekend I grabbed them.  Unfortunately, when I turned them around I saw that layered on top the wood were two intricately decorated gold disks – just not at all my style.  They were cheap so I bought them anyway and did a little DIY (I just used pliers to remove the gold disks).  Now, I’m not sure if they are too big.  Thoughts?

Sources:

• Skirt – self chopped from a Gap Outlet dress
• Striped cardigan – thrifted a year ago
• Navy Belt – thrifted a month ago
• White Tank – Banana Republic
• Navy studded flats – Banana Republic

Endnotes:

This is the first outfit of my self-imposed blue and white stripes challenge.  I have to admit, while I had several outfits already in mind when I announced this challenge to the blog world, none of them seemed right this morning and I panicked.  Why had I told everyone I would do this!?  And, why did I have so many blue and white striped items that suddenly went with nothing else in my wardrobe!?  But, since I needed to get out the door eventually, I decided the best approach was to settle of the blue and white stripped piece and then work from there.  I love the bright blue color and the vintage style of this little thrifted cardigan.

I think I tried pairing this little cardigan with at least five things before choosing this equally bright (but not the same shade) blue skirt.  In the end this outfit was mostly decided by silhouette.  The cardigan is cropped and the wide white waist band emphasizes it’s crop-ness and a bit full (puff sleeves and a tighter waist band then body). I found that I really did not like the way it looked with a slimmer bottom so I pulled out my full skirts and ended up with this all blue and white ensemble.

Hopefully getting dressed tomorrow will go a bit quicker, but I think this might prove that I do not in fact work better under limitations!  A.

Remember my obsession with red, white, and blue (especially blue and white stripes) that lasted all summer and well into the fall?  Well, the obsession has morphed a bit and now it’s all about the blue and white stripes.  When visiting last week, my sister observed that I could probably go a week wearing a different blue and white striped item everyday.  Sadly, I could probably go two.

So, I’m taking a cue from E. and testing out my skills at remixing a restricted wardrobe (not quite a capsule wardrobe).  I’m modeling this more after E.’s Black and White Week, only I’m not limiting my self to pre-chosen items.  Remember when we set a self-imposed challenge to wear florals?  I suppose its more like that.  I’m challenging myself (instigated by little sister L.) to wear blue and white stripes everyday for at least seven days.   I won’t be posting outfits everyday, so this little challenge will likely stretch out over the next two weeks, regardless of how many outfits I come up with.

I’ll have my first blue and white striped look up tomorrow!  A.

Sources:

• Shirt – American Eagle
• Shorts – Banana Republic Factory Store
• Tank – Urban Outfitters
• Earrings – Gift from S.
• Sandals – H&M
• Sunglasses – Banana Republic

Endnotes:

This is certainly not my most exciting outfit (though I do think it looked much better in person than in these i-phone photos) but it was quite the exciting afternoon!  This year A2 and I joined a CSA on the recommendation of E and N. We picked up our first box of goodies two weeks ago at our local farmer’s market, but this week I decided to drive the 45 minutes to the farm to spend a couple hours picking some of my own produce and getting some sun with friends.

It was hot. Really hot. So, I wore shorts (short shorts), a tissue thin button-down over an almost as thin tank, sandals and my aviators.  I picked these shorts up on the cheap at Banana Republic Factory store a couple weeks ago and have been living in them ever since.  I bought them because they actually fit both my thighs and my waist (well almost anyway).  I would have preferred them to be an inch or two longer and still feel a bit self-conscious in them.  What about you? Are you a shorts person?  Do you feel comfortable in non-Bermuda-length shorts?

The combination of thin plaid button-down, shorts, and big red canvas basket were perfect for a couple hours on the farm.  We got to pick three different kinds of peas and then make up bags full of  already harvested lettuces, greens (kale, spinach, etc), turnips, radishes, garlic scape, broccoli, and more.  We also picked pints of the most beautiful and delicious strawberries, but were down one before we ever even made it home!

As we drove home with our haul enjoying the beautiful scenery (and consuming a  pint of strawberries and some snowpeas) we brainstormed a feast that would not require anything but our fresh veggies and some staples that were already in the pantry.  We shucked peas on the back deck with a bottle of whine and got to cooking.  For some reason I just fell in love with the rainbow swiss chard.  It comes out of the ground in these beautiful vibrant colors!  After photographing it, I put it in a vase to use as our centerpiece and to eat later this week.

All in all it was a wonder afternoon spent with friends and dirt and an equally wonderful evening spent with more friends and great food!

Sources:

• Cardigan – Gap
• Jersey Dress – Banana Republic Factory Store
• Scarf – don’t remember
• Boots – Steve Madden Intyce
• Jean Jacket – Gap
• Bike – 1970s Schwinn Le Tour
• Helmet – Bern

Endnotes:

This week has been extremely busy with commencement events, advisor meetings, and out of town guests.  But, I did manage to fit in my first official bike commute to campus.  It was wonderful!  I’m hooked!

Here are a few pictures of my beautiful new bike (and my post-commute helmet curls):

Sources:

• Sweatshirt – Banana Repuclic
• Tank – Ann Taylor
• Belt – from L.
• Pants – swapped (originally from Gap)
• Flats – DSW
• Basket – gift from sister S. (similar ones can be found online and at Containers and Things)

Endnotes:

The end of the Spring semester is always so hard because there is so much to wrap up (final papers and exams to grade, materials to turn in, accounts to balance, shelves to clean out, etc) yet the weather is beautiful and all I want to do is spend my days outdoors.  Luckily, this weekend I was able to take a break from grading and visit the opening day of my local farmers market.  We took our puppy and A2′s parents with us and we all had a great time on what turned out to be a lovely spring morning!

Remember this outfit from our Banana Republic challenge? I loved the slouchy yet pulled-together nature of my farmers market outfit, so when it came time to head out to the market for real, I instantly decided to try and recreate the look.  I ended up purchasing the sweatshirt cardigan after styling it and had flats and a belt that would work.  The big item I was missing was the checked tunic, and I could not for the life of me find a suitable replacement in my closet, so I ended up with a simple tank.  I let the pop of color come from my pants rather than the top.

I picked these blue pants out of a pile at a recent clothing swap E. and I hosted, because I was drawn to the bright blue color.  I didn’t like the way the pants looked on me when I fist tried them on, but I knew I could likely alter them into some thing I liked more.  I do like them better with the cuffed bottoms, but I’m not crazy about the length of them – I wish they were a bit longer, like the olive ones I wore from Banana Republic.  I’m thinking about chopping them into shorts, something like these or these (which I would cuff like the first ones but would be a bit longer).  What do you think, leave them as cuffed cropped pants or chop them into cuffed shorts?

Sources:

• Cardigan – Banana Republic
• Tank – thrifted
• Belt – Gap
• Skirt – Gap
• Wedges – Kenneth Cole Reaction
• Earrings – Island souvenir
• Bangle – Gap Outlet

Endnotes:

I feel like this is a very me outfit – I’m wearing my favorite wedges, my workhouse cardigan, by beloved full pinstriped skirt, and of course, stripes are the one pattern I wear a fair amount of.  But, I have to admit, this outfit was totally inspired by E.  I loved how she paired her vertically striped skirt with her horizontally red and white striped top and finished the look off with heels and and a cardigan  As soon as I saw it I knew I would be recreating it soon.

I thrifted this red and oatmeal striped tank with a ruffle detail last month with this outfit in mind.  I think it even mimics the fun detail E. added with the flower earring as broach.

I of course stuck with a mix of neutrals and added a belt to make it a bit more me, but I did add a yellow bangle as another nod to E.’s style. I even captured some wind blown shots, though nowhere near as glamorous as E.’s Marilyn Monroe meets Nike of Samothrace.

Thanks as always for the inspiration E.!

How about you readers, do you so unabashedly copy your friends’ style?