• Ruffly Floral Scarf – Anthropologie
• Long Brown Cardigan – Urban Outfitters
• Black Jersey Dress – BR Outlet
• Tights – Gap
• Belt – NY & Co.
• Shoes – Kenneth Cole Reaction

Today I am sporting ruffles and flowers together! Both fall outside my normal comfort zone.  Like E,  I have been embracing ruffles more and more this season, but always paired with stripes or other hard edges.

When I saw this scarf at Anthropologie, I immediately thought of S. (although this is definitely my color palette) and was ready to pass it up, but little sister L. convinced my to try it on and play around with it.  I decided a what better way to introduce an new aesthetic than through an old favorite – the scarf.

I’m letting this new wardrobe addition have center stage so belted it over my black jersey dress and chocolate-brown long cardigan.  I think the pockets may be my favorite part of today’s outfit.

I’m thinking I might like this scarf even more with my new jeans and a simple v-neck tee, so I’m excited to give all the ruffles and flowers another go soon!   Are you trying anything new this season?  A.

• Black Cable V-neck – J Crew
• Houndstooth Trousers – Urban Outfitters
• Scarf – H & M
• Belt – Gift from Sal
• Boots – J Crew

It looks like my student’s visual analysis papers have led to a great discussion. Now if I could only get this discussion going in the class room!  I have found all of your comments about the marketing of clothing, particularly the use of essentalizing gendered language and the heteronormativity of such marketing, so interesting!

It seems the limitations of language is always an issue when trying to avoid generalizations.  My students always struggle with this.  What pronoun should they use when writing about the viewer of a work of art?  Their default is always “he.”  Understandably, they don’t want to use the awkward “he/she” (problematic for its  conformance to a binary anyway).  I  encourage them to be specific whenever possible.  Was the work of art created for a monastery?  Then, the viewer was probably male.  Is it a contemporary art work you saw at the museum?  Then, use YOUR preferred pronoun.

Similarly, I try to demonstrate to them that claiming a figure looks feminine says very little about the figure.  Be specific. Tell me he has an elongated neck and red cheeks if that is what you observe. If you avoid associating these characteristics with the figure’s gender (or sexuality, as some students did) you leave yourself open to other possibilities — its cold outside, its a mannerist work, etc.

I started this discussion yesterday because I wanted to talk about the combining of different aesthetics often labeled “feminine” and “masculine” and was finding myself frustrated not to have better terms to use.  I was reminded by reader AC to be specific!  I loved her suggestion of using the terms “geometric” and “organic” to describe yesterday’s combination of stripes and flowers.

The last time I wore the striped cardigan, I noted the combination of  slouchy and polished and  when I wore A2′s jeans (which fit me like “boyfriend jeans” b/c they are a size bigger than my own) I called them girlfriend jeans — specific!

I think once again today’s outfit is the perfect combination of geometric (houndstooth) and organic (floral vine pattern) and of loose (scarf) and structured (belt).  I like that none of these terms – geometric, organic, slouchy, polished, loose, structured, carry any gendered connotations.  It’s actually quite difficult to find descriptive terms that are not gendered in connotation.

What terms do you like?

A

I loved the layering of the bright read plaid over the monochromatic stripes,  but I think the teal and grey, while a subtler use of color also makes for an interesting contrast.  I self-consciously avoid the terms “masculine” and “feminine” when describing the mixing of elements that seem to have different feels to them (ie stripes and flowers).  I haven’t come up with an alternative way of describing this contrast, but want to steer clear of the essentializing language we so often see in the marketing of clothing.

Interestingly enough, the gendering of clothing has come up in several of the student papers I am grading this week.  When attempting to do a visual analysis of a painting of an Italian nobleman, many students described his as effeminate because of the lace at his collar, the ring on his pinky, and the shinny black robe students misidentified as a dress.  In my comments, I am reminding them that: 1) they should be careful about making  essentialist generalizations about gender (their discussions went beyond the clothing) 2) they should remember that whether we consider clothing “masculine” or not is inextricably linked to culture, period, occupation, etc.

This reminded me of the great exercise reader N. uses in the classroom, in which she asks  students to do a visual analysis of her clothing and then followed this with a discussion about interpreting clothing.   I can’t wait to test this lesson out, but for now it’s back to grading for me.

A.

• Blue Sweater – H & M
• Blue Scarf – Old Navy
• Brown Pinstripe Skirt – Gap
• Belt – New York & Company
• Tan Wedges – Gap Outlet
• Amber Earrings – Gift

Like S., I love brown and blue together, but had sort of forgotten what a fabulous color combination it is until S.’s post last week.  When I saw S.’s ensemble, I immediately started thinking about how I could appropriate the look.  I particularly liked how sharp the brown and white geometric pattern looked paired with the two close shades of bright blue.

For my version I chose my brown and white striped skirt and, once again hiked it up and belted it high around my waist.  I reversed S.’s blues by layering my brighter more saturated blue scarf over the lighter sweater.

Now, if only this color combination could help me write the way it did for S.!

A.

• Teal Cardigan – BR Outlet
• Short-Sleeved Argyle Sweater – J Crew
• Brown Skinny Belt – Ann Taylor
• Denim Pencil Skirt – BR Outlet
• Corduroy Blazer – Marshals
• Earrings – Banana Republic
• Wedges – Gap Outlet

Today’s outfit was totally inspired by my desire to wear argyle – a preppy pattern I love but don’t actually wear that much anymore (except my ridiculous collection of argyle socks).  The argyle print was one of the many reasons the birthday gift scarf from S. was so perfectly me!  The lovely turquoise and olive diamond pattern reminded me of this old J Crew short-sleeved sweater.

When I first got this sweater years ago, I wore it all the time.  However, as my style has shifted some, I’ve struggled with how to wear it in a way that still feels like me.  So, I amped up the color palette and went a little layering crazy and ended up with this cozy analogous spectrum of greens and blues, accented by what better than caramel corduroy!

What pattern do you love but struggle to work into your daily wardrobe?

A.

All remixed

• Teal Tee - F21
• White Sleeveless Shirt – Gap
• Grey Denim Pencil Skirt – Old Navy
• Red-Orange Flats – Old Navy
• Flower Necklace – Gift from A2
• Earrings – gift from sister L.

Today I am mostly catching up on emails and running errands with a few brief meetings in between.  After long weekends, Mondays are always spent playing catch up before I can get down to any real work for the week.  I’m staying casual in denim and a tee but tried to spruce it up a bit with a fun color combination and by adding the white tuxedo shirt pleats under my tee.

As S. departs for her year far far away from academichic central, I am feeling a bit nostalgic.  I also spent yesterday evening holding baby e., which had me thinking about how much we have changed since we all first met.

We have received many reader questions about how we met and how we decided to start our blog.  Well…

I feel like I have been friends with these two, and have had an intimate knowledge of their closet, forever.  I met E. my first day on campus four years ago and we quickly took to each other both socially and intellectually.   Our first day of seminar she complimented my outfit and I knew there was more then contemporary art talk in our future.  I met S a year and half later, after many shopping trips with E had transpired.  S and I would often compliment each other’s ensembles in class.  By the end of the semester, we were walking together after every class chatting about running or fashion or bonding over our hair struggles.  I introduced E and S a short while later and it only took a few shopping trips and a few more afternoons at the coffee shop to know that fashion, while just one of our many mutual interests, was what made our trio tick.

We all liked reading style blogs and thought that our status as feminist Ph.D. students who, against all stereotypes, actually care about style gave us a relatively unique viewpoint that would be fun to share and add to that style blogging community. We were always consulting each other on what to wear for the first day of teaching, a meeting with our advisor, a class presentation, or a conference, and one day, we just started throwing around the idea of a style blog that would answerer these questions for other academics.  I think it was on one of our marathon shopping trips that we solidified the idea.

These two incredible women are now two of my closet friends and my regular confidants about way more than fashion!

Safe travels S.!

A.

All remixed except scarf and beaded bracelet

• White Skirt – J Crew
• Rust Tee – Banana Republic
• White Tank – Banana Republic
• Woven Brown Belt – BR Outlet
• Necklace – gifted earring turned into necklace
• Beaded Bracelet – gift
• Gold and Silver Bangle – gift from S.’s mom
• Sandals – Forever 21
• Earrings – Banana Republic
• Bag – China Town, NY
• Sunflower Scarf – VintageThreadz

Today’s ensemble is a bit of a summer-fall mashup. I am not much of one for following fashion rules, but I did think to myself earlier this week that I should get another wear out of my white skirt before Labor Day.  The weather is still quite warm here, but like S., I am ready for my favorite season – Fall!  I pulled out this burnt orange top and by the time I was done accessorizing I had a rather autumnal palette going.  I think the contrast of the rust and white with accents of brown was the perfect color combination for a sunny September day.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I rummaged through my jewelry box and rediscovered a few pieces I haven’t worn in ages.  This beaded bracelet is one of those finds and I love the colors and style of it.  I paired it with the beautiful bangle S.’s mom gave me on S.’s wedding day.

We have been doing a bit of talking about accessories around here, specifically brooches.  I actually have a variety of brooches coming my way,  so will be attempting to “brooch the subject” very soon, however I think I will find this much easier to do once I am wearing scarfs, jackets, and sweaters on a regular basis.  Another accessory I have trouble with is the small square scarf.  I love big long scarfs that I can wrap around my neck a couple times or wear draped around my shoulders.  Recently I have come to also like long thin scarves that I can use as belts.  But with a scarf to small to fit around my waist, I am at a loss.  S. does wonderful things with these little scarves, but I am just not a neck-scarf person.  So, when I received this beautiful little sunflower scarf from Vintage Threadz, it took some thinking to figure out  how to incorporate it.

With sunflowers being an August to September bloomer, the scarf  was such a perfect accessory for my summer-fall mashup, so I tied it around the straps of my bag.  I used a similar trick with my large flower brooch, adding it to a large tote and a small clutch.

I’ll be passing this scarf on to S. soon to see what she can do with it, but I’m curious how you might style a small square scarf?   A.

• Coral Flower Tank – Urban Outfitters
• White Strapless Cami – Banana Republic
• Skinny Jeans – Gap Outlet
• Woven Brown Belt – Forever 21
• Sandals – Forever 21

This week has proved to be much busier then I anticipated with new deadlines, meetings, and social commitment thrown my way.  Yesterday I was to busy snap a picture of my outfit before leaving the house and way to tired to do it when I finally made it back home.  My plan for today was to catch up on emails and start working towards some of those new deadlines.  I dressed casually, expecting to spend most of the day at home, and in top perfect for soaking up the last rays of sun of my summer siting outside the coffee shop.  But, par for course this week, I ended up having to go into the department and to meet with a head librarian on campus.  There was no time to run home and change so off I went in my research-casual, sun-soaking ensemble.  The librarian seemed annoyed to be talking to me until I introduced who I was and then his tone dramatically changed. I do have to wonder, if  I had been dressed in pencil skirt and heels, would he have approached me differently?

Is it too much to ask to want to get a little sun AND a little respect all in the same day?

26 August 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

I purchased this grey chino pencil skirt last week at Old Navy to alternate with my go-to denim pencil skirt.  I never have any buyer’s guilt over practical items like this.  It’s a neutral, it’s three season, it’s a shape I know I love, and it was cheap.  The shoes felt like a bit more of a splurge!  I bought them while on vacation this weekend so I immediately questioned my purchase upon arriving home and unpacking them.  They were a great deal (marked down to $25), they are a neutral, and are, as it turns out, extremely comfortable!  But still the tinge of consumer remorse remains.  Do you suffer from buyer’s guilt?  Do you feel the need to keep the tags on new items for a few days?  Do you need someone to convince you your purchases where good ones?