Sources:

• black dress – H&M
• black tights – from Romania
• black boots – Banana Republic
• Pedant – Anthropologie
• Scarf under belt – thrifted in San Fran
• Belt – TJMaxx

Endnotes:

This look was inspired by one of the Hermès scarf-tying tips found in their online tutorial. While most of their knots were familiar to me, I came across this idea and was pleasantly surprised: layering a scarf under a skinny belt to make an interesting scarf/belt obi is another great idea for sprucing up an otherwise ‘blank canvas‘ look. So this past weekend, I pulled out my black shirt dress, added black tight and boots, and went grabbing for my scarves and skinny belts. I tried several scarf + belt combinations until I settled on this one, really liking the analogous combination of the orange fabric with the red leather.

Scarf + Belt detail, originally uploaded by academichic.

I tucked the ends of the scarf underneath the scarf sash, so that they didn’t stick out at the back (as shown in the Hermès image above). I then belted the scarf obi in place and was pleased to discover that the belt helped keep the scarf from shifting or moving even while walking around with a coat thrown on top of it. This was such a simple way to add a point of interest to a monochromatic outfit and I think the scarf adds so much more depth and richness than just the belt on its own. I am definitely going to experiment with other belt + scarf combinations, creating blue and green analogous pairings or perhaps bolder complimentary color mixes the next time around.

What do you think, would you give this one a try? S.

16 February 2010 , originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:
All remixed:

• Black dress – Target
• Black belt – Banana Republic
• Silver clutch – Charlotte Russe, thrifted
• Black tights – Grocery store
• Gray wedges – Report “Calico”, via Solestruck.com
• Ripple shawl – Blue Onion Marketplace
• Earrings – side walk sale, my wedding earrings

Endnotes:

So it doesn’t quite have the same ring as Superbowl Sunday or Ice Cream Sundae, but it does describe what I did yesterday and it is as exciting to me as football and ice cream might be to others.

We’re officially off! National Novel Writing Month began yesterday and if you’re participating then you’re likely sharing my nervousness and excitement as you begin your novel. Thank you to the lovely Andrea for putting a little NaNo support group together and encouraging everyone to share their first paragraph on her post. I’d also love to hear from any of you who are partaking in this –  I invite you to NaNoWriMo obsess away in the comments section of this post! (And if you want to add me to your writing buddies, my NaNoWriMo name is Academic Abandon.)

Wedding Earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.

As for my outfit yesterday, I did not wear this to write but I did wear this to the Opera after my required word count was met. One of the things I love about being in Germany is being able to get 6 Euro tickets to attend the Opera! No joke, attending the Opera here can be cheaper than going out for two beers and by far more chic!

I told you I’d likely keep wearing this same black dress over and over, and so I did. This time around I went for a more dramatic effect with black tights, a black velvet belt, and a POP of color (that’s how loud it was) with this red-orange ripple scarf from Blue Onion Marketplace. Sorry about the poor image quality, but I snapped this just on my way out and the lighting in my room is horrible. So you can just pretend to be seeing this outfit with this background and then you get the idea. How else would you style this LBD other than with a pashmina scarf and a belt? S.

Ripple Shawl detail, originally uploaded by academichic.