academichic

Sources:

Dress – thrifted and chopped by me
Jacket – thrifted
Belt – thrifted
Necklace – thrifted
Shirt underneath – AE, hand me down
Boots – Dillards
Bike – ’69 Raleigh Sports

Endnotes:

The inspiration for this outfit came while flipping through the last issue of Lucky. The magazine started this fun feature on the last page of each issue, showcasing ‘mom style icons’. (For more, check out My Mom, the Style Icon.) In the March issue, a sassy 70s mom is pictured sitting on the hood of a Renault along with her daughter – the reader, who submitted the photograph.

The outfit is comprised of simple yet eye-catching pieces: a printed navy sheath dress, a fitted brown turtleneck, brown boots and belt, and a pendant on a long chain. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had the pieces in my closet to recreate my version of this look.

So I pulled out this newly thrifted and altered dress and added the brown accessories and called it a day. I love it when I don’t have to stare at my closet in the morning, trying to decide what to wear. We recently had a Weekend Workshop in which we showed how we derive much of the inspiration for our outfits, many of which come from looks we spy in magazines and on TV and then try to recreate using what we already own. As I’m getting bigger each week, I’m really hesitant to add anything new to my closet, not knowing how much wear I’ll get out of anything at this point. So I’m constantly on the lookout for little snippets of inspiration that allow me to get creative with the things I already own (and still fit).

Where do you find your inspiration? Is your mom one of your style icons? ~ S.

Sources:

Dress – Sam & Max, via TJMaxx
Teal tank – maternity tank from Target
Boots – Dillards

Endnotes:

Happy Birthday, L.! I hope you’re having an amazing birthday celebration with your sister and brother in law in London! What a great place to get to visit during one’s birthday, I’m definitely jealous :)

While L. is off in Europe surely having a blast, we’re doing our usual to pay tribute to a great friend and co-blogger on her birthday by wearing something inspired by her style. I knew that I had to pull out something floral in tribute to L., because of all my co-bloggers, she’s the one who most shares (perhaps even rivals) my love for this pattern. Some of the floral items I wish I could steal from her closet…

I absolutely love those floral gladiator sandals! L., what shoe size are you again?

As a birthday nod to L., I donned my bright floral empire waist dress (still fits) and added a pair of sturdy boots to tone down the ‘whimsy’ a bit. As A. already noted, L.’s style is nothing if not classic and elegant with a twist of unexpected fun. She knows how to mix simple and more subtle pieces with that unexpected burst of color, pattern, or texture, and I tried to recreate that here. And the added bonus? The bright pink hemline which definitely says L.

Happy Birthday, L., I hope you have an amazing rest of your trip and I can’t wait to hear all about it and hopefully see some gorgeous photos as well! ~ S.

Sources:

• Necklace: “Mirari” by Orno Jewelry
• Bracelets: gift
• Ring: gift
• Sweater: Theory via Off 5th
• Yellow tank: J. Crew
• Blue dress (as skirt): Even via Off 5th
• Belt: mom’s
• Tights: Target
• Boots: vintage Charles David

Endnotes:
Hip hip hooray for jewelry week! I have been known to base whole outfits around a single piece of jewelry, wear my favorite pieces when I’m in an especially stressful situation, and to add serious bling to a summer dress. This outfit falls into the first category in that the colors were inspired by the Islamic mosaics and Moorish architecture that also inspire designer Carla Smiley in her Orno Jewelry line.

Smiley, originally from Lebanon, studied architecture in Canada before she designed her first line of silver jewelry. For this ensemble, I started with the necklace that my sister got me for Christmas and then built from there (pun intended). I first came to love these bright geometric mosaics when I encountered a mihrab niche in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC). The bright blues, turquoise, yellows and greens appealed to my eye. For this look I knew I wanted to wear multiple shades of blue and my yellow tank, but the layering that this outfit took on was unplanned. I put on my blue dress, then the tank over it, then tucked the tank into my obi belt so that the dress was now a skirt, and then put my sweater on top to hide the sleeve of the dress/tank and voila! The red tights also made a triad and I couldn’t resist. I actually got a “whow” on this in the dining hall today. I told the person I took that as a complement.

I finished off the outfit with two more pieces of jewelry that are vaguely architectonic. The bracelets, which look very modern in their stark lines and solid weight, are from Santa Fe. The ring, a gift from my sister, is from Peru.

As you can tell, I love jewelry and over the years have collected many necklaces, rings, bracelets, and recently pins. I also am a “beader” and have several necklaces that I strung myself. Be sure to come back on Friday for our give-away surprise and Saturday for my Weekend Workshop on how to make a necklace hanger! Check out more academichic baubles on Flickr. Enjoy the rest of jewelry week!
~L.

Sources:

• Fur Jacket: vintage (grandmother’s)
• Gloves: Coach (gift)
• Jeans: c/o Lucky Brand
• Boots: vintage Charles David

Endnotes:
I’m conflicted about wearing fur, and I wanted to bring this into our discussion during outerwear week because I’d love to hear other’s opinions about this and share knowledge about the topic. First, this is a vintage jacket from my grandmother (her initials are stitched into the lining), and it was a prized possession when my grandfather gave it to her. Second, I would not want to purchase a new fur coat and even things with faux fur for some reason don’t appeal to me aesthetically. However, I love this little jacket, but I’m always apprehensive about wearing it because fur is such a contentious topic and leads to bigger questions of animal cruelty, abuse and feminism. Anne-Marie of the now (sadly) defunct Scholar Style Guide brought this up in November when she was sporting a faux fur piece and was puzzled by her need to tell everyone she talked to that it was indeed fake. She goes on to question whether faux is better or just feeds into the desire for the real thing?

This question can also be applied to animal prints, but the argument against fur and prints can go beyond the debate about animal cruelty involved in the real thing. As “Someone” observes in the comments section, the objection to animal prints also has a feminist bent to it. This reader notes that the connotation of animal prints (and real animal skins), which are usually rare animals such as leopard, cheetah, and zebra, is that they are connected to the idea of exoticism and equate women with wild, untamed nature (not to mention reference the subjugation of “exotic” animals and peoples exacted in the 19th century European “scramble for Africa” as they expanded their colonial empires). In the text of Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations editors Josephine Donovan and Carol J. Adams break down a few feminist takes on this topic in the introduction (Please excuse these very cursory notes on this very complicated topic):

• Simone de Beauvoir argued that women needed to shed their “animal” sides
• Liberal feminists claim that women are rational and separate from animals because of their mind and intellect — like men, not like animals.
• More recent feminists such as Marilyn French contend that the woman-animal connection should not be dismissed.

I’m still not sure where I fall in the feminist debate, but I do know that I wouldn’t be comfortable buying a new fur. Although, I don’t have a problem wearing a vintage one… but then why don’t I wear it more? Hmmm…

These are just a few voices in this debate, and I in no way claim to have done exhaustive research. I look forward to hearing your perspective on and knowledge about this topic.

What’s your take on fur? Do you feel differently about wearing leather?

~L.

I also wanted to include this link to PETA’s list of vegan friendly clothing companies. (WARNING: the PETA website has some graphic images on other pages, and PETA has its own issues with using women to further their cause.) Finally, for still another angle check out Carol J. Adams book The Sexual Politics of Meat.

Sources:

• Coat: DKNY via Bluefly
• Gloves: Coach (gift)
• Scarf: Missoni via Filene’s Basement
• Bag: Crystalyn Kae
• Skinny Jeans: Banana Republic
• Boots: vintage Charles David
• (Below)
• Shirt: J. Crew (thrifted)
• Camisole: Gap Outlet
• Belt: J. Crew
• Necklace: South Moon Under

Endnotes:
We all know how quickly a cute outfit is ruined by having to put on a coat and that many a gorgeous shoe is retired in favor of boots for a long walk through the snow. We also all know how the first stages of frostbite feel when venturing out without a coat or gloves or hat and are sadly familiar with the slushy feeling of melting snow inside our cutest shoes. Is there any way to stay stylish and warm? We have received a number of emails over the last two years asking just that, and so we thought a whole week of coats, jackets, wraps, and assorted winter wear would be timely and help to answer some of these questions.

To kick things off I thought I’d share my #1 go-to coat of the moment. I had been looking for a dressier knee length coat for a while, but I wasn’t satisfied with the plain button up styles and blocky shapes I had encountered. My mom actually bought this for me online at Bluefly, and it has turned out very well. I was a little apprehensive about the ruffle at first, but now that I’ve been wearing this coat all winter I love the details. To me the ruffle embellishment makes this coat more fun and the ruffle collar also holds my scarf nice and close around my neck to keep out the cold. The cut and length are flattering for a petite frame; Although, I did have to have the sleeves shortened.

Check out the Caterina coat by Via Spiga and the Cheryl style coat by Tahari for two more knee length coats with some personality.

To play off of the ruffled collar I decided to wear another ruffled shirt. I picked this up over the weekend at a consignment shop (along with a few other things I’m sure you’ll be seeing soon), and immediately knew I wanted to pair it with my turquoise camisole for a layered look. The belt was just for fun and to make my legs look longer by making my waist appear higher. These jeans are also relatively new. They were on sale at BR for $13 and happened to be in my size. After so many months of looking for skinny jeans I seem to have scored three really great pairs in the last month! With wool socks and these leather boots my feet and legs stayed warm and dry as I was doing my Sunday errands yesterday.

Stay tuned for more outerwear posts this week!

~L.

Golden Girl, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Scarf: Chinatown, gift from SIL
• Top: Banana Republic Factory
• Skirt: Anthropologie, gift from sweet friend!
• Navy tights: Banana Republic Factory
• Boots: Steve Madden Iriss, via eBay

End Notes:

Guess what I got from Christmas as a joint gift from a sweet friend and my mother-in-law? Yup, the Field Skirt from Anthropologie…in gold! Many of you suggested this skirt when I was dreaming of winter-weight full skirts in December, and I have to say, you were right. This skirt is a great color, it has pockets, and it’s very easy to wear. It’s a little shorter than I usually wear my full skirts, but I think with the tights and boots it all works together and is still classroom appropriate.

I gravitated back to one of my favorite color combinations here: mustard with navy, green, and touches of cognac leather. I love how the patterning in the scarf seems even richer against the navy and gold. It’s a delicious palette for a chilly day and a little splash of color in the midst of all this snow!

I still have lots of ideas for wearing this skirt, so you’ll surely be seeing some remixing in the near future!

As Luck Would Have It…, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Cardigan – Banana Republic
• Petal Front Top – Banana Republic
• Jeans – Lola Skinny c/o Lucky Brand Jeans
• Pumps – Steve Madden Girl, via DSW
• Boots – Steve Madden Intyce, via ebay (below)
• Earrings – F21

Endnotes:

…I love these jeans!  I haven’t been shy about sharing my struggles in the denim department. So you know that I’ve tried many many kind of jeans with very little luck (yep, I’m still word playing).  When Lucky offered to send us each a pair of their Lola skinny jeans to review, I was skeptical.  Because of my history with jeans, I almost declined–girl, am I glad I didn’t!

I recently purchased another pair of skinny jeans that I will show you later, but having both of these pairs, I have come to realize that I don’t necessarily need one pair of jeans to fit every occasion.  I mean, I would never think to ask that of a pair of shoes, so why should I expect it of jeans.  While these might not be the jeans I would chose to wear while rolling around on the floor with kids or while doing manual labor (the rise passes the sit test but not the squat test), they are the perfect pair of jeans to wear with boots for coffee with friends or with heels for a date night.

Lucky Jeans w/ Boots, originally uploaded by academichic.

I think the dark wash (called rinse), the cut, and the thick denim combined with a bit of stretch make these jeans supper flattering on my legs and even my butt, without gapping at the waist.  They are the perfect length for my long legs and are skinny enough to tuck into jeans, but not so skin-tight that I’m self conscious wearing them with flats or heels. All in all, I’m a fan!

Lucky Brand Jeans, originally uploaded by academichic.

I paired the lovely Lola jeans with my new midnight blue cardigan and purple top – both Christmas gifts from my mom (L. has the same shirt in teal).  My mom also purchased the Steve Madden Intyce boots for me.  I love having a mom with great taste and a great sense of my personal style!
Now go check out the Lola Skinny at Lucky and tell your mom about them too!   A.

Lucky Brand Jeans, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Polkadot blouse – thrifted
• Flower brooch – Vintage Threadz on Etsy
• Dress – Banana Republic Outlet
• Belt – Banana Republic
• Boots – Banana Republic
• Blue tights (over thermal pair of black tights) – TJMaxx

Endnotes:

This is the same little black dress that I wore just the other week with a red cardigan and red accessories. This time, I spruced it up with blues. The beauty of a LBD is that you can transform it dramatically by adding different splashes of color, accessories, or layers. Because of its versatility, I have quite a few LBDs and I never regret buying them.

This one has a higher waistline and so it’s working really well with my growing bump (as the waist sits above the belly). I layered this silk polka dot blouse underneath and played off the color in the blouse with the blue tights, belt, and little flower brooch. I love this blouse, but it has an awkward cut and is a little too short. I would never wear it on its own but it makes for a great layering piece.

When it comes to finding things that aren’t perfect but catch your eye and add a dose of fun to your closet, I highly recommend thrift stores. Since everything is so inexpensive, you can take a risk, buy something that isn’t perfect and try your hand at altering it, or get something like this that is fun and whimsical but only works in certain ways.

To help this piece perform as a base layer, I borrowed a little trick from A. She explained it here (using a tee instead of a cami). I took a fitted camisole that’s elasticated and snug and layered it over the too-short and boxy blouse. The cami layer smoothed and held the blouse in place and kept it from shifting and bunching underneath my dress. Without the cami, I would have probably been tugging at my blouse and fixing it all day, but with the cami, everything stayed in place as needed. Thanks for the tip, A!

Do you have any good wardrobe tricks to share? Alternately, what’s your favorite way to spruce up a little black dress? – S.

Tartan and Cords, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Sweater: Theory via Off 5th
• Scarf: gift (from Scotland)
• Belt: Fossil
• Watch: Tissot
• Corduroys: DKNY via Filene’s Basement
• Boots: Florence, Italy

Endnotes:
Snow day! Well, not really since I work at a boarding school, but wow did we get a lot of snow yesterday. I bundled up in boots and a scarf to keep out the cold and channeled cozy feelings while watching the flakes fly. As I’ve said before, part of my desire to embrace skinny style pants was the ability to tuck these into boots without lots of bagginess or ballooning around the knees.

Brown Boots, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’m not a big boot wearer with skirts, but I am breaking myself into the pants and boots look both for utilitarian purposes (warmth, walking in the snow, etc.) and stylish ones as well. I suppose that this outfit qualifies as mixing neutrals since the basis is grey and brown with the only real color coming from the muted oranges, blues, and yellows of the tartan scarf. I love this scarf and it was a gift from my best friend when she returned from a trip to Scotland years ago. Just this year I’ve started to wear my outdoor scarves as regular daywear as both accessories and to warm up outfits that might otherwise be drafty. For instance I’ve been using scarves to help sweaters, such as this crewneck cardigan, become turtlenecks.

Tartan, originally uploaded by academichic.

I like the result because unlike a true turtleneck these ones can be removed or loosened throughout the day to accommodate the wild temperature swings between my apartment, office, and classroom. I love the colors in this tartan, and I think that is what my friend was attracted to as well. However, today I had a colleague come up to me at lunch and ask if I was a Buchanan because she was and recognized the tartan that I was wearing. I had no idea which clan’s tartan I was wearing, but it got me thinking about a kind of cultural appropriation that we don’t often think of. S. brought this up in April last year with a post about wearing gold jewelry and being asked if she was a gypsy. A. also wrote on this regarding how purposeful appropriation operates in terms of camp and kitch, and finally E. brought up the point that our bodies are not neutral and they too contribute to certain assumptions that are made about the clothing we wear. While asking someone who is white, has red hair, and is wearing a tartan if she is descended from a particular Scottish clan is different than these other examples, it made me wonder about all sorts of cultural assumptions that we make about the people around us. In this case, I was being identified as “same” not “other”, and the woman was very excited that she had potentially found a member of her extended family. This piece of tartan was originally used as a unifying feature of a clan and as this story illustrates can be seen as means for community building even today. I was surprised at my colleague’s question and it reminded of the things that both my clothes and my body might say about me intentionally or not. I know that style, fashion, and clothing in general does not spring to life out of a vacuum and instead is influenced by other cultures, periods, regions, and ethnicities. My intention in reflecting on this is to question why or how being asked if I was Scottish because of my scarf is the same or different from someone remarking that S. looked like a gypsy because of her gold earrings?

~L.

Tartan and Cords, originally uploaded by academichic.

3 January 2011 – Happy Birthday E., originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Cardigan – Gap, gift from mother-in-law
• Striped Tank – J Crew
• Ponte Pants – Ann Taylor
• Grey Wedge Boots – Steve Madden, gift from Mom
• Necklace – gift from sister L.

Endnotes:

Happy Birthday E.!  I took these birthday-tribute photos last week while in Florida knowing that E. would be in Hawaii for her birthday.  I was also happy to have the opportunity to put together an E-inspired outfit that didn’t require several snow-proof layers!

3 January 2011, originally uploaded by academichic.

A couple of the items featured in this ensemble are exact duplicates of items in E.’s closet, while others are just close approximations. Like L., I have E. to thank for my obsession with the Ann Taylor ponte pant. She gushed about them for months and then finally convinced me to try a pair on.  I’ve taken much inspiration from the various ways she has remixed her pair (like as fantastically fun supermom pants, or as perfectly polished teacher pants).  I received my grey wedge boots for Christmas, just a few week’s after E. scored her’s on ebay, so they were an easy choice.  But, they also seemed appropriate because I so clearly remember the first time I pointed out the Steve Madden Intyce boots to E. while we were grabbing coffee/tea before seminar.  It seems like so long ago and it makes me smile to think about how much our friendship has grown over the past 4 plus years, yet we still love to talk about much of the same things — modern art, feminism, balancing professional and personal life, identity politics, and good shoes!

Necklace and stripes, originally uploaded by academichic.

Stripes are perhaps one of my signature looks, but this particular black and white stripe tank makes me think of E.  I love both her striped tank, which she wore quite a bit this past summer,  and her black and white striped tee, which she has rocked many a times, including several times during her 30 for 30.  I’ve always been a bit covetous of E.’s signature bauble necklace, so I was very excited to receive this necklace for Christmas.  Now, the big stretch for me in this outfit is the open drapey cardigan.  E. is always encouraging me to “surrender the waist” every once in a while and I love this cardigan precisely because it reminds me of something E. would wear unbelted and loose.  Overall, I was hoping to pull together something that looked effortless, chic, and just a little bit edgy.

E., you are one of my dearest friends and we have seen each other through some huge professional and personal hurdles and triumphs!  I’m looking forward to sharing so many more of life’s great events with you and feel so lucky to have you (and your family) as a regular fixture in my life!  I love you!  A.

3 January 2011, originally uploaded by academichic.