• Black Sweater Vest – BR Outlet
• Black Henley – Gap
• Pink Button Down – J Crew
• Black Pants – Banana Republic
• Earrings – Gift

Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.

eye earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.

16 December 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed

• Purple Floral Tee – Old Navy
• Grey Skirt – Old Navy
• Purple Belt - Gap
• Purple Cardigan – Gap
• Black Flats – Urban Outfitters
• Necklace – Gift from S.
• Earrings- Gift from E.

Endnotes:

Why I wore what I wore:

Being rather pleased with yesterday’s outcome, I decided to try another monochromatic non-neutral with a neutral base – purple, purple, purple!  The necklace is one of the earrings S. gave me for being her “best woman” worn as a pendant.  This is a remixed trick that lets me wear my favorite jewelry more often.

Purple Purple Purple, originally uploaded by academichic.

What I thought about as I wore it:

Last night I caught up with my childhood best friend, which was wonderful! She had heard through the family  grapevine that I had a blog and had checked it out.  While she was very complimentary, I have to admit my first instinct was to be embarrassed and that initial feeling has had me thinking all night and all day.  My family knows about the blog, increasingly more friends know about it, and because it’s on the world wide web, more people with random connections to my non-blog life are discovering us.  Yet, no one from my academic life (outside of S. and E. of course) know about the blog.  Why? Because fashion and style are considered frivolous.  We are suppose to be concerned with much more important things and I guess I assume professors and even colleagues would consider this a silly waste of time. Threadbared recently wrote a thoughtful and stimulating post on this very topic in which they also address the gendered and sexist aspects of academia’s fraught relationship with fashion.

I think as a feminist, my love of fashion might be further seen as contradictory.  We begin to address this in our State of the Field and it is a topic the three of us continue to discuss amongst ourselves, but I would love to open this issue up to our always insightful readers.

My active involvement in the LGBT political and academic communities adds an extra layer of tension to self-styling.  I find there are expectations for how I should physically present myself and often incorrect assumptions are made based on my appearance.

On our post on male academic style reader H. left a thought provoking comment about the gendered concerns of wearing an engagement ring in academia.   What does our clothing and jewelry say to our colleagues and superiors about our commitment to our work, our politics, etc.  While I don’t have an engagement ring, I would like to say that in regards to all of the above, I have tried to make it my policy that I will wear what makes me feel most comfortable and confidant, yet I have to admit I do often find myself wondering what my clothing says about me and hoping that the message I set out with is the one conveyed.

Do you feel pressure to look a certain way because of your job, your political leanings, your commitments to family or a particular community?

Do you find that colleagues or strangers make unfair or incorrect assumptions about you based on your style?

20 August 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Can you wear grey pants in the summer?
Before I go ahead, is there any pointers you might have?  Any help would be appreciated.

What a great question! Gray pants do have something fall or wintery about them and tend to be a rare item in summer fashion lines. However, if you have a beloved pair of gray trousers you want to keep wearing year-round, there are good ways to do that. Here are some clever outfit ideas from some of our favorite wardrobe_remixers on Flickr, who demonstrate just how to work that gray pant into your summer wardrobe:

blousier, originally uploaded by Julie Mack.

The very stylish Julie Mack wears a medium gray pant with this soft pale blue blouse. The light color and fabric of the blouse lightens up the outfit all together, making the pants appear more summer appropriate as well.

Trick: Pair a more somber gray pant with a light and breezy summer blouse!

Mamichan, from whom we seem to draw endless style inspiration, wears her gray summer culottes with a darker top and flats. Although the hues are darker and the cuts more tailored, the pale gray of the pant as well as the just below the knee length make it an unmistakable summer outfit.

Trick: Choose a paler gray or a summer cut such as a culotte, capri, or cigarette pant!

daily wear 07-23-09, originally uploaded by Darling Dexter.

25 June 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed

Red-Orange Cardigan – Gap
Teal Top - BR Outlet
Black Skirt – BR Outlet
Brown Belt – Ann Taylor
Brown Wedges – Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW
Earrings – Gift
Brown Bag – China Town, NYC

Endnotes:

Much like yellow, I don’t own anything in true orange.  Instead, I prefer the way a red-orange, rust-orange, or this more coral color, looks with my hair color and skin tone.   I love all shade of blue and green, and particularly favor a good blue-green.  Before these Fashion 101s, I would never have thought to pair this color with a shade of orange and still don’t feel completely myself in this outfit.  I loved the way S. wore these complimentary colors on Monday and E’s version, also from Monday, so figured I should give it a try.  To make it feel a bit more me, I am also mixing my neutrals!

Have you taken inspiration from any of our outfits and then made it your own?  If so, send us a picture and tell us about it!

Sources:

All remixed

• Purple Cardigan – Gap Outlet
• Yellow and White Stripped Skirt – H & M
• White Tee – Gap
• Sandals – H & M
• Earrings – F21

Endnotes:

Today’s shades, purple and yellow, are true complimentary colors – straight form the crayon box.  Purple is one of my favorite colors and I also really like the way it looks with my hair and skin tone.  Yellow, however, is a whole other story!  I like yellow on my walls, in my flowers, and in theory, I like it in my wardrobe too. In practice, it just isn’t for me.  I have yet to find a shade of yellow that I am willing to wear near by face.   When we first introduced these color challenges, I quickly identified some holes in my own closet color wheel and most of them were in the yellow to red family.  I purchased some yellow bangles and let that complete any combinations that would require yellow.

Yellow and Purple, originally uploaded by academichic.

Are there any colors that you love on other people or on the hanger but never on yourself?

29 July 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

When we first explored the color wheel and experimented with various color combinations, we found it to be extremely helpful in lending us new eyes with which to see our wardrobes. This was so useful the first time around, that we decided to revisit the color modules and to challenge ourselves to a review session using our summer wardrobes. In our first review session we reexamined Neutrals and Neutrals with a Pop.

This week we will review Complementary Colors and the Two-Thirds Rule. To read more about this color mix lesson, click here…

Complementary Colors:

These colors appear opposite each other on the color wheel. An example might be red and green:

Because they are complete opposites, complementary colors make each other seem more intense. To be frank, it can be difficult to wear complementary colors together and simultaneously avoid looking like a page out of a coloring book. As we played with our color wheel, we found that we gravitated towards complementary color schemes that used intermediate colors, such as red-orange and blue-green:

We also liked how using a darker hue of a color’s complement created a more sophisticated palette:

Two-Thirds:

We’ve realized that we gravitate towards color combinations that make up two-thirds of a triad. In technical terms, a triad is comprised of three hues equidistant from each other on the color wheel. If you were to draw and equilateral triangle in the middle of the color wheel, the points would touch a triad of colors such as red-yellow-blue or orange-green-purple. Triads can be tricky to wear simultaneously (though we’ll be trying to soon!), but we’ve found that picking just two colors from a triad often results in a terrific, eye-catching palette. Our mnemonic device sounds like a pizza topping special: “You pick two!”An example might be blue and yellow:

Another example might be violet and green:

But, as with the complementary color schemes, we found that we preferred to mix a bright hue with its darker, more subdued complement:

Or, like A. did while on vacation, mix a bright hue (yellow) with its lighter complement (pink).

Homework:

We are going to try these types of color combinations out this week. If you do too, drop us a comment and let us know!

The rehearsal is a low country boil out doors on a beach, and the wedding itself is on the beach with a reception to follow within the resort. I can do beach wedding, but the issue is the reception. It is being held at a very formal, very southern resort, and one of the top ranked in the country.

A destination beach wedding sounds wonderful and we were so excited to brainstorm some outfit ideas for this event.

Since our reader’s dilemma was the transition from a more casual beach wedding to a formal indoor reception, we looked for dresses that could easily be dressed up or down. Here are some of our suggestions:

This J Crew dress comes with a under $50 price tag and is a gorgeous silk chiffon fabric in a beautiful “spiced wine” color. We love this for the deep rich hue and the flattering neckline. It could easily be made beach appropriate with flat sandals and a casual clutch, while switching to a pair of heels and adding a black or gray pashmina would make it reception formal.

This black and white floral Ann Taylor LOFT dress is another great casual-to-formal item. The knee length hemline and floral pattern make it casual and summery enough for a beach wedding, but the sophisticated black and white palette can quickly take it to evening formal.

We love the unique neckline of this Gianni Bini dress and the Grecian inspired feel of it. This one is guaranteed to make the wearer stand out! If you’re up for more of a splurge, be sure to check this one out at Dillards, along with the pages and pages of gorgeous dresses they have to offer.

Here are some tips for a successful  beach-to-evening look:

• Look for shorter dresses with a looser cut (less tailored and more breezy)
• Plan for a change of footwear! Flat sandals for the beach and heels for the reception
• Brighter colors and prints are more easily made beach appropriate but can just as easily become formal as black or grays
• Look for silk or chiffon blends and avoid 100% cotton – it’s easier to dress down a silk-blend fabric than it is to dress up a cotton dress
• Add “evening” accessories like a black or charcoal pashmina to take the beach wedding dress to indoor formal

We hope that these suggestions provide you the inspiration to put together that stunning beach-to-evening outfit for the upcoming wedding! As always, we open the forum to the rest of you to chime in with your helpful advice. More ideas and suggestions are always welcome and much appreciated!

Grey vs. Gray:
In response to my “Shades of Grey Post” yesterday, Clare asked “Do you spell it grey or gray? Any particular reason?”

A few of you pointed out that grey is a colour and gray is a color, as in the former is the British spelling and the latter the American spelling. I did a quick little study and found that Banana Republic, Gap, and J Crew all use grey and gray interchangeably in their online catalogues.   J Crew  tends to use terms like “dark charcoal”  “graphite” “slate” “heather cloud” and “mineral grey” – only proving my point that there are many wonderful shades of this color – whatever you call it!

Repeat Outfits:
After some very sweet comments about my J Crew Inspired outfit, ShopKim asked “in an effort to remix and keep the blog interesting, do you avoid duplicating outfits even though you loved it?”

The short answer is yes!  I loved this ensemble and plan to replicated it exactly, right down to the shade of lipstick!  I often wear similar combinations multiple times, but usually make at least a slight variation -  a different pair of shoes, different layering pieces, different jewelry, etc.  But, once in a while I manage to just hit the nail so perfectly on the head, the entire ensemble must be worn again.  When this has happened in the past, I just don’t post a picture for that day.  Thoughts on this?

The Summer Scarf:
Several of you asked me to report pack about how I felt wearing the scarf all day yesterday.

The scarf was great once I was inside the coffee shop, where air tends to be too high, and I needed to pull out a cardigan anyway.  I did, however, find it too warm for my time spent outdoors.  I love scarves and have a rather large collection of them.  I can honestly say that I can’t wait for real scarf weather when I can out all of my favorite scarves back into rotation.  But, I think until then, the will likely stay stored away.

We love getting your questions and suggestions.  We have received a few that need more time to tackle  and a large collaborative post from the Chics.  In the next few weeks look for  A Back to School Shopping Tutorial, What to Wear to A Beach Wedding, An Interview Style Workshop, and other reader-inspired posts.  Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email us with your questions!

Finally, I leave you with this message from E.:

“Thank you all for your warm congratulations! We are doing well and I am just so delighted that baby e. is finally here. I’ll be slowly creeping back into the swing of things over the next few weeks, but right now I need to go stare at my beautiful son! -E”

- A