academichic

23 August 2010 – Rainy Days and Mondays, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• T-shirt: American Apparel
• Skirt: Calvin Klein Outlet
• Belt: Old Navy Outlet
• Shoes: Madden Girl via DSW

Endnotes:
One final post regarding our color wheel challenge. Since I had been putting this outfit together in my head for days, I wanted to share my monochrome blue-green ensemble. This outfit is very simple, but with the addition of a belt and heeled shoes it manages to look polished despite the easy T and skirt combo. This is another one of my super girl-y feeling skirts because it moves so well. It is surprisingly heavy since the pleating hides where several panels of material are added and you can’t see the many inner layers that help give it such a swishing motion. I was determined to get a picture of this skirt in mid-twirl, and I seriously almost fell over from dizziness at the end of this photo series! Oh, the things we do for Academichic.

23 August 2010 – Twirl!, originally uploaded by academichic.

23 August 2010 – Twirl!, originally uploaded by academichic.

23 August 2010 – Twirl!, originally uploaded by academichic.

The belt you might recognize as the same as E’s and A’s (although hers is teal) and it is one of the workhorses of my wardrobe. I wear a lot of grey and grey goes with everything, so the purchase of a stretchy grey belt was a necessity for me. I used to be very wary of mixing neutrals including metallics, so the brass buckle made me a little anxious. However, thanks to my co-bloggers I’ve realized that things like that don’t matter very much and I can still wear silver jewelry despite the color of my buckle. These shoes were also a major addition to my wardrobe this year and have proven very useful. I like the small heel because they are comfy enough that I can wear them all day, but give me a little height and my legs a little length.

23 August 2010 – Grey, originally uploaded by academichic.

It has taken some adjustment, but I’m getting used to how delightfully cool the weather can be in New England even in summer – I’ve taken to carrying a light cardigan with me and don’t have to wear tanks all the time. Lately it’s not only been cool, but also quite rainy, which somewhat inspired this marine blue pairing. If I’d had my whole wardrobe at my disposal, I would have tossed on my grey cardi or my navy blazer from Ann Taylor Loft (not the same as A’s, but similar!). As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve just moved into my new apartment, but I’m still bouncing around New England visiting relatives and friends, and hence, I don’t have access to my whole closet all the time. I have really enjoyed color wheeling for the last four weeks, and I do think it will make me think more about my options when it comes to colors and combinations. However, I’m looking forward to school starting so I can share my daily teaching outfits with you all. This week I’ll be deciding what to wear for my first day of faculty meetings – exciting!

13 August 2010 – Turquoise Triad, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• T-shirt: French Connection
• Skirt: J. Crew
• Sash: somewhere in Paris
• Shoes: Ann Taylor
• Jewelry: gifts

Endnotes:

First I wanted to thank one of our readers for pointing us to this most helpful and interactive color wheel online called Color Scheme Designer. You can select a color and then have it generate the complementary, triad, split complementary, and analogous colors! I wish I’d been using this since the beginning of the challenge, but I will definitely get some use out of it in my daily dressing as well!

13 August 2010 – Turqouise Triad, originally uploaded by academichic.

I guess E., A., and I all needed to feel like superheroes this week with our blue-red-yellow triads. I do feel like my red sandals might have wings! When we started this challenge I knew that this yellow and orange scarf was going to come in handy seeing as how it was one of the few pieces I owned that covered that end of the color spectrum. However, it is pretty short and doesn’t lend itself well to being used as a belt. As E. discussed in her post the other day, getting things to stay wrapped around your head can sometimes be tricky, and many of you have come up with helpful tips. I decided that to break up this analogous pairing of blue and turquoise (which I think counts as blue-green) I would use this bright swath as a cummerbund of sorts and simply knot it in the back.

13 August 2010 – Knot, originally uploaded by academichic.

Perhaps not the most polished fastening, but definitely effective and looks great from the front! The scarf also has a turquoise edge, so my accessories and top both pull from that as well. This bracelet was a gift, and it is simply turquoise chunks on a red silk string. I love that turquoise jewelry is so fabulous that it really can stand on its own with very little embellishment and the delicious shade of blue can set off such a range of other colors.

13 August 2010 – Turqouise and Scarf, originally uploaded by academichic.

Finally, to complete the triad – red shoes! These little flat sandals from Ann Taylor were red enough to pop and yet strappy enough not to compete with the rest of the outfit.

Red Sandals, originally uploaded by academichic.

I usually shy away from anything with an ankle strap because it cuts the leg, and I need all the length and illusion of height I can get. Although, I think these might be changing my mind about that taboo. What are your thoughts on ankle straps on shoes?

3 August 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Skirt – Gap
• Tank- H & M
• Belt – BR Outlet
• Shoes – Banana Republic
• Necklace – gift
• Earrings – island souvenir
• Cardigan – Banana Republic

Endnotes:

Like E. and S. both said themselves, mixing neutrals is no real challenge for me.  I love my neutrals and love to mix them and was in fact crowned “our neutral-on-neutral queen” by E. last fall.  I’ve never shied away from black and brown, wearing it for both casual days and teaching days, and frequently pair navy with brown, with grey, or cream.  But, I think my favorite neutrals palate involves mixing shades of grey, brown, and beige as I have done many, many, many, times before.

3 August 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

I like that nothing in this ensemble exactly matches.  With the cardigan on I am wearing at least 6 different shades or either brown or grey (including beige).  The cardigan spent the entire day in my bag because it is ridiculously hot here in Academichic Central – so hot, even the over-air-conditioned campus buildings didn’t require an extra layer.

My favorite part of this outfit is hands down my new suede shoes!  I have been watching these shoes at Banana Republic since early this Spring, waiting for them to go on sale.  By the time they were within my price range, my size was gone (online and at the three stores withing driving distance from me) so I added them to my ebay search but had pretty much given up on them.  Then I got a text from L. last week telling me she had found them in my size on super sale!  She picked them up for me and gave them to me when we saw each other in NYC last week. I couldn’t wait to get home and build an outfit around them.  These shoes might just give the beloved brown wedges a run for their money as most worn shoes this fall!

Grey Suede Shoes, originally uploaded by academichic.

I often see things for E. S. or L. when out shopping and once in a while have even just picked an item up for one of them on occasion. It’s so much fun to have three other shoppers out there who know my style (and size and proportions) so well, but also a bit dangerous for the wallet!

Do you have anyone out there with an eye out for clothes or shoes you will love?  A.

3 August 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Summer Picnic, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Skirt – Gap
• Ruffle Tank – J Crew
• Belt – F21
• Bracelets – gifts from S.
• Sandals – Charlotte Russe
• Basket – gift from Sister S.

Endnotes:

This weekend I spent a lovely evening with friends in a nearby park.  My contribution to the picnic included plates, bowls, cutlery, cups, and a bottle of white wine (in the cooler not pictured), but I also tucked a bottle of ice water, some bug spray, sunscreen, and an umbrella into my multi-purpose red basket.  My sister gave me this collapsible canvas basket for my birthday a couple years ago.  I’m pretty sure she got it from The Container Store, but I recently discovered a similar item at Garnet Hill.  They come in a wide selection of colors and patterns and even in different sizes. I’m adding a mini basket in blue and a large basket in brown paisley to my wish list.

I figure I could easily use one or two more, since I’ve used mine for hauling plants, shopping at the farmers market, transporting baked goods for my family or hot dinners for new parents (like E. and N.), and for packing up picnic supplies.  Because it had been used for the dirtier plant hauling most recently, I lined it with a brightly patterned fresh linen for the picnic.

Picnic Basket, originally uploaded by academichic.

For my picnic-perfect ensemble, I chose a tank that would keep me cool but had enough detail for an evening out.  I paired in with a full skirt so that I could sit comfortably on the picnic blanket and not worry about flashing anyone!

I love summer! Especially when spent with good friends and good food!  A.

PS: Thanks for all of the interesting comments last week about slogan t-shirts.  I responded to some of the questions/concerns raised in a lengthy comment of my own.

Summer Picnic, originally uploaded by academichic.

28 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Tank: Target
• Belt: Gap Outlet
• Skirt: Ruche.com, lengthened by me
• Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell, gift from MIL via Rue La La

End Notes:

I’m sure it comes as little surprise to any of you that I am in love with light gray as my summer neutral of choice. Pairing light gray with a more acid yellow and white stripes, I’m all passing summer storms and rippling heat rolled into one. Or, at least, that’s how I felt.

When I wore this skirt earlier, I had some concerns over the length-to-fullness ratio. It seemed a bit too short to be so full, resulting in a silhouette that bordered on feeling too “young” for me and was absolutely useless in the wind. Since I live in the Midwest and ride a bicycle, the latter became kind of a big deal.

So, during my week of “vacation” when I refashioned that dress into a skirt, I also set about lengthening this skirt to a more flattering length. Using extra fabric from my self-made tank dress, I took advantage of the gray skirt’s stitched edge detail and used those existing lines of stitching to hide my own seam, attaching a faux layer of floral fabric. The result fits the skirt’s somewhat romantic aesthetic better than attaching a clean band to the very bottom edge. (Plus, since I seem to be of the opinion that yellow is a foundational slice of the color wheel, I’m not too worried about limiting my color combination options.)

Lengthened Skirt, originally uploaded by academichic.

Finally, three cheers for my new sandals, found on super sale at Rue La La and graciously gifted by my always-tasteful mother-in-law. I predict that you’ll be seeing a lot of these cut-out mini-wedges in the weeks to come!

Jeffrey Campbell Sandals, originally uploaded by academichic.

28 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

21 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Tank: Target
Belt: vintage, my mom’s
Skirt: Banana Republic Factory
Patterned wedges: Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW

End Notes:

I just recently realized that I’ve worn this colorblock skirt, which falls somewhere between pale violet and gray (JCrew might call it “dove” or something else unhelpful), in many a different color combination. As a pair of grays with purple undertones, it has functioned beautifully as a pseudo-neutral that adds richness to otherwise simple color palettes. Let’s review, shall we?

When paired with a mustard yellow tank, the almost-lavender skirt creates a complementary color scheme that is soft rather than jarring.

The first time I blogged this skirt, I wore it with a brown sweater. Go neutrals (and pseudo-neutrals).

30 January 2009 – 2, originally uploaded by academichic.

Then, a baby bump popped and this skirt had to be retired for a season. When I brought it out again post-baby, I used it to create a kind of extended analogous color palette of purple, blue, and green…

21 September 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

…and a true analogous combination of navy and purple. Though, if you think of navy and this purpley-gray as neutrals, this could also be an entirely neutral outfit with a pop of color in the shoe. Tricky.

4 April 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’ve also used the skirt in a monochrome purple look (and playing with a faux-drop waist). It’s like a dress fake-out. The subdued tones helpfully keep me from looking like a muppet, which is frequently my fear with monochromatic outfits.

4 May 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’m also particularly fond of this two-thirds combination (purple and orange) with a navy (neutral) jacket. After depending for so long on neutrals and cool tones to match this skirt, the warmer coral created a whole different affect that I really liked and that inspired today’s warm+cool combination of mustard and violet.

23 March 2010 – Versatility Thy Name is My Navy Blazer, originally uploaded by academichic.

Next up, I’m thinking that I need to try this skirt out with wine or magenta up top, or maybe create a full triad with a green top and orange shoes. Any other suggestions? Maybe a split complementary?

21 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

14 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Jacket: Banana Republic Factory
• Tank: Target
• Belt: Old Navy
• Skirt: thrifted ages ago
• Wedges: Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW

End Notes:

Somewhat ironically, although S. and A. have been having days of simple or repeat duds while traveling or working away from campus, I’ve been secretly relishing the excuse to dress up every weekday for my translation course. The only problem is that since the class consumes so much time my picture-taking and post-writing moments have been severely constrained!

While one cannot ever entirely separate clothing’s form from its function, I do feel like I’ve been dressing primarily for function for quite a while now. When we started this blog, I was dressing to accommodate my growing baby bump. Then, I was dressing for ease of frequent breastfeeding (nursing tanks and surplice necklines). Now, I’m dressing to be able to bike to campus in hot summer weather (hence the recent lack of pencil skirts and pants). While I may sometimes whine about how the demands on my body circumscribe wardrobe creativity, I have to admit that the default primacy of functionality in my clothing choices certainly reinforces the notion of style always being understood in a social context, of clothing as woven (pun!) into our lives of doing, not only being perceived.

Perhaps I should also qualify the notion of “functionality.” Certainly some spandex and sneakers would arguably be “more functional” for commuting via bike. But I’m not really interested in finding the “most” functional outfit, just as I’m not really interested in finding the most creative or aesthetically pleasing outfit. For my specific ride to campus, for the specific schedule of my day, for the particular thermostat levels of the classroom I’m in, and from my particular closet, I make choices. It’s this sense of clothes-in-context that first drew me to style blogging, and what I miss when I’m just flipping through a JCrew or Anthropologie catalog or looking at Banana Republic’s lookbook online. I love seeing how clothes accompany and enable the “doing” of people’s lives, right down to the various iterations of skinnies-and-tunics or tanks-and-bermudas that let S. and A. do all that they do.

14 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

17 May 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Yellow cardigan: Banana Republic Factory
• Saffron tank: Banana Republic Factory
• Olive belt: thrifted
• Skirt: Banana Republic factory
• Patterned wedges: Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW

End Notes:

It’s been raining for days on end at Academichic Central, so today I decided to make my own sunshine and bring back out the yellow that I gushed about on my final day of Dress Your Best week.

(Speaking of, we have a series of round-up posts from DYB week coming soon! We continue to be so delighted by how many folks participated, but next year I want to hire a work study student to do all this data organization for us. Ha!)

As I put this outfit together today, I started humming Jack Johnson’s little ditty “Reduce, Reuse Recycle.” Indeed, I did reduce outfit-making anxiety by reusing and recycling items and combinations from previous outfits. This whole silhouette, for example, is very close indeed to the turquoise top, woven belt, and cream skirt that I wore last week. (Yup, I do own the same skirt in two different colors!) And I’ve worn these patterned wedges with this very skirt and saffron top combination. And, yes, I’ve paired this yellow cardigan and saffron top together before as well. Not so many originality points today.

Wedges, originally uploaded by academichic.

Then again, perhaps I could argue that the privileging of originality is a western construct linked with the masculine notion of the male genius and that by foregrounding the repetition and derivation within my wardrobe choices I am inhabiting a third space of style consciousness. Whee! Can you tell my semester is over and I’m on my one week break?!

What role does “originality” play when you’re putting together an outfit? Do you feel guilty reusing past combinations or do you embrace it?

17 May 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

6 May 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Orange bauble necklace: F21
• Coral top: Target
• Belt: Gap Outlet
• Skirt: thrifted
• Wedges: thrifted

End Notes:

(Look! I escaped momentarily from my basement walk-out as defacto picture-taking location!)

Today is just a simple outfit for a catch-all day of errands, paper-writing, a walk with baby e., and packing to go out of town for the weekend. I was feeling a little underinspired and very utilitarian in just the coral top and khaki skirt, but once I added the orange bauble necklace, things started to look up.

I used to be so uncomfortable about pairing colors that are close together on the color wheel, but I’ve increasingly come to appreciate how these “tight” color combinations can actually make basics look much more sophisticated.

These kinds of barely analogous color pairings do tend to show up frequently in nature. In fact, I think I’m about ready to start getting some color combination inspiration from our local CSA pick-ups that are beginning shortly. Where will you be drawing color inspiration from as spring turns into summer?

CSA Veggies = new color inspiration?, originally uploaded by academichic.

CSA Veggies = new color inspiration?, originally uploaded by academichic.

22 April 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Blue Blazer – F21
• Pinstripe Skirt – Gap
• Green Ruffle Tank – Old Navy
• Green Flats – Banana Republic

Endnotes:

I had good intentions of giving florals a fair shot today, but stripes once again won out.  I tried adding floral accessories for a bit of pattern mixing, but I like the mix of the double stripes better.  I promise I’ll try harder tomorrow!

Double Stripes, originally uploaded by academichic.

I love both this full skirt and this short-sleeved navy blazer and have worn both many times, including a few times paired together.  In fact, I have worn both so much that they have both seen much better days.  The skirt has a small tear in the front that I expect will only grow and the blazer is continuing to fade and loose its shape.  So, I am now on a mission to replace these wardrobe staples.  Today starts my official quest to find a lightweight full skirt in a neutral color and a short or 3/4 sleeved navy blazer.  And, I am enlisting your help!  If you find anything that you think fits the bill, leave a comment here or shoot me an email.  I’ll be sure to report back on my own finds.  A.

22 April 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.