Sources:

Bike tee – J.Crew
Cardi – free from swap
Skinnies – ON Maternity
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports
Helmet – Nutcase

Endnotes:

It’s no secret that I’m somewhat bike obsessed. Ok, maybe a little more than somewhat. So you won’t be surprised to see that one of my favorite tees is one with a graphic print of a bike on it. I got this shirt on clearance at J.Crew at the end of last summer, only to open one of my gifts on Christmas morning and find that my mom had gotten the same tee for me at J.Crew as well. I guess she knows me pretty well. Having two of this one very loved t-shirt makes me willing to stetch one out and turn it into a maternity top.

And speaking of J.Crew, have any of you seen this recent article regarding a picture in the J.Crew catalog that’s apparently causing quite a stir? The image in question is one of J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and her young son engaging in a supposedly questionable activity… painting her son’s toenails pink. According to the news article, social conservatives are calling the piece “transgendered child propaganda.”  (The implications here being also that transgendered people should be shamed and not embraced). The claims range from suggestions that the young boy will need psychotherapy to recover later in life to accusations that J.Crew is exploiting the youngster to promote their “liberal, transgendered identity politics“. A bit much, right?

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We’ve talked in the past about how fashion is a powerful tool in perfoming gender and identity, be it in terms of race, sexuality, class, or ethnicity. We’ve also talked about how these accoutrements of fashion are used by adults to enforce gender performance in young children. This article is a perfect example of our culture’s obsession with visibly marking children as either male or female, feminine or masculine. The binary that shall not be disturbed.

As my husband, the feminist, pointed out – what if it had been black nailpolish on the little boy? Would that have caused as big of a stir? What is it about pink that is especially prickly when it comes to men adopting it? And what if the image had shown a little girl dressed in a baseball outfit? Would that kind of crossing of traditional gender boundaries have caused such an aggressive response? Even within culturally imposed gender norms, some boundaries are clearly more flexible than others.

To credit my husband with one more astute observation – that little boy is growing up with his mother greatly involved in the fashion industry. He likely observes her work with fashion much of the day. Nailpolish, an accessory, is just an extension of her daily work accoutrements. He most likely just wants to be a part of his mother’s life and involved with the things she’s passionate about. His wanting his nails painted should more likely be viewed as an extension of his love for his mother and his desire to share in her interests and activities. It’s sad that such a sweet demonstration of mother-child enjoyment is being demonized like this. Jon Stewart agrees with me, he also had a few things to say on the topic.

Perhaps you don’t agree and are oppsed to little boys wearing pink nailpolish. If that’s the case, I’d love to hear why that is. I welcome discussion from all perspectives on it and I hope that my making it clear where I stand on this debate doesn’t discourage others who disagree to chime in with their response. What is your take on the J.Crew image and the consequent media response to it? – S.

Sources:

Paisley top – dollar clearance at consignment store
Red-orange cardi – Zara many years ago
Skinnies – ON Maternity
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Earrings – made by me
Bike – 1970s Peugeot Mixte

Endnotes:

It feels like Spring is finally coming to my corner of the Midwest and it’s been great in terms of wearing lighter layers and – finally – shoes that aren’t boots! It’s so nice to just pull on a pair of jeans, a top, and a cardi and hop on my bike to ride to campus. The last time I wore this paisley top, I pulled off some bold pattern mixing with a striped cardigan. This time, I worked off the specs of red in the design and added a bright red-orange cardigan.

It’s funny to look at these pictures and think that I do not look very pregnant at all. While in other pictures, my belly looks huge. I’m now 24 weeks pregnant, over half way there. The last time I brought up the discussion of pregnancy in academia, a very lively discussion ensued, which you can find here. In that last post, I mostly talked about the reactions of colleagues and ‘superiors’, while today, I’d like to just briefly talk about my students’ reaction to my growing belly.

I noted last time that I thought my students were wonderful. They’ve asked lots of questions and showed much interest in talks before class. But once class starts, I haven’t noticed any difference in the level of concentration and ability to stay on topic. I’ve heard academics talk about how the pregnant body can be a source of distraction in the classroom, but I’m not sure how this would play out. I’ve really enjoyed my students’ thoughtful questions and comments and I’ve been happy to share little details about the baby with them. But once class begins, we’re business as usual. And I’m definitely very visibly pregnant ‘in real life’ now, no matter how deceiving these photos look.

Just like last time, I invite you to share your observations, experiences, and comments on this topic. Have you been the inhabitant of a pregnant body in the classroom? What were your experiences with this? S.

Sources:

Coat – Merona, via consignment store
Maternity dress – Motherhood, via consignment store
Belt – thrifted
Red-orange necklace – thrifted
Red bracelet – H&M years ago
Red tights – TJMaxx
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Red earrings – Welt Laden in Salzburg, Austria

Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports

Endnotes:

I’m becoming increasingly drawn to navy as a favorite neutral. I particularly like how it works with reds and browns. This navy shirtdress was one of my finds during a shopping spree with E. over my last visit to academichic central. E. took me to her favorite maternity consignment store and we had a blast perusing their maternity outfits while swapping pregnancy stories. At the time, I had just started to feel my baby move and I remember how delighted I felt to have E. (a second-time mom) confirm that those pops really were the baby.

That day, we came away with a few good maternity finds. Among which was this stretchy navy shirt dress that came with those built-in belt straps that are sometimes more nuisance than help. E. also found a gorgeous dress that day, which also came with built-in straps, and she recorded how she made those work here. I decided to take the plunge and remove them altogether.

You can see how the dress looks with the navy built-in straps in comparison to it being worn with a different, contrasting belt. I think I much prefer the latter, which breaks up the vast amount of solid fabric and gives the eye a focal point. So I knew I wouldn’t miss the navy straps, since I was likely to never wear it ‘as is’…

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Sometimes built-in belts works wonderfully and A. even did a demonstration of how you can use them to tie in a cardigan or outside layer. But I think that for the built-in straps to work well, they have to be of a more substantial width. The thin ‘shoestring’ kind just don’t seem to do it for me. What do you do with the built-in belts, do you keep them or cut them?

S.

]]> http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/28/28-march-2011-built-ins/feed/ 14 http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/16/16-march-2011-spring-break-uniform/ http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/16/16-march-2011-spring-break-uniform/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:21 +0000 admin http://www.academichic.com/?p=20933

Sources:

Scarf – Banana Republic, same one as styled by A. here
Trench coat – my grandmother’s from the 70s
Top – Anthropologie, hand me down
Skinnies – Old Navy Maternity
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Earrings – gift from A.

Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports

Endnotes:

It’s Spring Break! And the weather is actually playing nice and making me believe that Spring is coming. Most of our snow has melted and I was actually able to get away with loafers and no socks! While my mornings so far have been happily spent in sweats and pj’s while I sit at home writing my dissertation, I have been getting dressed for brief sojourns out of the house in the afternoons. And this has been my go-to look for break: comfortable jeans, some kind of top, a lightweight Spring scarf, loafers or flats, and my favorite spring jacket – my grandmother’s trench coat.

As a nod to Braid Wednesday, I’m also wearing my hair in two braids wrapped around my head. I usually cross the braids over at the nape of my neck and then bring the ends upwards, pinning them with bobby pins on top of my head…

And if Spring isn’t ready to arrive in ‘real life’, it’s certainly arrived in my wardrobe and in my house. I’m finding myself drawn to floral prints and Spring-inspired accessories (like these tiny bird earrings I’m wearing) even more than usual. T. and I are getting our garden ready and our little seedlings are growing like crazy by the windowsill indoors. We can’t wait to transplant them outside and start our first garden and I can’t wait for bare legs and bike rides without a coat and for summer dresses that will be especially indulgent to my growing midsection.

What are you looking forward to this Spring? S.

]]> http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/16/16-march-2011-spring-break-uniform/feed/ 8 http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/02/on-belting-and-corseting/ http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/02/on-belting-and-corseting/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:00:38 +0000 admin http://www.academichic.com/?p=20668

Sources:

Striped top – Banana Republic, hand me down
Dress – thrifted and chopped by me
Belt – thrifted
Tights – TJMaxx
Pendant – Anthropologie (the original chain broke and I thrifted a ‘new’ chain for it)
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Bike – 1970s Peugeot Mixte

Endnotes:

In thinking about how belting has been discussed on our site and on other blogs, I can’t help but draw parallels between the debate on ‘belting’ and the discourse around ‘corseting’ today and in the past. Perhaps you haven’t given this particular comparison much thought but since I am devoting a chapter of my dissertation to the practice of corseting, I don’t even know how to contain the thoughts I have on this to one little post. So I will try…

Ready to up the nerd factor?

Here it goes: Corseting is as much a topic of contention and debate in modern scholarship as it was at the time that it was being practiced. Writings and arguments about the corset – then and today – fall into either of two categories; the corset as tool for the oppression and subjugation of the female body or the corset as symbol of freely expressed sexuality and empowerment. Nineteenth-century medical opinions, popular writings, and fashion advertisements competed as voices of authority on what the corset meant in terms of function and its signification. Today, scholars are equally at odds in how to read this symbol. Most writings fall into either of the two above mentioned camps; first, those that denounce the corset as yet another example of how the female body was molded and coerced into an artificial and man-made object of desire and, second, those that argue for the corset as a symbol of autonomy, self-determination, and sexual empowerment.

Are you starting to see where I’m going with this in terms of belting? It seems that both in the comments we have received in the past and in discussions on other blogs, the belt has fallen victim to a similar debate. Is belting a way to draw attention to an idealized ‘hourglass’ female body? (One that of course is not representative of many body shapes). Or is it a way to enhance and showcase a particular aspect of one’s appearance in an act that is empowering and self aware? And what happens when I use my belt to showcase my ‘baby bump’ in an obvious flaunting of something that is commonly thought of as a symbol of maternity and domesticity? But what happens when I am doing that while owning the title ‘feminist’ on this blog and publicly discussing my involvement in academia and the workplace? (And to further complicate that – while biking to work and posing next to my bike for these pictures?).

To briefly return to the corset – did you know that the corset also played volatile role in conjunction with the pregnant body? While there were corsets meant for pregnant women, there are documented cases of women wearing non-maternity corsets to attempt abortion through tight-lacing. It’s easy to see then why the corset was (and still is) largely demonized as an object of immorality and sexual deviance. This, however, does not take into account the other ways that corseting can be read in relation to motherhood and pregnancy. Becoming a mother (or parent) is not for everyone. That seems to be a more accepted way of thinking today but certainly wasn’t for many centuries when women were reduced to their reproductive capabilities and often only seen as extensions thereof. According to art historian and cultural critic David Kunzle, the practice of corseting in the face of charges of immorality and anti-motherhood (in general and not only when matters of abortion came into play), can be read as a powerful message from women refusing to be visually marked as ‘maternal’, ‘domestic’, and ‘naturally feminine’. Their adoption of the corset challenged the notion that these former categories were fixed and essential and the only way that a women ‘should’ be.

Well, if you’re still with me on this, then here is my conclusion: I agree with critics such as Kunzle who argue that there is no one way of interpreting the corset and its pluralistic function in our society, past and present. Neither do I believe in vilifying the belt for enforcing a certain type of body aesthetic since it can have many functions based on context and situation. In this case, I’m using a belt to bring definition to an otherwise shapeless dress in order to communicate that I am proud of my bourgeoning baby bump and my position as a working woman who has also chosen motherhood for herself.

And let’s be honest, this thrifted dress really needed a belt and a good five inches chopped off the bottom, right?

I would love to hear from you if you have given ‘belting’ any kind of theoretical consideration and whether you’ve found yourself objecting to belting or embracing it despite/because of certain associations or ideas? ~S.

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And what kind of academic would I be if I didn’t leave you with a few resources for further reading should you be intrigued by the topic of corseting and fashion thory…

Steele, Valerie. The Corset. A Cultural History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.

Kunzle, David. Fashion and Fetishism. A Social History of the Corset, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body-Sculpture in the West. Totowa: Rowman and Littlefield, 1982.

Perrot, Philippe. Fashioning the Bourgeoisie. A History of Clothing in the Nineteenth Century. Trans. Richard Bienvenu. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.

Summers, Leigh. Bound to Please: A History of the Victorian Corset. New York: Berg, 2001.

11 May 2009 – Vélo Chic, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Pink gingham button down – American Eagle 
• Dark wash jeans – ON Flirt, remixed 
• Green loafers – Anne Klein, remixed 
• Bike – Mongoose 
• Backpack – Timbuk2, borrowed from fiance

Endnotes:

I’m joining the Vélocouture movement this summer and attempting to travel by bike as much as possible. I’ve been inspired by the bike-happy pictures of fellow remixer Mamichan, who bikes to work and still looks stylish and beautiful while doing so; case in point here, here, and here (and these are just a few of my favorites).

I’ve started out small by biking to a nearby coffee shop for my daily work session out of the house. I borrowed my fiance’s backpack, found my old bike lock, and set off through back roads and on sidewalks just last week. (I know you’re not supposed to ride on sidewalks, but I think it’s best I provisionally do so for everyone’s sake who’s on the road with me!) 

    

Coffee Date with my Books, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’m not a skilled cyclist but I love biking and love the concept behind vélocouture.  And if you need any more convincing that you can still look stylish and wear just about anything while commuting by bike, just check out this girl’s Flickr set or this young mom’s Flickr manifesto.  Do you bike to work or around town? Or is cycling something you reserve for trails and weekend outings? Do you own a bike at all?

 

Loafers and Bike, originally uploaded by academichic.

 

11 May 2009 – Me and my Bike, originally uploaded by academichic.