8 July 2009 – Welcome Baby e.

Posted on | July 10, 2009 | 83 Comments

8 July 2009 – Welcome Baby e., originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Purple Top: F21
Pinstriped bermudas: Gap Maternity
Red Wedges: Naturalizer
Necklace: gift from Husband N.

Endnotes:

This is what E. was planning to wear to meet me for coffee after her doctor’s appointment on Wednesday afternoon. She packed a pair of flip-flops (or “slippers,” as she calls them) so as not to upset her doctor. Not all women can sport high wedges at almost 9 months pregnant. What her doctor doesn’t know, is that E. is not your average pregnant woman!

Back detail, originally uploaded by academichic.

But, as it turned out, E. never made it for our coffee date! Her lovely son, beautiful baby e. was born early Thursday morning! Little did E. know that this would be her “birthing-day outfit.” Luckily, those “slippers” came in handy for waddling around the hospital and made a perfect pairing with her hospital gown!

E., N., and baby e. are all doing well and should be home from the hospital soon. Here is a sneak peak at the gorgeous little guy! (I promise to post some pictures from my baby e. visit.)

Welcome to the world baby e.! We are thrilled you are here! -A.

Welcome Baby e.!!, originally uploaded by academichic.

13 May 2009

Posted on | May 13, 2009 | 14 Comments

13 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Turquoise slub top – F21
Brown skirt – Old Navy, well-loved
Wooden necklace – don’t recall
Red wedges – Naturalizers from DSW, remixed

End Notes:

Do you ever have a hard time getting dressed when the schedule for your day is in flux? I’m not sure if I’ll be working on design projects all day inside, if the weather will allow me to work in my backyard, or if perhaps I’ll be able to sneak away to a craft store. I find it incredibly difficult to get dressed on days like today and, as a result, I’m feeling rather uninspired.

I’ve written before about how a pair of shoes can save an outfit for me. My patterned flats have done so numerous times, but another go-to pair for “blah” days is my red Naturalizer wedges.

When I snagged these at DSW two years ago I thought that they would be occasional shoes. I was wrong. Not only are they incredibly comfortable (since they’re Naturalizers they have fantastic support and padding), they manage to make even simple outfits a little bit more fun.

Do you have a “go-to” item of clothing, a pair of shoes, or an accessory that serves as a wardrobe rescuer of sorts? What is it and why do you love it so?

4 May 2009

Posted on | May 4, 2009 | 3 Comments

4 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed.

Patterned top – thrifted
Gray skirt – Mimi Maternity, via eBay
Square earrings – street vendor in Austin, a gift from my husband
Silver cuff – bridesmaid gift
Red wedges - Naturalizers, via DSW

End Notes:

We’re going belt-free this week. (I like how it sounds almost healthy when you put it that way. We are BPA-free, sulfite free, and belt-free kind of ladies.) This is also the last day that I’ll see my students this semester as I help administer their final exam, so I needed to look polished and calm for their sake.

It’s a simple outfit, basically the skirt version of how I wore this top earlier in the year, but I’m making it special with little details, like how my square earrings match the pattern of the top and pick up the red of my shoes.

Square Earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.

And who needs a belt when you’re preggers and have an under-the-bust seam like this one? I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, let your seams do the work. Even though this isn’t a maternity shirt, it works perfectly for me as it hugs my bump and gives me volume elsewhere to balance things out.

Finally, for comparison purposes, let’s examine how my bump, my hair, my cheeks, and my garden have grown over the last month plus one week:

I think I’m keeping pace with the hostas, don’t you?

30 April 2009 – Husbandly Advice

Posted on | April 30, 2009 | 8 Comments

30 April 2009 – Husbandly Advice, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Checkered button down – husband’s, thrifted
Corduroy jacket – Ross
Jeans – ON maternity
Pointy toe pumps – Target

End Notes:

Today’s challenge actually comes from S., who told me that I needed to wear something checkered or plaid. It shortly came out, however, that what she really wanted to see was if I could figure out how to steal something from my husband N.’s closet and make it work with my bump. Now, I know that there is some disagreement over whether or not purloining from a man’s closet during pregnancy is course of action to be praised or condemned. I think — much like simply “buying up” several sizes instead of just buying maternity — that there are a lot of contingencies and no hard rules can really apply.

I wore this shirt of N.’s earlier in the year, back when my pants were getting tight but the bump was barely visible to the naked eye. I liked it then — and still like it today — because it has a softer drape than most of his other shirts, thus allowing for my shape to be evident. I felt like I needed some structure on top of it today, and N. actually suggested that I wear a blazer that would let the sleeves “poof” at the cuff. He approved of the shoe choice, too.

In other news, my end of the semester panic has temporarily lifted as I finished my third of four papers yesterday and found out that I passed my glucose tolerance test. This whole “getting dressed for not going to campus” business is working out pretty well thus far!

28 April 2009 – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Posted on | April 28, 2009 | 6 Comments

29 April 2009 – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Pink and white seersucker blazer – stolen from A.’s giveaway pile
Gray tank – Target
Jeans – ON Maternity, remixed of course
Blue green scarf – Ross, remixed
Paisley pointy toe pumps – Payless

End Notes:

When I got the e-mail from A. challenging me to wear “pink — not magenta — PINK” today, I knew it was going to be a battle. Ever since I realized that pastels and my skin tone don’t play nicely with each other, I’ve been fairly ruthless about weeding them out of my closet. I do have a deeper pink top that still fits (barely), but given today’s slightly chilly weather I knew that I would have to layer over that blouse and that A. would likely chasten me for not embracing the challenge. So I did what she would least expect: I wore one of HER old pink items of clothing.

No, I don’t have a secret tunnel of access to her closet — though that would be useful some mornings — but I do have a few bags of clothes that she generously gave me to help with a clothing drive I’m organizing this summer. I remembered that she had once mentioned that she was giving away a pink and white seersucker blazer, so I dove into the clothing pile and fished it out.

I decided that the best course of action would be to pair the relatively preppy jacket with edgier or at least more grown-up shapes and colors. So out came a gray top as a base, the skinnies, and a great pair of pumps. I cannot be mistaken for either a candy striper or a marshmallow peep in those items! I was still unhappy with how the pink looked next to my face, but a saturated blue-green scarf helped to remedy that. I wish I could say that I am happy and confident in this outfit, but I’m really still quite paranoid about all this pink business. On the other hand, one of my favorite songs by The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” has been in my head all day, and that’s a welcome respite from all of the other swirling thoughts about discursive materiality that have predominated for the last week! – e.

29 April 2009 – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, originally uploaded by academichic.

Academichic Essentials: E., the Preggers Edition

Posted on | April 18, 2009 | 5 Comments

Last week, S. made a list of her wardrobe essentials, the glue that holds her wardrobe together. I’ve been thinking a lot about wardrobe foundations since being pregnant. How does one, exactly, put a wardrobe together from scratch? My list of essentials at 6 months pregnant is of course strongly influenced by my pre-preggers style that I’ve tried to maintain, with some tweaking, as my bump has grown. And actually, compiling this list — a mix of extendable existing garments and new maternity purchases — revealed a couple of holes in my preggers wardrobe that I need to try and remedy shortly!

While S.’s and my lists overlap quite a bit, you’ll of course notice that the particular shapes and colors we use as our “essentials” are different and influenced by our personal style and our body types. You may also notice the big gaping absence of a white button down in my list. Anathema! But I rarely wore button downs pre-preggers (being long-waisted and thin made that difficult) so I felt no compunction at all to add it to my list of preggers essentials. I need a bumper sticker that says, “One person’s white button down is my magenta cardigan.”

Click through the jump for the full list…

(more…)

14 April 2009 – The Best of Bones

Posted on | April 14, 2009 | 8 Comments

14 April 2009 – The Best of Bones, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Magenta cardi – Express, remixed
Blue tunic – TJ Maxx, remixed
Gray trousers – Ann Taylor Loft Maternity, via eBay, remixed
Metallic peep-toes – Target.com, remixed

End Notes:

Seriously, I could not have been more thrilled that so many of our readers listed off their collarbone as one of the body parts that they love most about themselves. I, like A., am particularly proud of these sweeping bones. In fact, in the early days of my relationship with my now-husband I bluntly pointed out that he should recognize the charm of my clavicle. (Yes, I called it a clavicle and yes, he did appreciate it.)

Digression: My mother was an occupational therapist and when I studied biology I had a lot of random bone and muscle names pounded into my head. Clavicle, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and xiphoid process remain some of my favorites. Does anyone else have a favorite oddly named bone or muscle?

Anyway, I’ve learned that, between my collarboneyness and small chest, I can wear a variety of open necklines — like a surplice top or a wide v-neck — without being too va-va-va voom for school. Today I’m taking full advantage of this favorite part and wearing a wide square neck tunic. I’ve sometimes seen square necklines suggested for women with larger chests or hourglass figures. I have neither, of course. I wear it pretty much exclusively because showing a little collarbone makes me feel confident and a smidge sexy.

Collarboney, originally uploaded by academichic.

13 April 2009 – Above the Belt

Posted on | April 13, 2009 | 11 Comments

13 April 2009 – Above the Belt, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Sweater dress turned tunic: Target
Belt: thrifted
Jeans: ON Maternity, remixed
Boots: Steve Madden Iriss, well-loved and remixed often

End Notes:

This week in our Fashion 101 series on Proportions we’re getting dressed with our “best” in mind. Can you guess which feature I’m highlighting today?

I’m thrilled to be pregnant and couldn’t be happier that I’m showing more. I’m still figuring out how to show my bump off best or if there are silhouettes I can wear now that would not have been flattering to my pre-preggers shape. I think today’s outfit — with a belt going under my bump — counts. A drop waist was never on my pre-preggers style radar, but I’m loving how this new belt-placement works on the body I have now. Inspiration points for this whole concept have to go to the fabulous Spanish mama over at My Daily Style.

The pregnant body occupies a strange place in our contemporary society, with a weird obsession over who is and who is not doing pregnancy “right,” judgments made solely by looking at a woman’s physical appearance. After struggling with PCOS, I’m even more determined to keep a positive body image throughout this longed-for pregnancy. All that to say, even the parts we love about our bodies often come with very personal stories, experiences that have powerfully shaped how we identity ourselves. Maybe that’s why today’s outfit, in all its simplicity, is a pretty big deal to me. Go, Bump, go.

13 April 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

8 April 2009 – Citrusy

Posted on | April 8, 2009 | 3 Comments

8 April 2009 – Citrusy, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Yellow cardi: BR Outlet, remixed
Green tie-neck top: Banana Republic, remixed
Gray skirt: Mimi Maternity, via eBay, remixed
Orange pumps: Dolce Vita, via Sole Struck, remixed

End Notes:

My most well-loved visual strategy for re-adjusting the proportional lengths of my torso and legs is wearing higher-waisted bottoms. Like S., I managed — through lots of trial and error — to find the appropriate “fit” of pants at different stores that hit about an inch below my (rather high) belly button. At Banana Republic I am a “Martin” girl. At Old Navy, I am a “Flirt” devotee. At Ann Taylor, I am “Laura.” No matter how “in” they may be, low rise pants are not my friend. A higher rise means the illusion of a longer leg line.

Pre-preggers (and until I popped), I wore my skirts at or over my belly button. It was an elegant and easy way to fool folks into thinking that my legs were a lot longer than they actually are. Unfortunately, in maternity land, the high waisted skirt is essentially non-existent, and I found this to be probably the hardest style transition to make between my pre-pregger and pregger bodies.

And then I found this gray skirt that does two miraculous things. First, because it’s stretchy with an elastic back panel I can wear it right at my belly button and, from the front, I see a familiar, favorite proportion that makes me feel like me. From the side, though, the bump is still happily present. It’s an unusual silhouette for a preggers lady, but for me it manages to strike a balance between letting me still recognize my style and showing off, rather than hiding, my new shape.

8 April 2009 – Citrusy, originally uploaded by academichic.

7 April 2009 – Curvy Lines

Posted on | April 7, 2009 | 7 Comments

7 April 2009 – Curvy Lines, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Turquoise cardi – Gap, years ago
Leaf print top – H&M, remixed
Black trousers – Target maternity, remixed
Pointy toe flats – Target, remixed
Orangey-brown hair color – courtesy of being pregnant.

End Notes:

The main problem I have with maternity pants is that they, by necessity, have to sit far lower on me than I would normally prefer. The lower rise (often with a stretchy panel that needs to be concealed) means that my shirts have to also be longer, a fact that initially caused some angst for long-torso-me.

Two tricks I’ve recently figured out, though, and will probably continue to use post-baby, is the long monochrome line approach and the blending cami strategy. I’ve found that if I can create a long, lean line of color from my torso through my pants, my legs will appear longer and balance out my top. The simplest way, of course, to achieve this would be to wear a black top, black pants, and throw a brighter open cardigan or jacket on top. But, since our Pattern Mixing Module, I tried to follow the same principle but with a black and white print. Because the vines on this top run vertically, they keep your eyes running in a smooth up and down.

Another trick I’m trying today is to let a little cami show. Wearing a very long black cami underneath the printed top covers the stretchy maternity band, giving me the illusion of a valuable inch or two in the rise. A higher rise, means a longer leg line and, again, a seemingly shorter torso. This may not be the most elegant solution, but imagine how bifurcated I would look if I were wearing, say, a white cami underneath.

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