academichic

Sources:

• Top: Forever 21
• Shorts: maternity consignment store
• Tank: Old Navy (tall size)
• Necklace: Tilly Bloom
• Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell (I’m not tired of them yet…)
• Bikes: “Oliver,” a 2010 Raleigh One Way (for N.) and “Sammy,” a 1986 Schwinn Le Tour Mixte (for E.)

End Notes:

Over the weekend N. and I had the delightful gift of free babysitting (thanks, sister-in-law P.!) and the chance to go on a bike date picnic in a nearby park to watch the fireflies. (I’ll be sharing more about the date itself on S.’s bike blog in the near future.) It was a beautiful night and also a great reminder to me of why I should celebrate my legs during this year’s Dress Your Best.

My legs have always been “there” and I’ve rarely been that impressed with either their aesthetics or their extraordinary functionality. Unlike A., S., and L., I’m not a marathoner or a serious runner. I can’t say that my legs have carried me tremendous distances or that they’ve overcome great adversity. They’re kind of pale and kind of…normal.

But, since beginning biking last year, my legs have acquired greater value in my mind. It’s not because of their athletic prowess — because honestly I don’t really ride that far or that fast — but simply because they have allowed me to participate in an activity that my husband loves and that I, in turn, have come to really enjoy. My legs have taken me on many a bike date exploration of our city with N., with little e., and with visiting friends and relatives. It’s become our “thing” that we do…together. We bike to our respective jobs, to church, to the grocery store, to friends’ homes. And when I pulled out little e.’s trailer and hitched him up to my bike for a library run, all on my own accord, I think husband N. almost burst with pride.

So thanks, legs, for giving me the ability to spend a special kind of quality time with my family. You may not be hardcore or super long or super toned or super anything, but you’ve given me a great gift. And I’m celebrating you by wearing short shorts.

Sources:

• Shirt: thrifted
• Belt: thrifted
• Shorts: maternity consignment store
• Sandals: Old Navy

End Notes:

I don’t know about S., but on days when I’m just feeling really HEAVY from being pregnant, it’s nice to throw on something thin and light and floaty and just pretend that gravity has no affect on my ligaments.

Both A. and L. have worn their “short shorts” lately, and I have to say that I am really loving my own navy short shorts during this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with baby e. I wore maternity bermudas quite frequently. This time, however, I’ve embraced the shorter length especially because it allows me to play with some different proportions, like this one. Plus, I happen to like my legs in general and they seem relatively non-plussed by all the other pregnancy changes in my body.

Higher-waisted shorts, like the ones I wore last summer, are probably my preferred shorts silhouette overall, but I’m going to go ahead and say that over-the-bump maternity shorts sound like a bad idea. I’ll just wait for a while, thanks.

Sources:

Take #3:

• Striped Tank – American Eagle
• Shorts – Gap Outlet
• Hat- Banana Republic
• Sandals – H & M
• Earrings – gift from S.

Take #4:

• Pink Skirt – Limited
• Striped Top – Banana Republic
• Belt – Thrifted
• Grey Shoes – BR
• Earrings – gift from S.

Endnotes:

Here are takes 3 and 4 of my self-imposed stripe challenge.   I think takes 1 and 2 were both much better, but I am happy to finally get my hat on the blog.  Several months back, before it was sun hat season, E. and S. convinced me to wear this hat.  I wore it a few times before chopping my hair and then was hesitant to pull it out again after the haircut.  I’m not convinced it is the most flattering look, but it sure is practical!  I wore this outfit at an outdoor festival over the weekend and it was nice to keep the sun off my head and face and it hid my increasingly  post-rain curly/frizzy hair.

Take #4 looked better in my imagination, but I do love the bright color pairing and that I got to use my newly thrifted belt again.   I wore this for my first day of teaching summer school yesterday and then took the pictures after finding out the class was canceled due to low enrollment.  I just couldn’t manage a picture in which I didn’t look at least slightly dejected. Looks like I wont have as have many teaching outfits to show you over this summer, so hope you don’t mind seeing some writing duds!

A.

Sources:

• Striped Top – Gap
• Shorts – Banana Republic Factory Outlet
• Red Flats – Target
• Earrings – Aldo (altered by me)
• Bracelet – gift from S.’s mom

Endnotes:

Here is my second blue and white stripe based outfit.   It’s nothing ground-breaking, but here you have it.

I know you aren’t all fans of shorts this length, and I’m still not %100 confident when wearing them. But, I do, as many of you mentioned, feel more comfortable pairing them with a top with sleeves, and particularly this boat-neck, square-cut, three-quarter sleeve knit top that is all wrong with my skinny jeans. I certainly wouldn’t wear this outfit to school, but it was perfect for sitting outside with  iced coffee  and a friend.

On another note, what do you think of these earrings?  Since my new haircut I have been on the lookout for large dangly earrings and I love wood accessories for summer.  So, when I spotted large wooden disks hanging from a jewelry rack this weekend I grabbed them.  Unfortunately, when I turned them around I saw that layered on top the wood were two intricately decorated gold disks – just not at all my style.  They were cheap so I bought them anyway and did a little DIY (I just used pliers to remove the gold disks).  Now, I’m not sure if they are too big.  Thoughts?