academichic

Sources:

• Sweater: Clements Ribeiro
• Trousers: Banana Republic Factory Outlet
• Belt: J. Crew
• Scarf: Filene’s Basement
• Shoes: Steve Madden via DSW

Endnotes:
Grey and yellow, aka “grellow”, is not a new pairing by any means, but it is a new combination for me. Inspired by Audi of Fashion for Nerds as well as my cobloggers, I thought I’d give it a shot, and thus far I’m very happy with it. For my third to last day of school before spring break I thought a bright shot of sunny yellow would be appropriate and pulled out one of my favorite light-weight sweaters. My mom and sister got this for me at London Fashion Weekend in 2003, and though yellow has not traditionally been a big player in my wardrobe, the silk applique of the redheads and the bright colors made this sweater perfect for me. I threw on a purple infinity scarf to complement the yellow as well as to cover more of my neck since it’s still chilly here!

I love it, but because it is so distinctive I only wear it for special occasions or when I need a real pick-me-up. Seeing as how I am thisclose to spring break, I knew the yellow could carry me through until the weekend. I like how the yellow and grey play off of on another, and I think a key to wearing this combo is make sure that the tint is the same (i.e. the same level of lightness or darkness despite the difference in color/hue). Audi’s lemon yellow pairs nicely with a light heathery grey and E.’s saffron/marigold colored sweater looks great with her darker grey skirt.

Since I enjoyed the tucked in cardigan look I tried last week, I thought I’d do it again and wear a bright belt. I like how this looked and the only thing that I didn’t like was that these trousers are a little big on me, so I looked pretty rumpled on my bottom half. I love these little flats and they looked surprisingly good with darker grey stockings. What fun outfits are keeping you going until spring comes?

~L.

Sources:

• Dress: Neiman Marcus outlet
• Buttondown Shirt: Banana Republic Factory
• Belts: J. Crew
• Tights: Target
• Shoes: Corso Como via Shopstyle.com
• Necklace: Mass MoCA store

Endnotes:
This is a belated “Belt Week” outfit that I had been meaning to wear, but didn’t get around to until today. Despite the fact that it is a full week into March, it still feels like we are firmly in winter at the moment, and so this cashmere dress is getting another outing before spring really comes to New England. I found this dress on super sale at an outlet and it is by far my favorite fall/winter dress because it is so cozy and warm. After a week of aggressive belting my waist was pretty tired, and I wanted to try what E. called “surrendering the waist”… but I didn’t quite get there. I did, however, surrender the tights after I had gotten into my classroom and realized that I was experiencing what Sal of Already Pretty calls “Segmented Worm Syndrome” with my present outfit and needed to let something go.

My full slip, which I wore over my shirt, managed to hold down the tails of the shirt and also give me some more piece of mind about going bare legged when I really hadn’t planned on it. I know if I had stepped outside I would have frozen from the waist down, but I just couldn’t wait until spring break! Anyway, the belting for this is something I’ve wanted to try since I went nuts at J. Crew this fall and bought several of their skinny belts on sale that I had been holding out for. I connected my silver and gold ones for this and let them naturally cross in the front and hang lower on my hips than I usually do.

I wore both gold and silver jewelry as well as silver shoes to complete this very simple outfit. I really like how the double belting worked out and I’d love to know how others have incorporated multiple belts into one outfit?

~L.

The most commonly given style reason for belting — if we ignore the practical utility of keeping your pants up — is to create an “hourglass” shape by accentuating the smallest part of your waist. S., who has done a lot of research on gender and fashion talked about some of the historical dimensions of this earlier in the day. While I may (very) frequently revert to a cinched-waist silhouette, but I’ve also become much more comfortable over the past couple of years with “surrendering the waist.”

LOOK! NO BELT

I think a big part of this was allowing my eyes to adjust, to recognize a different aesthetic as okay. And this, in turn, let me find a couple of ways to belt that do not hinge on belting at my smallest part. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good at-the-waist belt. But I have discovered that there is a world of belting that extends beyond the waist-cinch.

LOWER LOWER

I used to stay away from skinny belts, as I worried that they got lost amidst the expanse of my extra-long torso. More recently, however, I started belting just above my widest part, my hips. I probably lifted this straight from Kendi, who does this very frequently. Honestly, it probably does do some lower-half curve creation, and it’s not THAT different from belting at the waist, but I also find it to be a great way to break up an expanse of solid skirt. This also does nothing to mitigate my long torso-ness, but not every day needs to be about long-leggedness.

SNEAK ATTACK

I have grown rather attached to belting blousey tops to create a peplum effect. The belt still provides a hint of structure, but the overall silhouette seems more playful than a straight forward waist-cinch. I like how this exaggerates my shoulders and hips, but in a softer fashion.

BUMPAGE

Of course, my favorite subversion of the belt-at-your-smallest-part dictum is belting below a baby bump. Rather than an hourglass shape, it’s like a double scoop ice cream cone. Or something. And I can’t wait til I have bump enough to try this again, probably with more confidence than I did the first time around.

None of these are revolutionary belting techniques, of course, but they’ve helped me expand my belting repertoire in fun ways. Do you belt elsewhere besides your natural waist?

Red Ruffles, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Sweater: Elizabeth
• Scarf: thrifted
• Belt: J. Crew
• Skirt: J. Crew
• Tights: Kensie via Filene’s Basement
• Shoes: Tahari via Endless.com

Endnotes:
Another day of ruffles for me! I’ve had this sweater since college and haven’t worn it much because the ruffle always made me feel a little clown-ish. However, now that ruffles are all over the place I thought it deserved another try. Adding the volume of the scarf helped to offset the edging around the v-neck, which also made me feel a little more secure.

Red Ruffles and Scarf, originally uploaded by academichic.

The skirt is classic J. Crew and I’m not usually a fan of lighter colored shoes with tights, but for some reason my beige wedges were calling to me after I’d put on these delicious ribbed sweater tights (made of bamboo fiber!).

Tights and Scarf, originally uploaded by academichic.

I wasn’t sure what to do about making a waist for myself since the skirt sat pretty low, but had button details and tabs around the band. I didn’t want to tuck in my sweater, so I decided that the sweater could cover up the top of the skirt and I’d belt higher up in my silhouette to lengthen my legs and cut some of the bulk from my looser sweater. I took this inspiration from S. who did a great post in the Spring of 2009 about proportions and creating a waist using a skinny belt.

Red Ruffles, originally uploaded by academichic.

How do you create a waist when wearing a bulky or non-fitted sweater? ~ L.

10 November 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• T-shirt: Banana Republic
• Wrap Shirt: BR Outlet
• Trousers: BR
• Shoes: Tahari via Endless.com
• Belt: J. Crew
• Necklace: gift

Endnotes:
Unlike E. and A. I am not participating in Kendi’s 30 for 30 Challenge this time around, but will certainly jump in the next time this challenge comes our way. That being said, this outfit is a remix of several items that would definitely qualify as top choices for my 30 for 30. The ruffled wrap shirt is perfect mid-weight for this seasonal transition time of year. It also allowed me to try out a metallic leather skinny belt I had recently purchased at J. Crew.

10 November 2010 – close up, originally uploaded by academichic.

I’d been eyeing their variety of skinny belts for a while, and finally, most recent paycheck safely deposited, I sprang for a gold one and a silver one (remember, my mom always says to buy things in several colors if you really like it!). Don’t forget to ask for the “Educator’s Discount” at the register — 15% off can really help (Ann Taylor Loft also does this if you sign up)! Anyway, I was a little apprehensive about wearing heels with skinny pants, but I ended up really liking the extra length they gave me. What do you all think about heels with skinny or “cigarette” style pants?

~L.

10 November 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

15 March 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Ruffled cardigan: Ann Taylor
• Striped top: Old Navy
• Skinny belt: thrifted
• Wide belt: Target
• Cropped pants: Old Navy
• Ruffled pumps: AM, via DSW

End Notes:

Today’s outfit is a reinterpretation of an outfit that I wore (and loved) earlier this month. I once again paired a patterned top with the ruffled cardigan, and so I automatically reached for my newly thrifted skinny black belt that I wore the first time around.

15 March 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

(A brief digression. I’d like to announce that today’s outfit is a major style breakthrough for me. Yes, world, I have overcome my irrational fear of horizontal stripes. Somewhere along the way, probably due to watching too many episodes of What Not to Wear, I became afraid of horizontal stripes. I was convinced that they could only do my figure harm. But with stripes everywhere again this season, I decided that it was time to break free of my fear and try it out. And surprise. I think I might like them.)

15 March 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

Anyway, I kept the cardigan unbuttoned and tried on my skinny black belt. (My trick when belting over unfastened layers is to actually button part of the cardigan, belt, and then unbutton and rearrange. I’ve come to appreciate having that vertical strip of top creating the illusion of length.) While the skinny belt worked fine, and gave the outfit a nice bit of polish, it admittedly got a bit lost among the stripes.

15 March 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

So I pulled out my wider black belt and tried that instead. I appreciated how this wider belt was more visible, drawing attention to my waist and creating some visual rest in the outfit overall. Because my torso is so long, I tend to find that wider belts work best, allowing me to “fake” a higher natural waist and longer leg line.

But since this week is all about pushing the ways in which we use belts — rather than falling back on tried and true approaches — I thought I’d try one more option: belting under the cardigan. The results are pictured up top, and that’s the option I went with today. Although it may not necessarily be the most flattering in traditional terms, I liked how this combination played with softness and structure without being too predictable.

For an absolutely invaluable breakdown of the power of belting, check out Audi’s guest post on Already Pretty on the why’s and how’s of belting.