Sources:

• Sunnies – drug store
• Silk scarf – 1 Euro find at Vienna flea market
• Eyelet top – TJMaxx
• Brown cardi – TJMaxx
• Skinnies – S.Oliver
• Flats – Palladium
• Pendant – Anthropologie
• Earrings – gift from husband

Endnotes:

These are my last travel photos from Cluj, Romania. As you can see, I wore more of the same ‘uniform’ I’ve been sporting throughout my trip to Prague and Romania. I pretty much switched between two pairs of skinny jeans, rotated through a variety of loose, comfortable tunic-like tops, and wore the same tried and tested pair of Palladium flats each day…

This look works really well for me because I’m somewhat of a straight-up-and-down rectangle, so tunics, empire waist tops, and loose blouses work really well with my shape. Someone with more of an hourglass figure might do well to pack tops that define a waist and show off some curves, but for me, it ends up working quite well to highlight my thin legs in skinny jeans and not bother trying to create curves where there are none. When I’m just trying to get dressed quickly and comfortably, that is. Style savvy-readers like Sal mentioned trying travel outfits on at home before packing and I have definitely approached my packing in that well-planned way before. But when time is short and I just want to throw things in my bag that I know will work, I stick with simple pieces that work with and not against my figure.  And with well worn-in and tested shoes. Even if it means that I wear pretty much a version of the same outfit each day. When I’m traveling, I want my surroundings to be my focus and not my outfits.

To vary my looks a wee bit and to make me feel like I’m adding a dash of style to my ‘travel uniform’, I packed a bunch of scarves and used those to add color, texture, and diversity. Scarves are great because they’re so light and small that you can pack a whole lot of them without sacrificing much luggage space at all…

I have actually been feeling a bit like a ‘one trick pony’ since so many of my outfits have been of this skinnies + tunic + flats variety and even wondered whether to post them or not, but then A.’s last post really struck a chord. I liked her honesty in saying that she doesn’t always look put-together, nor that she tries to always look put-together, and that she questions whether style bloggers ought to admit that or pretend otherwise. I have often thought about this myself (being of the not-always-so-put-together-as-I-may-like-to-pretend variety) and it seems to me that what sets fashion blogging apart from magazine spreads and professional models is the portrayal of a somewhat more realistic approach to style, fashion, clothing, and wearability. (Although the spectrum of fashion blogging runs broadly enough that arguments could be made both for and against this). Our site has always been about showing what we would wear on campus, to teach in, on research days, for office hours, or for any other given activity that we would realistically engage in. Thus, it follows that I shouldn’t have to edit out those images of me repeating the same jeans and top for the sake of creative documentation. At the same time, showing off the same look over and over defeats the purpose of creating a platform that seeks to inspire creativity and innovation in one’s approach to dressing.

If you’re still with me and I haven’t lost you with my ramblings, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Where do you see the role of fashion blogging fitting in? Is it more of an art form and should a good blogger strive to create the kind of unique, often extravagant, and decidedly varied looks found in the pages of your favorite glossies, or rather, is it about documenting the everyday, albeit at times repetitive and perhaps even lackluster outfit creations of regular people? (And yes, I realize that I’m creating a somewhat oversimplified dichotomy here, but you get what I’m saying…)

So which type draws you in more?

Close-up, originally uploaded by academichic.

14 June 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

And as I leave you to ponder those questions, I will offer you a few more images of gorgeous Cluj… Hope you enjoy! S.

Cluj, Romania, originally uploaded by academichic.

Cluj, Romania, originally uploaded by academichic.

Cluj, Romania, originally uploaded by academichic.

We have long been aware of N.E.E.T. magazine but we thought we’d bring it to your attention just in case you’ve not yet discovered this wonderful online publication. Not only is this publication free and available in its entirety online for your ocular consumption, it has also made it its mission to promote eco-friendly independent designers and artists, everyday style enthusiasts, bourgeoning photographers and writers, and in their own words “grassroots creativity”. It regularly features Etsy sellers offering handmade goods or independent small businesses and each issue also includes amazing photography, DIY posts, articles, and best of all: links! The advantage of an online magazine is that you can just click on something you like and go directly to the source. So just in case you needed something else to do while procrastinating online, we thought we’d share this little gem with you. Enjoy!

All images courtesy of N.E.E.T. Magazine.

Gwen explains how the clothing swap works:

You show up with those items of clothing needing a new home (you know the ones I mean, the ones in your closet that you bought and thought you’d love but don’t) (it stands to reason that if it was once rad to you it might be rad to someone else).

You come ready to have fun. You try on clothes, swap, remix your wardrobe with some ultra-fashionable ladies.

To find out more about the event, including how it works, how it got stated, and who it benefits, check out Gwen and Liz’s sites.  While unfortunately none of us Chics will be able to make it to this fabulous event, we will be covering it here on Academichic so be sure to check back for a full report on what promises to be a fantastic evening of fashion, clothing, and fun and latter for  a DIY post on how to organize your own clothing swap.

Sources:

All remixed

• Purple Floral Tee – Old Navy
• Grey Skirt – Old Navy
• Purple Belt - Gap
• Purple Cardigan – Gap
• Black Flats – Urban Outfitters
• Necklace – Gift from S.
• Earrings- Gift from E.

Endnotes:

Why I wore what I wore:

Being rather pleased with yesterday’s outcome, I decided to try another monochromatic non-neutral with a neutral base – purple, purple, purple!  The necklace is one of the earrings S. gave me for being her “best woman” worn as a pendant.  This is a remixed trick that lets me wear my favorite jewelry more often.

Purple Purple Purple, originally uploaded by academichic.

What I thought about as I wore it:

Last night I caught up with my childhood best friend, which was wonderful! She had heard through the family  grapevine that I had a blog and had checked it out.  While she was very complimentary, I have to admit my first instinct was to be embarrassed and that initial feeling has had me thinking all night and all day.  My family knows about the blog, increasingly more friends know about it, and because it’s on the world wide web, more people with random connections to my non-blog life are discovering us.  Yet, no one from my academic life (outside of S. and E. of course) know about the blog.  Why? Because fashion and style are considered frivolous.  We are suppose to be concerned with much more important things and I guess I assume professors and even colleagues would consider this a silly waste of time. Threadbared recently wrote a thoughtful and stimulating post on this very topic in which they also address the gendered and sexist aspects of academia’s fraught relationship with fashion.

I think as a feminist, my love of fashion might be further seen as contradictory.  We begin to address this in our State of the Field and it is a topic the three of us continue to discuss amongst ourselves, but I would love to open this issue up to our always insightful readers.

My active involvement in the LGBT political and academic communities adds an extra layer of tension to self-styling.  I find there are expectations for how I should physically present myself and often incorrect assumptions are made based on my appearance.

On our post on male academic style reader H. left a thought provoking comment about the gendered concerns of wearing an engagement ring in academia.   What does our clothing and jewelry say to our colleagues and superiors about our commitment to our work, our politics, etc.  While I don’t have an engagement ring, I would like to say that in regards to all of the above, I have tried to make it my policy that I will wear what makes me feel most comfortable and confidant, yet I have to admit I do often find myself wondering what my clothing says about me and hoping that the message I set out with is the one conveyed.

Do you feel pressure to look a certain way because of your job, your political leanings, your commitments to family or a particular community?

Do you find that colleagues or strangers make unfair or incorrect assumptions about you based on your style?

20 August 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.