academichic

7 September 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed but earrings.

• Nursing tank: Old Navy
• Belt: Gap Outlet
• Floral skirt: thrifted
• T-straps: target.com
• Vintage flower earrings: Vintage Threadz on etsy.com

End Notes:

I don’t usually do vintage chic, but yesterday’s outfit had some kind of old school feeling going on. Maybe it was the fact that my mom had t-straps like this almost thirty years ago or that the lime-and-coral color combination in the skirt’s print had a little bit of a seventies vibe, but it seemed natural to belt the skirt up high and to pair these vintage flower earrings — another treasure from Vintage Threadz on Etsy — with the whole thing.

Vintage Flower Earrings, originally uploaded by academichic.

When I first snagged this skirt at a local thrift store, I only wore it with brown. It seemed a safe choice with such a bold, colorful print. This past winter, however, before the baby bump really popped, I wore it with rich plum and saturated blue green. (I’m realizing, somewhat belatedly, that the reason the blue green makes sense — in the scarf in February and in this tank top currently — is because it serves as a complementary color to the red orange flowers in the skirt.)

It’s easy to fall into a rut when trying to pair things with a particularly bold print. Now that I fit into this skirt again, I’m taking suggestions for what to partner with it. What would you like to see? Just how versatile can a salmon and chartreuse floral skirt be?

7 September 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

A couple of weeks ago I recapped my experience of trying to dress stylishly through my 6 months of “obvious” pregnancy. Now post-bump I am picking my way through the new style challenges of the so-called “4th trimester” as all my internally displaced organs rearrange themselves and my hips try to decide if they ever want to return home. So many of you have been very kind and gracious in complimenting me on the quick recovery of my waistline, and I certainly appreciate your encouragement. Still, in the interest of intellectual honesty, you should know…

I am a long way off from fitting back into my pre-preggers pants and skirts.

Oh, yes, good readers, I have some significant jiggly below my stomach that seems to be in no real hurry to leave. Between having a torso of epically long proportions and carrying low throughout my pregnancy, my post-preggers body has managed, weirdly, to achieve a flat abdomen with all the squish hanging out below. I’m serious.

Ultimately I remain relatively unfazed by this state of affairs. My body is recovering from some pretty dramatic stuff, and having my beautiful son in my arms is worth a pooch below the belt. Still, the fact remains that the clothes that made me feel best pre-preggers — my favorite jeans, my denim skirts, my beloved trousers, and my sleek pencil skirts — must remain relegated to the basement for a while longer.

So that left me with a couple of choices:

• Resign myself to wearing only stretchy fabrics and maternity pants for the next three months
• Obsess crazily about crunches and carbohydrates in an attempt to hasten my return to pencil skirts
• OR fill this style gap with new (or new-to-me) clothes

I chose the third option and, a few weeks ago, ventured out to the my neighborhood thrift store with a budget of $30. An hour and many garments later, I left with a pair of gray trousers to cut into bermuda shorts, two pairs of jeans, three tops, and a pair of wedges. Seriously, it was like Christmas.

But here’s the thing. Those pants and jeans? They’re two sizes larger than my pre-preggers size. At first it was a little bit of a blow to my ego to pull jeans from the rack that my post-baby hips absolutely refused to fit into. But then…then I slipped on this pair of jeans and did a happy dance in front of the mirror.

They fit perfectly and, in doing so, made me feel like I had my pre-preggers body back early. I mean, if they can make my legs look three days long I could care less what number is stamped on the tag. And as if the thrifting fairies weren’t already being exceptionally kind, the jeans were 7 For All Mankind — my first time owning this coveted brand — and cost only $8. And those pants-turned-bermudas? They’ve become a sleek, go-to staple in recent weeks. And that other pair of jeans? With some minor alterations, I have a custom-fit pair of harder-to-come-by straight leg jeans.

So while I’m still committed to getting back into shape, this little thrifting trip has made a world of difference for my postpartum self-esteem. Again, I’m dressing the body I have now, and dressing it in “real” clothes. Clothes with waistbands. Clothes that are flattering. Clothes that, perhaps most importantly, let me delight in being a mom, without fretting or feeling guilty about worry over my body. To me, that’s worth much more than $30 at Goodwill.

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.

  

19 June 2009 – Coffee Date, originlly uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

On S (all remixed but dress!):

• Dress – Ann Taylor, thrifted in San Fran recently!
• Yellow belt – J.Crew 
• Yellow bag – Garage Sale find 
• Black cardi – thrifted
• Sandals – Target 
• Bangle – Big Lots 

On Erika:

• Top – Anthropologie 
• Skirt – J. Crew 
• Sandals – Merrell 
• Pearl necklace – Gift from parents 
• Sand bracelet – Souvenir from South Korea 

Endnotes:

Today I got to have a coffee date with one of our lovely readers, Erika, who’s also a fellow PhD in the Humanities. Erika’s hometown happens to be the same city in which T. resides – and what a happy coincidence for me because I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with her at one of the local coffee shops. We had a great time chatting about everything from philosophy to skirt lengths to cycling in Paris and body dysmorphia in dogs. Unfortunately, Erika returns to the city of her current university and I’ll be forced  to once more spend my days reading and working, instead of pleasantly chit-chatting about the consequences of riding bikes the wrong way down a six-lane street in France or about the aesthetic appeal of Hamilton, Ontario (not much!). 

Then, Erika allowed me to exploit her wonderful sense of style for our site:

         

After a well spent couple of hours, I had to take off since T. and I had plans to attend a work-related function for him. Since today was spent meeting Erika and then T’s colleagues, I figured it was the right time to pull out the other item I thrifted at the Haight Street Goodwill in San Francisco on my recent trip there: this bright pink halter dress. For a summery color mix, I added a mustard yellow belt, my new favorite yellow bag and, of course, Nerp.  

Thanks, Erika, for a great coffee date! S. 

    

Earlier today I wrote about my packing plan for Munich, but before I take off across the ocean, I venture out to a closer destination next week: San Francisco! I’ve been there once before but am not very familiar with the city and would love any tips on must-see things or on any good thrift stores or used book stores I could peruse while there. Thank you so much for any tips you may have! S.

12 May 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

All remixed except for necklace.

• Cream jacket – thrifted
• Yellow top – F21
• Gray trousers - Ann Taylor Loft Maternity, via eBay
• Metallic wedges – Target.com
• Necklace – Polli, a Mothers’ Day gift from my husband!

End Notes:

This morning A. and I had a series of meetings pertaining to an exhibition that we, along with a senior faculty member, are curating for the fall. At some previous meetings with the exhibition’s primary funder I felt like we were regarded more as students and less as co-contributors. So this morning as I got ready I texted A., “Just feel like I should tell you that I’m dressing up for our meeting today since [name redacted] never takes us seriously.” Ah, the power of clothes. The good news is that our meetings went very well and we got a lot accomplished! I’m not going to say that the blazer can take all the credit, but it certainly helped me feel more assertive and put-together.

The whole outfit was actually inspired by this spread in the latest issue of Lucky Magazine:

DSC_8637, originally uploaded by academichic.

I loved the idea of lightening up a jacket-and-pants combination and it reminded me of this thrifted cream blazer, previously worn in a high contrast outfit with a black tunic. I generally eschew pastels since they refuse to play nicely with my skin tone, but I thought that this yellow top might still do the trick. And indeed, pairing the cream with canary yellow changes the whole effect of the jacket and I’m keeping things soft with my favorite gray trousers.

Jacket Texture Detail, originally uploaded by academichic.

The necklace is new: a gift from my sweet husband for Mothers’ Day. He purchased it from a little boutique in our neighborhood downtown, but the maker is Polli, an Australian company that offers beautiful jewelry in organic designs with a modern sensibility. I’ve admired their work frequently, and I love this leaf pendant and the idea that my little family is, indeed, growing. You will likely be seeing this quite a bit in the future!

Polli Leaf Necklace, originally uploaded by academichic.

   

22 April 2009 , originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Jacket – J.Crew 
• Blouse – thrifted, remixed 
• Jeans – thrifted 
• Sandals – Target, remixed 

Endnotes:

Browsing though A.’s J.Crew catalog last night while watching Biggest Loser, I noted a common thread throughout their spring line; it’s all about juxtaposing contradictory fabrics (silk, cotton, jeans, chiffon, etc) and contradictory registers (casual, business, evening, etc) for a seemingly incongruous look.  For example, model and Goodwill Ambassador Liya Kebede is wearing the casual ‘boyfriend’ jean with an evening clutch and an embroidered top.  Another image shows her sporting a sequined evening skirt paired with an oversized grey cotton tee.  Yet another contradiction is created between the torn and faded jean with a business-casual cardigan and jacket combo. This latter image was the inspiration for my outfit today.

I would never have paired this old and torn jean of mine with my elegant evening jacket and this blouse. I tend to dress within one register and don’t mix seemingly contradictory items, so this look was definitely new to me. I think it works for a day of meetings, a coffee date with a friend, and my last class as a student in my graduate career! Were it a teaching day, I might not be as bold with the torn jean, wanting to set myself apart from my students a bit more than this look allows. But overall, I like this bit of rogue fabric and register mixing inspired by J.Crew’s spring line, and like A. yesterday, am surprised to find myself pulling off a look I’d normally only admire in the pages of their glossies but would never envision on myself. S.

  

textures/patterns, originally uploaded by academichic.

  

17 April 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• White cami – old 
• Pearl necklace – J.Jill, remixed 
• Pale pink top – TJMaxx 
• Skirt – thrifted, remixed 
• Sandals – Target

Endnotes:

The week is coming to an end and so is our “feature your best” module. However, I hope that that the idea behind this module will continue on – that we here at academichic and you, the lovely readers, will continue to celebrate what it is that we/you love about our/your bodies and continue to think of fashion as a way to showcase those features, rather than hide the less appreciated ones. 

To finish my list for this week, I present you with my wild mane. While we both envy E. for her thick, straight, glossy, and pretty much always-perfect -with-no-work-or-product-whatsoever hair, A. and I have more of a love-hate relationship with our locks. My hair is  wild, curly, with great frizz-potential, and until recent years I have had no idea what to do with it.  Now I celebrate its fullness and volatility. I wear it curly in the summer when I can’t stand the heat of the blow-dryer to straighten it, and I wear it straight in the winter, when the heat of the dryer and straightener feel so good.  Often I pull it back, but sometimes I let it fly in a state of crazy inbetween-ness of neither straight nor curly nor any particular style at all. S.

  

17 April 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.