academichic

Sources:

Scarf – Banana Republic, same one as styled by A. here
Trench coat – my grandmother’s from the 70s
Top – Anthropologie, hand me down
Skinnies – Old Navy Maternity
Loafers – Michael Kors, thrifted
Earrings – gift from A.

Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports

Endnotes:

It’s Spring Break! And the weather is actually playing nice and making me believe that Spring is coming. Most of our snow has melted and I was actually able to get away with loafers and no socks! While my mornings so far have been happily spent in sweats and pj’s while I sit at home writing my dissertation, I have been getting dressed for brief sojourns out of the house in the afternoons. And this has been my go-to look for break: comfortable jeans, some kind of top, a lightweight Spring scarf, loafers or flats, and my favorite spring jacket – my grandmother’s trench coat.

As a nod to Braid Wednesday, I’m also wearing my hair in two braids wrapped around my head. I usually cross the braids over at the nape of my neck and then bring the ends upwards, pinning them with bobby pins on top of my head…

And if Spring isn’t ready to arrive in ‘real life’, it’s certainly arrived in my wardrobe and in my house. I’m finding myself drawn to floral prints and Spring-inspired accessories (like these tiny bird earrings I’m wearing) even more than usual. T. and I are getting our garden ready and our little seedlings are growing like crazy by the windowsill indoors. We can’t wait to transplant them outside and start our first garden and I can’t wait for bare legs and bike rides without a coat and for summer dresses that will be especially indulgent to my growing midsection.

What are you looking forward to this Spring? S.

Sources:

• Striped t-neck – Gap, via consignment store
• Vest – Ann Taylor Loft, hand me down
• Jean Skirt – Mimi Maternity, gift
• Tights – TJMaxx
• Boots – Dillards
• Pendant – Anthropologie
• Wood and Silver Ring – Souvenir from Munich, Germany
• Down coat below – Tahari, via TJMaxx
• Hat below – C&A, Germany

Endnotes:

Before I move on to the outer layers of this outfit (and outerwear in general), I just have to give a shout-out to one awesome reader – Suzanne – who sent me this wonderful Mimi Maternity jean skirt! Thank you, Suzanne! She kindly offered to pass it on to me when I wrote about wanting to add a maternity jean skirt (preferably a pencil skirt) to my maternity wardrobe. This one fits perfectly and has a bit of stretch to it, which I love because it makes cycling in it really easy. (And, as many of you know, ‘bike-friendliness‘ is always high on my wardrobe criteria list). Thank you, for such a random act of kindness!

As for what I wore over this outfit? My trusty Tahari downcoat. I have a few ‘dressier’ peacoats and wool coats (see below) but where I currently live, temperatures drop routinely well below freezing. For the majority of winter, temperatures hover around 10-20 F and sometimes it’s even colder than that. (As it is today – currently 1F!) Wool coats and peacoats just don’t cut it in that kind of cold. I acquired this Tahari down coat last winter via TJMaxx and it’s quickly become my favorite winter coat. I wore it all last winter while spending a lot of time on foot in Munich and I’ve been wearing it this winter as I predominantly walk and bike to campus. Even on the coldest of days, this coat keeps me warm and comfortable. If you’ve been hit by the same snow storms and cold weather gusts as we have been in the Midwest, this kind of coat is your ticket to warmth and frostbite avoidance!

I especially love the fluffy hood, which I wear pulled over my hat when it’s really cold outside. I also love the ruching detail around the edges, which gives this otherwise plain black coat some interest and style.

As mentioned, I also own a few wool coats, which I wear on days when the temperatures stay above 30F. I have one classic black wool coat that I puchased during my first year abroad in Salzburg, Austria and which has weathered many a winters since I bought it in 2002. I have had to sew and patch the lining on the inside but this coat has otherwise retained its shape, color, and fit. I bought it at a higher-end department store (Hämmerle, for those Austrian readers out there) and it was well worth the investment. As quality outerwear usually is, right?

My other coats are a brown polkadot peacoat by ‘Green with Envy’ via TJMaxx and a blue-violet wool coat from J.Crew, recently inherited from my mom.

A classic knee-lenghth wool coat is a fail-safe investment piece as it will never go out of style and will work with the most elegant of outfits. If you already own one such coat, I would suggest opting for a fun bolder color with your second coat. While this blue-violet is less conventional, the fact that it comes in classic cut and in one solid color makes it suprisingly easy to ‘match’ with almost anything. As for the polkadot coat – I feared that buying a patterend coat would limit my use of it but with the colors being predominantly neutrals (brown background with tan and violet polkadots), I have found it surprisingly easy to pair with alomost anything.

And for slightly warmer temperatures (pretty much anything between summer and winter), I stand by a tried and true classic: the traditional trenchcoat. Just as E. had to swoon over her dark denim trench coat, I have to give a shout-out to this item because I find it infinetily chic and timeless. My trenchcoat is actually my grandmother’s trench coat from Romania, ca. 1973. She wore it for many years and eventually had it altered to shorten the length. I found it in her closet while visiting Romania a year and a half ago and happily claimed it. As E. mentioned, the beauty of the trench is that it fits over all your layers nicely and then cinches at the waist to flatter your silhouette. This one also comes with these gorgeous carved buttons and the faint air of a coat well traveled.

I know it’s a piece I will wear for a long time and  will hopefully pass on to my child or grandchild.

Those are my picks of outerwear that meets my criteria of functional, practical, and elegant. What are you wearing this week to stay warm out there?

~ S.

All the Pretty Little Horses, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Denim trench: Old Navy, hand me down from SIL
• Scarf: Chinatown
• Glovens: Target
• Striped top: BCBG, thrifted
• Belt: from a Loft dress
• Skirt: Anthropologie Field Skirt
• Leggings: Target
• Socks: Smartwool
• Shoes: BC Footwear Atmosphere Wedge

End Notes:

Like A., I took advantage of the warmer weather over the weekend to snap these pictures of my “light” outwear. Simply put, I adore this denim trenchcoat (even if it’s bunching my skirt in this picture…oops). It’s a funny old thing. And not cool, vintage old. Just my sister-in-law had it freshman year of college and I adopted it after graduation old.

But it’s a timeless shape in an unusual fabric, and what with denim and chambray making a comeback over the past few seasons, I’ve loved having this as one of my outerwear staples. Additional bonuses include:

• The longer length means it provides some extra modesty when biking in skirts that get hiked up.
• It can accomodate a couple of layers underneath, but then nips everything in at the waist with the belt.
• The dark denim is a classic wash, but it still gives this familiar silhouette some statement appeal.

BC Footwear Atmosphere Wedge, originally uploaded by academichic.

Though not technically “outerwear,” I have to also give accolades to my new cold weather “mom” shoes. What are these things? They’re part Wallabee, part wedge, nice and supportive but still with a little funk. I can wear them to run errands in wide leg jeans with baby e. or on Sunday walks to the park with a skirt. Brilliant.

P.S. Here’s my first remix of my new favorite skirt. Remember its debut?

Sources:

On A (left):

• Trench – Nine Wiest
• Blue scarf – Old Navy
• Skinnies – Banana Republic
• Henley – Gap
• Floral blouse – Maurice’s
• Vest – Banana Republic Outlet
• Bag – Nine West
• Wellies – Banana Republic

On S (right):

• Trench – vintage, grandmother’s
• Black t-neck top – Zara
• Skirt – Express, via TJMaxx
• Necklace – Welt Laden in Salzburg
• Gray tights – drugstore
• Boots – Banana Republic
• Bag – Liz Claiborne, thrifted
• Scarf – Nine West

Endnotes:

As E. already mentioned, A. is on a European jaunt right now and her first stop along the way was Munich. I had the immense pleasure of having A1 and A2 stay with me over the weekend and it just about made my year. It was wonderful getting to see them and being able to share this city I’ve come to really love with them.

Our uniform over the weekend consisted of light layers, followed by a trench coat, a light-weight scarf, and boots. It rained on and off and so boots, trench coats, and umbrellas were the best choices for keeping dry while walking around the city all day long. (I was also so impressed – both A.s packed for their entire European trip in one carry-one bag each! But more on that soon, I’ll let A. tell the story of her packing amazingness.)

While we both matched with out scarf-trench-boots combo, you can still see how much individual color choice, cut, and pattern can play into such a simple combo, rendering our outfits pretty different while still composed of the same basic elements.

As for the other layers – A. kept it casual yet chic with dark-wash skinnies, a pretty floral blouse over a dark henley and underneath a dark vest. Wearing lots of layers when traveling is a great idea as you can easily adjust your temperature as your activities change; be it by shedding a few layers for your long stair climb up St. Peter’s bell tower for this view…

… or by covering back up for drinks and snacks at an outdoor table at Marienplatz. I in turn wore a basic black turtleneck, a silvery-gray skirt, and gray tights – a monochromatic outfit that can easily translate from the day’s sightseeing events to evening drinks with friends. And A2 was (as always) our skilled and willing photographer who receives the credit for all these great photos, so thank you! Enjoy the rest of your travels, you two, I miss you already! S.

23 March 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.

6 October 2009 – From München, With Love, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

• Blue scarf – TJMaxx, remixed
• Tan bag – Etienne Aigner, remixed
• Skinnies – thrifted, remixed
• Boots – BR, remixed
• Sunglasses – H&M, remixed
• Trench – vintage, from my grandmother’s closet!

Endnotes:

Greetings from Bavaria! I made it and I’m settling into my new ‘home’ here. It’s been a crazy few days, but I love this city and I love getting to use so much of my German as I’m desperately trying to take care of everything needed before I can settle happily into my research.

As far as first (style) impressions go, these Münchner sure know how to dress! I’m seeing a ton of very stylish men and women and taking note! And talk about the many chic cyclists on the roads.  As for my own outfit of this past weekend, it’s been a simple skinnies-boots-and-coat combo that manages to feel both practical and comfortable without screaming ‘tourist’.

A while ago, when I acquired this yellow bag, I asked readers how one knows when something is truly vintage. Well, this time, I know. This classic trench is definitely vintage since I can date it back to at least 1974, when I have photographic evidence of my grandmother wearing it:

These pictures were taken in Budapest in 1974 with colleagues of hers on a work trip. Can you spot her in the group shot below? (She later had the coat shortened to the length you see on me today).

This trench has made many more appearances in our family photo albums, as it was my grandmother’s one “good” spring and fall jacket. She’s often told how how “back then” you had “one good item” and you just took good care of it. She’s certainly done that since I was able to find it in perfect condition on this recent visit and claim it for wear.

Her point about having less things but of distinction calls to mind the difference between today’s consumer culture with emphasis on more, more, more and perhaps a more ‘vintage’ mindset of acquiring fewer pieces with quality and longevity in mind. Although I like the latter approach better, I must confess that thrift shopping and the ease with which one can collect and acquire things today makes me more of a participant in the prior category.

How to do you feel about this dichotomy, do you see yourself consciously opting for one approach over the other? And in this age of ready-made clothing, thrift-store abundance, and ebay-auction-accessibility, can these same ‘vintage’ mores still be applied? While you ponder those questions, I leave you with one more picture of my beautiful grandmother at age twenty-three, photographed with a monographed “V” for her name, back in 1950. S.