academichic

Sources:

• Tank – Banana Republic
• Skirt – Gap
• Necklace – Limited
• Shoes – Banana Republic
• Bangles – Gifts from S.
• Earrings – Island Souvenir

Endnotes:

I’m making this my last official DYB post, though I do plan to continue to think about my body in these terms and to periodically reflect on what I love about my own body.  So, since I only managed three posts before this, I needed to highlight two more of my five body parts and ended up picking three: my height, my muscular chest and shoulders, my eyes.

First, this outfit is all about the height.  I’m tall.  I’m 5’9 when standing in my bare (very flat) feet.  I’ve been this tall since 7th grade.  Over the past 15 + years  I’ve mostly loved my height.  I get it from my dad, it means I have long legs, I can reach most things others can’t.  I have many positive  height-related memories.  I was the second tallest student when I graduated 8th grade (second to another girl) which meant I got to bring up the back of the processional line.  As a lanky 13 year old, I thought that was pretty cool.

As an adult, I continue to be proud of my height and never shy away from fairly high heels (my love of flats is about comfort, not my own height).  When I saw this super high (4″) wedges on sale I had to have them.  I love them! But, the first time I wore them out about a month ago, I suddenly felt super self-conscious.  I was taller then everyone I was with (men and women) by quite a bit and several people noted it.  And, I got teased!  And, it stung!  I’m not sure why I bothered me, but it did.  I found myself slouching or leaning against walls and bars to appear shorter.  It kind of ruined my night.  Thinking about it a few days later, I felt silly for letting it bother me and vowed to wear my heels with pride!

I’m also celebrating my muscular chest and shoulders.  I love the way this tank top highlights both my shoulders and my the upper part of my chest.  I’ve talked about liking my very pronounced collar bone before, but the other day a friend pointed out that I have well defined, tight pectoral muscles. Hmm, who knew?  Well, now I can’t stop noticing them and I kind of love.  Random, I know.

Finally, I’m celebrating my eyes.  Since cutting my hair, I’ve been getting more and more compliments on my eyes.  I love the color of my eyes, which changes from slate, to sky blue, to turquoise depending on what I’m wearing, and I love my long thick lashes.

So, there you have it my list of 5 + a bonus: body shape, hair, hands, height, shoulders/pecs, and eyes.

I hope that all of you who have participated in DYB 2011 have found the experience as rewarding as I have.  Remember, it’s not too late to participate.  Right now, sit back and close your eyes and list 5 things about your body that you love.  Your list can be body parts, facial features, aspects of your build, skin or hair coloring.  Your list could recall conventional beauty, personal stories, or be totally random.  Just, please take the time to make the list for you!

A.

Sources:

• Tank: Target
• Necklace: gift from husband
• Bracelets: bangles from Banana Republic Factory, cork bracelet from Honolulu swap meet
• Skirt: thrifted
• Belt: thrifted
• Wedges: Reaction by Kenneth Cole, via DSW

End Notes:

Can you Dress Your Best and give a round of applause to your familial heritage? Because that’s how I’m ending my DYB this year.

I’ve always taken great pride in the fact that I am hapa, half Japanese and half Caucasian. Because I grew up in a predominantly Asian culture, I perhaps feel more bonded to my Japanese heritage, but I’ve also come to cherish my Scottish and English roots and my old, old New England settler connections. To have two such different and unique histories wrapped up in my own family continues to be a fascinating thing for me.

But even though I may strongly conceive of myself as hapa, as mixed race, not everyone perceives me that way. Most people in Hawaii, many of whom are mixed race themselves, recognize me as being hapa, though they might jokingly give me a hard time for my paler skin or tall stature that makes me stick out amidst the predominantly tan, short population. Since moving to the mainland, however, I’ve found that such recognition is, ironically, more mixed. Some people recognize me as being “not white” and ask, “What are you?” Some people take guesses. I’ve been told that I look like Michelle Wie and Lucy Liu. Once, someone asked if I was part Mexican. Many people just assume that I’m full white.

All of this — the categorization that happens based on physical appearance, the notion that visible recognizability is a necessary part of assuming a particular identity, the very conception of “race” in general — is incredibly fraught and something that I wrestle through in my own academic work. But I know that, for me, my body plays an important role in reminding me of my heritage and seeing my future in the fat cheeks and flat nose of my son who, for all other intents and purposes, looks more like his Caucasian father.

So today I’m celebrating being hapa. I’m celebrating the height I got from 6’4″ father along with the freckles and big ears that are all from his side of the family. And I’m celebrating my big cheeks, dark hair, and yellowy undertones in my skin that come from my mother’s side. So hooray for shoes that are purple and tan even though the skirt is salmon and the shirt is navy. Hooray for a hot pink belt rather than a brown one. Hooray for silver and cork bracelets, worn together. The mixing is what makes it interesting.

Sources:

• Cardigan – Banana Republic
• Tank – thrifted
• Belt – Gap
• Skirt – Gap
• Wedges – Kenneth Cole Reaction
• Earrings – Island souvenir
• Bangle – Gap Outlet

Endnotes:

I feel like this is a very me outfit – I’m wearing my favorite wedges, my workhouse cardigan, by beloved full pinstriped skirt, and of course, stripes are the one pattern I wear a fair amount of.  But, I have to admit, this outfit was totally inspired by E.  I loved how she paired her vertically striped skirt with her horizontally red and white striped top and finished the look off with heels and and a cardigan  As soon as I saw it I knew I would be recreating it soon.

I thrifted this red and oatmeal striped tank with a ruffle detail last month with this outfit in mind.  I think it even mimics the fun detail E. added with the flower earring as broach.

I of course stuck with a mix of neutrals and added a belt to make it a bit more me, but I did add a yellow bangle as another nod to E.’s style. I even captured some wind blown shots, though nowhere near as glamorous as E.’s Marilyn Monroe meets Nike of Samothrace.

Thanks as always for the inspiration E.!

How about you readers, do you so unabashedly copy your friends’ style?

Sources:

• Dress – Banana Republic
• Tank – J Crew
• Necklace – made from an earring bought in China Town, SF
• Earrings – Banana Republic
• Wedges – Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW

Endnotes:

The sun has finally come out for more than an hour!  I’m celebrating with open toed shoes! It’s still very humid but I’ll take it.

I bought this dress on super sale in the Fall and have worn it several times, but just never managed to capture a picture of it.  It’s a great simple dress in a lovely shade of grey.  Jersey dresses make life easier.  They are comfortable AND polished and they make getting dressed in the morning quick and painless – just add shoes and accessories.  That being said, not all jersey dresses work for me and I won’t wear any jersey dress with out wearing my spanx.  In comment on one of E.’s jersey dress posts reader Holly asked about our use of shapewear when wearing jersey.   I can’t speak for the other chics, but I love my spanx and my knock-off spanx and am not comfortable in a jersey dress without them.  Jersey shows everything!  For this dress I wore my thicker knock-off spanx I purchased at Target a few years ago because I really wanted a smooth line but wasn’t worried about the dress being too tight.    What about you?  What kind of shapewear do you use and with what garments?

For my little pop of color in this neutral palette I wore my neck jade-colored pendant.  I bought this pair of jade earrings from a street vendor just outside China Town in San Francisco.  I loved the shape and color and thought they would be a great addition to my short-hair earring collection.  Unfortunately, they are way too heavy – they stretch my earlobes (which I’m worried could have permanent effects).   So, I just removed the earring hook and strong the pendant on a silver chain…voila I have a new statement necklace!

Ok, one more day of classes!  I can do it!  Hope the semester is wrapping up nicely for all of you!

Sources:

Blazer – JCrew, inherited from mom
Tank – BE Maternity
White top – thrifted
Skirt – Motherhood Maternity, inherited from E.
Wedges – Report
Necklace – thrifted
Tote – Kenneth Cole, via TJMaxx

Endnotes:

I’m 27 weeks now, and depending on what source you go with, I’m either in the last week of my second trimester or the first week of my third trimester. Either way, I’m getting into the home stretch of this pregnancy. While I don’t mind being pregnant most of the time, I can’t wait to be done as T. and I are sooo impatient and excited to have our little girl already born and out in the world with us. Every time I see a baby these days, I get more excited about meeting my own.

As for dressing my ’2/3 there’ body … it’s been challenging lately. Mostly because the weather has been so inconsistent and I keep having to revert to colder temperatures clothing, which I’ve either already outgrown or have worn so much that I’m thoroughly bored with it. Thus, I’ve been lacking in inspiration and just admiring how beautiful E. looks and how effortless she makes this whole thing look. I’ve also been incredibly busy with the semester coming to an end, and with a deadline to turn in a completed chapter draft to my dissertation advisor, which has also left me with little interest in anything but looking presentable and getting out the door quickly in the mornings.

Enter my fail proof go-to outfit… I’ve worn iterations of this combo many times but just haven’t had a chance to record it. The basic premise is pairing a comfortable maternity skirt (this one is inherited from E’s last pregnancy) with some kind of top that still fits me, and then adding the two magic ingredients:  This structured navy JCrew blazer and my most comfortable Report wedges. Both these items add a dash of polish and professionalism to an otherwise casual look of maternity skirt+top combo. It’s not the most exciting outfit in the world, but it gets the job done. Incidentally, when E. wore and documented this skirt during her first pregnancy, she also paired it with a structured navy blazer, although she kept things more casual with colorful flats…

(Thanks, E, for a great maternity skirt!)

This week is our last week of classes and after Thursday, I will just have final grades to turn in. Although I’ve somewhat lost my mojo in the fashion department, I can look back on this year and feel really good about everything else that got done. I taught my first ever 5 course load, designed my own syllabus for one of those classes, managed to write 1.5 chapters of my dissertation, co-advised a student group, and still found time to cook more, learn to bake bread, ride my bike, take my dog on walks, and spend quality time with my husband. Oh yeah, and I’ve been growing a baby for much of this time. So I’m ok with having been less innovative in the ‘getting dressed’ department. It was just one of those things that became less important to me as these other things took precedence.

As we enter into warmer summer weather and I enter my third trimester, I’m hopeful that some of my fashion mojo might come back for that last stretch of pregnancy. I’m looking forward to having summer dresses, casual sandals, and more time at my disposal. As for the next academic year? I’m taking the Fall semester off to be at home with the baby and then will possibly teach in the Spring if the dissertation fellowship I applied for doesn’t pan out. But either way, it looks like I have a long stretch of working from home while caring for a baby ahead of me. So I’d love to hear it from those other moms out there – how do you manage to get work done while at home with a little one? What are some strategies that have helped you stay productive if you work from home and have kids to take care of? Please share! ~ S.

Sources:

Dress – thrifted ($3)
Cardigan – NY & co.
Belt – Gap outlet
Wedges – Report, via Solestruck.com
Necklace – earring turned pendant
Bangles – thrifted and gift from dad
Bike – 1969 Raleigh Sports
Helmet – Nutcase

Endnotes:

First, a few words on the outfit: I thrifted this dress during the winter, while it was too cold to wear it, but I bought it in anticipation of it working as a maternity dress. Besides loving the wild paisley print and beautiful warm colors, I also loved that it was jersey (read: stretchy) and with a high waist. And here I am at 25 weeks (when this picture was taken) and fitting perfectly into it. I foresee this one fitting me for a while still. I cannot wait for summer, when I’ll be able to live in stretchy comfortable dresses – my favorite maternity outfit for sure.

Second, I’d like to thank you all for chiming in with such great comments and points of discussion on my post from Monday. I raised the issue of the media outcry regarding the pink-toenailed J.Crew boy and so many of you had such great things to add. I was particularly fascinated by the thread of discussion regarding the use of children in media and for advertising purposes. While I had focused on the gender talk surrounding this event, many of you noted another interesting issue at play here: using children to promote and advertise companies or products. I haven’t given this enough thought to formulate a concise opinion on this yet, but I’m glad for the incentive to ponder this.

I also appreciated the viewpoint brought by those who noted the paradox between all the anti-bullying talk we’ve had in the media lately and the bullying tone and comments made by those same personalities regarding this boy and his mother now. How quickly we seem to forget that just a few months ago, everyone was talking about the need to educate our youths and to ensure bully-free zones in our schools and communities. Dan Savage, one of my favorite writers and podcast personalities, started the It Gets Better Project with his husband Terry. President Obama contributed a video along with many straight allies and well known public figures. Yet here we are, still listening to certain members of the media openly and unabashedly engaging in the kind of bullying that we were trying to eradicate.

I don’t really have an answer or a message for all of this, I just wanted to highlight the great point raised by so many about the role of bullying in this discussion. I’m hopeful though, that despite the inevitable setbacks, our society can keep moving forward towards acceptance and respect for all its members. I have to be hopeful. I’m bringing a new little member into this world and I have to believe that we’re progressing and not regressing in our worldviews and ways of interracting with each other.

Sources:

• Powder Blue Cardigan – J Crew Outlet
• Sea-foam Green Blouse – Banana Republic Factory Store
• Brown Skirt – Thirfted (NY & Co)
• Wedges – Kenneth Cole Reaction, via DSW
• Belt – tie from a dress
• Earrings – China Town, SF

Endnotes:

Sometime in the next few weeks E. and I will be hosting another clothing swap.  At our last clothing swap I let go of a lot of items I hadn’t worn in quite some time, even items I loved.  I was happy to know they would go to a good home.  As we prepare for our next swap, I am slowly pruning my closet and creating a good sized pile in one corner of my room.  Well, actually, it’s two piles: one definite pile and one maybe pile. I decided to make a maybe pile and them attempt to wear them before the swap.  If I can happily incorporate the item into a ensemble in the next couple weeks, I’ll hold on to it.

This ruffly-front sea-foam green blouse is the first item to be tested in this way.  Sadly, I think it failed.  I love the color of this blouse and the piping detail down the front, but that’s where it ends.  It doesn’t fit me all that well (a bit tight on top and loose and shapeless at the bottom) and it’s a bit too see-through for my likes. I tried layering it under a cardigan to deal with the fit on top and the see-through issue, but then really did not like how the ruffles fell. So, I’m thinking this blouse needs a new home.

As it turns out, I think I’m also on the fence about this skirt.  I picked this up at a giant thrift store for $4.  I don’t do well in those places and so I bought it with out trying it on.  I’ve been looking for a longer, full skirt in a neutral color (or non-neutral for that matter) for quite some time now and for $4 it seemed worth the risk.  I do like its color and length but I wish the fullness started at the waist and when I hike it up to make it do that, it’s too short.  I think I will give this one another shot before it ends up in the definite swap pile.

How do you decided what to keep and what to giveaway when you are pruning your closet?  Do you give the maybe items one last shot?

Sources:

• Shirt: Target
• Sweater: thrifted
• Skirt: Banana Republic
• Ribbon Belt: by me!
• Stockings: Calvin Klein via Filene’s Basement
• Shoes: Tahari via DSW

Endnotes:
Belts were my gateway drug into the world of style. I so envied the sleek/stylish/fun/creative belts that the other Chics wore, that I finally drank the Kool-Aid and got some for myself… and I’ve never looked back. I have pink belts, custom made belts, wide belts, skinny belts, obi belts, stretchy belts, scarf belts, metallic belts, and belts that are literally made out of metal. I have worn belts to define my waist, turn a dress into a skirt, and add color to an outfit, and I keep looking for new inspirations for using my growing collection. Needless to say, I love belts and today’s is no exception. In fact my entire outfit is based off of the colors in the belt. Pink, pale blue, gold and cream are picked up in my shirt, sweater, and shoes – unfortunately I did have to wear sheer stockings today because my brain couldn’t figure out a pair of tights that would work – Do you have some suggestions!?

I dug this fantastic vintage ribbon out of a box of sewing equipage that was my grandmother’s and have been meaning to do something with it for a while now. It is so fabulous with the bright pinks and greens, subtle blue, tiny gold detailing and stuffed (yes, with real batting!) damask flowers and butterflies that I knew I wanted it to mostly stand on its own, and making it into a belt was as easy as 1-2-3!

Click “more” for the DIY of How to Make A Ribbon Belt with Button Closure
» Read the rest of this entry «

So here is the last of my Banana Republic outfits – a casual yet fun look that I’d wear for drinks out with friends (were I not pregnant and able to drink…). This outfit started with those denim leggings I already raved about and an eye on this ruffle trimmed jacket. I knew I wanted a bright pop of color inbetween so I picked up this punchy coral top. I kept everything but the coral silk top in muted greens and blues and just let the coral do the talking. (This, by the way, is the same silk top that E. styled in navy here).

Although this outfit is pretty simple, I love all the details that make it special – the ruffle trim on the jacket, the lace trim on my cami, the darker silk trim on the coral top, and of course, the snakeskin clutch and awesome green leather platform wedges.

There is a lot of coral in Banana Republic’s Spring line and I for one love it. I bought the beautiful coral and navy scarf that A. styled in this outfit and have already worn it a bunch this week. I would have bought more from their Spring line if my body weren’t in a stage of (pregnancy) transition. As it is, it was fun to make outfits work for me in a non-maternity store despite my growing midsection. It’s how I’ve been approaching getting dressed with the things in my own closet – trying to make the most of non-maternity items by thinking creatively – and this experiment with a non-maternity capsule wardrobe at Banana Republic just served to remind me that I can do a lot with the things I already own at home from my pre-pregnancy days.

Here is where you can find the silk top, the jacket, the denim leggings, the t-strap wedges, and the clutch I wore.

A: Dressing Down the Ruffle Dress, originally uploaded by academichic.

I often draw inspiration from the outfits styled for clothing catalogs and retailer websites, so since I knew I wouldn’t be able to purchased all the fun items I tried on at Banana Republic, I decided I would use the experience to come up with inspiration for my existing wardrobe.  My first instinct with this ponte grey ruffle dress was to pair it with a pair of shinny heels, sparkly jewelry, and other evening accessories.  But, this cognac braided leather belt happened to be in the dressing room with me so I threw it on.  I liked the unexpected addition of the casual belt so ran with it.  I added orange and wood wedge sandals, gold hoop earrings, and this brown and black snake-print clutch.

Ruffles and Woven Brown Belt, originally uploaded by academichic.

I didn’t purchase any of these items (although I was really tempted by the dress, which is what I would put a $50 gift card towards).  Instead, I took home inspiration for a similar ensemble using pieces in my own wardrobe.  I love the navy ruffle dress I wore for S.’s wedding, but have been looking for ways to keep wearing it.  Thanks to this little experiment, I’m now planning to wear the dress with my cognac belt, brown wedges, and my woven straw clutch, for a more casual spring dinner date. Now, if only the weather would warm back up!