I Covet You, Oxfords

Tonight, out of nowhere, I found myself pining away for a pair of sweet oxford shoes. I love their nerdy, schoolboy aesthetic. With a pair of skinny black pants and a button-up, I'd feel like a nerdy schoolboy. I would also wear them with a bright skirt and a black turtleneck...or with a patterned dress and jacket.

The holidays are coming up...

Clockwise from top left: by steve madden, the tuxxedo; by topshop, the knox brogue; by anthropologie, the withered wingtips. Some others (if I had a million dollars) these brooks brother oxfords; if I ever wore heels, these urban outfitters wedges.

Am I alone in thinking these nerdy throwback shoes so-very-covet-able?

Accidental Matching

Works Cited

on me:

maroon sweater: newly thrifted (org. j crew)

pink tee: j crew outlet

brown skirt: old navy

sandals: birkenstock

bag: thrifted at antique store last summer

on mom:

maroon sweater: ralph lauren

striped tee: ralph lauren

brown pants: jones new york

clogs: sanita

Even though we've lived apart for seven years, my mother and I came out this morning with accidentally matching outfits. Dark red sweaters, brown pants/skirt, brown shoes. Because my mom and I have similar body types and similarly classic styles, I learn a lot about what I can wear by what flatters her (bet you never knew that, Mom!). Dark red is a color that flatters both of us, and I think it was both of our instincts to play up our narrower top halves and downplay our wider hips with a dark neutral on bottom. I don't own very much in this dark red color, but I fell in love with this sweater yesterday while I was out rooting around in my favorite thrift stores. I can hardly believe I don't own a sweater this color already--it would go well with pink (a color I have trouble wearing but own quite a bit of), with gray, brown, and black; or even with more exciting colors like a dark orange or a yellow.

Forgive the awkward bottom photo, taken by my mother who was bossing me around (for a change) and insisting that I keep my head and arms very straight while she took the photo (she had squawked last night, "Why are you looking down in all these blog photos? Your mother wants to see your face!"). So I ended up looking like a stiff mannequin, but at least my mother will like it.

Visiting Old Haunts

Works Cited

brown sweater: dug up from bottom of sister's closet

off-white top: forever 21

jeans: j crew outlet

sandals: birkenstocks

bag: urban outfitters

To celebrate my arrival back in the east bay, California, my summer birkenstocks came out to play. It's far too cold in the midwest to wear them now, but fall in the bay area is still warm enough to warrant sandals. I also wanted to be comfortable for a day of walking around--visiting my favorite bookstores to pick up some Beckett plays and Ian McEwan, eating frozen yogurt, and perusing my favorite thrift stores (more to come on my successes there!).

Today, I went for neutral colors accented by the olive green of the scarf, which unfortunately covers up the best part of the outfit: the awesome lace detailing on this top.

I'm planning on wearing this top again with a brown jersey skirt belted at my natural waist--I like that I can wear it as a long layering piece and as a detailed top over a skirt. Garment flexibility is crucial for a tiny traveling wardrobe! I also like to pack in easily-mixed colors, like these neutrals--off-white, brown, and olive green.

Traveling Style

Works Cited

olive scarf: h&m

black and white coat: forever 21

navy cardigan: j crew outlet

yellow tee: j crew

jeans: j crew outlet

flats: palladium

This afternoon, the boyfriend and I are off to California to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. It's always a quandary to figure out what to wear on the plane. As much as it sounds divine to wear pajamas on the plane, I tend to feel better during a long day of travel if I take the time to look presentable and put-together. I am SO excited to go back out west--expect posts all week of my travel wardrobe and adventures back in California.

Today I'm mixing mustard yellow and olive green--another favorite color combo--with a cozy scarf for cold planes, and tan flats for comfortable walking through the city and airport. What do you like to wear to travel? Do you tend toward the comfortable--yoga pants? fleece?--or do you like to look extra stylish--wool coat, heels?

Winter Kept Us Warm

Works Cited

gray tee: target

skirt: old navy

belt: j crew (gift)

tights: target

gray heels: style & co.

If there's any poet to get serious about, it's T.S. Eliot, who took himself so seriously that he adopted a fake British accent after moving to London at the age of 25. In an attempt to adopt an Eliot style, my color palette is mostly grays and blacks today. The yellow belt helps break up the look, and works as a metaphor to suggest that there is perhaps some hope in Eliot's fragments after all. I'm finding this yellow belt to be a wonderful addition to a dark winter wardrobe, and I love how it interrupts blue and gray outfits. I find skinny belts to be sophisticated and subtle, which is why this one gets away with being a bright color. As for the heels, I am normally a flats-wearer, but my students are getting papers back today and I need all the height and authority I can get to show them whose boss in the face of paper grades.

This brings me to a perhaps controversial question: recently, a male colleague whom I spotted wearing a tie to teach, told me that there is a direct relation between wearing a tie and how well your class goes. I was skeptical about this argument, especially because I don't see an easy equivalent for the female instructor, who might be perceived more like Avril Lavigne than a tenure-track professor if she came in with a tie. My colleague claimed that women can wear high heels to get the same authority a man might get with a tie. But I find that unlike a tie, heels can convey both authority and sex appeal. I wish there was a magic article of clothing in women's closets that would convey the authority this male colleague seemed to think his tie does. Unfortunately, his authority in the classroom is probably due as much to him being a bearded man as it does to his sartorial choices. I have found that my female colleagues have encountered more disrespectful behavior, from young male students in particular, than my male colleagues have. Over my years teaching, I've come to think that some students, whether consciously or unconsciously, accord less authority to their young female instructors precisely because they are young and female. And unfortunately, no tie or heel or corduroy blazer is going to fix that.

I Covet You, Sweater Dress!

Why had I never seen this site before? Ruche sells itself as "vintage inspired," "affordable," and "eco-friendly"--it's like a nerd's dream! This adorable sweater dress would look great over a button-up with tights and boots for teaching, or over leggings and a tee around the house.

Have you ever bought anything from Ruche? How does its stuff fit/hold up?? I love the looks it has, but am skeptical about shelling out money if I don't know how things fit...

Dress as Skirt

Works Cited

dress (worn as skirt): h&m

sweater: gift

tan belt: j crew

tights: target

flats: urban outfitters

Oh rats. There is something not quite right about this outfit that I didn't have time to fix this morning before running off to meetings. If I had the time for a do-over, I might swap out the blue flats for tan flats (the color of the belt), or swap out the striped sweater for a navy blue one. Luckily, I'll have ideas for next time.

I've been thinking more about wearing dresses as skirts to extend a wardrobe without buying new pieces. This dress works well for that purpose because it's fitted at the top so I can layer things on top of it without looking too bulky. I don't wear this sweater often, only because it's a bit shorter than I like, but on top of a dress, the proportions work well. I (mostly) like the way this turned out and will definitely remix this dress-as-a-skirt again.