PhD in Clothes

Now & Later: Repurposing Office Clothes for Work From Home

Lately my urge to do a huge closet cleanout has been creeping back. I LOVE getting rid of things, but sometimes it’s a thinly veiled excuse to keep buying more things. It doesn’t help that half of my closet is just sitting there because I’m working from home now. I sort of miss my office clothes, but I also want to be comfortable, so starting this week I am challenging myself to style more office and going out clothes for my life right now. So here’s my first restyle: a midi skirt.

I love my skirt collection but anything too rigid is staying on its hanger. This softer midi skirt is from the Rent the Runway clearance and I was immediately drawn to it because it would match so many things (black, cream, navy, and yellow) and I liked the sporty drawstring.

WFH. For midi skirts at home I’ve just been grabbing a tank top and sneakers for my walks around the block. This outfit was pleasantly comfortable!

Later. I can’t wait to layer this skirt in the fall with a black blazer and wedges (mine are still in my office at school because I just throw them on at the office).

What should I style next? What things in your closet need a little more love lately?

If you’ve never used Rent the Runway you can get $30 off your first order using my link.

Why we love virtual writing parties

I wrote last year about how I became someone who writes every weekday. This habit has been a game changer for my scholarly productivity and for my schedule. But times are tough, being inside for 4 months straight is lonely, and my academic writing habits have required some tweaks to deal with pandemic writing. Here’s the simplest change I’ve made to keep writing in 2020: not writing alone.

My summer work from home outfit essentials

Ah, remember when we thought we would be back in the office by the end of May? Turns out I’m not going back in 2020 at all–I’m teaching online through the end of the year and feel very very fortunate to be able to do so! I’ve made a few Poshmark purchases recently to fill some work from home wardrobe gaps because finding lounge clothes that 1) make me feel put together and 2) are hot weather appropriate is a challenge. Here are my recent wardrobe additions.

My Starter Teacher Wardrobe: 10 items that mix and match for new teachers and professors

I get this question about once a year from someone who is either about to start teaching as a new professor or a graduate school teaching assistant–what should be on my list of clothing for starting out as a teacher, especially if I’m starting from scratch on professional clothes? I know many of us are not in a spot to spend on clothing right now, but I so love thinking of mix and match outfits and business clothing capsule wardrobes–and chances are you already own some of these items. So, here are my 10 items I would suggest for starting out as a new teacher, linked for those on a budget and those interested in investing in some ethical clothing!

What I wore for a week of virtual job interviews, plus resources for talking about race with family

It’s Friday and I have just finished teaching my 3-week summer course on job interviewing. It was a strange time to teach the class with many students out of work due to coronavirus shutdowns, and then a sad time to teach the class with the country mourning George Floyd and rallying for racial justice, but we made it and I am SO PROUD of my students! I loved hearing about their career goals, talking cover letters, and practicing interviewing with them. I did, however, have to interview all 25 of them this week. Which was a lot of video conferencing. Don’t worry, I decided to change outfits like twice a day to deal with having to sit for so long. Here’s what I wore…

May 30×30: Week 4 of my summer work from home capsule wardrobe

easy summer capsule wardrobe for hot weather

Welcome to the end of May! I would like the rest of my closet back now, please. No really, doing a 30 piece summer capsule wardrobe has been nice. I tend to think less about clothes in the summer because it’s way too hot–this made me attempt more creativity but also helped me to think about what items I really like to wear in the summer and what is just not practical enough for southwestern weather! Here’s what I wore for the last week of May (and here are all my capsule items if you want a refresh).

Some resources for doing the work of antiracism

Hi all,

I know I am not alone in thinking that posting more outfit photos in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, along with the racist incident toward Christian Cooper, feels wrong and not at all pressing compared to the work the US has to do around racism and police violence toward people of color. Instagram has been full of great resources this weekend so I want to amplify some books, posts, and places to donate:

Reading:

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad

Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness by Simone Brown

Posts and graphics:

-Considering the intent behind your posts

-Aja Barber’s Patreon

-On unlearning calling the cops

-On making allyship a habit

Places to donate:

–Black Lives Matter

-Your local bail bonds nonprofit (target the class-based discrimination caused by the US cash bail system, will help bail out protestors as well–note: MN Freedom Fund is encouraging people to spread the money around as they’re getting many donations right now).

–Southern Poverty Law Center (tracks white supremacist and hate groups and exposes them)

–Reclaim the Block (Minnesota-based, focus on funding community initiatives instead of increasing police budgets)

–Campaign Zero (Focus on policymakers and policing and ending police violence)

One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot this week is how to do antiracist work in myself and my community that is proactive and acknowledges that this is an ongoing problem–how can I read more POC, set up recurring donations, contact officials, check voting records, and check my own habits and biases. If you have any more resources you would like to share in the comments, please do!

May 30×30 Week 3: The 30 piece mix and match capsule continues

We’re in week 3 of the May 30×30 challenge and that’s a lot of threes! I’m still wearing the same 30 items for the month. I have been enjoying the simplicity, the permission to repeat outfits, and the easy decisions I get to make every morning. Plus, it’s really hot out here, so this has been a great way to get reacquainted with my summer clothes in capsule form. Here’s what I wore this week!

My 30 piece summer capsule wardrobe: Week 2 of the 30×30

Welcome back to week 2 of my 30 piece summer capsule wardrobe. Here are all my items if you would like to see, and here’s what I wore this week for over 100 degree temperatures here in the southwest (eek).

30 pieces for 30 days: Week 1 of Summer Outfits

It’s the end of week 1 of the May 30×30 capsule wardrobe challenge! I’ve had fun mixing and matching my items this week to make colorful and easy summer outfits. I was pleased with the light and warm colors and kind of retro vibe of my outfits this week that made my normal black and white wardrobe a bit more fun. Here’s what I wore this week!