Clothes. Career. Thrifting. Productivity.
I found this pair of pants at Buffalo Exchange several weeks ago. I usually don’t buy pants online because of my height and needing to see the length in person, and this gave me the perfect chance to try out a trendy pair. After some searching I found that they are the Everlane Straight Leg Crop and sell for $68. Not bad for a pair of dress pants. Here’s why I’ve found them to be delightful for work…
Outfit for class tonight
You know when you have to walk to campus because the university has disabled your bus pass because they are evil fee collectors, but when you get to your classroom it’s a little chilly?
Or perhaps you are opting to walk to campus all summer because all winter you put on a lot of stress weight?
My outfit solution to this is a sundress + blazer. I put the blazer in my bag or leave it (along with all my high heels, deodorant, dry shampoo, a desk sweater…) in my office to put on when i get to campus. Instant professionalism!
One more outfit idea to come, then maybe I’m joining the Summer 10×10 challenge! What are your go-to “it’s way too hot” outfit combos? I’ve been enjoying making these outfit plans in between studying for my Fall comprehensive exams.
Happy almost July! I start teaching in 12 days so I’m obviously gearing up by planning my first week of outfits instead of the first day of class (#syllabusday).
The joys of teaching 5 days a week in July are…none. It’s really hot out. I usually teach 3 days a week. Now I can’t repeat outfits as frequently. But I can repeat outfit formulas over and over again, and that’s exactly what I plan to do by doing vest + sundress combos.
Vests are so magical. I didn’t own any until last year when I realized that they make everything look somehow pulled together without causing me to overheat. Now I’m a vest enthusiast. Here I’ve picked out one of my many Old Navy sundresses (so cheap! so plentiful! come in tall sizes when you’re trying to look professional!) and paired it with a vest from Target.
I hope your summers are the perfect combination of productive and unproductive so far!
Day 3 of Spring 10×10: Today is a teaching day, but my students are doing an in-class workshop, which equals JEANS WHILE TEACHING! in my opinion. Colorado is a pretty casual place so I think teaching in jeans is okay, but I’m not sure this is true at other universities/in other regions. Does anyone teach somewhere where you are always business casual?
Today, I cheated. These shoes are not part of my 10 picks. But I realized that gray and tan is not a good combo and I needed some shoes with a cooler base to make it work. I really like this outfit, though–it feels pulled together even though I didn’t really do anything, besides pick things with cool textures while shopping.
Does anyone else get excited about filing taxes? As a grad student, my comedic level of income leads to the govt saying “oh wow, you are really poor” and giving me a lot of money back. Money that I should have gotten in the first place by changing my paycheck withholding rate, but those are always a mystery to me, and I kind of like the surprise money that comes around in the spring. Considering tax refunds a “surprise” is not very adult of me. Anyway. I’m saving most of my refund this year, but am thinking of getting one investment piece for teaching/the job market. Here are a few of my ideas. Help!
Everlane cashmere crew sweater: Cashmere just screams “I AM A RESPONSIBLE ADULT WITH A SWEATER SHAVER” to me. I know that $100 is a good price for cashmere, but it still hurts. This is the only time of year I have that much $$ lying around, so maybe now is the time. Now, to decide on a color…
Relaxed silk shirt: Listen, I watched The Fall, and am now convinced that Gillian Anderson is a bad ass feminist detective mostly because she is herself but also because she owns like 20 white silk shirts. Because I am not at put-together as her, I’m thinking blue or black to hide the inevitable coffee spills. Cost: $88.
Sleeveless: A slightly cheaper option. Would look great under sweaters. Extremely useful if your classroom is as hot as mine. $65
Cocoon coat: The biggest splurge, but coats always end up being great investment pieces for me. I left Phoenix at age 18 and haven’t lived anywhere warm since 😦 Cost: $265. Also looking at a cheaper option from Land’s End because the quality is great and they make tall sizes.
Bonus sensible pumps in a fun light blue color. What investment pieces are you eyeing?
Ootd because global warming has made February tooooo nice
Today’s teacher style, featuring my most traditional dress pants.
This may be a problem that other people don’t have, but I really hate dress pants. They just don’t feel like “me.” I think it’s the combined memories of wearing really lame suits to high school speech and debate tournaments and the fact that dress pants seem about 20 years behind the skinny denim trend that makes me feel such disdain. Unfortunately part of adulting is ??? needing to wear dress pants sometimes? Even in grad school? To deal with these moments, I’ve spent too much time and money in the last couple years trying, buying, returning, and browsing dress pants. Now I can say there are four pairs of dress pants I’m willing to wear & one more pair on my to-buy list. Here they are:
1) The least dress pant: Pixie pants by J. Crew
These are basically leggings in a dress pant fabric. They’re comfortable and feel really cool with a long tunic and sweater. Downside, I don’t like tucking things into them, I think the front of them is just too…leggings…to get away with it. But for teaching, I love them.
2) The most dress pant: Loft Trousers
I’m not usually a fan of boot cut, but with heels these manage to look pretty sleek, while still definitely being a dress pant. Good for feeling sassy at conferences.
3) Skinny dress pants: Essential skinny pant from Loft
If you can’t get over the boot cut thing, like me, and still want something that qualifies as a really nice dress pant, this pair from Loft is my favorite favorite. They look high quality and still trendy. Also, they come in a tall and a petite inseam. Hurray!
4) EXTREME BARGAINS: Old Navy Pixie pant
Because we’re in grad school and $35 dress pants are the best. Also, comes in crazy fun patterns so that you can look like the cool teacher you are.
5) Trendy AF: Everlane Culotte
Not sure these count as dress pants, but damn are they cool. Does anyone have them? I’ve been thinking about taking the $68 plunge for a while. I think these might be good “it’s summer and hot but I still need to wear pants I GUESS” pants.
This concludes all the pants I’ve scoped out to address dress-pant phobia. I’ll be back tomorrow with how I style them. In the meantime, what other dress pants do you all like?
