shopping – Page 2 – PhD in Clothes

Do you buy yourself a birthday present?

On a ten point scale of the enjoyment adulthood provides, I would give a 1 to having to schedule my own doctor’s appointments and a 3 to paying my AC bill in August. But I have to give a solid 10 to my favorite thing I’ve done the past couple years: buying my own birthday present. Is it vain, selfish, silly? Maybe. It’s also delightful. There are no rules for adult birthdays (except that the stress of planning a birthday usually outweighs the fun of having one) so why not buy your own present?!? Here are the self-birthday presents I considered this year, just for fun.

How I find my dream closet shopping on Poshmark

The title might feel a little dramatic, but up until about 2 years ago, I was buying the closet I could afford–things on sale from big stores–and not the closet I actually wanted, full of fun, interesting, and slightly more expensive items. I had a huge hypothetical wishlist and no way to purchase any of it on my extreme student budget. Then I found Poshmark–where you can buy stuff directly from other people. I had a lot of questions at first, namely, “is this legit?” and “how do I find the things I want?” and it sounds like some blog readers have those questions, too! Here are all my tips for shopping on Poshmark, scoring great deals and discounts, and avoiding scams.

Wedding dress shopping as a non-crying minimalist

Instagram pals know I’ve been on the wedding dress hunt this month. I have probably tried on 40 dresses. The highs were high, the lows were low, but I FINALLY FOUND A DRESS! I am so giddy. But I also feel like I learned tons–about myself, complicated relationships with bodies and clothes, and just some good old fashion tips about wedding dress shopping (including what to bring, how to pump yourself up, how having an “entourage” there will impact you, and what to hope for in a dress consultant). So, here it is. All the dresses I didn’t buy and all my thoughts on the experience!

The one where I try to buy less than 20 clothing items in 2020

“This challenge you’re doing has me shook. I bought 10 items of clothing last month alone.”

“20 items?? Including shoes?? Including thrifting??” -recent texts from friends

I posted yesterday on Instagram that I am going to try a “low buy” year for 2020 and am limiting myself to 20 clothing items for the year. If this number sends your mind reeling on the search for loopholes (yes, shoes count, no it doesn’t count if I return it) or announcing your intention leads to a deeply skeptical look from your partner then know that I am with you. I love to shop and it is time to slow my roll. Today I’m talking about my goals for buying less this year and sharing a little wishlist of what’s on my mind in 2020 (items and brands). Here we go!

4 things I thought about buying during Everlane’s 2 day shipping sale

Everlane has free 2 day shipping today and as a Very Impatient Person I was pretty excited to see this news. Everlane shipping is just not Amazon Prime fast! And I have had some things on my wishlist for a while and that’s how I justified falling down a browsing rabbit hole. Here are four things I added to my cart today, plus the one I finally went with…

Three things I had in my cart are things I already own and just wanted to double up on:

Clean Silk Relaxed Shirt

A Professor and Grad Student Back to School Wishlist

The 2 week countdown is on over here for going back to college. I still get the new school year jitters and starting over at a new university has me feeling them big time this year! So, to distract myself, here is my back to school list for professors and grad students:

Shopping ethical fashion while tall: My giant list of Tall Women’s Clothing Brands and Ethical Brands that Come in Tall Sizes

I don’t talk about this much, but I’m pretty tall. 5’11.5″, to be exact. Today, I want to talk about clothing brands that are doing a good job making clothes for tall women! I am starting to look for more conscious, ethical, eco-friendly, and sustainable clothing to add to my own wardrobe–just taking a few steps while recognizing that these clothes are often out of my price range. I tried my best to include the lower-priced ethical fashion brands that I’ve been admiring that also happen to make tall sizes. Here’s my round up of tall ethical fashion brands!

Last minute graduation dresses

Oh, graduation is next week and I haven’t looked for any commencement dress ideas for graduate students. Which means…I don’t really have “the dress” for my own graduation. I am probably just going to wear an old favorite (which I was also supposed to take to get hemmed, oops), but if you’re on the hunt for a grad school appropriate graduation dress that you can get fast, here are some options…

Help me pick an outfit: The dissertation defense outfit saga continues

Well, my dissertation is officially in the hands of my committee, with 3 weeks until I defend. I get the feeling I should be sipping a lot of white wine on patios for the next 3 weeks, but that is not where my head is at, and it feels really bad. I’ve been so focused on getting a job and finishing the dissertation all year and now that’s all just…done. Which means I now have a lot of time to worry about how I’ll do at said new job, which leads to me feeling bad I’m not doing a ton of unrealistically productive things (prepping new courses, watching every webinar ever on being a new faculty member, churning out publication submissions…).

In between all of those feels, though, I have found time to order and purchase 5 different defense outfits (all returnable, don’t worry…). Am I displacing all of my stress onto the Nordstrom Rack website? Maybe. Anyway. My order came in this week. Help me decide (so I don’t end up just repeating my comps defense outfit, above)?

What should I wear to my dissertation or thesis defense?

Around early April, this question is basically hanging in the air in our grad office (okay, maybe I put it there). I’ve watched so many grad students come and go, write frantically, and, for 15-30 minutes, pace the hallway while their committee decides if they have passed their defense. And during that time, I’ve seen a whole lot of defense outfits. So, what to wear? Now updated for 2022!