What are we wearing this month? As the weather changes, I’m always a little stumped. So today, I’ve rounded up a week of May outfit ideas for women. Most of these outfits are casual or could go to a casual workplace (I am always the most relaxed about teacher style at the end of the semester! Bring on the jeans and sundresses!).
Continue reading “A week of May outfit ideas for 2025”
Why is finding a grad school graduation dress so hard?! Everything is too short, too Easter, too plain…I never even bought a dress for my PhD commencement because I was stressing over my dissertation. But now that I’m lucky enough to attend a master’s graduation ceremony every year I have decided it might be time to shop. So I’m back with some April 2023 options as more stores release spring styles!
Continue reading “Grad school graduation dresses: The April 2023 round up”
This week in professor outfits: Summer clothes try-ons! End of season clothing maintenance tips! And a review of Kotn trouser shorts and the square neck tank.
Continue reading “What I wore this week”
I think I have season amnesia…it’s suddenly 65 degrees out and I’ve entirely forgotten what to wear to work in the spring. To ease the transition, I decided to play dress up a bit and find some spring outfits for when it’s still cold in the morning, a little breezy in the afternoon, and not quite sandal weather. The window to wear spring dresses with sweaters is small, after all, so might as well embrace it!
Continue reading “Five Early Spring Work Outfits”
I have two new colorful sweaters to get through the last of the chilly temperatures–the Everlane cashmere crew and the oversized alpaca crew. Before I owned them, I was pretty torn about which to pick, so I thought I would compare them side-by-side for anyone who feels similarly, and talk about sizing, if they’re itchy, quality, and warmth! Spoilers: I kept both. But let’s get into what I recommend each for!
Continue reading “Everlane oversized alpaca crew versus cashmere crew review”I want to burn everything to the ground when it snows. Late February and early March certainly bring out the worst in me, and I get absurdly grumpy when the forecast says anything below 45 degrees. It doesn’t help that every advertisement I see is pushing Spring! Spring! Spring!, or that I’ve been stuck wearing only the same 3 pairs of waterproof boots for the last 4 months. So here’s what I’m wearing in March to combat my why-is-it-still-winter rage.
The shopping monster in me is never stronger than it is in late February. I’ve been trying not to shop (yet), in order to make smarter spring and summer wardrobe decisions. So instead, I’ve been pinning away. Here are a few items I am eyeing for warmer weather…
I’m so excited to say I passed my prospectus defense yesterday–I wrote 100 pages about what my dissertation will be about (1/3rd of the length of the full product!) and had to defend that before collecting data. Here’s what I wore…
Defenses are really weird. The build up is big and then the let down can be…like nothing even happened. As one committee member likes to remind me, a defense is just another meeting for professors. Fair, but it also DETERMINES MY ENTIRE FATE so yeah it’s a little scary.
This defense was also downright weird–we talked for 1.5 hours and then were running out of time, so everyone was just like “yeah, good meeting!” and left…but usually at the end of a defense in our dept committee members meet without the student and then announce to you if you’ve passed or not…and they just…didn’t do that?? So I left the room like “ok! that’s over!” and then got half way down the hall before I was like “wait did I pass?” I spent the next 2 hours on an emotional rollercoaster about that before my advising meeting, where I asked my advisor, who replied “yes, wasn’t it obvious?”
Um, no. I am in grad school. Validate me always. Thanks.
So with that flood of relief, I promptly changed outfits and went out looking for wine and a patio.
All in all, a fine day. Weird, but better than the time the department lost my comprehensive exam answers. But that’s a story for another time. To anyone else defending as the semester ends: good luck! 😀
This season marks my three year anniversary of dressing using a capsule wardrobe, and I have no idea how I got dressed before I made the change! If you don’t know what a capsule is, it’s based on the idea that too many clothing options lead to decision fatigue, and dressing with less options will maximize your wardrobe. Caroline, over at Un-Fancy, suggests 37 pieces, and the idea is that they should all focus on a similar style and color palette. Here’s a get started guide if you’re interested.
When I first got a capsule, I was in love with allll the colors (teal, seafoam, lavender, blues, red, pinks, yellows….to name a few), and I basically quit color all together, because I realized that if you buy only neutrals everything matches. Lately I’ve been missing color, though, so I am working on incorporating more color into my capsules. Here are my picks for this spring and summer:
My ideas for how to bring color back into my life are pretty apparent in this pic:
-Select only a couple of colors
-Pick colors that pair well
-Focus on adding color with accessories
-Steal Home Depot paint chips to keep myself on track (taping these up next to my closet has been helpful and reminded me of what colors I should focus on)
I’ve been enjoying this tomato red and yellow so far. Here’s a link to my pretty yellow sandals, red purse, and all the bandanas.
Talking unicorn items today…you know, the things that you have picked out in your head and you wait and wait for them and then suddenly one day you’re out shopping and you find the one! I was wasting time while waiting for a brunch reservation in Kansas City when I wandered into the boutique next door (strategically open for hungry people like me, I’m sure!) and this shirt caught my eye. I had been wanting a white button up shirt for a while and when I tried it on I knew it was the one! It hangs really well and is a kind of athletic-y fabric that doesn’t wrinkle. Amazing.
If only it were always this easy. Unfortunately, I’m a to-do list motivated person, which means I tend to pull the trigger way too soon on clothing items that are not perfect and then realizing my mistake once the tags are already off. I’ve decided the key to waiting for the right clothing item to come along is to shop for dream items really casually–I keep a list in my phone of things I’m on the look out for. Currently:
-White shirt (found it! Spendy but here if you are also on the hunt)
-Moto jacket
-Overalls (nearly impossible because I’m so tall)
I try to keep the descriptions really loose so that I’m open to trying lots of things on. For example, I don’t really have a color or fabric in mind for the moto jacket, I figure I’ll just know when I find one I’m in love with. And then I can donate the two that are currently sitting in my closet that I don’t love. Whoops.