Hi all. Just popping by to say OMG IT’S AUGUST I BETTER MAKE A SYLLABUS. It’s also the last week of summer school so here is one more outfit I’ve been relying on frequently to get through teaching when it is sweltering outside.
For about 2.5 years I resisted buying culottes because they reminded me of middle school (my mom bought me a pink pair in 7th grade and I thought I was the sh*t). But then after a couple glasses of wine I went into Madewell (Wine shopping is highly recommended, btw) and tried these on and I was like WAIT culottes are awesome. Just goes to show that you should always try things on!
So now here I am, combining these culottes with everything imaginable, including this button up from Target, which has lots of cute fall business clothes if you are in the market.
I hope the August grad school panic is treating you all well. ❤
Wahoo! I’ve picked my 10 clothing items and am ready to mix and match them to make 10 outfits over the next 10 days. This is perfect timing for me because my summer school class starts tomorrow, and this challenge will guide me through the first 10 days of teaching. Here are my picks:
I have three t shirts, one blouse, one dress, one skirt, and one pair of jeans.
As one of my instagram friends pointed out, I am dumb, and this is only 8 items. I had a pair of sandals on my feet when I took this picture that I knew were going to be part of the challenge, but even so, I’m only at 9 items of clothing. Suddenly I have decision fatigue and am drawing a total blank on what my tenth item should be! Suggestions welcome. I think a light cardigan would be good but I don’t have one that totally “goes” and I think going out shopping for one is counterproductive to a challenge about working with what you have.
For now, I’m just working with 9 items. Here is my day 1 outfit, the wildest thing I could think to do to start the day–make a shirt into a vest.
When I put this on I was all “noooo this is awful” but you know what I photographed it and then I thought it didn’t look so silly and now I’m accepting this idea of shirt-as-vest. So, this challenge is already a success for me! I’m excited to pick an outfit for tomorrow for my first day of teaching as well. Be back then with what I decided one!
I love 10×10 challenges because they make me really reach to try to find new and creative ways to wear my stuff. If you’re interested in starting one yourself, click here.
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.
I’m participating in No Shop June this month, a genius instagram challenge for people who can’t fight the urge to walk through the mall, so I’ve been trying to work with what I’ve got to make outfits I enjoy. I’m prepping for a course I am teaching in July, so this is perfect timing, because something about teaching a new semester always makes my brain say “hey, stop editing that syllabus and go check out the Loft website.”
So today I’m bringing you the first of several outfits I’ve thought up for the dilemma of summer teaching: that it is too damn hot out and my classroom has no AC and I’m supposed to look professional. Here’s my first formula: sweater tank and skinny pants.
I looooove this tank. I got it in the Everlane choose what you pay sale (it’s still there!) so for my first outfit with it, I kept it simple with my J. Crew pixie pants, which are basically leggings in a dress pant fabric. I think I’ll make this sweater nerd-tastic in the future by putting a button up under it. I’ll probably wear this on my first day because it makes me feel fierce.
I’ll be back another day with more options. For now, this challenge is keeping me off my favorite online shopping sites!
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.
If you return to grad school after working an office job for a couple years you might have this conundrum: how do you style all the great business clothes you accumulated? I still have two nice suits sitting in the back of my closet, guilting me because they’re not getting enough use. So today I’m here to focus on how I dress down my dress clothes, starting with the pencil skirt.
My formula for dress clothes tends to be pairing one fancy piece with a bunch of other casual clothes. So today, I went with a chambray button up and lace up sandals. I do the same things with suit jackets (with a t-shirt plus jeans). I also like buying things that look like dress clothes but are super comfy, for example, pull on pencil skirts! (Like this one I’m wearing, and this one, which doesn’t have side slits).
Do you have any clothes that suddenly seem too fancy? If so, what are your strategies to make them work?
Phew, the 10×10 challenge is over. I’m really happy to be back to my full wardrobe, but the challenge did have its perks. In no particular order:
1) i felt way stylish every day. When I get dressed in the morning, I tend to style things in the safest way I can, probably because I’m tired and not thinking ahead. But with only 10 items to work with, I had to start pairing clothes in ways that weren’t my first choice, which is how I learned that culottes + a long cardigan sounds excessive but actually feels pretty cool!
2) Less choices is just better. Having a limited color scheme may seem boring, but it also makes getting dressed a no brainer, because everything goes together. I picked black and white, blush, and navy as my colors and I felt like I could do no wrong in whatever I paired.
3) I should totally do this every season before I go shopping. I think from now on I’ll pick the ten things I’m most excited to wear for the season and use them all to get dressed for at least a week before I go shopping. This challenge definitely helped me identify holes in my wardrobe (more sandals!) and now I feel more confident in the colors and styles I should be looking for.
4) Start with accessories. As someone who is not very naturally accessory-inclined, picking accessories that all coordinated and building outfits around them was a fast way to get dressed in the morning. Here were a few of my picks:
5) Making internet friends in the best! Seriously had so much fun commenting on everyone’s outfits on Instagram and got a bunch of good ideas from others. If you participated in the challenge, thanks for your inspiration! ❤ If you want to do your own 10×10 challenge, check out Style Bee’s guide, and maybe see you in a summer or fall challenge!
Day 9! Meeting famous scholars and going to class today.
Day 8: only two more days of wearing the same 10 articles of clothing! Woo! Today I get to start dissertation field work. So. Excited.
Here’s my day 7 outfit of the Spring 10×10, which I wore this morning to get brunch to celebrate our 7th anniversary. And then to browse around a record store and buy some anniversary vinyl (which is I thing I made up but would now like to honor on every anniversary).
Now i’m off to the pottery lab, though, so nice clothes have to go because I’m mixing glazes for the first time today and I just know I will get them all over my shoes. In between I’ve been doing some Feminist Security Studies reading for one of my final projects. Some days grad school is full of stuff I don’t want to do, but today it is full of the things I’m 100% interested in, and that feels really nice.
