The Scholar in Her Natural Habitat

  

I love being in the library -- any library -- which is good because I spend a lot of time in libraries. I have traveled to libraries around the country and the world for research, and I spend most of my time in the main library on our campus. I start and end each day there and spend my time there whenever I don't have to be elsewhere. I also have a carrel where the 173 books currently checked out in my name reside. I barely fit inside.

Since I log a lot of hours in the library, I have a few thoughts about library style. I guess I could wear anything at all to the library, especially on days that I don't have any other teaching and meetings, but I almost always make an attempt to look put together. First of all, even though I rarely plan to see anyone in the library, I run into friends and colleagues all the time (and students during midterms and finals). More importantly, I feel much better when my clothes are both stylish and comfortable. It's amazing what a colorful scarf or great print can do for my mood, which makes me happier and more productive.

My Library Style Essentials

1. A jacket or cardigan. When I'm in the classroom or in a meeting, I tend to generate a lot more heat. I'm talking, moving around, gesturing... but when I'm in the library, I sit still for hours on end. This means that I get pretty cold. For that reason, I try to make sure I wear a jacket or cardigan every day, even when it's nearly 100° like it was today. That way, I don't have to wear the grubby old hoodie I keep in my library carrel for emergencies. This jean jacket is much sleeker!
2. A scarf. Our campus library has very few windows and tends toward the dreary side. Not only does this help with the cold, it also helps amp up the coziness and cheeriness. I may not be home on my couch under an afghan and wearing fuzzy slippers, but a soft, bright square of fabric helps! I'm planning to buy a few more this fall... I'm especially excited about getting my hands on one like this. And maybe also this and this.
3. Comfortable layers. One of the reasons this skirt has been a great addition to my closet is that it has a stretchy waistband and soft knit fabric. Knit dresses, elastic-waist skirts, and jeans are my go-tos for days I'm planning to camp out at the library. I'm even guilty of wearing leggings (with a long sweater!) when my students won't be around.

jacket: Target | scarf: LOFT | skirt: LOFT [exact on sale in limited sizes] | t-shirt: Banana Republic | shoes: Banana Republic [similar] 

Faking Fall

 

 

 

After a few deceptively cool days, summer has planted its flag here in the midwest and announced that it has no plans for leaving anytime soon. On the weekends, this is fine. We've spent Saturday tailgating and Sunday at the beach, and doing those two activities the 95° weather doesn't bother me one bit. But during the week, when I'm teaching classes and meeting with students, I really wish the weather was cooler. (And so does my hair... humidity frizz for the win!)

This outfit uses trick to make it feel more like fall even though wearing sweaters and boots is totally out of the question. Audrey wrote a post a few days ago about how ankle boots can make any outfit look more fall-ish. She recommended black ankle boots, but this dark teal pair seemed even better. I wore a jean jacket, too, not just to simulate fall but also because it's freezing in some of the buildings on campus! This outfit didn't send any cooler weather our way, but it helped me fake fall a little bit.

dress: Target | jacket: Target | necklace: Fossil [thrifted] bracelets: borrowed | ankle boots: Nine West

Whatever Works

 

The first two weeks of the semester are always a disaster an adventure, and adding a family wedding on the west coast in between them does not -- spoiler alert -- make them any easier. But I have survived, nay thrived, and lived to tell the tale. I'm now sitting on my front porch, drinking a glass of wine, and basking in my glory. Or perhaps just basking in the humidity. I'll take what I can get.

Knowing that these few weeks were going to be mayhem, I made sure to take outfit photos every day before the semester started. I knew this would make it easier to maintain a semi-regular blog presence. I had no idea it would also help me get dressed every morning, but it did. When I woke up on Monday morning with a brain full of jet-lag and student meetings and syllabuses and no room for fashion, I simply copied one of the outfits I'd photographed a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, when the jet lag hadn't dissipated, I did the same. By Thursday, when I could no longer blame my foggy brain on jet lag, I'd run out of outfits for this week, so I reached further back to the archive and wore this beauty from early in August. It's like a "pin to present" or "make it work Monday" but so much easier because (1) I already have all the stuff and (2) I know how it "works" on me. (Don't worry, Erin, I'll actually copy someone other than myself for the next Make it Work Monday!)

I was delighted to wear this outfit not once but twice in the past few weeks. (I rarely see the same people day in and day out -- I mean, the freshman I teach just showed up two weeks ago!!!) My favorite part of the ensemble is that the two statement pieces, the necklace and the skirt, both came from Target and have held up incredibly well despite being purchased years ago and match each other perfectly and do so through two colors that I love, yellow and green. I felt like a pattern-and-color-and-bling matching ninja. Not really, but maybe someday!

necklace: Target [old] | skirt: Target [even older, not dissimilar] | tank: LOFT | cardigan: Target [this year's colors] | shoes: Banana Republic [exact -- limited sizes now, but I'm sure they'll restock soon!] | bag: J.Crew factory

The Non-Remixed Remixable Skirt

I bought this skirt a few weeks ago and hoped to remix it for Briana's Third Thursday linkup, but then I never quite got the post together and totally missed the boat. I was a bit hesitant when I bought it. I'd been looking for a full skirt in a black pattern, but thought I wanted something a bit more structured. This skirt is knit and stretchy which makes it more casual. But, it was on limited sizes and on sale, so I figured I could take it home and experiment with it. If it didn't fill the closet holes I wanted it to, I could always return it. (P.S. It was sold out for a while, but it's now back in stock in all petite sizes and some regular sizes for $27!) I wrote down a list of "outfit options" with it while procrastinating and when I tried them on most of them looked pretty good, so I decided to keep it.

Apparently it was meant to be because I've been wearing this skirt over and over (and over and over) again ever since. Even though I wanted something more structured (woven, wool, you know the drill), I've been happy with the knit version, especially for summer as it refuses to transition into fall. The skirt looks put together enough for work, but also comfortable for lounging around or sitting in the car for hours on end. (I wore it to drive the nine hours to my family vacation and then decided it to put it on again to drive the nine hours back.) This is the skirt in "business mode." A plain white tee, a cardigan, and flats are perfectly respectable (and super easy) even if they're not show-stopping. I can definitely see myself wearing it at least once a week as long as the weather keeps on being a hot mess, and maybe with tights into the cooler months. Who knows! I may have missed Bri's remix, but there's plenty of rogue remixing to come!

skirt: LOFT [exact] | t-shirt: Banana Republic | cardigan: Gap | shoes: Target [sold out, very similar, very similar on sale] | earrings: Dina Varano [her website]

Black & Blue

 

 

I have spent much of my life afraid of "clashing." There is some merit to this fear, but for the most part it was misguided and has been far more paralyzing than enabling. One of my biggest taboos has been combining navy and black. This ban even encompassed wearing black leather shoes with navy clothing until I read a few years back that black shoes were the classic -- the standard -- with navy. This opened up a whole new world for me and helped me bring more navy into my closet, which I've loved. Then, last year I saw a ton of items that were both black and navy and they totally blew my mind. I realized that black and navy looked fantastic together. The similarity between the colors adds depth to outfits, plus the combination of classic navy and edgy black was incredibly appealing to the "look" I try to go for (what I call "classic with a tweedy edge"). One of my favorite purchases from the black and blue items I saw in stores last winter was this blouse. It's a great conservative navy blouse to wear under a suit, but the best part is the black leather and zipper detail in the back: A perfect mix of class and edge.

blouse: Ann Taylor | skirt: Ann Taylor Factory | belt: Gap | shoes: Nine West [exact -- my favorite classic black pump, I buy two when there's a buy-one-get-one sale]

Better Basics

 

One of the surprising things I've found about doing this insane thing of taking photos of myself and posting them on the internet is that I've had to look some of my style choices and realize that how I actually looked wasn't the same as what I imagined in my head. A simple black and white basics look from last week is a good example of this. It wasn't disastrous, but I certainly didn't look my best. The biggest issue was a pair of black cropped pants that were a little too tight, a little too short, and no longer quite as black as they used to be. I'd been wearing them  regularly and pretending they were OK, but seeing photos of them up on the screen made me realize it was time for them to go. They're now sitting atop my donate pile waiting for my next trip to Goodwill.

This black and white outfit is so much better. It's a little less basic -- stripes instead of solid white on top, and the addition of a teal statement necklace -- but what really makes it better are the pants. These are the Dannie Pant from J.Crew, which is sold out in almost every size now but which I hope they will bring back this fall or winter. They fit so much better, the longer length is  much more flattering than the old ones, and they're actually black. Plus, they have a cool zipper detail in the back which, though I didn't get a photo, has gotten me more compliments than I'd like to admit (because they mean that the complimenters were definitely looking at my behind). Which is all to say, one of the lessons I'm learning from blogging is, it's all about the basics.

pants: J.Crew [yeah, pretty much totally sold out] | sweater: LOFT | necklace: Fossil [thrifted] | shoes: Banana Republic

 Oh, and the shoes have sweet zipper details too. Aren't they great! Also, are everyone's feet so veiny?

Making It Work: Black & Tan

When I first stumbled upon Franish, I thought "that's how I want to dress." Fran's style is classic and classy, professional without being stuffy, simple without being boring. Even better, her outfits and commentaries help me to see my own (far less developed) style in new ways and to translate my favorite outfits into concepts and those concepts back into different outfits. I know that sounds complicated, but here's what I mean:

One of my absolute favorite fall/winter outfits, which I wore about twice a week from 2008 through 2012, is a black wool shift dress with a low-slung tan belt, tan boots, and a black cardigan. I don't wear this outfit quite as frequently as I once did, mostly because my current black shift dress has a defined waist so the low-slung belt doesn't work as well, but it's still one of my favorites. I saw the black-and-tan look all over the place while I was paging through Fran's blog (see here, here, and here), which made me think about my own favorite outfit and realize that I love that pairing. I also realized, looking at this outfit, that tweaking the outfit a bit could make it work for summer, too. So, I present to you, for the inaugural Make it Work Monday hosted by Erin of Teal and Polka Dots, black and tan.

My look doesn't match Fran's perfectly. She's wearing leopard-print flats, mine are solid leather. She has a small cross-body purse, I have my big (and overstuffed) work bag. She's wearing a delicate necklace, I'm wearing a chunky wooden bangle. But this outfit is certainly inspired by Fran (rather than copied) and I think I've made it work for me.

dress: Target | cardigan: Target [this years colors... I love these very affordable cardigans and buy one just about every season] | belt: American Eagle | bag: J.Crew Factory | shoes: Banana Republic [exact] | bracelet: street hawker... four bucks!

Thanks so much Erin for this awesome link-up! I have started a pinterest board dedicated to outfits that I'd like to make work so I'll be ready for future Make It Work Mondays. I'm trying to focus on pinning looks that I have most of the necessary equipment for so I don't feel like I need to buy things to look stylish. Plus, there will be some fudging. But who doesn't love fudge?

On Faking It

It happens more than I'd like to admit: the alarm goes off in the morning and I have no plan at all. No outfits picked out, no lunches made, no gym bags packed, no breakfast prepared. On those days, we usually also have piles of laundry in the bedroom, piles of dishes in the sink, and piles of junk all over the rest of the house. My first line of attack on days like these is to hit the snooze button and see if the morning goes away. When that fails, my husband is there with a plan of his own. His plan is called "faking it."

Once we have decided we're faking it, I can stop beating myself up for falling short of domestic and sartorial perfection. I can put my hair in a bun, eat a handful of nuts for breakfast, wear jeans to work, and buy lunch once I'm there. (As my wonderful husband regularly reminds me, money can be exchanged for goods and services.) I wouldn't want to fake it every day, but every once in a while it can save my sanity and turn a horrible day into something pretty good. Especially when I manage to scrounge up an outfit that doesn't look half bad. A striped drapey cardigan helps: looks like effort, feels like a bathrobe!

cardigan: boutique in Stellenbosch, SA [similar, similar on sale]  | tank: Old Navy [exact] | jeans: Gap | belt: Old Navy | bag: Francesca's | sandals: Franco Sarto

Woah, you can see how dinged up my bag is in this close-up... as I said, we're faking it...

Back to Basics

Even though the astronomical calendar says we still have over a month of summer, the academic calendar couldn't agree less. Out here in the steamy midwest some kids have already headed back to school next week and freshman will start showing up on campus in just over a week. I'll be teaching two intro-level classes when the semester officially starts in two weeks, so there's no time like the present to get back to basics.

My major, and ongoing, fashion goal is to build a lean, mean wardrobe of basic pieces, and there's nothing more basic than a white blouse and black pants. However, I've shied away from this pairing because I feared it fell on the wrong side of the basic-boring divide. And I didn't want to look like a caterer. But in my ongoing attempt to learn to make magic with basic pieces, I decided to give it a try. The oversized eyelet of the blouse has enough going on to keep things interesting and the black bangle makes the black and white combination look a bit more intentional. A swipe of red lipstick perk things up, too.

While this is a good first attempt, I can't say I'm totally happy with this outfit. The pants are a bit too small and the top is a bit too short, leading to a less than flattering look around my midsection. I probably won't wear this exact outfit again, but I do want to keep trying to create interesting outfits out of very basic elements.

blouse: Banana Republic Factory [similar sleeveless version on sale] | pants: LOFT | shoes: Target [exact] | bracelet: H&M

Red!

Of course, the name of this website is a very bad pun. As someone who has spent the past five years reading novels and then reading newspaper reviews of said novels, it seemed right to name my blog after a lame joke about reading and newspapers. But I also chose the name because black, white, and red are my favorite colors to wear. Red especially, because it's powerful and attention-grabbing -- I try to wear it as often as possible to professional events in order to stand out. This is semi-pathological, as spending my time writing an awesome article has a much better chance of getting me noticed than planning outfits around red pants, but whatever. Red makes me feel good.

shirt: Ann Taylor Factory | pants: JCP [thrifted, similar on sale in regular & petites] | necklace: J.Crew Factory | shoes: Banana Republic

What I've Really Been Wearing All Summer

I mean, yes, I've worn other things this summer, including all the daily outfits I've posted. But every weekend, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, this has been my staple outfit. I've worn it for drinks on the porch, out to dinner with friends, and after changing out of a wet bathing suit on trips to the beach. Occasionally I've added a cardigan or floppy hat as circumstances have dictated, but the black maxi dress, silver pendant, and shades combo has stood me in good stead. And yes, I have worn it with either black Reef flip-flops or black Chacos. These may not be the most fashionable footwear choices, but I sure do love 'em. And I buy them in black so that they look "elegant."

dress: Old Navy [sold out online] | sandals: Chacos [exact] | necklace: Dina Varano [her website] | sunglasses: LOFT [exact]

Works Like A Charm

A few weeks ago I gushed about the fact that I had conquered one of my ultimate wardrobe remixing challenges: wearing a dress as a skirt. In this outfit also turns a dress that has a moderately skimpy top and is therefore usually reserved for dressy nights out into a skirt that can be worn to work. Like my previous experiment in dress-to-skirt remixing, this was brought on by my desire to try a look without investing any money. I was charmed by knee-length (or slightly longer) black & white skirts on some of my favorite bloggers -- including Jessica, Jean, and Sarah -- but couldn't find a skirt I was ready to commit to. Then I realized I had a black and white skirt I already loved hanging in my closet -- it just happened to be attached to a dress . I folded the bodice underneath the skirt, lined up the seam with my natural was it, and added a belt. All of the sudden, I had the black & white skirt I've been craving all summer! I like this look a lot and am going to try to style the "skirt" a few different ways in late summer and early fall. I might wind up investing in a real black & white skirt if the right one comes along, but for now I'm happy with my money- and space-saving substitute.

dress (worn as skirt): AUW [consigned] | shirt: Banana Republic | belt: American Eagle | bag: J.Crew Factory | shoes: Banana Republic [exact] | earrings: Target

Blah.

This look is not one of my favorites. For one, I really dislike using my brown work back when I'm wearing black shoes and accessories. Also, the dress doesn't really do it for me -- the ruffles combined with lack of structure are less than flattering. But worst of all, it is mind-numbingly boring. I mean, I like neutrals as much as the next gal, but seriously, blah.

I'm thinking hard about letting this dress go. There's nothing actually wrong with it, and it's very comfortable, but I'm never really happy when I'm wearing it. Does that mean it gets the boot?

dress: | belt: Gap | bag: J.Crew Factory | shoes: Target [exact]

Wrap It Up

On days when I have nothing to wear, I wear a patterned wrap dress. On days when nothing fits, I wear a patterned wrap dress. On days when I can't figure out if I'm supposed to wear something casual, or professional, or dressy, I wear a patterned wrap dress. They require minimal accessories and styling, they're comfortable and forgiving, and they're appropriate for just about every situation. 

I bought this dress at a consignment shop the summer before I started graduate school and boy have I gotten my $20 worth! I've been able to wear it as my body has fluctuated and have lent it to friends of different shapes and sizes. I've worn it to conferences, to teach, and out to dinner. I've thrown it in many a suitcase since it packs down small and doesn't wrinkle. If you're building a professional wardrobe and have limited space, time, or money I cannot recommend a patterned wrap dress enough. 

dress: Max Studio [consigned] | tank: Rock & Republic [consigned] | bag: J.Crew Factory | shoes: Banana Republic [exact]