What Would a Nerd Wear

Once, I Wore Color

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

works cited: ruche dress; j. crew cardigan; secondhand j. crew coat; thrifted bag; target boots; we love colors tights; mittens a gift from my mom; scarf from etsy

Lots of bright, cheerful color for a busy day prepping, grading, reading, writing, and spending some time in the National Portrait Gallery. I have to puff up my chest a bit at how many colors I worked in here without feeling like the look is completely overboard (or who knows, maybe it is). Either way, it's galvanizing to change up my uniforms of grays and brown once in a while.

Post-Somnambulance

2012-01-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

works cited: bdg cords; secondhand j. crew jacket and j crew sweater under the jacket; megan nielsen top; scarf from somewhere mysterious; steve madden brogues

Last week, after a rad birthday celebration for Christopher, we both got sick and spent the week in various phases of somnambulance. On Saturday, we emerged from our sick-den to see the sunlight again and go helmet-shopping at Bicycle Space (I got this polka-dotted number). DC winter has been super mild and this short coat was plenty to keep me warm, even with my ankles showing. I can't say I mind the warmer winter, but I don't know if I'll feel like I deserve spring when it comes. Without my usual midwest winter suffering, will spring feel so sweet?

The Blazer that Baffled

2012-01-24T10:15:00.001-05:00

works cited: target blazer; thrifted blouse; necklace from end-of-summer camp lost and found; bdg jeans; urban outfitters flats; j. crew belt; breda watch

I've got to make this speedy, because my class starts in about 9 seconds. This outfit is one of the ones Lauren helped me put together when I traded her lunch for some new closet ideas. I asked her for help with this blazer, which hypothetically should be easy to style, but for some reason its length kind of baffles me and I always feel long in the torso when I wear it, no matter how many belts or waist-highlighting tricks I apply (not that I ever overdo it on the belt front...). Any tricks or tips up your sleeve? I'd love to hear them.

A Case of the Mondays

2012-01-23T11:59:00.000-05:00

works cited: ll bean dress; somewhat baggy gap sweater; hue tights (always more than half off at tjmaxx or other discount stores); steve madden boots; coat and scarf from h&m; bicycle tote from etsy; anthro earrings also found at eastern market; knee socks from target

This weekend was blissful and relaxing, so I'm feeling unusually restored to face off with a pile of articles that's currently knee-deep and a forecast of freezing rain (I'll have you know, this is not the egg mcmuffin of weather). This outfit is actually recycled from my holiday travels, when I wore it just about every other day. Sweater tights, a thick cotton dress, and cable knits were perfect for long flights but turns out they do the trick for a day hunched over my books at Tryst, too.

One Last Resolution

2012-01-20T10:04:00.000-05:00

works cited: thrifted skirt; h&m blouse; hue tights; MIA wedges; breda watch

Before January is over, I have one last little blog resolution to share--I've decided I'm not going to accept new "courtesy of" items. In the past, some of the shops that advertise on this site have offered me samples of their clothes for free, which is awesome because who doesn't love free clothes? But part of the reason why I like reading blogs (and considered starting one) is that they offer an alternative to magazines. They represent what a non-magazine-model without access to a huge magazine closet might wear, and what she might be willing to hand over her hard-earned money for. Getting free stuff runs counter to why I preferred blogs in the first place. An unrelated but significant factor in this decision is that I have other projects that I'm invested in and I'd like this blog to feel a little more low-maintenance. Free stuff is a strange kind of obligation and I'd prefer to keep this space in the territory of hobby, where I can justify subordinating it to all the other stuff I'd like to do. So that's that: everything will remain pretty much the same, I'll just feel less like a shill :)
On another note: pattern mixing! Even Christopher liked it, which was the shock of the day. Hope you have a great weekend!

Simplicity

2012-01-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

works cited: gap sweater and jeans; boots c/o blowfish; hand me down flannel; breda watch

January cold has left me feeling a bit schlumpy, so I went to pinterest for inspiration this morning and remembered this. I was in the mood for something simple and cozy, and that image hit the spot.

Up the Hill

2012-01-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

works cited: bdg cords; ancient gap turtleneck; j.crew boots; breda watch; triumph bicycle :)

I've missed bicycling in the winter, so this morning I hauled out my mittens and an extra fleece and decided to go the five miles to the Library of Congress on my two wheels. It doesn't take any longer than the metro but it feels about five times as nice--time in the sunshine; beautiful views of the capitol; an invigorating climb up the hill made challenging by the Triumph's weight, a bag filled with books, and minimal gearing. It was so galvanizing, I don't know why I haven't done it sooner. This outfit was 100% functional--bright pants for visibility, turtleneck sweater for warmth in the frigid library, flat shoes for just-in-case-of-emergency on a new bike route, and a braid to fit snugly under my helmet (safety first, right?).

Weekender

2012-01-17T08:48:00.001-05:00

works cited: bdg cords; thrifted christian dior sweater (whoop whoop); target boots; gifted scarf and mittens; h&m coat; hat from etsy (seams to be)

Inspired by last week's trip to a few Smithsonians, Christopher and I went to the Hirshorn and the sculpture gardens over the weekend (where we took these pictures and I felt self-conscious with so many people milling around and Christopher doing his Steven Meisel thing). This outfit is definitely colorful but I don't know if I got the proportions of colors to neutrals quite right; maybe this had a few too many shades of red and orange for one day :)

Museum Going

2012-01-13T09:37:00.002-05:00

works cited: thrifted button-up; secondhand sweater (from mars in berkeley, when i was in high school); megan nielsen skirt; hue tights from filene's basement's going out of business sale; dansko clogs; h&m coat

I wasn't so sure about this outfit until Christopher told me the blocks of color reminded him of a Rothko painting. Then I was sold. And it seemed a fitting reference for today, when I'm meeting Amy at one of the Smithsonians, to remedy my dissertation/DC loneliness. Us workers-from-home have to stick together!
P.S. Thank you SO much to those of you who left comments yesterday with hair-suggestions. I devoured them and they were incredibly helpful! If you're looking for volume suggestions, the comments on yesterday's post are an encyclopedia of amazing suggestions.

Falling Flat

2012-01-12T10:14:00.001-05:00

works cited: gap jeans; h&m top; j.crew cardigan; earrings made by irene wood; MIA wedges; freshly picked bag

Another one of my on-the-silly side resolutions is to try something new with my hair. I "do" my hair about as often as my taxes. The other 364 days of the year I let it air-dry or throw it in the same messy bun I've been wearing since I was 13 (Mom, you can vouch, right?). This year, I'd really love to learn how to give it some volume once in a while, but so far this resolution has been giving me trouble. First were a set of hot rollers that wouldn't stay in my (thick but very straight) hair, so they went back to the store in favor of a curling iron, which this morning burnt me twice but at least gave me loose waves which lasted about as long as it took me to walk the five blocks to my favorite coffee shop. Now my hair is about as straight as it was when I woke up this morning. What gives? I even hair-sprayed the living daylights out of it to make it stay. Hair geniuses, do you have any tips or tutorials? (I kind of tried to do this one but my hair didn't really behave like the model's.)

Eavesdropper

2012-01-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

works cited: j. crew sweater, tee, belt and world's scratchiest wool tights; ruche skirt; flats c/o blowfish; coat from jeremy's in berkeley; freshly picked striped bag; fossil earrings

One of my blog-related new year's resolutions is to be a little more daring with color. I wear and love a lot of neutrals but it feels fun once in a while to mix brights, especially during the darker days of winter. Today I'm taking my brightly-dressed self to the coffee shop to prep my syllabus for classes next week (I'm teaching another online class, which I've talked a teeny bit about here) and to eavesdrop on various strangers' interesting conversations about the upcoming election at neighboring tables.

Happy Belated New Year!

2012-01-09T08:16:00.001-05:00

works cited: skirt from jeremy's; thrifted blouse; much beloved j crew sweater; target tights; danskos; necklace from a friend

Whoops! Sorry I fell off the map there for a while, but happy much belated new year! Christopher and I were traveling for the past two weeks and spent the last ten days with limited internet access. It gave me lots of time and mental energy to hang out with my friends from college (miss you guys already), see my family, work on my dissertation, read some new books, see lots of movies, and enjoy quality time with Christopher while he finally took a break from work. It was blissful. It also gave me some time to think about blogging stuff--if I'll continue and how I'll approach it this year--and I think I'll bring a few changes to these parts in the next month. Hope you all are having a great start to the new year, I'm excited to catch up on the happenings on the internet this week!

Shabby Chic

2011-12-28T09:30:00.003-05:00

works cited: vest poached from my sister's closet (hand-me-up?); loft cords; j. crew shirt and sweater; steve madden boots; breda watch

My sister, a snappy dresser herself, seems a little too delighted to point out what she notices as my sartorial shortcomings. Normally she likes to tease me about my penchant for granny items or for wearing my red pants too often, but this week she's found a new target with these boots, which after a winter and a half of salted roads and frequent trips into the snow, look a little worse for the wear. I believe she may have applied the term "bedraggled" to them more than once. I prefer "shabby chic," but unfortunately cheaply-stained leather just doesn't age the way real, nice, expensive, out-of-my-budget leather does, so bedraggled I will have to stay at least until these boots take a restorative trip to the cobbler.

Happy Christmakuh

2011-12-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

works cited: j. crew tee; h&m coat; steve madden flats; hue sweater tights; skirt from jeremy's in berkeley; hat c/o seams to be (etsy)

In my family, we celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah. Usually I miss Hannukah at home because it often falls well before Christmas, but this year I'll have spent all eight nights at home, which is a rare treat. I wore this on Christmas Eve (and the fifth night of Hannukah) but with all the candle-lighting, present-opening, game-playing, and eating, I've been pretty well occupied the past few days and am just getting around to posting it now. Hope you all had a wonderful past few days, no matter what you do or do not celebrate.
P.S. What are you wearing for New Year's Eve? Secretly, I really want a dress exactly like this but have had trouble finding it, so I might just go with a black dress and sparkly belt. Most of my closet is just right for a trip to farmer's market or library, but it seems a bit off kilter to wear a plaid button-up and pencil skirt to a club on NYE, so share your ideas and save me from my own vanilla-ness.

Home Again, Home Again

2011-12-20T17:59:00.002-05:00

works cited: hand-me-down shirt from my sister; UO cardigan and flats; thrifted jacket; bag from etsy; scarf from lost & found; loft cords; blogger staple mac ruby woo lipstick; pictures by my sister :)

I'm back in Berkeley to see my family for the holidays and as usual, this involves rummaging through my sister's and my own leftover clothes in our closets. This morning's treasure was this top, which Rachel conceded could be mine. Given how few stripes I have in my closet, I couldn't very well say no, right? The pattern mixing of scarf and stripes looked great in the mirror, but I'm not sure how well it holds up in photos. One of the funny things about seeing your outfit photographed is you start to realize there's a bizarre gap between things you think look great in person and things that photograph really well. Sometimes an outfit is both, but I think today's leans toward the better-in-person.
P.S. Sorry for the instagram photo, but the best part of the top is the awesome buttons on the shoulders and I couldn't very well let you miss it:

P.P.S. Are you on instagram? Only recently have I gotten obsessed and can see why other people love it so much. My username is whatwouldanerdwear, if you want to find me there.

[CLOSED] Giveaway: $50 to Ruche

2011-12-19T14:42:00.010-05:00

This week, you have the chance to win $50 to spend as you like at Ruche, one of my all-time favorite online shops. They have so much great stuff, like this polka-dot top, this pleated dress, and this chunky sweater. Just visit Ruche and leave a comment (with your email address or link). I'll pick a winner at random before Christmas.
Good luck XO!
Update: the lucky winner is Lexie!

High School Crushes

2011-12-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

works cited: gap sweater and jeans; boots c/o blowfish; christopher's belt; breda watch; necklace c/o le mode

I am fairly sure I had these exact same jeans in high school. If I were a pack-rat at all, I'd probably still have them--I wore them through much of college and gave them up only when they were in tatters. In fact, this whole outfit strikes me as very similar to what I wore in the late 90's, which is probably why my generation Catalano boyfriend likes them so much--they remind him of what girls wore in high school. Secretly, I still have a major thing for white Hanes tee shirts and hiking boots, because that's what guys wore in middle school and high school when I started having big crushes. Luckily, my grown-up crush wears white tee shirts all the time. Now if I could just convince him to buy a pair of Timberland boots circa 1998...

The Talented Megan Nielsen

2011-12-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

Last week, I met my friend Megan and Sydney at the Manassas battlefield in Virginia to take some pictures of Megan's winter clothing. I have mentioned Megan numerous times on this blog because she has made some of my favorite clothes and has been a wonderful friend to me this year (she moved to DC just before I did and has fielded many of my "Why are things so expensive and how do I sell my car?" phone calls). Sydney brought her exceptional photography skills and Megan brought beautifully-made clothes and the only skill I was able to bring to the table was my ability to change clothes in the back of a minivan. Megan's lookbook turned out beautifully and the clothes in her winter line go on sale tomorrow--you can see all the pieces and pictures here. Thanks again for asking me, Megan! It was such a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Extra Special December Book Recommendations

2011-12-15T10:21:00.001-05:00

Today's book recommendations come to you from my friend and voracious reader, Dot. I'm farming out my post this month for three reasons: first, I have been on a spree of book posts (here and here and here) and I've depleted my general-recommendation-juices; second, Dot reads much more contemporary fiction than I do and has impeccable taste in good literature; third, the comments are always the best part of these posts. You all have such incredible and diverse ideas for what to read than what better idea than to take one of the best commenters and give her a post of her own? So without further ado...

When Tania asked me to recommend a few books for you all, I was thrilled. There's nothing I love better than bossing people around in a bookstore. Errh, or on the internet. You get it. So here's what you should find in your library / buy for your book-loving cousin JoJo / put on your Christmas wish list immediately:

Silver Sparrow (Tayari Jones). With its opening line, "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist," we spin into the secret life of Dana Yarboro. And by secret, I mean *she* is the secret--her father's other family frolics around 1980s Atlanta unaware of Dana and her mother's existence. Told from the perspective of Dana and her father's "real" daughter Chaurisse, Silver Sparrow takes us deep into a family, casting our definitions of normal childhoods, love, and commitment aside in favor of the truth: to live in relation to others is complex, risky business.

Once Upon a River (Bonnie Jo Campbell). Enough of wishy-washy Bella Swan, readers. Here comes sixteen-year-old Margo Crane, searching to find her mother (and herself) in rural Michigan. The critics are calling this sharp-shooting, river-navigating girl the next Huckleberry Finn--I say she's just plain great.

The Financial Lives of the Poets (Jess Walter). Matt Prior quits his stable job in financial journalism to start a website that turns out not to be as successful as dear Tania's fashion exploits. The website? Financial advice in poetic verse. After the site's utter failure, we find Matt on the verge of losing everything: wife, house, life as he knows it. And then he meets Skeet and Jamie, the literary world's most darling drug dealers.

The Book of Men (Dorianne Laux). I know, I get it. You don't read poetry. You read Robert Frost in high school and now you are SO OVER IT. But Dorianne Laux is something different--this book's got poems about Mick Jagger, old boyfriends, Superman, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and a heartbreaking soldier she spots in an airport. If you want to remember what life, love, and everything truly feels like, read these poems.

P.S. Dot also has the raddest pinterest boards.
P.P.S. Why I never link to you-know-what.
P.P.P.S. Read anything good lately? Please oh please leave a comment and let us poach off your reading lists.

History of a Working Vacation

2011-12-14T10:33:00.003-05:00

works cited: target dress and belt; hue tights; old UO cardigan; steve madden boots

I've returned to the land of the living, in just enough time to frantically pack a bag and hop aboard a bus to Princeton, where one of my best friends and roommates from college awaits, for a nerd-tastic weekend of co-studying and library-hopping. In my family of workaholics, it's not unusual to take work wherever you go. Many family trips have been spent taking copious notes on novels, or huddled around laptops working on grants, so often that we actually have a name for this ~~Type A disorder~~ type of travel: "a working vacation." Friends + good food + getting work done = true nerd happiness.

[CLOSED] Giveaway: Win Glasses from BonLook!

2011-12-13T16:52:00.002-05:00

My bespectacled friends, today you have the chance to win a $99 voucher for a new pair of glasses from BonLook! Or if you are only two-eyed, like me, you can get some snazzy new sunglasses. To enter, leave a comment telling me what model you'd like to win. I would definitely go for these (and maybe if I keep reading in low light, I'll need to). For an extra entry, you can like BonLook on Facebook or follow it on Twitter.
P.S. Or if you can't wait, take 10% off with the discount code BLWWANW10 at checkout.
Update: the lucky winner is Erica!

Denial Is the Best Medicine

2011-12-13T08:40:00.006-05:00

works cited: skirt c/o ruche; target tee; MIA wedges; j.crew wool tights; and a coat (not shown but I wore it) from Jeremy's in Berkeley; necklace from etsy

This is another outfit masterminded by Lauren, which I wore yesterday while trying to ignore a fever that kept creeping upwards in order to meet some deadlines and have coffee with Amy and S. You know what they say, denial is the best medicine. Denial, and copious amounts of zinc, green tea, orange juice, vitamin C tablets, hot showers, and over-the-phone dramatic recitations of "Sneezles" by your mother.

The Reazles For Sneezles and Wheezles

2011-12-12T08:35:00.006-05:00

works cited: j.crew cords and tee; gap sweater; keds; hat c/o seams to be

For a quick coffee run to Tryst (where you can find some of the best americanos outside Seattle) on Sunday morning, I went for wintery layers, corduroy, knits, and slightly-chilly ankles. My desire for a dose of coziness with my caffeine is unfortunately rooted in the onset of my yearly early-winter cold, which I spent the day trying to ward off with vitamin C, lemon water, and time on the couch working on my advisor's book index. Whenever I don't feel well, I start to miss being a kid and having my mama bring me toast with jam and peppermint tea, and read me A.A. Milne's poem "Sneezles" from Now We Are Six, which we reserved as a special treat for sick days. She also would feed me lots of vitamin C tablets, which remains a strange family placebo remedy for colds. Any magic cold-dispensing remedies in your family? (Not that the vitamin C isn't working, Mom, I'm sure I'll feel better any second now...)

Thrice as Nice

2011-12-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

works cited: anthropologie dress; banana republic sweater; belt from my mom; hue sweater tights; steve madden boots

I've been known to like a sweater or two, so today I wore three: sweater dress, cardigan, sweater tights. There's no such thing as too much knitwear when the mercury drops. Usually I am not so bold with color, but I got a little help with this outfit. I tend to get in ruts with the way I wear things, and in college I used to beg my stylish friend Jen to come over and pick out different outfits for me; lately I've been missing having a nearby girlfriend to help me figure out how to wear certain items of clothing. Foolishly, my friend Lauren (from my closet in sketches) mentioned to me that she's started to do closet consultations and I immediately began buttering her up to spend the afternoon in my closet in exchange for my best lentil soup and homemade bread. It was great to see my clothes through fresh eyes, and Lauren helped me think of ways to style a few tricky pieces and basically catapulted me out of my I-can't-decide-what-to-wear rut that I always fall into early in winter. It was so much fun and made me miss living with girlfriends.

Vanity/Insanity

2011-12-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

works cited: dress c/o spotted moth; madewell sweater; hue tights; j. crew boots (and puffer coat)

Just as I was beginning to believe that D.C. doesn't have winter, a 30-degree day with whipping winds arrived to tell me otherwise. The bizarre-ness of taking photos of oneself every day is especially striking in the cold weather, when it seems not merely vain but downright masochistic to head outside into the chill and take off one's coat just to get a picture with great natural light. So to answer my mother's inevitable question: yes, I'm wearing a coat when I go outside; yes, Christopher has to cajole me to take it off; yes, I'm freezing when we take these pictures no matter how cozy my wool sweater keeps me indoors; indeed, the relaxed face you see above is a mirage (evidence below for something that better captures how I feel right before Christopher takes my picture in December weather). Now if only I were a bit more like Wim Hof...

P.S. Kayley's post yesterday on winter photos cracked me up.