University academic mid-life fashion - upping my game

[PiratePanda]

I'm a university academic in the creative end of the humanities. Since I started as a lecturer, back in the day when I was willowy and - not that I realised at the time (sigh!) - rather restful to the eyes, I have been getting away with a work wardrobe of nice dark navy jeans, elegant flat or heeled shoes, some kind of top, and a jacket.

But I now very definitely look my age, 43, and have resigned myself to the fact that as DS is now 7 I'm probably not ever going to lose the baby weight. The level of casual of my current wardrobe is no longer working for me, and I really feel that I need to up my style game as I progress towards professorship. I'm aiming for a glamorous media don kind of look -- I'm not on TV, but I do do a lot of public speaking. I can certainly get away with librarian chic, and a twist on tweed and elbow patches.

I'm an hourglass with an E cup bust, and a size 14-16. My legs are my worst feature no matter how big or small I am, so trousers are great - or would be, except I have a hard time finding suitable sizes and fits. I used to look amazing in things like L K Bennett dresses, and have several in sizes 10 and 12, but thanks to massive mortgage and small boy I don't currently have the disposable income to buy a whole new wardrobe on that level, though a couple of investment pieces for sure. I also hate synthetic fabrics, and avoid them if I can.

Anyone willing to have a go at helping me up my style game?

The John Lewis stylist idea is a brilliant one (someone I know wrote this very funny that is apposite!)

And thanks for reminding me about Uniqlo. I've always rated their cashmere (about which I am particular and fussy) but haven't been in for a while since I discovered John Smedley do amazing online sales

@SelmaAndJubJub I am sniggering into my coffee at M&S and body con. My DH talks about "the M&S generation," referring to his mother and her friends, aged 70–85, well-off home-owning working class who don't know what to do with all their triple-lock pensions, and therefore spend their days browsing M&S. Mind you, she's in Leeds, and every time we meet her in the city centre branch I am always astounded by the spacious layout and the apparently quite nice things I can see on display. My local branch is full of frills and garish colours and polyester.

Got the bra thing down; I buy one particular great bra that works for me from Bravissimo in multiple colours.

Yes, I've had some recommendations from friends whose clothes I admire for & Other Stories, so will have a look. @NC4now I love those styles, but I can't do short skirts anymore. I love boots :-)

Arket look good! And, OK, I will have another go at Cos.

@queencerulean One day I will give up my delusion that I will, one day, be able to fit into them again -- just not yet.

Oooh. Finery. Yes they do!

What size would you all recommend in uniqlo if I'm a uk size 12 -14 on top?

What DisorderedAllsorts said.
Watch the sleeve and leg length in Uniqlo. It's a Japanese company so I think the sizes may be a little small

Try the shops in upmarket areas - the stock may depend on the demographic. Some branches of M&S have nice stuff.

OP, I could have written that. Before children, I lived in good jeans, high heels and a fitted black v-neck t-shirt or jumper and I looked good. I'm coming off mat leave a lot fatter than I ever thought it was possible for me to get and I most definitely do not want to look like a middle aged arty academic (no offence to anyone who does but it's not for me). There is a definite look as well:

• short boxy linen jackets with big buttons

-frizzy hair showing grey -loose linen trousers with ‘comfy’ shoes -mustard yellow with navy blue seems popular -handcrafted jewellery, usually one big statement necklace -no make up apart from lipstick for meetings -lots of layers under a bulky cardigan and scarf. Everyone who dresses like this is also quite short. I'm not sure why.

More common in fine art, textiles etc. The design and fashion people at the moment tend to wear flat brown brogues, loose pleat -front black trousers tapered at the ankle and white shirt, probably from Cos or a plain white t-shirt. They never wear colours or patterns.
The art men wear jeans and good quality shirts with good quality shoes, the design men wear slim fit trousers or black jeans with a black v-neck.

There are lots of professors and deans dress like this at our place so I don't think it's a barrier to promotion.

I think if you're public speaking / lecturing then you need to look streamlined and one colour as too many accessories, colours and patterns are faffy and distracting to look at. I’d avoid scarves and go for a clean silhouette.

My strategy is this:
-I don't have much choice in clothing until I have lost weight (trousers just look too hideous with section overhang and fanny fat, I'm an 18/20) so I'm sticking to black tunics or short empire line dress over black leggings, this is the only shape I can get away with atm. There's an art to getting this right so it looks chic and not like you've just walked out of soft play. Not too flared, not too long or it looks frumpy, skims in the right places, good quality jersey. My best shape one is H&M, I bought 2 as I know it won’t last that well and picked up 2 more bnwt on ebay for 99p each.
-heeled boots, not clumpy though, western boots, heeled bikers etc.
-good hair, no frizz even if curly that day and no grey showing
-when I tie my hair back, I will do it in front of a mirror and use grips
-good make-up which looks groomed, got a new charlotte tilbury palette for this, lots of black eyeliner, mascara, nude lipstick.
-selection of good expensive bags

In my 'academic chic but don’t want to look too much like an academic’ wardrobe, my go to label is DKNY for both smart and more casual. American brands tend to be good for stylish yet casual.

TK Maxx and ebay are your friends here. Set up an alert for your favourite labels in your size. Get your old stuff on ebay and use it to but new stuff, it the summer now and know you won’t get another chance until next July. I had a massive clear out on mat leave and made nearly £1000, am about to do it again.

I could write more on academic fashion crimes (different subject areas definitely have different styles) but I have a deadline today and am still writing my conclusion.

Hope no-one I work with is reading this.

Also, if you can, try and wangle a conference in America near a designer outlet village and go shopping. Most of my nice clothes come from these places.

"trousers just look too hideous with section overhang and fanny fat "

Well that's a new place to carry the 'baby weight'.

I just ticked every item on that middle aged arty academic list, and I'm short as well! Even my beautiful new Vivienne Westwood satchel has been damed for being navy and mustard...

• short boxy linen jackets with big buttons

-frizzy hair showing grey -loose linen trousers with ‘comfy’ shoes -mustard yellow with navy blue seems popular -handcrafted jewellery, usually one big statement necklace -no make up apart from lipstick for meetings -lots of layers under a bulky cardigan and scarf.

• - oh GOD, do we work in the same place/discipline? So true. The only person I know who can pull this look off (including mustard and brown, the colours of my hideous 80s school uniform) is Italian, still willowy, and a fricking FBA at the age of 50.

Yes, no way I can pull off arty. I was able to pull off wispy and artisanal when I was 30 and half my current size (I was an old-school 8, waaaah) but no longer.

Interesting thoughts on scarves. I would probably out myself irrevocably if I were to tell you that my major conference is known as the biggest meeting of scarves in the Western hemisphere...

Hahaha. I'm destined to the arty academic look. I quite like it though. I suppose if you wore high heels with all of the above it could transform the look. I want to hear more about the stereotypes!

I love mustard and yellow together..link to the bag??

I hope this thread isn't going to turn unkind. I like to see women with their own style even if it's not mine.

I think it's worth deciding what's worth paying more for and what isn't. I go through shirts and tops quickly because I'm messy and spill things and, well - I sweat. So I tend to buy them at the cheaper end. But with trousers I've found it's worth paying as much as I can afford for better fabric and cut. And if you don't mind second hand, there are bargains to be had. I recently bagged some Margaret Howell tailored trousers for under £50. When I first tried them on I thought they looked good but not massively better than my H&Ms but the difference is that the MHowells still look immaculate at the end of the day - and despite being second hand, there's no sign of wear or bobbling. I also stalk Toast until it's half price in the sale (although sometimes it sells out before then).

I find Uniqlo is fairly true to size but their knitwear can shrink and sometimes I size up.

I've recently culled a huge amount from my wardrobe and made way for a much more streamlined replacements based on much the same requirements as the OP
Nothing with shorter than elbow length sleeves remain
lots from uniqlo - I'm always but XL as am also busty
lots from COS and H&M
Chucked all the arty scarves and opted for simple/interesting pendants
All trousers are black aside weekend jeans/jeggings
All shoes/bag excelent quality and are nicely kept.

Hair and make-up is a priority as is keeping nails short and neutral
Nice glasses and sunglasses

She is younger. thinner and sometimes a bit out there but I love Lucy Chadwicks style
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/89/34/7b/89347b8e309a0c05575b21c02a6e1402--magnum-photos-minimalist-style.jpg

Very possibly Pirate although I think it's quite universal. Sounds like we might work with Rinky as well.
I forgot the satchel on my list, definitely a coloured satchel. In design, also a satchel but in brown, perfect stage of worn-ness and very expensive.

I think a lot of these clothes may come from Hobbs and Per Una.
I am quite minimal and hate wearing more than one layer at a time. I work with a woman who I counted 5 layers on at once and 2 scarves at the same time on another occasion. I find her quite stressful to look at and I just want to undress her as she looks like she's being strangled by her own clothes .

My subject is not art or design, we're quite a mixed bunch. I need to think through what the common markers are, see if you can guess.

Students from different subjects dress differently as well. I can spot a history of art student from a mile away. I've sat through a lot of mixed graduation ceremonies over the years and as they are very dull I judge the outfits and shoes as they walk past me.

We've merged depts. recently so I'm interested to see how all my new colleagues from different areas dress.

Fanny fat - the cause of camel toes. Be grateful you are not afflicted. I have fat everywhere at the moment, even my toes look fat.

Oh Lucy Chadwick is so freaking cool; I love her style. If I didn't have enormous boobage that would make that shirt look very uncomfortable I would totally wear that.

I agree. I would hate this thread to become mean. I am in awe of my colleagues who pull off arty. I just look like a human Zeppelin.

Btw, I am not saying any of this with any intent of nastiness, I just think it's interesting that way that different subjects are easily recognisable by the way they dress.

I have to look smart for work and have a low budget for clothing. I find a lot of gems in Coast. Go to the outlet though and raid the £39 rail.

I stick to jewel tone dresses and have navy and black jackets I wear with them to cover my arms. Opaque tights are worn religiously.

My new satchel www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/270286415119708921/

I'm at the vaguely creative (er yuk undergrads being creative can't stand it) end of the Humanities also. Older than most of you, but look ten years younger than my actual age. Good. But menopause & comfort eating means that despite gym or dance studio 5 days out of 7 I am carrying 15 kg more than I should. Bad.

I make most of my own clothes which helps with the trouser fitting (size 12 waist, size 16 hips).

But my style tip (and I am deemed to be reasonably stylish in my field and very well known for my shoes outs self ) is to wear dresses. I love dresses. Dead easy to wear - just put on a dress and there you are. No more adjusting, coming apart at the waist, and endlessly interesting styles. And tailored jackets - I love making them & wearing them. Because I live in the country (not like you glam city slickers) I tend to dress my dresses down, and where I live is known for being very rainy (ha ha ha that's why the nearby national park is neon green), so I have lots of lovely light coats and hats.

When I'm too busy to sew, I go to Secret Sales or Cocosa for cheap Hobbs/L K Bennett and unknown brands. A couple of years ago I bought practically everything Fever made (I can do that sort of vintage style), but they've gone off.

And bulk buy white long sleeve t-shirts from Primark - 98% cotton + 2% spandex. Good stuff.

But maybe go for interesting shoes - I love Camper and Fluevogs, but Clarks have been doing brilliantly these last few years.

I can spot a history of art student from a mile away.

My US colleagues in Art History have regular caucuses about which Armani they're going to wear to the annual AAH conference.

I remember when I was a naive postgrad, an eminent US feminist literary scholar telling me that she only ever went to MLA if it was in a good shopping city.

I am super jealous of you having a sewing machine WeyHay!!!

I am beginning to feel the real answer to the question is beautiful shoes Which is fine by me, because I love shoes and always have.

Gabor is my go-to for classic elegance and comfort with something of a twist.

Have a look at Fluevogs for quirky comfortable shoes, and do as someone suggested and get to a US conference. Hit Century 21 or TJ Maxx (Filene's seems to have disappeared). Look for conferences within reach of NYC or DC. American clothes are so much nicer - they do proper dresses with sleeves. In silk, and linen, and cotton.

Also, Donna Karan clothes - has anyone mentioned her? I have loads of her patterns via Vogue & she does wearable, forgiving shapes.

Yes, my next US trip is to Denver, but the one after that is to Philadelphia and NYC, AND I have a very fashionable art historian girlfriend who might be willing to shop :-)