Calling all the Eccentric, Bohemian, Dark Academia types!

[LadyHenryofRawlinsonEnd]

Or 'Mad Art Teacher in Space', as a poster described herself in an archived MN style thread of old. I think it was about quirkiness, but many years ago now - thinking we need a new one?

Anyone wish to share pics, links, ideas, thoughts?

I love styles of the past, particularly the 20's mixed with a slight bit of soft, floaty 90's indie. I still wear long strappy indie dresses with my docs and a crochet cardi or scarf .
I don't do anything particularly wild to be honest, a fairly pared down version of bohemian with a passion for natural fabrics and floaty Japanese style dressing gowns in silk or embroidered cotton..

I'm 47, a painter (so wfh) and like to hover about in nature collecting twigs and weird stones. I should like to channel Gormenghast's Lady Fuschia (my more rustic side) or perhaps the fictional character Lolly Willows by Sylvia Townshend Warner (my 20's hermit bohemian side)...

I am currently urban based but dream of plans to escape to a small cottage surrounded by dusty books and too many plants like a character from an Iris Murdoch novel.
I'm not a hippy, exactly, but do prefer a bit more texture and creativity style wise. I also love people watching, but there seem to be less and less sub cultures or independent styles about these days.

I had a phase in my late 30's where I urged myself to conform to a very conventional, prescription-type wardrobe, (Breton tees, trench coat, 'current' jeans and expensive accessories like a cumbersome Mulberry bag - all shatteringly expensive) but quickly outgrew that

I can't locate much that I like in typical stores now, but do occasionally enjoy Toast or Plumo. I certainly don't stand out, but do prefer searching ebay, etc for unique, well made stuff, clothes that are very 'me' rather than dictated by passing trends. It is still quite difficult to source some items though, so would love to hear where others shop!

I also loved the Monty Don thread a while ago!

Anyone care to join me?

Thank you for the laundry b link!
I have just bought some fab stuff to waft around in.
Only thing is, they're a bit pastel for me, but by carefully checking the fabrics, I know I can dye them to something more my taste. I like jewel and darker colours, and I also really enjoy mixing the dyes to see how they come out. Mainly black, plum, petrol blue, olive greens, charcoal, teal, indigo. The beauty of it is, you can always overdye or change the shade if you don't like what you end up with.
As I’m not keen on most patterned fabrics, I find that over dyeing them can reduce the contrast and improve the look.

I like lagenlook but it takes a lot of care... not all lagenlook garments are right for me. I would never buy harems from any British designers, as they all seem to be the wrong shape, namely the I’m-wearing-a-big-nappy look. Good harems have been restyled to a different silhouette, with more fabric on the leg to balance out the bum.. good examples are Dairi and Tienda Ho from Zarabesque and SunHeart clothing
Unfortunately, they cost the earth and then you get postage and customs duty on top..

I like some Blue Fish clothes but unfortunately buying from the US is very expensive, what with postage, tax, and above all HMRC doing their bit.
www.bluefishclothing.com/
Even on eBay, they seem to keep their value.

So, back to eBay and charity shops. Hunting out wonderful finds is half the fun!

I do suit muted colours, not pastels as such, but sage, beige, petrol instead of black and so on. What people on here often refer to as the dreaded 'putty' shades

I do like linen though, but it has to be very good quality, so I don't have many linen items at the moment. I just can't tolerate stretchy jersey (looking at you, Gudrun) at all, it always seems to pull and distort and sit oddly.

I vacillate between coveting swishy silks (20's, Edwardian, bohemian) and the more rustic 'Mori' linen look, and settle somewhere in-between.

Does anyone else feel that the contemporary image of 'bohemian' is all muddled somehow? It's come to be a catch all for tie dyed festival wear, beach hair and twee hippy headbands - when historically, we used it to describe artists such as Vanessa Bell and the Bloomsbury group; individuals who rejected the trappings of middle/upper class comfort for freedom of expression (feminism/non conformity, intellectualism, etc) and the prioritisation of art over commercialisation.
Now it is something of a fancy dress term, and rarely conjures the image of an actual way of life.

Ooo I didn’t know I was Dark Academia either.

But I was once described as having the style of Dr Who though the ages. Which fits, I guess.

I would also be happy to marry you OP.. I’m sure DH won’t mind and if I prepay 6 months of Netflix he probably won’t even notice.

@TottersBlankly - waves frantically at another Droopy & Browns fan. Sadly no longer in business but anyone who likes Edwardian style should add it to their list of ebay searches - the most beautifully designed clothing made in York to very high standards. There is a great Facebook group as well
www.facebook.com/search/top?q=droopy%20%26%20browns%20appreciation%20society

These pieces would sit well with an academia style.

Will definitely check out Droopy & Browns on Ebay!

Belkell I have a fondness for a Dr Who scarf myself. We could organise a rather spectacular, unusual wedding!

Sorry to revive, but thank you OP for the 'dark academia' search term which I had no idea about. I found this thread googling 'if i like plumo'.

No-one has mentioned Margaret Howell who does a refined 'new traditionalists' version of this look - I'm not surprised really because even the diffusion line feels so v expensive. I got this jumper for Xmas and it is magnificent. Exactly the post war academic feel I was going for. I was googling 'if I like plumo' to try and find a long frumpy skirt to wear with the jumper, long baggy wool socks, and my beautiful bespoke clogs... I love this one but can't justify even the sale price. That's the problem with English semi-frump - I know I could make it myself but I will never get off my arse to do so.

Oooh, oooh! I know where to find a wonderfully intentionally frumpy skirt:

www.studionicholson.com/products/spiro-skirt-in-mustard

Though they’re not cheap even in the sale. Also in black, I think.

(I have a similar jumper to yours@ @WinterDeWinter, but with slits down each side, from a previous Studio Nicholson collection.)

Gudren sjodren might be your sort of thing, or desiguel?

I am enjoying this thread immensely!

Oh yes that is very lovely - but even more expensive than the Plumo one!
I do love Studio Nicholson but it feels a bit more towards scandi noir (do you see what i did there).

The thing I love about the MH jumper is that it is proper heavy itchy Enid Blyton wool.

@Branleuse (I know you of old, how lovely to see you again, it's onebat here) Gudrun Sjodren is a bit too colourful for me, though I do love a balloon trouser and she has some nice ones at good prices. I wear them in dark colours - dark Japanese architectural academic, perhaps. I do like a difficult pleat and structural challenges.

Hi, just checking in here as interested, I had no idea what dark academia was, had to look it up but then I am not on TikTok etc. I love boho type clothes and have about 4 pairs of “Victorian” /Edwardian style boots. I loved the little Louis heel that was popular in the 1920s and have some shoes like this which are lace up and my daughter tells me are hideous! I hardly ever buy anything new as I don’t like polyester and can’t afford the more expensive brands that use natural fabrics. I like some of the Seasalt dresses but I know they would look awful on me as I have a big bust and anything loose makes me look huge all over as it just hangs from my boobs if you know what I mean. Someone mentioned Droopy and Browns which was wonderful, sadly though I lack the occasional in my life now to wear half of the clothing I covet. I always get dressed up for Christmas even though we don’t go anywhere as it’s the only chance I get. I have so many (old) beautiful slightly gothic clothes that just sit in the wardrobe. I live in a very conservative town and everyone seems to wear a uniform Joules etc and all look very similar. I miss that very eccentric eclectic look you get in places like Brighton, which I used to frequent in my youth.
To those of you who are in the same boat, do you just wear your quirky stuff anyway and sod it ? When I was younger I loved looking different but I’ve found I’ve lost confidence in middle age

Watching this thread with interest!

Has anyone ever bought anything from Memery shoes? I haven’t, and the more period styles aren’t for me, but I’m strangely attracted to some of the lace-up boots.

Also, Kiraku is a nice place to find Japanese-style clothing. I’ve bought a couple of things from them and the quality is very good.

Whoops, sorry, just read more thoroughly and realised someone had already posted a link to Memery shoes….

Yay I'm glad to have found this thread too. Xxx

@ElectiveAffinities oh my goodness those shoes ! I hadn’t heard of them before but I have a couple of very similar styles I bought elsewhere I will post some photos when I get round to it. Happy New Year everyone

That skirt is lovely, but a bit pricey. Does anyone know of any good, cheaper alternatives in black? My job involves me wearing a uniform. It consists of a blouse on top, but bottom half we can wear anything, so long as it’s smart and black. At the minute I wear trousers but I’ve been looking for a long, black, academia style skirt, any style and preferably with pockets, but to no avail.

I honestly hadn’t heard of 'Dark Academia' as a thing but it seems it is - that’s the description of this skirt, @Coniferhedge . Not an exact match for the expensive one, but similar in feel?

Just noticed the seller is in Hong Kong, though…..so not great for airmiles, sustainability etc 🤔

I feel I might sort of fit into this group!
I don't go for the lagen draped look at all nor the bright colourful gudrun style.
I've always been drawn to styles from other eras but I mix & match it so I don't feel like I'm in fancy dress.
I particularly love 20s / 30s / 40s and also Edwardian nod to fashion.
At the moment I have lots of velvet- blazers but also shorter kimono style jackets. I buy them mostly in italy in all boutiques. Though Zara's party wear this year was fab & I bought a few things from them including a beautiful olive velvet silk mix blazer from their limited edition range.
Dh bought me these shoes from Toast & i adore them!
I also live in my Whistles Dhelia boots in plum

I also bought these before Christmas

I've bought this jacket which I will wear with slim legged black trousers

I would also love to know the answer to this question - I've spent at least 2 hours on this online @TottersBlankly and I haven't found anything close :-( but that's partly because i have a ridiculously middle-aged middle in comparison to lower half so I would really like to have an elasticated waistband or the whole thing will look too big on me. I've told myself that if it comes down to £95 I will buy it.

Oh I've been longing for those first Toast ones @NegroniLover. I curse my weak ankles.

@ElectiveAffinities That's a great skirt - but I have had a couple of sizing misses buying from China/Hong Kong. Once I bought a pair of trousers and waited 3 thrilling weeks for them to arrive. They fitted my arms perfectly...

That jacket is fantastic @NegroniLover. Very Bloomsbury Group.

Good ugly skirt in very pre-war looking fabric and great baby poo colour from Toast

Thanks @WinterDeWinter
I love wearing jackets like that with either wide legged or slim legged cropped trousers & ankle boots in the winter
I have a fabulous Sandro long cashmere Cape with gold hardware fastenings.
Someone up the thread asked if I wear these clothes everyday - I wear mine when I'm going somewhere nice- out for dinner or to the theatre or drinks with friends etc. My friend recently said I wear 19th century style.i don't think I do really but what she meant was I wear a lot of velvet & wool & things like the Cape or structured wool coats. I don't wear puffa coats etc
Day to day I wear tailored trousers & nice shirts & Jersey jackets to work. I wear black but also lots of jewel colours plum, burgundy, navy, dark green, mustard etc