Dark Academia - anyone who loves this style?

[highlandcoo]

And where to find it?

This is how I want to dress this winter. More skirts and dresses rather than trousers as my waist is not the best and the trousers can look bulky unless you have a good waistline I think.

I love tweed and wool and flannel and autumn colours. Not black! Although brown is sometimes hard to find. Love brown leather for boots and bags. I really want to get away from jeans and chunky boots for a change.

I think I can knit some jumpers and cardigans. But I would love a big tweedy coat. I have a couple of really nice brown tweed hats from a shop in Edinburgh who made the hats for Peaky Blinders. But I need the right sort of coat to go with them. My long cosy puffy coat is cosy but totally wrong.

Any aficionados out there?

I wear berets, but they're wool and often make my head too warm! A more structured, leather look one is on my wishlist.

@evtheria - a leather beret...sounds intriguing. I'm thinking chocolate brown, deep burgundy or rich olive green. I dunno though. I suspect I would buy it, caress it, put it into my flat-lay outfits, and then still never quite work up the balls to wear it out 🤣 Maybe I could sew razor blades in and then if anyone dared to smirk I'd go all Peaky Blinders on their ass 🤪

Hi, I love the checked skirt at the front, could you tell me where it's from please? 😊

@tiktokoclock “eating room” 🤣 Love it. All my clothes need that.

@MarshmallowsOnToast I am in NI and it was from Dunnes Stores a few years ago. I've just had a look on their website but can't see anything similar. They are a very "hit and miss" sort of shop. Some years they seem to absolutely nail autumn fashion, and other years it's all shapeless polyester smocks! Worth keeping an eye on the website though. The prices are in euros but as they are also in Northern Ireland I would imagine they do sterling sales as well.

Oooh yeah! If anyone's interested in discussing general cosy dark autumnal lifestyle, I've just made a mushroom risotto while listening to a pod cast with the rain beating off the windows and candles lit everywhere. This is my vibe people ❤️❤️

I had no idea this was a thing either and I'm intrigued.

The above cape is absolutely beautiful.

I picked up a charcoal funnel necked cape in a charity shop a few years ago. Loved it, stashed it in the wardrobe where it looked at me reproachfully for a while, and then I gave it back to charity. Raging now. As I get older (46 now) I do think I'm giving less of a shit about what other people think of how I look - very liberating and long may it continue! What's that wonderful poem? "When I am old, I shall wear purple". Bring it on I say 😁

@helenahandcart78 I have just done 50% of arm wrestling our obstreperous 3 year old who argues non bloody stop into bed so I am now under the duvet and doing extreme denial of reality until tomorrow - sadly no cosy DA evening for me though the cat has come to join me while I nod off!

The cape sounds amazing!

Oh @Darkacademic believe me I remember those days well! Endless bloody Mister Men books, then having to sit in the floor by the bed, then slowly bum shuffling out and eventually trying to get out the room and shut the door without touching anything like something out of freaking Mission Impossible...utterly exhausting. I'm with you in spirit babes. Stay strong and may the Dark Academic Force be with you ❤️❤️

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Will see if I can see something similar on Vinted 🙂🙂

I get my silk slips off eBay. They're vintage so have to size up. I'm a standard 12 but usually get a size 16, ouch!

I've been pondering whether skinny jeans can form part of the DA lexicon and I think they can. Tomorrow I'm wearing slightly cropped black skinnies, with black/green Argyll socks, black chunky loafers and a forest green, over sized, ribbed man's sweater from Zara. Then again maybe I'll look preppy instead?

@MarshmallowsOnToast just thinking, but somewhere like topshop used to be great for kilt style minis. I'm a bit crap on this thread for being up to date on actual purchases. I'm trying to reinvestigate a long collected wardrobe and get inspiration. I remember in the early 2000s I had the most gorgeous pair of checked knee length breeches worn with knee high boots. Ah, those carefree days 😁😁. Got rid of them as I thought they'd never come back and now I'm thinking very fondly of them. A cautionary tale for us all 🤣🤣

From a DA perspective do we think that Mary Jane's look better with a chunkier sole and a buckled strap. Just spotted some beautiful black patent leather ones on Vinted, but they have a thin sole and a narrow velcro strap.

Have been browsing these myself today @Bookist . All the following is my own opinion. I think we need chunky. Thick tread. Matt not patent. And supreme caution on the choice of tights. Just don't want to look like Bjork mid 90s. Or Dee-Lite Groove is in the Heart (although my god, that was an anthem). Do you know what I mean??

I missed this post, but you're ringing all my bells on this. I think I am more preppy than gothic. More country than glam (although that's due to lifestyle rather than dream life!) I like neat shapes and jewel colours mixed with earthy. It needs to look comfortable so no stretched button holes or constrictive arm sleeves. I want to look like I could be hugged with ease! I also think I tend towards light academic sometimes, in that I love cream with the leaf colours. It's very subjective isn't it? But I know the Academia look when I see it and I'm a moth to a flame!

@helenahandcart78 That sounds suspiciously like the one I snagged in a charity shop a couple of years ago... was it a shorter style?

That website upthread is amazing...

I love this: https://www.linennaive.com/en-gb/collections/new-arrivals/products/double-breasted-wool-dress-in-browm-tartan-dress-belt-dress-sleeveless-dress-vintage-dress-linennaive?variant=44178533417214

@tiktokoclock I love that site! Perfect for long skirts for autumn. Great dresses too. There's even one called the Academia dress 😊

Yeah - just seen that one too... now I need a lifestyle to suit such clothes!

Thank you, you've helped me make up my mind. The patent leather and dainty soles look too little girlish to be true DA. And I'm so with you on the tights. I only wear Wolford opaques they are simply the best. I favour black, dark browns and burgundy though I do also wear their opaque skin colours too which sounds odd but make your legs look like they're made from ultra smooth beige plastic!

Yes I think I'm more like you as a preppy girl rather than a natural DA. My inner tomboy forever tries to break through and my love of blue jeans is bone deep. I'm also easily swayed by an a line Mod mini dress in a geometric print too. Basically I'm drawn towards very strong, definite looks and styles, authentically accessorised. I can't bear the bland jeans and a nice top style of dressing, or even worse black trousers and a brightly coloured top.

@Bookist what do you wear with your blue jeans?

I don't really do the DA look with blue jeans, I don't see how it can be done?

Absolutely LOVING this thread. It’s taken me years to work out what suits me. Preloved and charity shops all the way and yay to getting to that stage when ‘sod what amyone else thinks, I’m going out like this!!’ I am loving carrot and barrel legged trousers. I’m 5ft 3” and short waisted. They work really well on me. Chunky soles and just realised this morning that cardigans don’t work because they’re too unstructured. I’m not looking for a sharp jacket but need more of a shoulder than a cardigan has. My best length for cardigan/jacket is mid-thigh, it elongates my short-waisted top half. Waistcoats are brilliant. I’ve bought them in charity shops, men’s ones, do need to fiddle about a bit but I use a safety pin at the back to pull them in.

link for reading glasses. I have Encore in tortoiseshell and the lighter tortoiseshell. They’re great value which means I have several pairs all over the house and in the car.

https://www.goodlookers.co.uk/reading-glasses