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?

Oh gosh, this is exactly my style! I didn’t realise it was a style. I thought I was just a bit odd. It’s a bit Vivienne Westwood meets Peaky Blinders meets Mrs Beeton meets a tramp. I’ve been dressing like that since the 80s to a greater or lesser extent. Thank you for this! It’s very cool.

This is my winter style! I was exciting to find it has a name.

I get my stuff off EBay - my best suggestion is old Per Una.

Old Brora also good, and sometimes Karen Millen.

Joanie and Miss Patina

Gorgeous! I love your skirt 😍 been looking for something similar for ages, but have yet to find one in my size.

@RockyMountainSky
Looks terrific on you!
Out of curiosity, are you also a redhead? Because those olive/sage greens are my favourite for Autumn/Winter.

I immediately thought of Wednesday Adams 😂

That laura Ashley coat…

Am a bit confused by this thread.... I always thought dark academia was more of a goth aesthetic? Hence 'dark'. A lot of things on here are classic American preppy looks. I would also think it's more Wednesday Addams than 1950s Harvard.

That's more or less my style, my go to shops are Cos, Disturbia and vintage.

OP, try Joe Browns… they often have little bits pop up in this sort of style. They send me catalogues but they have a good website too.

I wish I had properly red hair... I have that hair colour that was bright blonde as a child but has gone darker. It does have red highlights though - and I have green eyes so olives/sage/forest green are my go-tos for autumn and winter.

The skirt was from EBay but the seller got it off Etsy originally - it ties with a ribbon at the waist so is more or less one-size-fits-all. Sadly don't know the original Etsy shop name, but maybe worth a search.

I find some of this stuff by searching ["Steampunk" + my size] on EBay... although that would be more for the Victorian-leaning look rather than 1950s librarian.

I really love the texture inherent in this kind of dressing!

I love the look of this aesthetic but its not very practical for me as I don't suit brown or other warm colours and its a tad too formal for my current lifestyle. I think when the Autumn/winter stuff hits the shops shortly you will find loads of lovely pieces to make up this look.

Hobbs have some good wool/tweed type bits and is often a steal on Vinted. PP mentioned Joe Browns and Minga, def worth a look both in a few weeks and on Vinted.

The aesthetic I like at the moment is 'down town girl' its kind of grungy casual look with splatterings of lace or satin, my only issue is the excessive dedication to crop tops but I've been able to sub a longer top in.

The great thing about DA is that it's such a flexible look: it's about colours, textures, fabrics and a certain nostalgic vibe, rather than specific silhouettes or key pieces. I see it as a smart re-branding of the "young fogey" look, or a vintage-focused geek chic minus anything synthetic or garish. When I was in 6th form/ university - so, early to mid 90s - 'vintage' wasn't a mainstream thing but some of us self-consciously "alternative" types gravitated to it as a way of making a virtue of necessity. What we ended up with was a sort of eclectic DA, influenced first by grunge and then by the late 60s/early 70s revival: think polo necks, wool granny skirts with their hemlines taken up to mid thigh, worn with thick school tights and whatever vintage shoes or boots we could find. In the winter we'd wear a vintage tweed coat, and in the autumn a structured, narrow velvet jacket from the 70s. I'm a big fan of velvet in jewel colours to give a more dandyish vibe to the look, plus a sleek mod-influenced silhouette rather than the slovenly "oversized" look which has blighted fashion for the last half decade.

I agree with the OP that skirts and dresses are more flattering than trousers: we've all had our moments of wanting to be Annie Hall, but you need to be tallish and svelte for that. I've attached (hopefully) a pretty random 60s photo of the sort of polo neck/checked skirt combo I used to wear - imagine the top tucked in and dark woolly tights for a look that's more DA and less Austin Powers.

I wear exclusively second hand at the moment because it's easier to find good quality items cheaply, plus I hate current mainstream fashion. I'm not in the UK any more but I look out for second hand Gerard Darel suits and Armor Lux knitwear, plus unbranded vintage granny skirts. I'd never have thought of old Per Una - my mum used to hand it down to me and I threw it straight out. I must say it looks quite good on the pp in thise darker colourways - my DM favoured pink and white and I always thought those getups looked like something a flamenco dancing clown would wear (sorry). Vintage or even recent Laura Ashley wools and silks are great too, albeit not cut for anyone with boobs.

https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/dark-academia-fashion

www.stories.com/en_gbp/clothing/all.html

shop.mango.com/gb/women

www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies.html

www.cos.com/en_gbp/index.html

www.weekday.com/en_gbp/index.html

For Autumn/Winter tweeds and tartans have a look at The House of Bruar.

Currently a sale on. You may find some bits in there that you'd like. Noticed some skirts and coats that fit the vibe. I have wish list myself (sigh).

I love this look but never know what shoes to wear to keep it from looking like fancy dress IYSWIM?

I love the Memery website suggested but I don't really think I'll be wearing heels everyday and brogues don't work for me. What would a more modern shoe be that would go?

I’m very confused, not heard this term before. It looks a bit Harry Potter film wardrobe inspired? Or is it more movies set on a 50-90’s US campus inspired?

I’d dress like anyone from the set of A Single Man, if anyone remembers that film..

Re everyday shoes/boots for Autumn/ Winter I thought these (https://www.modainpelle.com/boots-c4/ankle-boots-c45/bezzie-tan-leather-p10073 ) looked comfortable enough to stomp around in whilst wearing my dresses/ skirts.
Moda In Pelle Bezzie.
They come in a plethora of colours. I'd prefer something more delicate and vintage looking with a heel, but really comfort must rule.
Anyone else have any ideas on Autumn/ Winter daily footware?

I was thinking Harry Potter, too.

I don't really do brown shoes, another reason DA isn't for me! However in terms of autumn/winter, and from someone who lives in the wet NW, I really like the DM shoes and they come in lots of colours.

@Acqua I love those boots! Think they will be going on the shopping list.

I also like the DM shoes recommendation - I always want to buy suede though and then I get them and the reality of living in Yorkshire hits...

I love this look.

It helps that I work in a dark panelled room.

Haha, I'm an actual academic in the sciences, so my style reference is more Oppenheimer than Wednesday Addams. Elbow patches instead of frills. When I started there were still a few of the old Manhattan project boys kicking around who still wore ink stained knitted ties. I love that asthetic: must hide coffee and lunch stains, not need ironing, you can wear it in a freezing lab and give a lecture in the afternoon afterwards, warm and will see you through to retirement. Jeans and trainers have rather taken the place of tweed in that regard, but i have a soft spot for tweed.

I used to have one even nicer than that. I got rid of it. Ditto a Laura Ashley cape. Gutted. They wouldn’t fit me. But I’m on a diet…

And I had a tweed riding style jacket too. Also bit the dust!