Tropical non-teaching day

Tropical non-teaching day, originally uploaded by Cohabitating_Closet.

Yeay, I survived my first graduate seminar (in which only 1/2 the students admitted to doing the reading, and only 2 students actually spoke). Other than a slight syllabus snafu (oops), everything seems to be under control.

After a restless night sleep (I was dreaming about this, which happened just blocks from my apartment and woke us up with smoke and fire engines. Poor Bed-Stuy), I am up early to try to beat the heat. Today is the third in a series of tropical hot days. I am going to school for a meeting (casual) and to do some work, so I won't be meeting students. But they may see me (although I usually try to seem aloof on non-teaching days), so I need to be vaguely paparazzi ready.

This outfit is a quasi-attempt to convince A-Dubs to rock her shorts in mixed company.

Hope you have a lovely Tuesday.

Top: JCrew, thrifted
Short: Copper Key, shortened by me
Belt: Not Just Vintage (Brooklyn)
Shoes: BC Footwear, Nordstrom Rack

Never a bridesmaid

First, today's post a bit of cheat because I am not wearing this out. I am wearing a tank top and very short shorts, for writing. Later, I'll throw on an A-line dress, which Style Underdog reminded me yesterday is key for hot weather.
I am going to a bridesmaid a few short weeks for a very lovely friend. I've never been one before, and I am hoping to do the job well. The bride wants a 50s vibe, but if you've noticed, I don't really have a 50s build. I wanted to a really light dress, because it's outside in the Chicago 'burbs, in early August (which is swamp like and powerfully sunny). She also wanted black and white, with a black dress. Jessphg did a great post on black summer dresses a while ago, so I ended up buying one of her "similar to" dresses. It was a $35 summer dress from Delias, that shop for girls aged 14-18. It had a full pleated skirt and a fitted bodice. There was also talk of getting a crinoline, for the '50s vibe.
Fast forward to today, when I got the pretty crinoline in the mail. Here it is:

From FireflyVintage. They upgraded my shipping for free!

I used some pins to adjust the height, threw on the dress, and voila- I realized that my long torso strikes again.

please ignore the fact that I look like I've been sweating in front of a computer all day.

The bodice is an oh-so-significant 1 1/2" inches from my natural waist. Since I am more than 1 1/2" above average height, I suppose this is to be expected. But the end result is I think I look thicker in the middle than I'm used to seeing myself. The bride said no to a colored sash, so I have a few options:
1) Buy or make fairly substantial (like 3") ribbon or similar fabric belt. I'd have to use some interfacing to make it more sturdy, and I'd lower the belt strings a bit to tie it under the bodice. Maybe some hook and eyes strategically place to avoid slippage (time to completion, including shopping for materials: 4-5 hours, maybe $5-$10 max
2) Figure out a way to lengthen the bodice. I'd have to take out the stitches holding the bodice to the skirt, hopefully without ruining those perfect bleats. Then I'd attach a 2 1/2 inch waist band made of similar materials (time to completion: 8-10 hours, maybe $12 cost).
3) Say "screw it" and decide that I look good enough, it's not my wedding, and as long as the bride doesn't mind (she got this picture forwarded to her), I can go back to writing.
Thoughts?

Sparrow

Blokey and I are on our way to see Mighty Sparrow, the Calypso King, at a free noon concert at Metrotech. It's not for fun, it's part of his dissertation research. I picked up this airy shirt dress while shopping with Jesse.anne.o and What I Wore a couple weeks ago, and while it can be a bit short, it's the perfect one piece for the fourth hot day in a row. Did I mention the concert is outside? Well, it's all in the name of research on post colonial Caribbean culture. Sometimes, you just have to make sacrifices.

I can't believe there's not a single neutral in this outfit, although my friend C. told me that yellow can be a neutral. My hair is a neutral, I suppose.

I hope that you have a lovely and productive (and cool) Thursday!

Color me timid

Yesterday, the lovely A-Dubs of In Professorial Fashion asked for suggestions on how to wear her adorbs coral and brown sandals. There were awesome comments, but I had nothing to offer, because that much color frightens me. I had to refer to the brilliant color wheel at Academichic, but this puzzles me too. Neutrals with a pop is about all I can manage.
I tried to be more daring today, starting out with a blue-green shirt, but I got hot just trying to get dressed, so I opted for a lighter linen button down instead. I have a meeting today with a cool dude* in the department, and I'm going to try to convince him to let me present my research at his center, while trying to avoid spilling Greek salads down my front.
So the boldest I could get today was the dark purple belt with the green skirt, which I've worn before (mostly because Anne told me to buy them together, as the skirt gaps at the waist), and a scarf with green and blue accents. It's made of artificial fibers so it may come off soon. But it's held down with a mushroom scarf pin, which I think is very necessary sometimes in life.

And although it is already a sweltering 82 degrees outside, I am wearing microfishnet. Because I hate shaving my legs. Is that too much information, blogging buddies?

(In case you were wondering, that is Lula by my feet. She is depressed when it is this hot out, and the little aggressive kitten is not helping. And she doesn't let us brush her, so one of us has to hold her down and while the other brushes her. She is def a "two person" cat.)

*This colleague, of Mediterrean origin, manages to look dignified in shorts and Italian loafers. Over the age of 50. How does he do it?

Shirt: H&M
Belt: Presence, Chicago
Skirt: Tulle, via Presence, Chicago
Microfishnets: via Daffy's
Scarf: Ebay
Sunglasses: DKNY via Mom
Wedges: Aerosoles, thrifted

Metling

Lordy, it's hot here in Brooklyn, and I was hoping that after leaving 90 plus and humid weather in northern Georgia, I'd get some relief. We don't have an A/C (although mother in law sent as one because they are visiting), so we have a series of dark curtains, ceiling fans, siestas, and hydration strategies to keep us alive. And some fruit Popsicles, but they are only occasional.
I love this tunic and perhaps it should be worn with leggings, but I'm too hot and sticky today to care about modesty. Tomorrow, I have a professorial meeting so I'll be more officey in my dress. But today, I'm all about billow fabrics, and no unnecessary layers.
In case you were curious, operation cat plus kitten has not been getting much better. Having both Lula and Buster out requires constant supervision, because while he is curious and accepting (and wants to play), she is cranky, angry, unforgiving, and constantly trying to charge/pounce him. Yet he remains pretty fearless, so I have to watch them as I'm typing.
We just brought him back last night from our friends' apartment uptown, where he got along swimmingly with the other cats there. I hope to someday share a photo in which Lula allows Buster to cuddle, like this one:

Hope everyone is staying cool today.

Tunic: Mojoware* (via Cliche in Minneapolis)
Tank: from Blokey
Shoes: Aerosoles (secondhand, via Ebay)
Scarf: via Ebay

*You can find their stuff at here. It doesn't look like they are using Alternative Apparel tunics anymore. I already begged and asked.