Update: wootwoot. ETA: a(n academic) professional outfit? Silk tanks - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Sales and Deals

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Update: wootwoot. ETA: a(n academic) professional outfit? Silk tanks

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Just in from intimissimi—100% silk tank tops for 20 bucks. In a conversation a couple months ago, I remember comments about fabrics like silk being desirable but out of budget. There were only a couple colors available for this price—another pink & an orchid/lilac that April might like— and I don’t think this skirt is the best thing for me to wear with it—the outfit ends up looking far too delicate—but it arrived just as I was leaving, and it is very much the thing to wear on a hot day like today.
https://www.intimissimi.com/de.....5257CSlips

This post has 10 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Sales and Deals

41 replies

Latest reply was from Zaeobi

Kathie

Veteran

Very pretty on you! It looks versatile- great for hot days, but might also work under a cardi or jacket.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks Kathie! I’m hoping it’ll be useful that way, but will have to shorten the straps a bit to wear with a blazer.

ChristelJ

Veteran

That is a beautiful color on you! Nice find.

Anonymous

Lovely color! Awesome outfit on a hot day. Heat advisory here today with a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I love that pretty tank on you! Alluring and gorgeous. Must feel good on too

lyn67

Veteran

Lucky You-I actually think the outfit here turned out great! I know Intimissimi and the silk top is lovely on you. IMHumbleO it's not only that silk can be out of budget even if desirable but in wovens (so thin like this one) it often feels too skimpy on my curvy self and somehow too pretentious (delicate?) to match my existing items, IYKWIM:-((. I skip on silk for this very embarrassing reason-and if heavier knit or wovens then is surely out of my budget all.the.time.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Lyn67, darn it! I think the comment about price I was remembering was yours. But I know what you mean about needing to be comfortable in a look in your current physical configuration, no matter what others say about it. The delicate nature of the top is why I don’t think this is a great outfit FOR ME. The skimpy sandals & tiny print on the cotton skirt just make the whole effect too precious for the feel I like to project. I think I’d prefer the top with a darker skirt, a dressier look like kathie suggested, or maybe even with my cherry-colored pants. Haven’t tried that combo yet, the pink might be too intense, will have to see.

Angie, it did indeed feel better than anything else in the 100 (F) degree heat!

Nikki; you know! But I kept my cool, even while getting a traffic ticket for going right on red—on my bicycle.

Thanks Christie, it’s a new color for me, might work with my berries. At the very least it should work with the things they work with.

by Stagiaire Fash

View Info

by Stagiaire Fash

View Info

Anonymous

Great color and yes to wearing w berry!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks ST! I know it’s hot where you are—you should add some silk pieces, if you don’t have some. It is wonderful in the heat, maybe even better than nothing.

cat2

Veteran

Great color. I love silk for summer, it’s so cool.

MsMaven

Veteran

Years--decades?--ago, Nordstrom sold simple silk tanks in a variety of colors. I wish they'd bring them back. So useful. And they had snap straps to hold onto your bra.

This is a great color for you. I love this outfit on you. Makes you look so confident!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Cat2, you got that right!

Ms Maven, interesting that you said “confident”. I had assumed that wearing all pastels had the opposite effect, but looking at the picture, I see what you mean. When I paired it with this black ditzy skirt, even with the cardi, I was not thrilled. (My son commented that he hadn’t seen the cardi before, that I could wear it, but not with this).

This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I’m thinking of taking this outfit along for one of the days when I’ll be doing research in a history center and would love to get feedback on whether it works for that. It’s a ditzy floral cotton skirt, a pink linen jacket from a “ladies who lunch” suit, a strappy silk cami, and the touches of gold by my shoulders and any visible lace are on a pink bra. I could wear these shoes or the Hees clog sandals. I won’t have a bike; it’s just in the pic because it’s my constant companion.

This post has 3 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

by Stagiaire Fash

View Info

by Stagiaire Fash

View Info

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Intimissimi have some good deals at times, but you really do have to stalk them for it (they're never dirt cheap, but a respectable amount).

I stocked up on their thin silk & wool underlayers one Chinese New Year to create my own fitted but breathable long Johns sets. I also have some

As for your outfit, I think it could work but it depends on your workplace (I know technically you might not be in your place of work when doing research, but anywhere around colleagues I'm thinking) - are you ok with them seeing your bra straps (as you mentioned)?

If you are, then go for it! But if not, then perhaps the look would work more casually instead?

SarahD8

Veteran

I think the look with the jacket is perfectly appropriate, but I wouldn't be comfortable in a professional setting with the jacket off. My personal rule for professional looks (I am not an academic but my professional settings tend to be academia-adjacent, if you will) is no spaghetti straps, just feels too bare and intimate to me.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks Zaeobi. I have a small fellowship/grant, so “work” is an accurate descriptor. Those wool & silk tops were too itchy for me, but I like their ribbed cotton & silk tops. I don’t have a problem with the straps, but that’s part of what I’d like to hear others’ thoughts on. It seems to me that the pinks and the straps mix together in a way that makes it not look like I’m showing lingerie.

One more topper that I’m thinking of taking along, to also wear with jeans and my funky blue & purple pants. I don’t think it works with the dark skirt and high contrast top. Think everything needs to be dark or all white. Otherwise it’s a hodge-podge.

The black mini is clearly not for the archive, but I can see wearing it on other days, and might need a wrap. I think the cardi is ok with the dark linen top, but not with the pink, for the same hodge-podge reason.

ETA Sarah, I just saw your comment—that’s two voices saying “lingerie”. “Intimate” and “bare” is def not what I’m going for here—though I don’t mind it for afterwards. (The Dude I’m as excited about as an embroidered swimsuit lives 20 min from the archive). Guess I’ll have to check out the AC the first day. If I know I’d keep the jacket on, then the silk top could be ok on a subsequent day. Otherwise, I could wear it on a non-waterpark date.

This post has 4 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What I always think about tops like this is that they are eminently packable. It takes up no room, so if you think you might find a use for it (if not in the archive, then afterwards) and especially if it might be hot outdoors where you are going, then why not bring it? It looks great on you. Like the others, I wouldn't wear it on its own in a professional setting but layered under a jacket would definitely wear.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Suz, thanks for chiming in. I’m going someplace where they say “y’all” entirely without irony, so it will be hot, and somewhat conservative.

Joy

Veteran

I like the longer length skirt best. If you need a skirt on a hot day, try the Rip Skirt. I like the 3 length.

CarolS

Veteran

Stag, I assume you have your own doubts about the appropriateness, or you wouldn't be asking the forum to weigh in. I am neither in academia nor academia-adjacent, so you can take or leave my thoughts as you will:

I've been subject to a variety of dress codes throughout my career and they all frown on spaghetti straps, low necklines and visible bra straps.

I assume you're not necessarily subject to an employee dress code, but if your goal is to fit in with the norms in this particular organization, maybe you could look into whether there is an employee dress code and align your wardrobe choices with that.

Have you considered or tried wearing the jacket buttoned (this would assume you would treat it as your blouse, and the camisole as underwear just slightly showing underneath....)

Anyway, take it for what it's worth to ya. Happy travels.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Carol, buttoning it is a step further than I was planning to go, but it sounds like you are very much in line with never-let-them-see-you-spaghetti-strap (at work). That makes sense to me, and yes, the neckline is another thing I wonder about. I have shortened the straps since my reply to Kathie at the beginning of this saga, might crank them up a bit higher, but I don’t know if they can be shortened sufficiently to be ok without going against the style of the top. The peculiar thing about academic dress codes, I think, is that the unwritten portion is much more strongly adhered to than what might be on the books in HR. Buttoning the jacket makes it almost like a shirt. I’ll have to give it a try with the skirt.

I’ve told the story on here before of colleagues in my PhD program referring to the way I dressed as a sign of strength, because it was obvious I was putting my faith in my research and other skills. I still want that to be what people “see” when they look at me. During my years as a prof, I had a uniform of sorts, with lots of khaki. It is not what I want to wear now; idk if I even have those items. Over the past few years of having fun with my appearance, I’ve developed a much frillier, more feminine style, one that seems harder to fit in with academia, so I’ve got questions about stuff that never, ever was an issue for me all those years.

CarolS

Veteran

Yes, I am in line with the whole not flashing spaghetti straps at work thing. You've described a fairly conservative environment, so that might also be something to consider.

If it were me (and it's not), I would err on the side of a slightly more conservative look for the work outfit and save the silky tank for date night.

CarolS

Veteran

Just saw the latter half of your comment. Interesting and something I'd like to give some thought to.... Will try to articulate some thoughts later.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Carol, please do comment when you’ve had a chance—I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.

I’m trying to move back in the direction of that kind of work. For now, it is only occasional days here (Berlin archives) & there (the historical society), so I’ll do a packing post in the week before this very busy trip. I hope it will eventually be a bigger part of my life, and will need to figure out my self-presentation in a way I didn’t need to earlier. If I get my wish and that career shift is jump-started next year, I’ll do a post about it this fall.

Kathie

Veteran

I rarely (honestly, never that I can recall) see spaghetti straps on the faculty and professional staff at my university- and that’s a coastal, urban US location. Skirts and dresses above the knee, and fitted sheath dresses and pencil skirts, yes, but not any type of visible undergarment. (My dissertation advisor has worn a uniform of a sleeveless top and skirts that are 1-4” above the knee for well over two decades, with no apparent detriment to her career.) I think spaghetti straps are a bit of a differentiator between what the students and anyone over ~25 who is getting a paycheck are wearing.

That said, if you feel like this is part of your personal brand, go for it. If you’re happy and confident, that will probably be more what people focus on, rather than whether they can see your bra straps.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Kathie, thanks for coming back around. I revisited your earlier comment and see that were actually only talking about wearing the top professionally if I had a jacket or cardi over it.

Runcarla

Veteran

Until 4 years before I retired, I spent 2 days a week at an office on the campus of a young (Canadian ) university/college. The women profs with tenure did have some eclectic styles, but showing a lot of skin wasn’t a ‘thing’. Long skirted bohemian or body con but covered (turtleneck, pencil skirts and tights) were distinct styles for some, but most common was nondescript skirt/pants and top with a blazer jacket over. Some funky hair styles and distinctive specs. My SIL who taught History at a (conservative) southern uni in the US for 15 years had a uniform of knee length (sleeveless) sheath dresses with low heeled pumps, and always had a blazer hanging on the hook on her office door.

None of the profs I dealt with would ever have been taken for students by their dress.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Well, no one is going to mistake me for a student, and it’s not because of the clothes. Nice that you brought up disciplinary differences. I’m a geographer; we dressed as if we were about to go “into the field” and collect ethnographic interviews or rock samples any minute. The urban geographers were slightly edgy in their attire. This was most notable at conferences, where visiting English profs (and oh, the English grad students!) could be outed easily by their heels and blazers. But this is a history jam. The average high temp is in the upper 70s (for the whole month of Sept—the first week, when I’ll be there, is likely warmer). That’s why this outfit I’m considering is a cotton skirt, silk top, and unlined linen jacket. I do have alternate tops, made of cotton or linen, to sub in.

Lucy

Veteran

*waves* I'm an academic historian!
Academic dress codes are very loose, and you see lots of different things. My current University is more formal than the other two I worked at - I'm much more at business rather than business casual dress codes. But I'd say most universities are business casual.
That said, the one thing I wouldn't wear is something that shows too much skin. Because we teach young people, we tend towards not too much skin. I would not wear spaghetti straps or something that showed my bra, to any of the Unis I have worked at. I think the outfit is great with the jacket - perfect - but not if you think you might take off the jacket.

Another thing for archives - it is worth checking the rules, but a lot of places won't let you take in a bag, sometimes even small ones are banned. In this case, prioritising pockets is important.

12