Vestis Academia

Italia Youth Vestis

2007-10-29T17:33:00.000-04:00

I found Robert on the mall on campus today, perched stylishly on a short brick wall. Later when we met for the photo, he brought his beautiful and chic friend, Camille! Lucky us!

Both are 18 year old freshmen! What style for such youth!

At first, Robert reminded me of Felini movies; Marcello Mastroianni; but with a modern British Burberry twist. Here are two styles that seem to be what Robert has blended.

This is Robert (our campus fashion hero):

This is Marcello Mastroianni:

This is a runway model:

This is Robert's friend, Camille. They met at their dorm.
She proudly told me that, "Everything from my waste down was my mother's." Her mother was is from Croatia, and got a lot of her stuff from European companies that don't deal in the U.S. (yet!).

Here are the details of Camille's outfit:

"I really love retro culture and librarians so i try to combine the two into something somewhat modern. The skirt I had, i love because it's super high waisted and that just reminds me of old time movies. It's Kenzo, and the leggings are something my mom tossed to me."

Boots: Bloomingdales
Belt: Mom's
Shirt: Hollister
Undershirt: Lucky
Headband: Deborah Rhodes (From Mom)

Here they are together

Robert's outfit:

Glasses: 49 cent bin at a thrift store
Jacket: Thrift store
Pants: Thrift store
Sweater: Vintage store in Richmond, VA
Scarf (Burberry knock-off): NYC street vendor. Robert says, "...even though I have a passion for the real deal".
White dress shirt (hidden under scarf): department store
Thin 50s era black tie (hidden): vintage store

"The shoes, my pride and joy joy joy, are from Paris, and are probably the most expensive thing i own. The jewelry is just eclectic stuff from here and there, a ring from Arizona, one from Wales, and i made the bracelets."

Autumnus!

2007-10-02T13:05:00.000-04:00

This tie detail shows the fantastic blue tone in the tie next to the robin's egg blue in the vest collar. I love the color combination!

This gent's outfit is proof that fall has finally arrived after a too long summer.

Michael is an undergraduate student who gets a lot of his stuff at thrift stores.
The pants are cut slim in the middle of the leg and the top, which is an old trend that seems to be returning for men. I put this photo in sepia because I wanted to emphasise the nostalgic, academic, autumn feeling that this outfit has.

Andrew was spotted at the Starbucks next to campus during a very cold and rainy evening this fall. I adore the tiny jeans, the tiny button, and the tiny espresso cup!

Fabrica History

2007-09-25T13:57:00.000-04:00

Jen-Yu Wang is an Art History graduate student who was studied and traveled all over the world. The items in this outfit prove it!

Earrings- antique store
Shoes- Bronx brand
Skirt- Thrift store in Chicago
Jacket- from a vacation to Thailand
Tank Top- H&M

Faculty Vestis

2007-09-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

This will be the permanent section for faculty finds.

Megan Kelly, a PhD candidate (and instructor) in Social Development, always looks smart. Next time she wears those shoes, I'll be sure to get a close-up. They're suede and the color is fantastic.

Boare Vestis

2007-09-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

These opera singing graduate students, Jennifer Forni & Aaron Agulay, were found in front of the stadium on the first game day. Fantastic suspenders, chap! More details on the outfit specifics to come.

What is Vestis Academia?

2007-09-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Vestis Academia means "Clothing Academia". This blog is about the student, professor, and researcher fashion on the campus at the University of Maryland, College Park.

As the wife of a faculty member, and taker of classes, myself, I have plenty of opportunity to spot people who make an effort to look fantastic, even if they don't have to.

I'll only put up the best examples of interesting and creative fashions that I see worn by real-life students and faculty.

This blog was inspired by the Sartorialist, and I encourage you to read that also. It's based in NYC, but he finds street fashion everywhere. It's really special.

Please email me at fiddlestixfix@yahoo.com if you want to give me a tip on a great dresser in your department!

Enjoy!

Oculus Vas

2007-09-14T14:47:00.000-04:00

I just absolutely LOVE these glasses! They suit their wearer so well that I had to snap her picture. These were taken at the College Perk coffee house north of campus. These girls made the most of the night by ordering s'mores!

This is where I'll put all of my sightings of excellent eye glasses. These pictures are great examples of how glasses can add a lot of whimsy and style to a simple outfit.

These examples are both of students.

Ismeil had a hard time choosing between the brown or black version of these amazing frames, but settled on black. Good choice, sir! I really think that the black emphesises the form of the frames. But he avoided telling me where he got them exactly, only saying, in a guy-like way, "I don't know! From the glasses place!" I also snapped a picture of Ismeill's unmatching shoelaces, which add subliminal asymetry. Ismeil's photo was taken outside the Armory building.

The female student is wearing frames with a great shape that were formerly tortoise shell, but are now brushed silver, thanks to her own SHARPIE MARKER coloring! I was so surprised when she told me that coloring her own glasses was a totally spontaneous decision. Brava, Lady! I think the shiny color looks brave and bold, but also sleek, against her dark skin tone. Her picture was taken outside the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Before it gets too dark and dreary, I'm hoping to catch a few great sunglasses examples around campus, too! Let me know if you know someone with extraordinary glasses! I want to take their picture!