It seems like trends come and go with each passing week these days, so it’s pretty rare for one to hang around for a couple of seasons, nevermind a couple of years. But that is exactly what “geek chic” has achieved.
For those that don’t know what geek chic is yet, it is a) embracing your nerdy clothing and accessories as a way of saying you are proud of your nerdiness and b) adding a splash of personality to an otherwise sophisticated look.
The good news is, rocking this look has never been easier, not just because the scope is a wide as a juggler’s trousers, but because high street fashion stores have listened to the crowds and begun stocking a vast array of geek chic attire.
It could be you want to embrace this style and drip in it from head to toe or you may just want to add a splash of it to an otherwise “everyday” outfit. Whatever your intentions – whether it be rocking some varsity vibes, going grandma glam or embracing the librarian-look – we have pulled together the fashion industry’s top tips on how to transform into stylish and sophisticated nerds this season.
Not Your Normal Layers
Nothing seems more suicidal in the world of fashion that pairing horizontal and vertical stripes together. That is just a no-no in almost all style guides. But, so long as you pick a color that matches, you’ll find that this can be the tastiest mix since someone put peanut butter and jelly in the same sandwich. It could be that you wear pinstriped trousers with a horizontally striped blouse tucked in, or maybe you rock a knitted tee with a thick band going around the middle and slip a pinafore over the top – so long as you match a color you will be right on point with your style. Then just pick a pair of loafers, brogues, converse or boots and your outfit will be complete with a cherry on top.
Knee Length Polo Neck
Nothing is more universally geek chic (by which we mean great for dress down occasions or those events where you need to make an effort) than a polo neck dress that huge your body right the way down to your knees. You can wear this to almost every event imaginable – work on a Monday, midweek meetings, date night with the guy you crush on or just playing with the girls on a Sunday. Pick one that is made of thick ribs and you will have the perfect dressy-alternative to jeans. As for adding your own geeky-style to it, grab some “uniquely you” glasses from eyewearhaus.com, invest in a cropped denim jacket, and then chuck on some sneakers (or if you want a slightly more traditional and conservative look, then pull on some dark tights and a pair of tasselled brogues).
Be Bold With The Prints
Nothing is going to say geek chic more than a flowing knee-length dress that boasts a bold/vintage/retro/seventies print (delete according to your preference). Something like a Kitsch print is perfect, as you can see on deadlyisthefemale.com. The kind of thing that wouldn’t go amiss in a hippy-cum-librarian’s closet; that’s what you are after. Once you have this, you want to pair it with pieces of clothing that embrace the nerdy vibe and stick to block colors that compliment your skin and hair tone, whether that be navy, auburn, mustard, khaki or whatever. It could be a blouse done right the way up, a half turtleneck, a cable knitted t-shirt, that sort of thing. As for your feet, this is the time to rummage through that mess at the bottom of your wardrobe until you find your old plimsolls. Yeah, their day has come again. Who would have thunk it, right?
Rock A Graphic Tee
This has long been one of the fashion industry’s biggest faux pas, but if you know how to wear a graphic tee it can become one of the coolest items you own. You don’t have to look much further than the high street or Instagram to see just how incredible a fitted graphic tee can look on a chick. The trick is to pick a tee that a) represents your nerdy love or b) that nerdtastic reference that everyone loves. It could be a Star Wars tee from the 80s or a Stranger Things tee (that show took everyone hostage). All you have to do then is pair it with some rolled-up jeans, some geeky glasses, whatever shoes you feel most comfortable in, a nice selection of delicate jewellery and, voila, you have the geek chic thing absolutely nailed.
Old School Varsity Cool
Remember those thinly striped t-shirts with the hemlines done in a thick block colour (they usually came in yellow and light blue stripes)? Well, these retro bits of attire are back in a big way, as are button-up skirts. Mmm hmm. Everything comes back around. It doesn’t matter whether you manage to find a suede skirt in H&M, a cord number in a thrift shop or a denim midi in your mom’s closet, so long as it has buttons right the way up the middle you will get your geek chic look absolutely spot on. To really take this to the next level, what you want to do is get a nerdy-looking sweater and either tie it around your waist or tie it around your neck, yeah, just like they used to do in the films. A pair of thick black tights and matching shoes and you have yourself the perfect geeky outfit.
As you can see, rocking the geek chic look is not reserved for those that worship Sheldon, live with ninety-one cats, play in a Sum 41 tribute band or still visit the local arcade. It is for anyone that embraces their inner weirdness – their inner quirks – because these are the best bits of anyone. The geek chic look is for any women that want to wear their personality on their sleeve and sprinkle a bit of bygone sophistication to their wardrobe. It’s for everyone, everywhere.
