dark academia / winter capsule wardrobe

tops

• a black turtleneck. preferably cotton or cashmere.

• a white collared shirt. silk, cotton or linen.

• a dressier top. something to wear with jeans when having poetry nights with your friends; i would still advise to go for black, but the style can be more extravagant – puff sleeves, maybe?

• a basic long-sleeved t-shirt. choose a dark, muted colour or go for black.

• an oversized knit. white, grey or black; wool is best at keeping you warm.

• basic knit. possibly black; doesn’t have to be boring in style – could be a wrap cardigan, a turtle or mock-neck, balloon-sleeved…

bottoms

• a pair of black straight-leg jeans. stick to 100% cotton.

• a pair of black or dark grey trousers. wool or cotton is good.

• a black skirt. mini or midi; wool is, again, great for winter, but anything will do.

dresses

• a long-sleeved little black dress. pick a style you like, be it frilly or clean cut.

• a dark knit dress. just try to stay away from acrylic & polyester, they won’t keep you warm.

underwear

• a few pairs of bras. go for neutral colours & comfort.

• enough underpants. black or baby pink lace is always nice; cotton is good.

• different types of socks. black & white, thick & thin; make sure your ankles are covered.

• black tights. they keep your legs warm when you wear a skirt or a dress.

jewellery

choose gold or silver, whichever suits you best, & stick to it.

• two dainty necklaces. you can wear them on their own of stacked together.

• a few rings. one bigger & more interesting, the rest more minimal to complement the more intriguing piece.

• a pair of everyday earrings & a more elegant pair. if you wear earrings; make sure both pairs fit your other jewellery.

accessories

• an over-the-shoulder leather bag. black or brown; it should fit your school papers & at least a few extra books.

• a small bag for special occasions. whatever style you like; it should go together with your little black dress & fit at least a lipstick & everything you might need at a party – a tiny bottle of vodka & a small notebook?

• a black or checkered (but dark in colour) umbrella. for those beautifully gloomy, rainy days.

• a leather belt. black or brown, depending on the colour of your bag & shoes.

• a scrunchie. black velvet or white satin.

shoes

• a pair of black or brown boots. either a chelsea boot or a dr. martens type shoe; these should be the same colour as your everyday bag.

• a menswear-inspired shoe. should match your bag; oxfords, brogues, derbys…

• occasion footwear. type depends on your style; could be heeled ankle boots, pumps, ankle-strap heels, loafers, ballerinas or even the same derby shoes from the previous point.

outerwear

• a long woollen coat. preferably black; could also be a checkered dark grey.

• a tweed jacket or checkered blazer. in grey or brown tones; could be worn under the oversized coat for added warmth.

• a pair of mittens. in a dark colour; maybe a friend or a lover knitted them for you?

• a big long scarf. matches the mittens; favour natural materials for warmth.

dark academia / winter

• waking up in your warm bed, seeing the condensation on your windows & looking out to see all the snow that fell down during the night

• wearing your softest slippers to go get the post in the morning & noticing the thin layer of ice on the pavement faintly cracking at each step all the way to the mailbox where you pick up the newspaper that still smells of fresh ink

• making a big cup of ginger tea, wrapping yourself up in a thick blanket & reading prose in the soft armchair by the fireplace

• listening to j. s. bach’s oratorios while practising chess – you don’t quite know how to play yet, but you are determined to learn

• the fire crackling softly in the library as you are working, black ink sliding feverishly on thick, cream paper, to finish your very last essay before the holidays

• the cold, sharp air hitting your nose when you step out of the door & the smell of fresh snow all around you

• draping a long, warm scarf around your neck one more time as you look up to see delicate, light-as-feather snowflakes falling from the bright blue sky

• ice-skating on a frozen lake in the woods & taking breaks to drink warm cocoa, holding the warm cup in both hands to warm up your fingers

• feeling the little tingling on your cold cheeks as you get back inside, wearing your warmest wool jumper & putting up fairy lights

• drinking mulled wine out of an old russian tea glass & feeling the warm liquid make its way to your stomach as you are reading poetry about the darkness of winter out loud with your closest friends

Dark Academia is a complex aesthetic... Let's all think of as many sub genres of DA as we can. A lot come to mind, right? In this post I've tried to narrow some down. Hope you enjoy :) (& perhaps you might find the sub genre of DA that best suits you) ~ THE 1940s ACADEMIC~ These folks don't necessarily have a passion for ancient history or the classics… instead, they spend their time researching The Great War as thoroughly as possible. They wear brick red lipstick no matter the occasion. If you look around their home, you may find a collection of portable typewriters, or perhaps an envelope filled with old photographs of their parents or forgotton acquaintances. Their go-to wardrobe colour is either a rich brown or an army green. Cigars are their best friends, just like their idol, the newly elected prime minister, Winston Churchill. ~THE GOTHIC POET~ This person has as many candles as they do hairs on their head. True to their name, they spend hours writing elaborate lines of poetry, usually not bothering to change out of their lacy night gown, with ruffled cuffs and puffy sleeves. They are confident, flamboyant, & a sucker for Pre-Raphelite paintings. While their friend, «1940s Academic» happily taps their foot along to The Andrews Sisters, they prefer to stare at themselves dramatically in their looking glass, blasting Mozart until their stained glass windows begin to tremble. ~THE GENTLE FLORIST~ (Light Academia) A typical «Gentle Florist» will wake on rainy spring mornings & peacefully pour themselves a steaming cup of mint tea. They spend their evenings with a light read, accompanied by their cat & the warm glow of their vintage floor lamp. If they are religious, they like to help out with charity events at their place of worship. If they are not, they happily volunteer wherever they are needed on weekends. They like to have lunch with their friend «Gothic Poet» although their re-enactments of Romeo & Juliet can get tiresome after a while. Their wardrobe colours are dark greens, browns, tans & creamy whites. ~THE MAD WRITER~ (Chaotic Academia) A strong black coffee always helps to wake this academic up in the morning. They stumble out of bed late after an intense night of scribbling out ideas for plots and characters. They seem to fixate on the prospect of murder, which their secret lover, «Gentle Florist», finds slightly suspicious. Their room is littered with paper. Is that a receipt or an important writer's note lying beside the antique camera? We might just never know. They hate most people, especially crying babies on the train. They are brutally cold & sarcastic, but people can't stop falling for them. Their wardrobe colours are black, blood red, cold white & the occasional navy blue. ~THE VICTORIAN EXPLORER~ (Rachel Maksy has a great Victorian Treehouse vidéo which is a perfect example of this aesthetic) Picture a vast room, its surfaces clad with antique brass artefacts. Things like old gramophones, flashlights, clocks, globes & magnifying glasses. There are maps pinned on every wall, & old atlases in foreign languages amongst yellowed illustrations of the English coastlines. Now picture the person who inhabits this room. They love old hats & sunglasses. Perhaps they have tan lines on their arms from when they were out searching for islands in Micronesia. People say this person & «Mad Writer » had a mysterious past, but neither of them ever mention it. Their favourite wardrobe piece is their trademark, a pair of antique boots, perfect for exploring various types of terrain. ~THE INQUISITIVE MYCOLOGIST~ (Cottagecore X Dark Academia) This academic is obsessed with nature, but prefers to live in urban areas. They draw illustrations in the margins of their schoolbooks/ work notes of mushrooms & leaves & will often spend hours in the local library with their potential love interest, « Victorian Explorer », poring over mycology textbooks. Their favourite wardrobe item is of course their dark brown oxfords, with the laces replaced with red ribbons.

How to feel more DA from the comfort of your own home:

> Touch up any makeup or put on some of your finest red lipstick

> Light a candle & put it on a windowsil (or anywhere it won't catch something on fire)

> Read something challenging during the day (Shakespeare, James Joyce & my boi Edgar for example) & something easygoing in the evening (Agatha Christie, Huxley, Stevenson)

> Make a cup of coffee or tea either in a delicate teacup OR a real heavy duty mug (it's impossible to look even slightly suspicious if you're holding a normal sized mug ¯\_(ツ)_/)

> Listen to antique records on vinyl. If you don't have a player, there are some amazing Spotify playlists to use!

> If you're feeling uninspired, change up your outfit! I always feel my lowest when I'm in my pajamas all day, so I will usually put on a pair of corduroy trousers with braces & match it with a spiffingly hefty blouse

> Look at Instagram or other tumblr posts on DA and see what you find! create a mood board on Pinterest if you so wish!

> Learn to raise one eyebrow- if feeling like a pretentious scholar is your goal, this small action is a must!!

> Reach your daily goal on Duolingo- while you're doing it, it may not seem very DA, HOWEVER, when you're done you feel accomplished & smart, which is perfectly on brand. Plus, you get to learn a little more of your chosen language every day- & one of those days you'll be fluent!

> Style your hair- if you have longer (and straighter) hair, I recommend an updo such as a Gibson Tuck. Styling your hair makes you feel elegant & improves your mood heavily! Nowadays it's rare to see me without my hair up

> Reorganise/ decorate your space- even if it's just a little change, such as moving the plants around your room, it's still a breath of fresh air & allows you room to think about more permenant changes such as new paint or furniture

> Carry a book with you anywhere you go- even if it's just to the kitchen, this action will totally make you feel more book smart! A spiffing one to carry with you is "Schotts Original Miscellany" as you can read about almost anything, from identifying cloud types to commonplace Latin. Its super useful to have in your pocket- almost like a pre-written notebook just for you :)

> Practice a creative skill- like an instrument, writing or drawing. This improves your DA levels for sure

> Improve your humour to be witty & sarcastic! You can pick up tricks from basically any witty (or British) show like Sherlock or Doctor Who, & when you have sarcasm and wit up your sleeve, you aren't just unstoppable, you're also turning into that pretentious scholar you've dreamed of becoming! :,)

I hope this helps some people! Have an amazing weekend everyone & if you have any queries feel free to comment- happy Dark Academia-ing :)

A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Academia

tips for the baby aesthete’s out there

academia

style

media

aesthetic activities (think of this as a little checklist to get you underway as a fledgling aesthete)

I hope this serves as a nice little guide for some of you wanting to get more into the aesthetic! There’s no real right or wrong way to go about it, these are just my suggestions from my own experience and perception of and within the community. 

Enjoy, 

Juniper x

how to learn new content and never forget it

save this for your next academic year and finals, and it’ll save your grades and time.

1. whenever you read a paragraph with new content, close the book/look away and ask yourself: “what have i just learned?” explaining the concept to yourself right away and asking follow-up questions will change the way you retain new material forever.

2. at first, it’ll be daunting, and it’ll be pretty hard to actually bring yourself to do this. trust me, it’ll be worth it - as this is scientifically proven one of the most effective study techniques.

3. to try this out, set yourself a timer for how long you estimate learning a concept might take. now take away 20% from that estimate. you won’t be able to reach this goal with basic highlighting and re-reading techniques - but with active recall, you will.

4. once you’ve understood the concept, use spaced repetition systems like anki flashcards to force yourself to retrieve this information in a set period of time. this way, your brain will always be reminded of this concept before it could possibly forget it.

5. teach it to others as much as you can. as with the old wisdom “see one, do one, teach one”, one of the only guarantees you’ve really gotten something is when you can effectively teach it.

hope these are helpful for you!!

more content like this on my instagram, @softmedstudent

some of my dream dark academia looks

Latin phrases to use as incantations.

This is gonna be a long list.

Here, a cheater course on caring for natural fibers!

1. Wool. Treat it like it has the delicate constitution of a Victorian lady and the conviction that baths are evil of a 17th century noble. (If I get in WATER my PORES will OPEN and I will CATCH ILL AND DIE.)

2. Cotton; easygoing. Will shrink a bit if washed and dried hot.

3. Silk; people think it’s like wool and has the constitution of a fashionably dying of consumption Victorian lady, but actually it’s quite tough. Can be washed in an ordinary washer, and either tumbled dry without heat or hung to dry.

4. Linen; it doesn’t give a shit. Beat the hell out of it. Historically was laundered by dousing it in lye and beating the shit out of it with wooden paddles, which only makes it look better. The masochist of the natural fiber world. Beat the fuck out of it linen doesn’t care. Considerably stronger than cotton. Linen sheet sets can last literal decades in more or less pristine shape because of that strength.The most likely natural fiber to own a ball gag.

Chilean dark academia

(It ended up being valparaiso dark academia, oops?)

Indian academia

Recently I have seen a lot of excellent posts in the dark academia tags which call out the euro-centrism of this subculture and also give great recommendations for non-white cultural academia. So I decided to put together works of Indian authors that I read growing up in India as a literature student. Please note this list leans heavily towards works centred on Bengal due to my own heritage, and is by no means comprehensive or meant to represent the entire, varied diaspora of India.

Historical/political fiction:

Societal stories

Retellings/Biographies

Poetry!

Pure self indulgent recs

Like I said this list is not comprehensive!!! But I tried my best!!! I think we should really try to decolonize our reading tastes. And yes I purposely left out Arundhati Roy (because she is literally the only Indian author ever recommended in lists) Vikram Seth (because I do not like him) and Roshani Chokshi (because any one of the above)

I hope you guys get some good picks from this list :)

[** has heavy trigger warnings]

If you feel like you’ve seen this alread, that’s normal. This list of recommendation has been previously posted on my first account @praestantias which has been deleted for some reasons. So here I am, reposting it. 

Hating how elitist and eurocentric the dark academia community became, I would truly appreciate that you leave some recommendation of book written by people of color, for I noticed that I am guilty of the eurocentric part, but I am really want to educate myself and read more non-white books. 

Thank you for your suggestions!

(because not only rich people can be dark academics)

-thrifting with friends for old sweaters that someone’s grandfather must have worn

-getting second (or third or fourth) hand books and reading the notes that other people left in them

-making sure everything is tidy and clean, no matter what

-adopting a minimalist aesthetic

-or making your own decorations (which then makes you better at lettering and art)

-sitting in a local cafe and buying the cheapest thing so that you can study there (and making sure that you tip as much as you can)

-reading poetry online, printing your favorites, and posting them on your walls

-taking as much of your family’s clothing that they’ll let you have

-rotating the same few shirts, pants, and shoes without anyone noticing

-a lack of jewelry (because there are more important things)

-sitting outside at a park to read or write

-looking outside windows on public transport while listening to somber music

I’ve been meaning to make a masterpost with a list of books and articles for people interested in the Italian Renaissance - so, behold!  These are taken mostly from my own bookshelf, syllabi of classes I’ve taken, and bibliographies I’ve compiled for papers I’ve written.  I’ve tried to provide a broader overview of the Renaissance with more general topics, and not to give books that are too incredibly specific and not relevant unless you’re working specifically in topic.  I’ve also tried  to find PDFs or links for anything that you can access online.

I hope this is useful for anyone who’s interested in this period, and I will always be happy to answer questions or try to provide sources for more specific topics!

** indicates a primary source

Afficher davantage

Types of Dark Academia characters, according to their outfits

The narcissist with lots of secrets: Black turtleneck, with a gold coin necklace over top. A tartan mini skirt, or checked trousers. Trench coat. Red lips and dark eyes. Books in languages no-one else understands. Thinks they’re better than you, and probably are.

The messy researcher: Cosy jumpers with shirt collars poking out. Slouchy tartan trousers. Dark socks and oxfords. Old-school messenger bag bursting with various notes and journals. Has started about 30 projects or books in the past week, and hasn’t finished any of them.

The garden party prep: Sweater vests. Pale khaki trousers/chinos, or a traditional white midi dress. Socks pulled up. Boat shoes. Expensive watch. Might play some cricket or croquet later.

The student dreamer: Knit cardigans over knee-length skirts or pinafores. Mary-Janes or ballet flats. Bouncy hair and wide eyes. Sometimes a beret. Likes autumn, and writing long letters.

The aspiring professor: Tweed. Wears suits to class. Coats and blazers waistcoats and undershirts and trousers/skirts, all in tweed or tartan, browns and greys. Kind of intense. Secretly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but at least they have great notes.

The edgy poet: Oversized, unbuttoned plaid shirts or blazers over turtlenecks. Cigarette trousers. Combat boots. Black coffee. Actually very sentimental, but also might have accidentally killed someone with their classmates.

part 2 coming soon

Chaotic Academia is (part 2)

After my last post about the lack of representation in academia, I felt it neccessary to provide some examples of what I’m talking about. Obviously there are more countries in the world than I can list and provide books for, so for a quick list this is what I got. !! Keep researching !! If you have any more books by POC please reply them !! If a country isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it’s not important, this is just what I could get together real quick. If I made any mistakes, please let me know, we’re all learning. We need to help each other end eurocentrism in academia, so value representation and educate yourselves 💓💓💓

Brazilian: