RI Beauty Insider: School Girl Style for Grown-Ups

RI Beauty Insider: School Girl Style for Grown-Ups

Shopping for new school clothes was always a rite of passage and signaled the end of carefree summer. Mom bought us pretty skirts, corduroy jumpers and penny loafers to ease us back to reality. Why not take yourself back-to-school shopping for some stylish clothes with a vintage school girl twist?

According to Rebecca C. Tuite’s terrific new book, Seven Sisters Style, America’s school girls were responsible for popularizing a style known the world over as casual, preppy and inherently American. The “seven sisters” are Tuite’s reference to the seven sister colleges, four clustered right here in New England (Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Radcliffe, now blended into Harvard). It didn’t take long for the look to filter right down to our grammar schools. Here’s how you can achieve classic back-to-school style that’s relevant, chic, casual, and office-ready. Ready to go shopping?

Mad for plaid

Nothing says schoolgirl uniform like a traditional tartan skirt. Make sure it’s on the shorter side to keep the librarian look at bay. Look for modern touches in leather trims or buckles. Pair it with your favorite worn jean jacket for a casual sophistication.

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White shirt

Not a blouse – but a real shirt. Tuite believes a button-down conservative shirt has a magnetic appeal on a woman’s body. Leave the tail out with a pair of skinny jeans and ballet flats. This borrowed-from-the boys’ look is sexy. For work, change out the jeans for your favorite tailored black pants and add fire engine-red pumps.

Sweaters

Schoolgirls love a good old-fashioned sweater. Not novelty knits but real Shetlands and Fair Isles. Cashmere cardigans look great too, with matching slim pencil skirts in heathery colors. These are the sweaters that warmed you in the chilly classrooms of yore and still look contemporary as long as you keep the fit slim and close.

Blazers

This traditional garment emblazoned with a monogram or badge keeps the schoolgirl look alive according to Seven Sisters Style. The enduring appeal is in its simplicity and ease. Thrown over jeans and worn with tennis shoes or sneakers, it is the kind of simple, clean dressing that underpinned most of our school uniforms. A blazer is detailed enough to provide interest and yet classic and straightforward – perfect for the football stand or for the boardroom.

Dresses

Yesterday’s schoolgirls never neglected a good dress. But this time, look for fitted silhouettes in wools or tweeds for sexy contrast and tension. A plaid sheath with lace trim both conceals and tempts. Wear your dress with black opaque tights for business and real hosiery for night.

Jewelry

Did Grandma start you out with a signet ring, pearl necklace or charm bracelet? Embellish like a schoolgirl with these beguiling adornments, or buy great facsimiles at your favorite costume jewelry counter. These traditional bijous are sweetly feminine and sentimental.

Your schoolgirl days may be in the rear view mirror now but Tuite’s Seven Sisters Style tells us that schoolgirl dressing is a reliable approach deeply rooted in timelessness. It worked for you yesterday and it can work for you today. Have fun with it!

Donna Macdonald is a freelance writer who enjoys covering topics of interest to women, especially fragrance, style, beauty. She has also written marketing material for a women's book that hit the New York Times Bestseller list and netted her an up close and personal discussion on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Donna currently writes her own personal blog, alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com where she also writes about issues close to a woman's heart. Donna believes that when a woman finds beauty in the world, she will find beauty in herself.