Wearing an outfit that I think expresses something about who I am and what I like can make an enormous difference to my mood and self esteem. While I do have a terrible habit of wearing all black far too much (something left over from my misspent youth as a ridiculous gothling), few things can lift my mood as easily as a "pop" of personality. Wonder Woman headscarves, a t-shirt with Rose from Doctor Who on it, Converse sneakers covered in The Joker - these things say to the world, "I'm a nerd, and that's not only okay, but awesome."
Unfortunately, on weekdays I’ve long been confined to an office environment, and offices generally require my least favourite style of all time – the dreaded “smart casual.” No t-shirts, especially Doctor Who ones, no sneakers, no colourful headscarves, just "normal" boring outfits as far as the eye can see.
Maybe “smart casual” works for you, but I’m not a “smart casual” kind of person. I’m a little bit weird, and I like geeky things, and I’m a relatively unfashionable shape – to quote Tori Amos, I’m anchovies and “smart casual” is tuna. Unfortunately, looking like tuna when you’re really anchovies is one of the things you get paid for in an office job.
So how to reconcile these two styles? I love my geek chic wardrobe, but if I don't get paid then I can't afford to add to it, and that would be disastrous. If you're anchovies pretending to be tuna like me, here are my top five recommendations for things to let you fly your geek flag without getting fired.
Talia's Unique Treats on Etsy is a great first stop when looking for geeky accessories that are small and unobtrusive enough to fly under the workplace radar. My personal favourites are these Super Mario inspired star earrings, because if someone doesn't know the game they just come across as adorable little stars. They're small enough to not scream out for attention, but bright enough to add a little sumthin sumthin. Plus, they're ridiculously cheap.
If you prefer something a little less cutesy, how about these Star Trek inspired Star Fleet insignia earrings from Planet Pickle? They're a bit more obviously geeky, since after the enormously popular movies just about everyone and their dog knows what the Star Fleet symbol looks like. But they're also sleek, silver, and very stylish. If you want to get a little more avant garde, Planet Pickle also have a delightful line of pendants shaped to look like various items of clothing hung from a washing line, like a labcoat or a straitjacket.
Another exciting shop for chic geeks on Etsy is Edenki, who does a wide range of acrylic laser cut jewellery inspired by all sorts of fandoms and geekery. My favourite from her current range is this Doctor Who inspired pendant, that says "Spacey Wacey" in Gallifreyan. Arty abstract design, or hardcore fan reference? Your boss won't know the difference, but you will!
Maybe you're not a jewellery sort of person - don't worry, I've still got you covered. Shiro Cosmetics, based out of the US, have built an indie cosmetics business based entirely around geeky inspirations. Not only are their loose eyeshadows really pigmented, smooth, and easy to use, there's collections inspired by The Hobbit, Fullmetal Alchemist, even Nicholas Cage! While they're all gorgeous, for a work safe look I'd recommend taking a browse through the Game of Thrones inspired Seven Kingdoms collection. I'll be doing a full review over on my blog soon, because I was lucky enough to be gifted with samples of the whole collection for my birthday, but these are my picks for a nice, safe yet geeky work look.
From left to right we have Mother of Dragons, Women's Weapons, Queensguard, Hodor, and No Men Like Me. Because these look a little different actually on the eye to how they do in a swatch, I put together a look using Women's Weapons in the crease and corners, and Mother of Dragons across the lid.
Coming back around to another local, geektacular business, my final recommendation is from Pretty Serious Cosmetics. While it's independently owned and run by one (fabulous) woman, the cosmetics are all manufactured professionally, so you can be sure each and every bottle of a shade will be absolutely consistent - something that can be tricky to achieve with hand mixed indie polishes. Pretty Serious have several geek themed collections, but my work safe pick for today is CGA.
This polish is a pale lilac with a vibrant pale blue shimmer in just the right light, and it's named after the piece of hardware that changed the way we saw computing (literally) forever. It doesn't get a lot geekier than that! CGA also has a matching eyeshadow available, AND they're both on sale right now, so if that hasn't convinced you to run over there and make an order I just don't know what else to say.
So those are my Top 5 Picks for the Chic Geek who's stuck in a staid "smart casual" environment. I'd love to hear from any stealth geeks out there - how do you like to let your geek flag fly?
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