Coral researcher Erica Woolsey stays stylish on a Great Barrier Reef dive. Image from The Luxuriant Hair Club for Scientists.

An anthropologist friend of mine needs some distraction right now! So, dedicated to her and all my other brilliant friends, here’s some style reading about intellectual engagement with personal style.

• Style May Not Be Virtuous, But Is It Stupid?- Amid Privilege deconstructs the idea that it’s dumb/shallow to care about one’s appearance.
• Semiotics in Fashion – Emily Parker, brainy style blogger, gives us this crisp essay on semiotic theory and what we wear.
• Conference Chic, or, How To Dress Like An Anthropologist – “Wearing one’s fieldsite…” I also like Hook & Eye’s what-not-to-wear list for Canadian academicians.
• This Is What A Scientist Looks Like – Diverse scientific style!
• Final Fashion – The witty blog of a trend theorist/fashion illustrator. Posts on Hogarth and futurism in parallel with runway sketching and the time she was photographed for the Sartorialist.
• The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club For Scientists – Between this and the 2013 Stylish Scientist List, witness the power of having signature hair.

Intellectual style sources in Wellington: MP, Zambezi, Soup Fashion Rescue, Icebreaker merino garments, cleverly curated vintage accessories from Cuba Street’s shops, jewelry from Quoil and Things Unseen, and hair by Love Hairdressing and Jam.