Why Is That So Heartbreaking

dark academia books as penguin classics

@olivieblake

Theo: You’re losing a lot of blood! Quick, what’s your type?

Boris, bleeding out: tall, male, brown hair, glasses, speaks conversational rus-

Theo: BLOOD TYPE, DUMBASS

Greetings and Salutations, I’m new to the Dark Academia community. And I’ve absolutely fallen in love with what being a dark academic is about. But, I’ve had some trouble fully implementing dark academia into my lifestyle. Are there any tips to clothing?(styles and shops)things I should do or say? Just would love to have all tips and tricks! I love your page by the way!

how to implement dark academia into your life: the ultimate guide

fashion

if you look up dark academia fashion, you should find a lot of tweed, wool, corduroy. this is good. you want that.

things to keep an eye out for: 

a tweed blazer (of course). buy it secondhand so it already has that ratty feel. some (like my beloved @thoughtcriminals ) wear it very fitted and rock it, some others (like myself) like it just a tad too big. It ultimately depends on how and with what you’ll wear it. If you plan on wearing over sweaters, don’t get one that’s too tight, especially around the sleeve area; conversely, if you layer it under a winter coat, the sleeves should not be too thick so that it doesn’t bundle up.

a few woolen trousers. try to have around four or five. they must all fit you perfectly. bonus if they have belt loops (belts are A Staple of androgynous da students). I personally have a corduroy one, a check one, a striped one and a plaid one. keep the colour scheme in the earthy tones (cream, brown, forest green), and if you are like me and you like to eat/drink a lot, make sure that they have extra room. optimal cuts include, but are not limited to: straight, tapered (’cigarette trousers’), sailor, and palazzo. you also want to be able to crouch in them, it’s much easier in case you’re involved in a murder :)

button-ups. a lot of them. these, along with the trousers, are your wardrobe staples. i absolutely adore victorian/edwardian inspired blouses, with cool lace collars and all, but you also need simpler, sleeker ones. large billowy sleeves are an absolute yes too. they can be white, cream, ochre, brown, bordeaux... take your skin tone into account and your ability to not stain your clothing whenever you eat.

cool socks. do NOT underestimate what socks tell about your character. they should keep your feet warm and toasty, and also have quotes on them. or you can be like me and be too lazy to match socks: if so, just buy a 15-pack of short plain white socks. but if you’re really cool, buy these.

a woolen coat. to wear atop your button-ups and blazer. the popular choice seems to be long and black, but red or houndstooth also work super well. what you want is potential to be noticed, whether by having it swish behind you when you hurry past people in the corridors, or just popping out in the middle of all the common folk dressed in black with your bright red. extra points if you do both at the same time.

other essentials include: mid-length circle skirts, an off-white fisherman’s sweater, a full suit, WAISTCOATS, ties, and bowties. also jewellery: a watch, a locket, some rings... keep it minimal. 

decor

dark academia room decor is surprisingly much harder to find. in general what seems to be popular is: chaotic but with one colour scheme, Full Victorian or basic furniture but stylish accessories. in general i’d say staples are: white bedsheets, wooden desk (bonus if it has ink stains), piles of books everywhere, a collection of old books definitely won’t go amiss, half-finished chess games, coffee stains. basically you want to look careless but still moderately tidy.

lifestyle

this one is a subject of controversy. if you want to live a true-to-the-books dark academia life, then drink, be elitist, be rich, smoke, gamble, kill a man. i do not agree with this. here is my version of the dark academia life.

always thirst for knowledge. whether it be by watching that documentary with the cool birds, or by reading the memoirs of the duc de saint-simon, try to expand your knowledge in all the directions you can. 

be hedonistic, but never put yourself in danger. drink wine if you want to. smoke cigarettes/weed if you want to. stay up late if you want to. but always know what you are doing. never get wasted on alcohol or other things; you must always be in control of yourself and your actions. 

read books! lots of em. if you can, never leave your house without a book. come back with more books. read classics, non-fiction, poetry... anything you can! thirst for knowledge

quote stuff. quoting authors in a conversation will immediately make you seem more cultured. on that note, try to expand your vocabulary as much as you can, to be well-spoken. Bernadette Banner is your goals.

don’t conform to society’s standards. take up a stupid hobby. experiment with your image. hack into the school to make vivaldi your new bell tone. meditate at four in the morning. stain that book from the 1900s with coffee. seize the bloody day, make the most out of life the way you want it  want to be an antequary? want to have a sugar daddy who you can escape but is strangely smitten by you? want to play saxophone at three in the morning? do it. and fuck anyone who tells you otherwise. dark academia is about being eccentric in a world of sheep.

a lot of people say that being gay is an inherent part of da. i disagree. do what you want! kiss your best friends. be heterosexual. have a liaison with nb folk. da is about hedonism. if you want it and the other person wants it, then i see no issue.

for more lists of any kind head to my blog! i will lengthen this in time when i feel the courage to; for now, i don’t. my inbox is always open if you have questions or requests.

ah, the eternal struggle of maintaining the balance of apollonian and dionysian in oneself

when whitman said “i contradict myself. i am large… i contain multitudes” and wilde said “what are you? to define is to limit” and sumney said “i insist upon my right to be multiple”

Paris mornings

“The light of a candle

is transferred to another candle—

spring twilight”

- Yosa Buson

- Yosa Buson

dustpages

harry potter series: light and dark

we’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. what matters is the part we choose to act on.