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== Inspirations ==
  
== Inspirations ==
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===Books===
  
===Books===
 
By author surname:
  
By author surname:
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*''Maurice'' by E. M. Forster
  
*''Maurice'' by E. M. Forster
 
*''The Likeness'' by Tana French
  
*''The Likeness'' by Tana French
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*''Mythos'', ''Heroes'' and ''Troy'' by Stephen Fry
 
*''Memoirs of a Geisha'' by Arthur Golden
  
*''Memoirs of a Geisha'' by Arthur Golden
 
*''The Lake of Dead Languages'' by Carol Goodman
  
*''The Lake of Dead Languages'' by Carol Goodman

Revision as of 23:19, 31 December 2020


Dark Academia is an aesthetic that revolves around classic literature, the pursuit of self-discovery, and a general passion for knowledge and learning. It is one of several variations, each with a unique historical focus. Dark Academia's best-known visual variations stem primarily from European cultures.

Notes

  1. While this aesthetic is not inherently negative, it has come under scrutiny as of late due to its seeming encouragement of classist attitudes (menial work being 'inferior' to mental work) and unhealthy behavior (sacrificing sleep, relationships, mental health, and personal care for study). If you are interested in this aesthetic, please be sure to embrace the positive aspects and be cautious of the potentially harmful ones.
  2. While the aesthetic lends itself to Eurocentrism, let it be known that every culture is welcome, and you are encouraged to find ways to blend your heritage with this aesthetic. Do not feel as if you are not Dark Academic enough because of where you are from. (And feel free to share POC book recs in the comments or in the main list.)
  3. The Style Guide is first and foremost a guide, not a uniform. Its purpose is to inspire, not hold you back. You should not feel inadequate if you cannot wear everything featured on the list; those are mere suggestions and what you wear is up to you. If you prefer following the aesthetic to a 'T', good for you; if you prefer taking inspiration from it and wearing bits and pieces, that's great too.
  4. There is no place for any type of shaming or bullying within the community. Be it against race, religion, social status, sexuality, education, ability, body type, etc., any form of discrimination is not welcome. The academic community is here for anyone who holds an appreciation for learning.


Variations

Art Academia: Based on classical art movements.

Chaotic Academia: A mixture of Dark Academia and 'chaotic' or 'feral' aesthetics like Goblincore. Cramming for tests at midnight and riding caffeine highs for days until you crash. Committing arson with your friends and shoplifting stationery. Spraying 'fuck the electoral college' on brick walls. Falling asleep in the school library and saving all your Monster Energy cans.

Classic Academia: A mix of the Academia family of aesthetics. Impeccable notes in class. Leatherbound bags crammed with textbooks and pens. Lots of coffee with scones, and even more late nights. A wide vocabulary (that people constantly comment on). Lives in the library.

Darkest Academia: Similar to Dark Academia, but with darker, even sinister visuals and more serious themes.

Fairy Academia: Based on the visual aesthetics of Victorian and Edwardian childhood.

Grey Academia: A deliberate push back against the elitist attitudes, Eurocentric view, and exclusion of neurodivergent, POC, and people part of the LBGTQ+ community from some (not all) academia spaces. There is a trend towards more diverse styles of dress, tools used, and a focus on activism and social issues.

Light Academia: Similar to Dark Academia, but with a distinctly lighter color palette and overall aesthetic.

Pagano-Lovecore: A hybrid of Academia aesthetics and Lovecore, based in love in Greco-Roman mythology.

Pastel Academia: Less mature than the other forms of academia, pastel academia showcases much more colour and a childlike "Kawaii" aesthetic. It is less Eurocentric and more based around Japanese styles of study and clothing.

Romantic Academia: Closer to Light Academia, with a focus on romance and elements of Baroque.

Theatre Academia: Based in plays, operas, and other musically inclined types of art

Witchy Academia: Similar to Dark Academia, but with themes of Witchcraft.

Writer Academia: Also known as Writercore or Poetcore, is a branch of Academia specifically for writers. Writer Academia holds the belief that anyone could be a writer, or poet, as long as you enjoy writing and hold a passion for your work.

Inspirations

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Books

By author surname:

  • The Women in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe
  • The Lessons by Naomi Alderman
  • The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis
  • Emma and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Bunny by Mona Awad
  • Ninth House and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  • The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson-Burnett
  • Possession by A.S. Byatt
  • The Shakespeare Secret by Jennifer Lee Carrell
  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  • The Glass Essay by Anne Carson
  • Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen
  • The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
  • A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
  • The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
  • The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Phillip K. Dick
  • Crime And Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • Elle Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
  • The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • The Bacchae by Euripides
  • The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris
  • Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
  • The Magus by John Fowles
  • Maurice by E. M. Forster
  • The Likeness by Tana French
  • Mythos, Heroes and Troy by Stephen Fry
  • Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
  • The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman
  • The Lie Tree by Frances Harding
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  • The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
  • Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum
  • A Separate Peace by John Knowles
  • Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
  • To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
  • The Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft
  • Oleanna by David Mamet
  • Songs of Achilles by Madeline Miller
  • The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller
  • The Wild Girls by Path Murphy
  • Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
  • I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
  • Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuistion
  • The Satyricon by Petronius
  • In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
  • If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
  • Harry Potter 1-7 by J.K. Rowling
  • Memoirs of a Woman Doctor by Nawal El Saadawi
  • Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
  • Vicious by Victoria Schwab
  • Frankenstein, or: A Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket
  • Antigone by Sophocles
  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
  • The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • Perfume By Patrick Süskind
  • The Goldfinch and The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Death of Ivan Illyich by Leo Tolstoy
  • The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt
  • Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  • The Truants by Kate Weinberg
  • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
  • The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
  • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
  • Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Tumblr otcnmkOtyu1sqpt8vo1 400

Authors

By author surname:

  • Dante Alighieri
  • Maya Angelou
  • Aristotle
  • Jane Austen
  • James Baldwin
  • Beat Generation (post-war literary movement)
  • The Brontë sisters
  • Albert Camus
  • Emily Dickinson
  • Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Nicolai Gogol
  • Donna Tartt
  • Greek Tragedies
  • Homer
  • Franz Kafka
  • John Keats
  • Count Lautréamont
  • H.P. Lovecraft
  • Milton
  • Vladimir Nabokov
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Sylvia Plath
  • Plato
  • Edgar Allan Poe
  • Alexander Pushkin
  • Arthur Rimbaud
  • Sappho
  • V.E. Schwab
  • William Shakespeare
  • Lemony Snicket (pen name)
  • Sophocles
  • Noel Streatfield
  • Leo Tolstoy
  • Virgil
  • Walt Whitman
  • Oscar Wilde
  • Virginia Woolf


Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan, Left) and Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe, Right), both have their hands held out as if to 'high-five'. Allen's palm is visible to the audience reveling a gash down the center, Lucien is holding the knife they used with his other hand. The characters are performing a 'Blood Oath' while at a party.

Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan, Left) and Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe, Right) are performing a blood oath while at a party.

Movies

By year released:

  • The Invisible Man (1933)
  • Rope (1948)
  • Dial M for Murder (1954)
  • If... (1968)
  • Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
  • Suspiria (1977 or 2018)
  • Another Country (1984)
  • Maurice (1987)
  • The Unnamable (1988)
  • Heathers (1988)
  • The Chocolate War (1988)
  • Dead Poets Society (1989)
  • Metropolitan (1990)
  • School Ties (1992)
  • Peter's Friends (1992)
  • Scent of a Woman (1992)
  • Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
  • Heavenly Creatures (1994)
  • Little Women (1994 + 2019)
  • Se7en (1995)
  • Total Eclipse (1995)
  • Wilde (1997)
  • Good Will Hunting (1997)
  • The Ninth Gate (1999)
  • The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
  • The Skulls (2000)
  • The Skulls 2 (2002)
  • The Emperor's Club (2002)
  • The Pianist (2002)
  • Bright Young Things (2003)
  • Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
  • The Dreamers (2003)
  • The Skulls 3 (2004)
  • Pride and Prejudice (2005)
  • Jane Eyre (2006)
  • Like Minds (2006)
  • The Prestige (2006)
  • The Great Debaters (2007)
  • Northanger Abbey (2007)
  • Brideshead Revisited (2008)
  • Cracks (2009)
  • Dorian Gray (2009)
  • Black Swan (2010)
  • The King's Speech (2010)
  • Hugo (2011)
  • Midnight in Paris (2011)
  • Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
  • Les Miserables (2012)
  • The Great Gatsby (2013)
  • Kill Your Darlings (2013)
  • Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
  • The Riot Club (2014)
  • The Theory of Everything (2014)
  • Testament of Youth (2014)
  • The Imitation Game (2014)
  • The Boxtrolls (2014)
  • Carol (2015)
  • Victor Frankenstein (2015)
  • Egon Schiele: Death and the Maiden (2016)
  • Indignation (2016)
  • Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them (2016)
  • Yesterday Once More (2016)
  • Handsome Devil (2016)
  • The Beguiled (2017)
  • Phantom Thread (2017)
  • Colette (2018)
  • Mary Shelley (2018)
  • Postcards From London (2018)
  • Vita & Virginia (2018)
  • Tolkien (2018)
  • Knives Out (2019)
  • The Goldfinch (2019)
  • Jojo Rabbit (2019)
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
  • The Mortuary Collection (2019)
  • Enola Holmes (2020)
  • Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

Podcasts

  • The Magnus Archives
  • Unwell A Midwestern Gothic Mystery
  • The Penumbra Podcast
  • Welcome To Night Vale
  • Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye

TV Shows

  • Brideshead Revisited (1981)
  • Sherlock (BBC)
  • How To Get Away With Murder
  • The Magicians
  • Peaky Blinders
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events
  • The Alienist
  • Deadly Class
  • House of Anubis
  • Carnival Row
  • Hannibal
  • Mindhunter
  • What We Do In The Shadows
  • Endeavour
  • The Queen's Gambit
  • Freud
  • Ordeal By Innocence (2018)
  • You (2019-)
  • Ares
  • Chilling Adventures of Sabrina


Plays

  • Spring Awakening
  • Othello
  • Total Eclipse
  • Another Country
  • The Inheritance
  • Hamlet
  • Macbeth

Musicals

  • Phantom of the Opera
  • Natasha Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812
  • Kiss of the Spider Woman
  • Bare: a Pop Opera
  • Dracula
  • Hadestown
  • Something Rotten
  • Spring Awakening
  • Anastasia
  • Light in the Piazza
  • Assassins
  • Dogfight
  • Les Miserables
  • Hamilton
  • Heathers
  • Twisted

Artists

  • Claude Monet
  • Vincent Van Gogh
  • Rembrandt
  • Sofonisba Anguissola
  • Leonardo Da Vinci
  • Caravaggio
  • Artemisia Gentileschi
  • Michelangelo
  • Camille Claudel
  • Roberto Ferri
  • Trevor Henderson
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Jenny Holzer
  • Raphaël
  • Frida Kahlo
  • Alfred Kubin
  • Maldha Mohamed


Tumblr 5f47ba417c70594772bb63ffb55cece0 bf780866 640

Music


Anime and Manga

  • Black Butler (especially the Public School Arc)
  • Beastars
  • Whisper of the Heart
  • Baccano!
  • The Cat Returns
  • From Up on Poppy Hill
  • Howl's Moving Castle
  • The Wind Rises
  • Steamboy
  • The Garden of Words
  • Snow White with the Red Hair
  • Your Name
  • Colorful
  • Bungou Stray Dogs
  • Violet Evergarden
  • Code Geass
  • Ancient Magus Bride
  • The Royal Tutor
  • 91 Days
  • Joker Game
  • Vampire Knight
  • Moriarty the Patriot
  • Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady

Comics

  • Morning Glories
  • Deadly Class
  • The Umbrella Academy
  • Unwritten
  • Promethea
  • Fangs
  • Purple Hyacinth
  • Hooky
  • An Unkindness of Ravens
  • Your Throne
A violin rests on a bed of open faced books featuring sheets of music.

Playlists

A list of playlists sorted by like count.

Activities

This list is adapted from Snookersneek's Tumblr post

Black and white image of a regatta

Sports

  • Rowing
  • Fencing
  • Tennis
  • Badminton
  • Cricket
  • Rugby
  • Golf
  • Swimming
  • Polo
  • Skiing
  • Water Polo
  • Equestrian
  • Figure/Ice Skating
  • Running (to prepare for chasing after your lover, or maybe for being chased by the cops after an act of civil disobedience)
  • Boxing
  • Javelin, discus, wrestling while covered in oil (ancient Grecian Olympics)
  • Archery
  • Ballet, ballroom dancing, any traditional dance works
  • Snooker/Pool/Billiards
  • The "Oscar Wilde approach" (aka no sports)
Black and white image of white men playing chess.

Games

  • Chess
  • Croquet
  • Backgammon
  • Checkers
  • Cards: rummy, poker, blackjack, speed, whist, etc.
  • Cluedo/Clue (for the murder of course)


Video Games


Crafts

  • Knitting
  • Crocheting
  • Embroidery
  • Weaving
  • Lacemaking
  • Gardening
  • Realistic Drawing
  • Pottery
  • Cooking
  • Sewing
  • Calligraphy
  • Painting
  • Needlepoint
  • Bookbinding


Florence-2014-1089

Outings

  • Museums
  • Art galleries
  • Places of historical interest
  • Pubs/Bars/Cafes (bonus points for sketching people around you)
  • Parks and gardens
  • Churches/Synagogues/Temples/Mosques/Quaker meeting houses (these are quiet places to think, most will be welcoming as long as you are respectful, and remember to not take pictures.)
  • Graveyards (be respectful and leave if there is a funeral happening, don't use grave markers as props for photoshoots)
  • The theatre
  • The opera
  • Concerts
  • Libraries
  • Art stores
  • Sporting Events
  • Special events (tours of local schools/universities, open houses, etc. It's an opportunity to learn and spark local intrigue because of your dark, mysterious, and alluring demeanor.)
  • Searching for small independent bookstores


Other

  • Write essays (they don’t have to be intellectual, just about something you are passionate about)
  • Research
  • Daydream (about preventing the burning of the Library of Alexandria)
  • Write about a murder/heist
  • Read something light (suggestions above)
  • Read aloud
  • Dress up
  • Perform a play alone or to a pet
  • Play or practice an instrument
  • Take a bath
  • Fake your death (murder perhaps?)
  • Draw or paint something (it doesn't have to be good, it just has to be yours)
  • Write a narrative piece
  • Watch a movie
  • Write a movie review
  • Reflect on the past
  • Journal
  • Read philosophy
  • Admire cityscape/nature (wherever you're at)
  • Read a physical book
  • Write poems for compilation
  • Practice calligraphy
  • Learn bookbinding
  • Write lists about something you like

Fashion

The main inspiration for Dark Academic fashion comes from 1940's prep school uniforms. Elements of the 1950's suburban American preppy look are often incorporated, such as sweater vests or sweaters worn tied over the shoulders. The main colour scheme is black, grey, beige, brown, cream, ivory, dark green, burgundy, and soft yellow. Usual fabric choices are more upscale, like cashmere, wool, and tweed, but linen and cotton are also very common. Accessories are usually minimal, like bracelets, rings, pendants, watches, cuff-links, and other dapper add-on pieces.

(La principal inspiración para el estilo Dark Academic proviene de los uniformes escolares de preparación de los años 40. El esquema de color principal es negro, gris, beige, marrón, crema, marfil, verde oscuro, burdeos, un amarillo suave. Las opciones habituales de telas son más exclusivas, como la cachemira, la lana y el tweed, pero el lino y el algodón también son muy comunes. Los accesorios suelen ser mínimos, como pulseras, anillos, colgantes, relojes, gemelos y otros complementos elegantes.)

Tumblr 6a25622fdda202d1e5d838f2954b3c50 8a71433a 640

Stores and Brands

Tops

  • Turtlenecks
  • Oxford shirts 
  • Fisherman's sweaters 
  • Sweater vests 
  • Light blouses 
  • Large polo necks
  • Cable knit jumpers
  • Sailor-collar shirts
  • Jumpers
  • Shirt dresses
  • A-Line dresses
  • Blousons
  • Drop waist dress
Tumblr de1c5b8eaf6e37ea6464a5f2f58b721c 96fccb7c 640

Bottoms

  • Dress pants
  • Ankle pants
  • High rise pants
  • Trousers
  • Cigarette pants
  • Linen shorts
  • Tweed trousers
  • Plaid skirts
  • Mid-length or long skirts
  • Pinafore
  • Sailor skirts
  • Pleated skirts
  • Pencil skirts
Tumblr 3bdd6b40ae71a843320841b027b60423 9db693cd 640

Outerwear

  • Cardigans
  • Blazers
  • Waistcoats
  • Pea coats
  • Suit jackets
  • Trenchcoats
  • Overcoats
  • Duffle coats
  • Chesterfield coat
  • Coat dresses
  • Smock
  • Dark coloured apron
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Shoes

  • Oxfords/brogues
  • Loafers
  • Wingtips
  • Boat shoes
  • Dr. Martens
  • Mary Janes

Accessories

  • Silver or gold jewelry
  • Broaches
  • Simple rings
  • Satchel
  • Wire-frame glasses
  • Short, neat fingernails
  • Belts that match your shoes
  • Knee-high socks
  • Watches
  • Sweaters tied over the shoulders
  • Undone or loosely tied ties
  • Dark coloured umbrellas (for that ominous feeling you give strangers)
  • Kerchiefs/bandanas
    Comfy

Gallery

Resources

Tumblr

Instagram

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Discord Servers

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